Food trucks are finally becoming a part of our urban landscape, dotting our horizons with tasty offerings with that smoky smell of the grill wafting through the air. Butty's American Style are riding the wave of rolling dining options and their big red truck is a welcome addition to the streets. I had a chat with Tam about Butty's, burgers and what's to come.
The word butty brings visions of buttered rolls brimming with hot chips. What does the word Butty's mean to you?
The name came about reading a sandwich recipe book I have, and it has a sandwich called Butty's which is a chip sandwich, but loosely translated also means "Buddy" friend and that sorts of sums up who we are. Friend and also "unique" food.
I remember first meeting the Butty's team at Beaufort Street Festival in 2012. What inspired you guys to join forces and take delicious burgers to the road?
We have both been mates since primary school he (vinh business partner) went on the path to be a lawyer myself as a chef. We both love food and when I talked to him about my idea of a food truck he was keen and my dream started to take shape.
So who is the team behind Butty's?
It's a tight knit team with Vinh, Myself and Daniel. The rest of the team are the close relationship we have with suppliers to get quality stuff.
Exactly how many burgers did you sample when researching the Butty's concept?
As the truck took a year to build so did our menu before we settled on our two burgers.
Aside from yourselves of course, where have you eaten some pretty damn good burgers?
I like the "lunch bar style" from Alfred's Kitchen or Novembars. Also like V burgers and Nic's Burger Shak, always a fan of Justin and Jus burgers and Flipside. I just lovvveeee burgers. It's one of my favorite foods because it can be so complex and so simple at the same time and everybody has a preference, "lunch bar style", "gourmet", "Street", "American", "franchise", you could go on and on and talk about the science of burgers for hours!
Diner pit-stops and popular burger chains seem to be the norm in the US, have you spent any time eating your way through the States?
| LOVE THE US! Before I went I started the truck I went through the US eating at the burger places LOVE in and out burgers, also went through Kansas City to try all the BBQ love BBQ so much really hope to bring that flavor here to Australia.
What are some of the craziest ingredients you have ever eaten in a burger?
Burgers are so awesome the most fun one is the ice cream sandwich not really a burger but two slices of sweet bread with a slab of ice cream in the middle served from a cart in Singapore.
Are there exciting new items to hit your menu or is that a big secret?
We have two burgers in the works a pork belly version and also a ice cream version soon to hit our truck!
You guys are getting pretty famous now with such a loyal following. From festivals, to the Cultural Centre and your regular appearances at Curtin Uni, everyone is diving into cheesy fries and rib burgers. What does the future hold for Butty's?
Our next move is brick and mortar! My dream is always to have a restaurant and that's our next move adding more sophisticated BBQ items and also beer to the mix.
Butty's at Beaufort Street Festival 2013