Sunny Up - Bad Ass Women Making Bad Ass breakfast.
/I love breakfast. There's something about getting up early, slipping into old jeans without a shower and heading out for food. And when I say food, I don’t mean a bowl of cereal or some cut up fruit. I mean the kind of morning meal that your doctor probably doesn’t approve of — meat, eggs, fried potatoes and dough. I’m talking about a badass breakfast.
For over four years I lived in a South American country where getting breakfast out was limited to brunch after 11. You had to make an advance plan and get organized. But real breakfast isn’t about a plan; it’s about taming the hungry beast within so that, sometime thereafter, you can make a plan. Then I came to Seattle, where breakfast out is a thing. And a place that excites me during the early hours of West Seattle is Sunny Up. It’s a food truck that’s all about outrageously good egg sandwiches inspired by famously badass women and made by badass women. And the quality of breakfasts that Sunny Up cranks out is, in a word: Badass.
The forces driving this truck are the two women who empowered themselves to start it. Ande Janousek and Tara Zumpino were both highly experienced in the food business; Ande was a well-seasoned chef including as Executive Chef in Seattle’s Pan Pacific Hotel; Tara was a pro in the front of the house, including as Food & Beverage Manager of the same Pan Pacific. They met there, worked together and after a while started dating. Together, these two were the perfect storm for something bold and new, and they soon decided to leave the stuffy world of high-brow dining for something smaller and more in touch with people on the street. That’s when in 2018 they started Sunny Up, creating breakfast sandwiches which reflect the fierceness of badass women who had been influential in their lives. They strategically parked themselves in commercial areas and quickly earned a loyal following. But when COVID hit and Seattle’s offices emptied they needed to pivot in order to survive. So instead of sitting in an empty downtown waiting for the people to come to them, they took their truck to the people, parking in residential neighborhoods where their customers worked from makeshift home offices. It was a smart move — bringing familiar comfort food to their customers when and where they needed it most. Today, Sunny Up can be seen at curbs from North Seattle to South and many places in between.
Peering thru Sunny Up’s window, it’s easy to see the expertise inside. Even a big food truck feels a little smaller with every order cooked. But Ande and Tara have it down to a dance, moving around each other smoothly, each knowing what they need to do and where they need to be. There is no commotion; no lack of control. They have their made-to-order egg sandwiching down pat and the results are instantly tasted.
The names of the eight or so sandwiches at Sunny Up each fit their individual design, developed by Ande and Tara to reflect the strength and fierceness of the eponymous names upon which they have riffed. Changemakers the likes of Frida Kahlo, Patsy Cline and Ruth Bader Ginsburg inspired the uniqueness of each menu item.
Perhaps the most popular sandwich flying out of the truck is the Josephine Baken, with powerful pepper bacon atop that perfect egg and adorned with white cheddar, tomato jam and a smooth thyme aioli. Like its namesake badass, the sandwich is both artistic and bold, unafraid to lure an eater in with its good looks and appeal, then hit her between the eyes with unexpectedly big flavors. It’s so good that it feels like an important food statement.
The Sausage Patti Smith (at very top) is also a best seller. Part punk, part poetry, it’s composed of Sunny Up’s own homemade Italian sausage - so rich and spicy - and melty provolone draping over the edges inside an ever-so-crispy Telera roll. A gently-cooked egg is slipped within — the soft yolk not quite oozing to the point of mess — with sweet red peppers and caramelized onions elevating it all to a new level. It’s both delicate and robust at the same time, filled with flavor and cooked by a skilled hand. Patti would definitely approve.
In a more contemporary vein, there is the Mia Ham — an athletic sandwich filled with rosemary ham, egg, havarti and kick-ass roasted garlic aioli. And the Nina Smoked Salmone fills all need for silky fish with dill cream cheese and pickled onion in the morning. Who needs lox and bagels when Nina’s singing her song! Of course, not everything needs to be packed with alerting taste to still be classically delicious and mindfully satisfying. Like the Plain Jane Goodall, consisting of pillowy scrambled eggs carefully blended with white cheddar. Like Dr. Goodall herself, it may not scream excitement, but its clean and direct flavor is so good it will make you appreciate the power and sophistication of its simplicity.
For additional badassness, you can have your sandwich “stuffed” with Sunny Up’s trademark Harissa salt laced hash brown, or have it on the side — they don’t judge —just don’t miss it when you ask for your ridiculously good side of cinnamon/sugar coated Hot Donut Holes fresh from inside the truck. Carpe Diem, bad ass!
Wanna know where and when? Check their website and schedule it in your calendar as a mandatory event.
Sunny Up foodtruck, Seattle WA
