Eat, Drink, Savor: Steakstop helps kick off Food Truck Tuesdays in Hollister

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It has been three years to the day since Joseph Elmhorst’s Steakstop became the first food truck licensed by Hollister to operate at a fixed location within the Hollister city limits. It was a groundbreaking moment for the local food culture even though he was relegated to a spot on the edge of town, near the Sheriff’s Department on Apollo Road.

A few days before that, Elmhorst spoke at a Hollister city council meeting, offering a plan to allow food trucks to set up at a lot near 2nd and San Benito Streets. This year, the Downtown Business Association’s Food Truck Tuesdays are being held just a few blocks closer to town from where he had suggested, near 6th Street. 

“Our success has just been mind-boggling,” Elmhorst said. “I knew there was an audience, but I did not know when or how it would happen. One thing that really surprised me was that even when it got cold, people still came out.”

With over a dozen food trucks now actively operating in Hollister, Elmhorst said, events like Food Truck Tuesdays are guaranteed to always draw crowds because of the diversity of the cuisines offered by the various chefs who attend. 

“We all have unique items,” he said, “and we try to give people what they want. No truck can give them everything, so there is always an excuse to come back and try Hapa Bros, El Guapo or one of the other great trucks. Hollister has been desiring more food options, and we are an easy solution.”

Omar Rosa, executive officer of the Downtown Association, said that moving Food Truck Tuesdays to San Benito Street gives the event more visibility and space—he is expecting as many as 22 trucks to participate this year.

“We are very excited to be back,” he said. “We are grateful to all the vendors out there and all the people coming out to support us. And some businesses, like Mad Pursuit and Crave, have changed their hours of operation because they want to keep being part of this.”

Besides the Downtown Association events, Steakstop is usually booked two or three months in advance and has become a regular fixture at Bolado Park, taking part in the Rodeo and County Fair, as well as the Guerra Concert and a weekly stop at Bertuccio’s Market. (Steakstop’s weekly schedule is posted on its Facebook and Instagram pages.)

Not satisfied with stopping where he is, Elmhorst is involved in bringing the food truck scene to Gilroy.

“We are working with their city council,” he said. “Earlier this year, they canceled all of their food vendor downtown permits and we’ve tried to find a new way to reestablish it. We’ve done much of the groundwork and hope to see something up and running by the end of January.”

Elmhorst, who served as executive chef at Togwotee Mountain Lodge in Wyoming and as chef at the Aramark restaurant in Yosemite National Park, is also considering returning to his roots by opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant. 

“A lot of the food truck owners, like myself, are definitely growing up,” he said. “We want to do something different from the standard model, a hybrid food truck and restaurant. We want an outdoor venue that brings in the family and that’s dedicated to the family experience.”

SteakStop’s menu has slowly evolved to nearly a dozen variations, starting with The Works, the most popular, a sandwich made with provolone cheese, mushrooms, mild sweet peppers and a mixture of tri-tip and ribeye. 

His newest sandwich is the Rip-Off, a play on the Western Burger at Carl’s Jr., which combines steak with barbecue sauce, cheese sauce, white cheddar, sharp cheddar, bacon and chopped onion rings.

“We basically took their burger and turned it into a cheesesteak sandwich,” Elmhorst said. “It’s a home run of a sandwich!”

All sandwiches can now be enhanced with a variety of newly concocted toppings. I tried a Works cheesesteak sandwich with the Half-Baked Topper, which is made with chopped mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, melted cheese, and bacon. It is gooey, chewy, and crunchy and, with a side order of fries, makes for a hefty meal. 

Elmhorst also now offers a Keto option: any variety of cheese steaks can be served sans bun on a bed of romaine lettuce. I tried the Garlic Bomb, so named because it is drenched in an aioli made from garlic that has been slow-baked in oil for three and a half hours. The process smooths the garlic out, leaving a sweet, warm flavor that perfectly complements the cheese and meat. 

Attendance for the first evening was down a little from the crowd it drew earlier in the year, but Elmhorst was optimistic about the event’s future.

“We had three or four hundred people out here before,” he said.”But there has been a steady flow of business that can only grow from here. We seem to thrive with an audience and Hollister definitely wanted this.

Vendors participating in Food Truck Tuesdays on Oct. 22 included:

• Hapa Bros
• Garbanzo Tostado
• Ivan’s Baked Potatoes
• Klamaronzitos
• Lily’s Fresh Fruit
• Ohana Shaved Ice
• Place of Crepes
• R&R Catering
• Steakstop
• Sweet Al Amor 
• Tacos La Cascada
• Triple El Lumpia
• Wafflz & Pearlz

Food Truck Tuesdays are held from 5-8 p.m. through November 19 between 6th and 7th Streets on San Benito Street.

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Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.

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