Eating banh mi, a traditional Vietnamese sandwich, out of a food truck may be an anomaly. But for Philip Phillips, owner of Lone Wolf Banh Mi, the idea seems quite natural.
“We had played around with (food truck) concepts for over a year and wrote a couple of complete menus,” he says. “Then, we took a trip to California and stumbled upon an upscale banh mi shop in San Francisco where we ate. We fell in love with the flavors, fell in love with the feeling you get after eating it, fell in love with the unique qualities of banh mi.”
Phillips brought those unique flavors – which include marinated meats, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot, cilantro, aioli and fresh jalapeno sandwiched between baguette – back to Tulsa, and Lone Wolf was born. It’s a simple menu, and in addition to banh mi, Lone Wolf offers kimchi fries and beignets along with drinks, including Vietnamese coffee. The food goes quickly, and Phillips says that each week the goal is to figure out ways to keep more food stocked. “I believe another truck is inevitable at this point,” he says. “Only six months in, and we’re being forced to open another. I like our problems.” Lone Wolf’s location varies by day. To find out where Lone Wolf is parked, follow the truck on Twitter at @lonewolfbanhmi.
