The Street Food Fighter is a Lao and Tai Dam family owned and operated food truck. Since 2016, owner Oupekha Baccam and his family have worked to bring their Asian inspired fusion street food to the streets of Cedar Rapids.
Baccam keeps a relatively consistent menu with various choices to satisfy all customers. Some main dishes include Khao Man Gai, Thai chicken rice, and the mongolian beef philly cheesesteak with sides such as pork egg rolls and crab rangoons. There is also an option to make any main dish “a combo” which would include the entree, two crab rangoons or egg rolls and a drink to go along with the meal.
“The mongolian beef cheesesteak is my go-to. I pair it with chicken fried rice and their famous egg rolls,” said junior Kiri Platt. “I have many amazing memories eating there with friends because of their quick and kind service.”
The Street Food Fighter appeals to many different groups, from setting up outside of bars to catering for grad parties. Baccam also works collaboratively with other businesses and sets up at local events. Additionally, he will be hosting the Street Food Festival on July 19, featuring multiple other food trucks. All donations and profit received at this event will go towards local homeless shelters and food banks.
“My inspiration to host this festival was being able to give something back to a community that may have forgotten that something as simple as caring and kindness can bring people together,” Baccam said.
In the past couple of months, Baccam had a severe setback when his food truck caught on fire due to one of the fryers in his truck. This tragedy resulted in Baccam having to close down the truck temporarily in order to perform repairs. However, the Street Food Fighter was not out of business for long. Baccam’s gracious community aided him in fixing his truck, getting it back on the road in efficient time.
“I just wanna thank everybody in the community for the support they’ve given me and I’m excited to be back on the streets again serving,” Baccam said (excerpt from Iowa’s News Now).
Baccam has a passion for serving the streets of Cedar Rapids and believes that his food can bring different communities together. His motto “food is love” is modeled by the commitment Baccam puts in his business and the effort that goes into each meal made inside that truck.
“My motto is ‘food is love’ because I believe that we are all different in our own ways, but one thing that’s guaranteed to bring us together, no matter where we are from, is food,” Baccam said. “Once people are brought together, that is a perfect example of love in my opinion.”
