The food trucks are coming! The food trucks are coming!

I can’t imagine Paul Revere uttering those words, and yet I was filled with such excitement upon my first spotting of a food truck on Clark Street, in the heart of the business district, the other week. A sign of a revolution that has been brewing for a some time.

I have long been a fan of Chopped and other shows on the Food Network and have understood the concept behind these restaurants on wheels, but it seemed other areas, like New York and California, embraced them much earlier.

Of course, there are always parking bans and other legalities, which has presented challenges for restaur-preneurs, but this sighting was encouraging.

Food trucks might be mobile mini versions of popular restaurants, but more likely they’re the dream of some foodie that wants to make a living sharing his specialty. Not that a fully equipped drive-able kitchen is cheap, but comparatively, it is an easier way to start in the business than investing in a storefront.

Like new restaurants relying on word of mouth buzz in the past, food trucks are perfectly geared for our mobile, device-oriented society. There are smart phone apps for finding them and they’re easy to hear about from friends’ tweets.

Real time commentary (texts) or cell phone pics enable people to tell their friends about locations where they’re serving or make recommendations on menu items to try.

I didn’t actually see these two southbound trucks on Clark Street transacting business, but, with their sighting, I expected they had spots not too far away.

Food trucks often have a theme. They might feature a different ethnic cuisine (Jamaican or Mexican) or direct from the farm organic ingredients. Because of their limited space, they often have a limited selection of offerings. This is a new approach, or return to an old approach, to eating.

While it’s nice to have some variety, people today would actually prefer seeing a restaurant offer fewer items of what they prepare really well.

As a consumer, if you want variety, you just pick a different parking spot to visit and different menu board to peruse.

I have never actually eaten a meal prepared on a truck (If the grill is not working, does the chef/operator heat things up on the exhaust manifold?), but I like the idea.

Of course, I like the idea of someone literally taking what they do to the streets.

I also like the idea that the routine task of getting food is evolving.

I remember how McDonald’s and drive-through restaurants came of age as I was growing up.

I appreciated how they offered moms an inexpensive alternative to home cooking and family friendly tables where their entire brood didn’t have to behave as if they were at Sunday school.

I can recall how, during my twenties and thirties, ethnic restaurants were all the rage. They offered economical alternatives to home-cooked meals that were built up from much more exotic ingredients. (That a place was BYOB didn’t hurt either.)

Then came carryout options and delivery service, which seemed to suit the lives of busy working adults (during the years I could have categorized myself as one).

Carryout and delivery service grew up in its own niche. Now, many restaurants allow customers to order online or assemble a meal from multiple restaurants through one point of contact.

And now we have food trucks. Freshly prepared, made to order meals can come to your office or park at the edge of a familiar strip mall.

For the most part, I think people want to eat fresh and healthy foods, dishes made by someone that’s proud to serve them.

Whether about how we eat, or in another aspect of our lives, if there is a demand for something, it seems to find a way to be born. And I’m happy about that!

That Harold’s Chicken or The Tamale Spaceship trucks might be parked on a nearby street is no small thing.