By Irene Huang Photos by Irene Huang
For those of you following the food truck scene in DFW, I’m pretty sure you are excited and curious our latest addition, the Coolhaus Truck. And for those who haven’t experienced food truck yet, this is one you don’t want to miss. First of all, what is Coolhaus?
“COOLHAUS is a triple entendre – a play on three of our favorites:
1. Bauhaus, an influential modernist design movement of the 1920’s and 30’s.
2. Rem Koolhaas, the famous Dutch Architect and Theorist who challenged the mantra “Form follows Function.”
3. “Cool house,” isn’t that what you’re eating – an ice cream sandwich deconstructed into a cookie roof and floor slab with ice cream walls?”
Natasha and Freya, the founders and co-owners of Coolhaus, started baking and making ice cream in 2008. From there, they had the idea to start an ice cream sandwich truck and it launched in April 2009.
I contacted Natasha and she was gracious enough to answer some of my questions.
Where did your love for architecture come from? Did you go to school for it? Have you worked in the field?
I have seven years of architectural training. I was a Major of Architecture at UC Berkeley (2005) and then completed my Masters of Architecture at UCLA in 2008. My father is also an architect, so I grew up loving good design.
How many different flavors of cookies and ice creams have you come up with to-date?
There have been over 60 ice cream flavors to grace the Coolhaus menu, and about 15 cookie choices. Today, if the truck carried all the cookies and ice cream flavors at once, you could eat a new sandwich every day for about 1.5 years.
Do you have a favorite combination of all time? If so, which one(s)?
My go-to is the Double Chocolate cookie + Dirty Mint Chip ice cream… but right now I’m also addicted to the Fried
Flapjack cookie is one of my favorites too! I met Gary over the weekend at the Frisco StrEATS event. He told me a little bit about the partnership with the Nammi Truck in Dallas. How will the collaboration work? Will we be seeing your products on Nammi trucks, or vice versa?
Gary and Teena licensed the brand to bring it to Dallas with a Coolhaus truck, so I don’t think they’ll be selling it on Nammi—however, expect A LOT of outings of the two trucks together.
What are some other reasons for choosing Dallas?
I was attracted to Dallas because we already have an operation in Austin, and it’s nice to grow regionally. Also, Dallas generally has good weather, and is a large city with good industry and an eager audience for the product.
Where will the next appearance be in Dallas? We’re anxiously waiting for your schedule to be posted.
The next location is pending currently—but we should have that posted soon.
I’m so happy they are in DFW. I’ve personally had their creative combinations every time I’ve been to LA, whether from the truck, from the store in Culver City, and from Whole Foods stores. Now I don’t have to fly all the way to California to enjoy it. What will YOUR favorite combination be?
Be sure to visit the Coolhaus website often to stay up to date with their locations. They will be at the TX Food Truck Fest next weekend (May 11-12, 2012), south of the Valley View Mall.
Check out Irene Huang at her blog Chomp!
Allways good to see another interesting truck. I hope they will be able to set up in front of the Wyly Theater (The Coolhaus in front of the Koolhaus).