The Great Food Truck Race, Season 4: Behind the Scenes of Episode 4

Go behind Episode 4 of The Great Food Truck Race, Season 4 on Food Network.

Photo By: Jerry Rawlings

Small Town Strategy

Tyler welcomes the five remaining teams to the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota, just outside of their next stop of Rapid City, a small town with a sophisticated tourism industry. He says "the competition is about to get fierce," as the teams face competition from local businesses. Each with a meager $50 in seed money, the teams must be strategic in what they buy.

Transportation Dilemma

Tyler said he wouldn't be calling the teams with any menu restrictions, but he didn't say he wouldn't call at all. While the teams are doing their shopping for the day, Tyler informs them that their follow cars will be towed. Only two people can ride in the truck, so the teams are left to figure out how to get around and restock without leaving one person behind.

Counting on the Community

The Slide Show and Aloha Plate set up in the town square, a prime location with high foot traffic. Both teams sell out of product in no time and end up running back and forth to the market, whereas the other teams depend on hitching rides with customers to get their groceries.

Location, Location, Location

Philly's decides to move locations and tries to find a better spot in the town square, but they're turned down for space. They end up finding a spot farther down Main Street, where Tikka Tikka Taco is already having a slow go of it.

If They Won't Come, Find Them

The ladies of Bowled and Beautiful move to the Alex Johnson Hotel to try and get more business than their previous location, but it turns out to be a bust. They leave the truck, plates in hand, in hopes of wrangling up customers.

Earn It to Win It

Aloha Plate takes their last orders for the day just as Tyler calls to let the teams know they can pick up their cars at the tow yard for $100. That night they must turn in their cash boxes to have their sales tallied.

Free to Roam

Without any restrictions on day two, the teams are free to take up spots in the town square. Tikka Tikka Taco and Bowled and Beautiful join Aloha Plate, the team hoping for repeat successes from the previous day. The Slide Show is getting a good flow of customers at a local church.

Brotherly Love and Hate

Philly's Finest Sambonis is also headed to the square, but a bread fiasco has them reaching their boiling point. Unfortunately the bakery only filled half their bread order, and the guys get into a shouting match. Right after parking in the square, tensions erupt between Erik and Joe when Joe forgets the cash box in the car; in the end the guys work it out with brotherly love.

First Come, First Served

Before they know it, Tyler calls the teams with their Truck Stop challenge: They'll need to butcher a quarter side of buffalo to use in their menus. The one catch is that the teams will be sent off to Wild Idea Buffalo Company in 15-minute increments based on sales from the day before. Aloha Plate gets to go first. In most cases the teams end up taking less meat than they intend just because of the sheer difficulty of breaking it down.

Sell, Sell, Sell

Once the teams have their meat in hand, they must cook dishes priced at $10 with a goal of making $1,500 in sales. When they reach their goal, they then can race to Skyline Drive, where they will find three tokens worth $750, $500 and $250. If by 8:30pm the goal isn't met, the chance is lost. Philly's Finest Sambonis was the last team to get their buffalo meat, so it's really important for them to sell as fast as they can.

Are You Game for Game?

All the teams have easily adapted buffalo to fit their signature dishes, just a little bit on the gamey side. While the teams of Tikka Tikka Taco, Philly's Finest Sambonis, and Bowled and Beautiful are splitting sales at a warehouse store, Aloha Plate is back at the town square, where the crowds haven't let them down. By the end of the day, all the trucks head to the square with hopes of making their sales goals.

Kings of the Hill

The guys of Aloha Plate sell their last sandwich to Tikka Tikka Taco and head to Skyline Drive to claim the first token, earning them $750, which will be added to their till. Tikka Tikka Taco and The Slide Show claim the remaining tokens. Bowled and Beautiful and Philly's Finest Sambonis both do not make their goal and run out of food to serve.

Dizzying Numbers

On elimination day, the teams learn their sales have totaled just under $25,000, an unprecedented sum. But, as Tyler says, "there is a flip side": One of the teams will go home with a number that would have normally put them in first place in a previous city. Aloha Plate comes in first place with a stunning total of $6,841.

Fall from the Top

Both teams in the bottom two, Philly's Finest Sambonis and Bowled and Beautiful, have been winners in previous cities. With a margin of $122, Philly's comes in fourth place, which means the ladies of Bowled and Beautiful have to say goodbye. Tyler congratulates them for a bold run in the race, proving that single moms shouldn't be underestimated. Read the team's exit interview on FN Dish.

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