Two Triangle food trucks make TV debuts, with different results

Ever try to make a tasty, fresh burrito from a frozen one? American Meltdown food truck owner Paul Inserra tried on Food Network’s "Cutthroat Kitchen" but ended up with what looked like a quesadilla.

Inserra survived the first round, where chefs were challenged to build a breakfast sandwich. Inserra, used to making deluxe grilled cheese sandwiches in the Triangle area on his award-winning food truck, combined homemade pimento cheese and fried egg on cheese encrusted bread to win over the judge.

But Inserra was sent packing in the second round after he was sabotaged by a Miami food truck operator. Inserra was forced to thaw frozen burritos to harvest ingredients for his own creation.

“None of these ingredients are going to be awesome by themselves,” Inserra said of his strategy. “So I am thinking just one big stir fry that will be like a pepper steak burrito.”

He also had to prep his food on the lower level of a pseudo double-decker bus, with another chef cooking over top of him.

The show, titled “The Truck Stops Here,” first aired Sunday night. The episode airs again with host Alton Brown at 8 p.m. Sept. 2 and 3 a.m. Sept. 3.

A second Triangle food truck, Pho Nomenal Dumplings of Raleigh, survived their TV debut in "The Great Food Truck Race" on the Food Network. They are one of six teams still competing for the $50,000 grand prize. The premiere aired Sunday and will be shown again at 2 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday. The next new episode airs at 9 p.m. Sunday.