Seabirds Food Truck: Stephanie Morgan

2/19/12

Stephanie Morgan
An interview with the owner of Seabirds Food Truck

Stephanie Morgan, founder and owner of Seabirds

We love the stuff we do. Recently the Seabirds Food Truck came to our neighborhood and having heard rave reviews everywhere we looked, decided to head down and try what they had to offer...and man, were we impressed! 
In a world full of fusion kabobs, fancy cheese covered sliders, and bite size fried versions of everything breakfast, the organic, vegan menu of the Seabirds Food Truck carves a healthier path of its own. Owner and founder Stephanie Morgan opened the Seabirds Food Truck in June of 2010 with the goal to "...provide healthy, local food that's convenient and fairly priced". We think she's done a pretty good job! 
The lines to her truck are filled with veterans and newbies alike, and the girls working the truck are super friendly; couple that with the seriously yummy menu items and you have a recipe for food truck success!

The menu the day we visited!

We found the truck at a local elementary school fundraiser with about 5 other trucks. I was really glad to see that the fact that the truck was serving only vegan food wasn't deterring anyone. We hopped in line and decided on an order each of the beer-battered avocado tacos. The girl at the register was super helpful (and a fellow vegan!) and noticed my newly-purchased 'friend not food' pig shaped necklace, which led to us bombarding her with questions and her being friendly enough to put us in touch with Ms. Morgan herself! 
Before we contacted Stephanie though, we wanted to see just what those tacos were all about. We found a picnic table to squat on and took our first bites. The soft tortilla was filled with crunchy deep fried avocado, red onion, and cabbage slaw, drizzled with a jalapeño cilantro dressing. It was seriously mind-blowing. I would never even think to coat and deep fry avocado, but it really gives this awesome beer-battered flavor that is like nothing you've ever had before. 
After we each finished our two tacos we went back and got a third serving to bring to Alex's Mom so she could enjoy them as well...and enjoy them she did! She was hesitant when we said they were 100% vegan, but being a good sport she tried a big bite...and loved it! (I think her favorite part was the jalapeño cilantro dressing :)

Me and the tacos hangin' out in front of the beautiful Seabirds truck!

We got in touch with Stephanie to compliment her on a job well done and ask a few questions: 

Fettle Vegan: How long have you been vegan? What prompted you to start your own organic, vegan food truck?

Stephanie Morgan: I've been vegan for 5 years now. A few years ago, I was living in northern California and occasionally would order veggie burritos from a traditional food truck. I wondered if there was a vegan food truck around and googled it but found nothing. I was so disappointed. I figured if I wanted it to exist I would have to create it myself.

FV:  What's your favorite meal on the truck's menu?

SM:  Any dish using tanaka farms veggies really, but I especially like our Grilled Beets & Beet Greens with Chive dressing and our Truffled Cauliflower.

FV:  Most popular menu item on the truck?

SM:  Beer Battered Avocado Tacos

FV: Whats your long term dream for the truck? i.e., open more trucks, write a cookbook, convert more vegans?

SM: I wrote my first cookbook a few months ago (available on our website and in theiTunes store). Next is a restaurant in Downtown Santa Ana- hopefully open by Summer 2012. And of course I'm always trying to turn more people on to a healthier and more sustainable way of eating. 

Beer Battered Avocado Tacos-from the middle!

We love that Stephanie has created a cruelty free, healthy option in a world generally targeted to carnivores. Her truck is absolutely worth a visit. Its creative and delicious, and surprisingly reasonably priced! 
Check out their day to day schedule at their website, seabirdstruck.com, or get their updates via twitter @SeabirdsTruck.