LANSING - "Hippy Chic" is the name of the dish.

It's made of chipotle kohlrabi slaw, hemp seeds, black beans, lentils, quinoa, heirloom tomatoes, avocado and marinated veggies, and it's served from the inside of an orange-and-black trailer parked along Michigan Avenue just west of U.S. 127.

Lisa Williams stares at the chalkboard menu, considering it. She can't make up her mind.

"So far I got the Northern Soul, that’s where we’re starting," said her daughter, Parios Kirby. The two were sharing dishes so they can try a little of everything.

The Northern Soul is braised pork with cherry gastrique, brown butter beet greens on smoked cheddar grits "and it is delicious," she said. "I’m a big fan of what Zane does."

That would be Zane Vicknair, the chef at the new Street Kitchen, a farm to table mobile food truck that opened Aug. 15 at the corner of East Michigan Avenue and Detroit Street.

His roots are at comfort food. He likes to make simple dishes that let the ingredients shine.

Vicknair previously co-owned Golden Harvest, the Old Town breakfast joint. Street Kitchen is similar in certain ways. The chalkboard with the names of each of the uniquely named dishes for the day lists the ingredients in each. The helpings are more than ample and served up beautifully. The music coming from the speakers outside the trailer was classic soul.

And Vicknair is still doing the cooking, along with his food truck kitchen staff.

The menu is small. There are "big" bites - such as "Where There's Smoke" with smoked chicken, corn succotash, spicy tomato demi glace and fried leeks. There are sandwiches, such as the Pickle Rick, with carnitas, ham, pickled jalapenos and onions, quick dill pickles and swiss on Stone Circle bread with chipotle kohlrabi slaw.

Those cost $15 and $14 respectively. Based on the setting, that might seem pricey. Based on the taste and the ingredients, it's a bargain.

There are the small bites, like beet salad, heirloom tomato salad or spice roasted carrots and cauliflower, at $7.

"For us it's about being affordable, accessible," Vicknair said. "We want to use local products and fresh ingredients. We want to cook in a lighter manner. We want to bridge it so that you can have this food, and it doesn't have to be at a fancy restaurant."

And, according to Kirby, it's "different, it's good, light," Kirby said. "Breakfast kind of comes with a lot more expectations. This shines in a different form. It shows more ability. And it’s a fun environment. The people love serving it. They love saying hey."

Vicknair started cooking out of necessity.

"I was a homeless youth and needed to have a job," he said. "I applied at the local Italian restaurant down the street. I was 13. The guy said I was too young, and he let me wash his cars, pick up trash in the parking lot. The third week he told me to wash dishes."

Within six months, he was on the line.

"We didn’t eat at home," he said. "I don’t have a tradition of food in my family. My mom was known for the boxed macaroni and cheese and the hot dogs and the green beans in the can."

But, once he started cooking, it seemed limitless, important.

"It’s not just nourishment," he said. "You choose what you eat. You put a little intent behind it, you can have a quality meal. And that’s with life, too."

The menu at Street Kitchen will change, aggressively. What you eat today, may not be there next week.

"A lot of my process is being inspired by one or two ingredients and building a dish off of that," Vicknair said. "Every time I go shopping I get inspired...And I think that’s what’s going to make us unique. We’ll be able to offer something new almost every time you come."

They're using local food, and that's not cheap, he explained. They don't use styrofoam. As a matter of fact, they're using anything but styrofoam, and that's not cheap. And, it's important for him to pay a living wage.

"I really appreciate the way that we’ve structured this," he said. "Food comes out a lot faster and we're trying to make a sustainable impact on the environment, our culture, our society, by offering healthier, lighter meals."

Even down to the fact that they're using biodegradable plasticware and paper goods, trying to recompost all of the vegetable waste and built the furniture and seating from the crates the equipment came in.

"Cooking on a truck is amazing," said chef Lissa Blon-Jacot, who worked at Golden Harvest for six years. "I wake up with a smile every day. I have worked with Zane for long enough that we are family. I worked throughout a pregnancy at Golden Harvest. He catered my wedding. We’re of the same mind."

"And it's nice to cook something different," she added. "I like spreading my wings."

Vicknair didn't plan to open a food truck. He would have never done this just for himself, he says. But for his community, he finds motivation.

After 13 years of co-owning and operating Golden Harvest, Vicknair left in February following a separation with his wife, co-owner Vanessa Vicknair. She still owns and operates the breakfast spot.

The Street Kitchen project totally caught him by surprise.

"Jeff Deehan is the principal investor in Street Kitchen," Vicknair said. "He hired me to put together a concept."

Deehan, a Lansing-based developer and his project manager Matt McNeil, are transforming the building at 2722 E. Michigan Ave., next to Street Kitchen, into a mixed use redevelopment project.

"Jeff wants to create positive places for community out of underutilized resources," Vicknair said. "He's got this wacky group of odd, small-time entrepreneurs that have these really critical functions, and he wants to be able to provide a safe place for them to be able to do what they need to do."

Businesses housed inside include Breakout, Revival Skate Shop, Studio 707 Productions recording studio, Health & Harmony Massage and Wellness Center and Lansing Somali Bantu Organization.

Vicknair ultimately plans to take his restaurant into the building, too, to grow Street Kitchen into the People's Kitchen, named for a California soup kitchen and co-op where "they wanted to feed people healthy, nutritious meals in a atmosphere of dignity and respect. It didn’t matter where you came from, and you had to work for your food. It was something that left an impression on me."

"It seems to be in natural direction for us to grow into," he said. "Right now we're primarily focused on Street Kitchen and would like to see where it organically grows from there. We are very excited to be part of the growing Eastside community, and feel we can contribute a valuable component to our neighborhood.

Vicknair has coordinated and opened shelter meal programs and homeless training culinary programs. He helped to open Boomtown Café in Seattle in 1999, a non-profit restaurant where customers could pay in food stamps or trade odd jobs for meals.

"I feel like a critical component is the accessibility," Vicknair said. "So when I had a chance to do this, I’m looking at doing the People's Kitchen again. And since the People's Kitchen is going to be in this building right here, the first phase of the People's Kitchen is Street Kitchen."

Contact Vickki Dozier at (517) 267-1342 or vdozier@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickkiD.

Street Kitchen

Open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., then from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the corner of East Michigan Avenue and Detroit Street