Keep on Food Truckin’

The wheels on the trucks are rolling, the wheels in the heads are turning as gourmet food-truck vendors with creative missions, hailing from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver, travel to the valley to join their local brethren for the South Point Gourmet Food Truck Fest from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the South Point.

Some 14 trucks are expected to participate, serving Buffalo wings, Asian-style wings, hot dogs, barbecue, Asian-influenced burgers, sliders, Vietnamese subs, cheese steaks, soul food, ice cream, stuffed buns and other dishes.

"Basically, we love having events that stand out," said Tom Mikovits, South Point's director of marketing. "When we're looking for events, we try to find something that's never been done before. Creating awareness for the Vegas food-truck scene by bringing in these national names is different, it's special."

Among them: Ludo Truck, Chef Ludo Lefebvre's truck from Los Angeles, which is featured on "Ludo Bites American" at 9 p.m. Mondays on the Sundance channel.

"He has a big following," Mikovits said. "He's a crazy guy."

And the Nom Nom Truck, "bringing banh mi to the masses" in San Francisco and Los Angeles, a semifinalist in "The Great Food Truck Race."

And The Chairman, from San Francisco, serving Chinese-inspired steamed and baked buns.

And Biker Jim's of Denver, which serves hot dogs made of reindeer and elk, in addition to more traditional franks.

And Slap Yo Mama, from Los Angeles, which serves soul food.

And Cool Haus of Los Angeles, with artisinal ice cream.

Mikovits said the fest will be more structured than the typical food-truck gathering, with live music, cooking competitions, a beer garden (where college football games and the Breeders' Cup will be televised), plus a wine area and Absolut Vodka bars.

It will be in South Point's Silverado lot, just across Silverado Boulevard north of the resort. Admission is free.

In addition to the aforementioned trucks, those expected to participate are the Las Vegas-based BBQ Boy (barbecue), Food Slingers (cheese steaks), Fuku Burger (Asian-influenced burgers), Ichi Mas (musubi, wings), Pop's Cheesesteak Truck (cheese steaks), Sin City Wings (wings), Slidin' Thru (sliders), Tasty Bunz (stuffed buns), Wings on Wheels (wings) and Haute Chix, a fashion truck.

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.