Many people around the city have either seen Jackie Tran snapping photos of delicious meals (and tasting them afterward), have read his written work, or caught him frolicking around many of the food-themed events happening around Tucson.
Now, he’s got a new project up his sleeve — a food truck by the name of Tran’s Fats, which will offer some of the bites he’s grown to love the most.
The food truck concept has been one of Jackie’s dreams for a while now, and the process, although it can be overwhelming, has been running smoothly with a few alterations.
“The hardest part has been shrinking the menu to a manageable size,” said Tran. “Originally, the menu was more fat-focused with gimmicks like a bacon fat fryer and a duck fat fryer, but then I realized how expensive and logistically nightmarish it would be. I switched the focus to simply food that I love at an approachable price.”
The menu is broken down into different categories and consists of various lettuce wraps, assorted dumplings, and desserts like Fried Bananas. Oh, and what’s a meal without the crisp taste of a Mexican Coke (it’s on the menu, too) to wash it all down?
“Once everything is comfortably up and running,” said Tran, “I’ll incorporate more menu specials and seasonal items.”
(+$3 to wrap it in local Merchant’s Garden butter lettuce)
Jackie plans to get the truck up and running so it can be parked around town as soon as he can — opening up in the spring would be ideal.
“I still need to legally finalize several aspects such as permits and licensing, so I can’t announce the location or dates quite yet.”
In the future, a brick-and-mortar is a bucket list dream for Jackie as well. His plan is to wait for the perfect moment, or at least until a “highly contagious disease isn’t a prominent factor in our safety and economy.”
“I’m totally going to lurk the comments of this article, so please voice any grievances and constructive criticisms.”
To keep up with the latest, follow Tran’s Fats on Facebook and Instagram.
