Denton food truck aims to bring good food with a unique twist
On a cold night this January, Sam Lopez and Gabby Sanchez opened their new food truck, Insurgent. The truck’s goal is to have fine dining in a new form.
“[We] wanted to do something with whole foods and appreciate [a] love of quality and change that toxic [food industry] culture,” Sanchez said. “Insurgent is essentially a flame to the rebellion.”
Insurgent’s story began in New York when Lopez and Sanchez met in culinary school. From Wyoming to Napa, Calif., then to the Caribbean and Chicago, Ill. and now Denton, Lopez and Sanchez bounced around the idea of opening a food truck.
Back in Chicago, Lopez was stuck in a low-paying butcher job and Sanchez was unhappy with her job as an executive pastry chef, Sanchez said. With their lease almost up, they had to decide whether to stay in Chicago or move back to Denton where Lopez was originally from.
“We were never going to be happy if we didn’t do what we wanted to do for ourselves,” Lopez said.
Sanchez said one of Insurgent’s goals is to highlight local produce and farmers. Insurgent’s dishes will also be predominantly plant-focused. Sanchez said other than vegan mac and cheese, most restaurants do not know how to highlight vegetable-based dishes. The food truck will have a rotating menu rather than stick to one menu like most trucks.
“Instead of being known for tacos or burgers and [customers] buying the same thing every day, we wanted to be a little more creative [and] change the menu,” Lopez said.
Caro Kauffman, Kava Culture general manager and Denton resident, said Insurgent’s food profile is “absolutely incredible.” Kauffman said she is passionate about giving people the opportunity to share their work and educate people about where their food comes from.
“The sourcing of their ingredients is why their food is as good as it is,” Kauffman said.
At Insurgent’s last pop-up at Kava Culture’s “Culture Fest,” Jeremy Sparks, dispatch worker and Denton resident, said he liked Insurgent’s whole concept and the Korean and other cultural food they have.
“I saw [Insurgent] was [attending] culture fest and on Insurgent’s menu they had adobe and [since] I’m half-Filipino, so I came here to judge,” Sparks said.
Morgan Loftin, Denton artist and owner of Pinned Ptera, said Insurgent had great customer service with minimal wait times, fair prices and fresh ingredients.
“It’s rare to find a food truck that can offer fine dining cuisines, but Insurgent delivers,” Loftin said.
Streamlining the design and menu has been one of the biggest challenges for Insurgent. Lopez said he would commit to a certain design for the truck and then a year later want to change it.
“It was all this extra work, but at the end of the day we just want to cook,” Sanchez said.
Featured images by Maria Crane
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