For a night at the markets, a stop at a festival or dinner from the truck that parks up the road each week. Takeaway prices across Australia over ten years, and what to look for and ask at the window.
The price, ten years on
Take away and fast foods, across Australia, from the ABS Consumer Price Index. The class holds takeaway, delivered meals and fast food suitable to eat straight away, not pizza alone.
June 2016$100
June 2026$140
$136Everything a household buys, over the same years
Up over ten years, by more than everything a household buys.
$90$100$110$120$130$140$150$140$136
20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Take away and fast foodsAll groups CPI, everything a household buys
Ordering pizza from a pizza truck. The first half is what to look for yourself. Put the second half to each place you try.
Look for
Where and when the truck parksIts regular spots and hours, and which events it plans to be at.
The menu boardSizes, toppings and any pizza of the day, read before you reach the front.
How the pizzas are cookedA wood or gas oven in the truck, and whether bases are made fresh.
How the queue is movingA long line at a busy event may mean a wait, so order early.
Ways to payCard, cash or both, which matters at a market stall with no cash machine.
Ask
01How long until my pizza is ready?Ask for a name or number to listen for when it comes out.
02Can I order ahead and collect?Handy before a busy night.
03What goes on each pizza?Name any ingredient you need to avoid, and ask how the truck handles it.
04Can I swap or leave off a topping?Ask whether a change adds to the price.
05Do you have a base without gluten, or a pizza without meat or cheese?Ask too how it is kept apart from the others in the oven.
06Where will the truck be next week?So you can find it again.
From pizzatruck.com.au, a concept page.
Choosing a truck
Watch a few pizzas come out before you join the queue. The crust, the spread of toppings and how quickly the oven turns them over tell you most of what you need.
If a truck parks near you on the same night each week, try one plain pizza first. A simple margherita shows the dough and the sauce with nothing to hide behind.
Asking every truck the same questions
At a market with several trucks, put the same few questions to each: the wait, what goes on the pizza, and whether a topping can change. The answers are easy to set side by side.
Keep the name of the truck you liked and where it parks. Finding it again is often the hardest part.
Shows whether a business's ABN is active or cancelled, its business type and its GST status, and the Register says the public can use it to check a business before buying.