valentine's day Chicago food truck Flirty Cupcakes shut down by local police, now back up and running

From The Wall Street Journal (via Hit & Run), which covers Flirty Cupcakes and other Chicago food trucks being shut down temporarily:

Chicago's rules are for health and sanitary reasons. The City Council is currently considering some changes in food-truck laws. Brick-and-mortar restaurants are fighting the mobile insurgency, chasing trucks from their street fronts, calling police and snapping photos of the vendors in hopes of catching them illegally parked.

Holly Sjo, owner of The Cupcake Counter, a year-old downtown shop, called the cops when she spotted Ms. Kurtz parked near her business in a spot she believed to be illegal.

"She seems to only park next to other people's cupcake shops," Ms. Sjo says.

Ms. Kurtz denies the accusation. "I would never want to do that to another cupcake business," she says.

The food truck concept is "a quaint idea," says Dan Rosenthal, owner of Sopraffina Marketcaffe, a chain of Italian restaurants in Chicago. "But when you get right down to it, it creates an unlevel playing field."

A food-truck operation can get off the ground for under $150,000, while many restaurants spend more than $1 million on real estate and equipment to open their doors.

"It's an elitist thing," says food-trucker Mr. Maroni. "Just step up your game," he says. "McDonald's doesn't ask Burger King if they can open up across the street."

From Flirty Cupcakes on Facebook, today's schedule:

AON Building - Stetson Side 11:30-12:45
Monroe/Dearborn - 1:15-2:30
State/Lake 3:00-4:00
Adams/Wacker 4:30-5:45

You can also follow @flirtycupcakes on Twitter for the latest news.

Some of their fall cupcakes, also via Facebook:


"Great Pumpkin Patch" - A brown butter pumpkin cupcake snuggled in a maple pecan frosting...good grief, there really is a "great pumpkin"


"Cinnahoneystreusel"..yep like Bradgalina, this cinnamon spice cupcake is swirled with a cinnamon, honey cream cheese frosting and topped off with a cinnamon streusel crumble...a partnership made in heaven!


"S'more Me Over" - A moist chocolate cupcake, layered with a graham cracker bottom and a melt in your mouth marshmallow frosting...you may find yourself belting out Kumbaya is if you were by the campfire!

And even though Halloween is over, I wanted to share this spider cupcake, because it made me smile: