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Curbside Cuisine Takes Over

When Food Network’s second season of The Great Food Truck Race premiered on Aug. 14, I began to look for food trucks in the Orlando area. One day in August, I ducked into the Rollins mail room to escape the heat when a sign on the bulletin board caught my eye. It was for the Yum Yum Cupcake Truck in all its yellow and silver glory and it advertised the truck’s monthly stops on the Rollins campus! I suddenly remembered the first time I had a Yum Yum cupcake in the spring of 2011. After It’s All Greek to Me’s closing night, the Yum Yum Cupcake Truck made its first appearance on the Rollins campus in front of the Annie Russell Theatre and it has been coming back ever since.

The bakers at Yum Yum do not bake their cupcakes on the actual truck, but at their local bakery in Winter Park. They then sell them out of their truck, which tours throughout the greater Orlando area.

Yum Yum’s cupcake menu changes with the seasons and all of the flavor ideas come from customer suggestions and feedback on Facebook and Twitter. You are in control of your cupcakes! These are not just regular, run-of- the-mill cupcakes; Yum Yum cupcakes are gourmet, made-from-scratch, gooeycentered deliciousness in a paper wrapper just waiting for your taste buds to try them. The Pumpkin Gingy and Hootenanny Harvest are two of the season’s specialty items, in addition to the standard vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Yum Yum has transformed its vanilla buttercream cupcake into a pink cupcake. Throughout October, it will donate 10 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the pink cupcake to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. On Oct. 29, Team Yum Yum will be walking in The Orlando Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at Lake Eola Park. To walk with their team, email yumyumforthecure@gmail.com or go to http://makingstrides. acsevents.org to start your own team.

Yum Yum is not the only food truck in Orlando. There are plenty more, you just have to go out and find them. Or if you would like them all in a central location so you can pick and choose or sample them all, then check out the Orlando Food Truck Bazaars, hosted by TheDailyCity.com. The next one is on Oct. 30 at Cross Pointe Church in Lake Nona from 4:30 to 8 p.m.

The gourmet food truck scene started in the Orlando area in February and the first Bazaar was held in March. It was a hit and had a turnout of 2,500 people. If you go to a Food Truck Bazaar, bring cash and patience.

Do not be misled, these are not like drive-thrus at fast food chains; these are restaurants on wheels. Food trucks generally prepare your food to order, so be prepared for long lines and delicious food well-worth the wait. Supplies are limited and chances are that food trucks will run out of food. No biggie, you can just walk over to the next one! A few local food trucks include Korean BBQ Taco Box, Tree House Truck, The Crepe Company and The Crooked Spoon.

Next time The Yum Yum Cupcake Truck is on campus, go see Tyler in his bowtie and try a cupcake or two. Then get out in the slightly cooler autumn air, find a food truck and enjoy the fair!

Follow owners Alex Marin and Joey Conicella on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theyumyumtruck and Twitter @yumyumtruck_fl or check out their website theyumyumcupcaketruck.com to find out where the truck will be parked next.

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