Mike Isabella Launches 1-Day Only Food Truck In Washington, D.C.

Before taking the Washington, D.C. restaurant scene by storm with the openings of Bandolero and Graffiato, chef-owner Mike Isabella charmed fans with his larger-than-life personality on Bravo's Top Chef. Now, he's set his sights on the streets of the city, with the upcoming pop-up food truck version of Graffiato, opening for one day only July 25.

The Graffiato/CityEats food truck (a collaboration between the restaurant and its reservation partner), will stop at various locations throughout the city, including at Dupont Circle, Union Station, Franklin Park, Farragut North, and the National Mall. Instead of cooking the food on the truck, Isabella will dole out tastes and bites prepared at the restaurant. He explains, "I've always wanted to do a food truck, but it's very hard to do well. If you don't have a restaurant, you're out at the market buying and prepping food daily. Then you hope for good weather and good sales to move through product and be profitable."

It may seem strange that Isabella would be taking time away from his wildly successful brick-and-mortar restaurants to take on this food truck venture, but according to a statement released this morning, he reasons that, "Even with CityEats, it can be hard to get a seat at Graffiato because of the high demand, so I'm bringing Graffiato to people all over D.C."

In addition to enjoying the food and the thrill of being served by Isabella, diners will have the opportunity to partake in his "Challenge Your Palate" contest, which encourages customers to try identifying the ingredients in the dishes. Those who guess correctly will have the chance to win a meal at Graffiato, signed advanced copies of the chef's upcoming cookbook Mike Isabella's Crazy Good Italian, various Breville products, or an iPod.