PORTLAND — The two final contenders on “The Great Food Truck Race” television show battled it out in the Old Port over the weekend, to the delight of local foodies.

The Food Network show arrived Saturday night on Fore Street and continued on Commercial Street on Sunday with the two final contestants attracting crowds of both customers and the curious.

Additional Photos

Lisa Nativo, right, and Jessica Stambach of Nonna’s Kitchenette are filmed by Dave Landry as they prepare to open their truck during the Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race” on Commercial Street in Portland on Sunday. Photos by Jill Brady/Staff Photographer

Yong Kim writes specials at the Seoul Sausage truck.

Ted Kim, center, leads the gathering crowd in a cheer just before opening the Seoul Sausage truck as “The Great Food Truck Race” is filmed for the Food Network in Portland outside of Ri Ra’s Irish Pub on Commercial Street on Sunday.

Peter Cordice of Portland, front, and Al Farrisio of Florida are the first to try the Meatball Madness subs from Nonna’s Kitchenette on Sunday.

The finalists are Seoul Sausage Co., Korean-inspired street food, operated by brothers Yong and Ted Kim and chef Chris Oh, all of Los Angeles, and Nonna’s Kitchenette out of New Jersey, with Italian fast food served by Jaclyn Kolsby, Jessica Stambach and Lisa Nativo.

“I heard about it last night and we have watched the show,” said Josh Delano of Portland, one of the first customers to line up.

The irony is that food trucks are now banned in Portland. The show’s producers, who brought a crew of about 60, obtained a special temporary permit to set up shop in the Old Port.

A city task force has recommended partially lifting the ban and that is scheduled to be considered by the City Council’s Public Safety, Health and Human Services Committee meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at City Hall.

“I hope this opens the door to more,” said Delano.

In its third season, “The Great Food Truck Race” started filming seven weeks ago in Long Beach, Calif., with eight teams, and moved on to Flagstaff, Ariz.; Amarillo, Texas; Fayetteville, Ark.; Nashville, Tenn.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Boston before making its way to Maine. The team with the lowest sales was eliminated at each location.

The winners will receive $50,000 and their food truck, which is worth another $50,000.

“The great thing about the show is it is all about the money,” said Dean Ollins, executive producer.

Ollins said the amount of money the food trucks take in varies by location. Sales are smaller in big cities where the show generates less of a curiosity factor. One show filmed during a previous season in Manhattan, Kan., population about 52,000, created eight-hour-long lines at the food trucks.

The new season is set to air Aug. 19.

The producers revealed little about the latest season of the show but since it is filmed in public, it is sometimes hard to keep the latest developments from the public, said Ollins.

The show is hosted by celebrity chef Tyler Florence, who was staying in Portland but was not on the scene early Sunday afternoon.

For the contestants, the show is mentally and physically draining. They woke up Sunday morning not knowing whether they would stay in Portland or move on to another city.

The two teams bought their groceries for the day at Sam’s Club, then headed over to Commercial Street to prepare the food. Nonna’s Kitchenette was the first to start selling, at 12:04 p.m. It took Seoul Sausage another eight minutes to begin taking orders. While the lines were longer at Seoul Sausage, the service was faster at Nonna’s.

The two menus offered diners a contrast. Nonna’s featured fried raviolis with tomato sauce, meatball sandwiches and other traditional Italian fare.

Al Farrisio, who grew up in Maine and now lives in Fort Myers, Fla., was the first in line at Nonna’s, ordering one of everything on the menu.

“We are really hungry,” said Farrisio.

Seoul Sausage featured the unexpected, such as the K PopStar, a cherry cola float with ice cream and Pop Rocks candy that erupted like a volcano, and Korean TaTa, spiced french fries smothered with kimchi-infused nacho cheese.

Marilyn Hutchins of Portland and her husband, Timothy, said they are big fans of the show. After biting into a flaming rice ball, Hutchins said she was a fan of Seoul Sausage as well.

“It’s good,” said Hutchins.

The competition was scheduled to continue for 12 hours before Florence called it to a close. The show’s accountant was then scheduled to count the day’s earnings before declaring a winner, which the show’s producers said they would not reveal until the airing of the season’s final episode.

Staff Writer Beth Quimby can be contacted at 791-6363 or at:

bquimby@pressherald.com

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