Asian food truck to make Sioux Falls debut

Sept. 9, 2020

A Mitchell-based Asian food truck is making its Sioux Falls debut Saturday, complete with an egg roll and crab rangoon eating contest.

Kusina will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Nrdvana at 49th Street and Western Avenue.

Owner Gwen Moore, who grew up in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. in 2004 when she got married, started her Filipino “kusina’ or “kitchen” last year. While she and her husband, Monte, are busy serving lunch three or four times a week in Mitchell, they have brought Kusina to Hartford a few times at the invite of Buffalo Ridge Brewing and the farmers market.

They’ve built a following in Hartford even with that limited exposure.

“For us, every time we are in Hartford, we turn our freezer or fridge upside down” to feed the steady line of customers, Moore said.

She said she finally decided to get a license to serve in Sioux Falls to help out family. Her stepdaughter and son-in-law, Carissa and Patrick Wilson, own Nrdvana.

Saturday’s menu will include pork jerky; sweet and sour chicken, pork or shrimp; General Tso’s chicken or pork; calamari shrimp; egg roll or pork sticks combos; and crab rangoon.

Now that Kusina has a license here, Moore is open to taking other bookings in the city.

Patrick Wilson is coordinating the eating contest. He’s encouraging competitors to sign up in advance at the store, 2109 W. 49th St.

Contestants will be able to stop by anytime while the food truck is in the parking lot. They’ll have up to 10 minutes to eat 10 crab rangoons and 10 egg rolls. Finish times will be posted on a leaderboard, and the fastest eater will be the winner. The entry fee is $25, and the winner will get half of the total entries, minus taxes.

Nrdvana has been open since April.

“It’s the first consignment shop specifically targeting nerds. We take your nerdy things and sell them for you. We take other people’s nerdy things and sell them to you,” Wilson said. “We have a wide variety of constantly changing inventory. We get new products every single day. We do aim to advertise for our customers and do some selling on eBay to TCGplayer to even Facebook. We do all the work for you. You get 60 percent or more for your items once they sell.”

Merchandise ranges from video games and collectibles to anime, manga and comic books.

“People think this is a cheap store to shop, but this is more of like a premium, like I have vintage, old stuff that people no longer have the space for in their homes.”

Nrdvana also carries Foxing Crafty items made by Carissa Wilson. She sews custom embroidered items such as blankets, pillows and jackets, and also crafts “nerdy” pinatas such as Pokemon balls.

“She could make you almost anything,” Wilson said.

Lately, she has been sewing COVID-19 face masks using “nerdy-themed” prints.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

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Asian food truck to make Sioux Falls debut

Here’s your chance to check out a Mitchell-based Asian food truck that’s gaining a following, see how fast you can eat crab rangoon and egg rolls, and check out a “nerdy” consignment store.

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