Justin Hanks had a bit of a different home life than his friends growing up. The Oakdale High School Class of 1996 alum shared dinner at his home was always interesting.

Growing up in a bi-racial family of two passionate cooks often times lent itself to two entrees at dinner time. While his American father might present a Beef Wellington meal, his mom would not be too far behind with a Japanese-inspired dish to accompany it.

“I definitely had great teachers. Both of my parents are excellent cooks,” Hanks shared of his passion for cooking from both ethnic backgrounds.

Now, after a long career with Comcast, Hanks took what might have been deemed a disappointment and turned it into opportunity. First beginning with the company straight out of high school, 12 years ago he accepted a promotion and relocated to Colorado with the company. Feeling a bit homesick and wanting to return to the 95361, he secured a position back home in 2020.

The shutdown of the pandemic, however, had other plans and Hanks found himself home, but without a job. Growing up with two great cooks and sharing a passion for making good food, Hanks turned to the food truck business.

“That’s actually why I wanted a food truck,” he said of launching his business during the pandemic, “because with all the lockdowns it was not a great time to open a restaurant.”

After a little bit of research and some brainstorming, East Meats West, was born. A food truck which is not the typical simple theme of food on the go.

“A little different than a lot of the food trucks,” the founder said. “They specialize in tacos or pizza and build something around that. Mine is more of a restaurant concept. I wanted to be able to serve western food and also Japanese, Chinese and Korean food as well.”

In order to do that, Hanks would have to enlist the help of a company to build his food truck from the ground up. A project that would take six months to host all the amenities he needed as well as comply with county guidelines.

“I’ve always had a passion for food,” Hanks said of his vision for a food truck with a bit of a different flare. “A lot of the stuff I took from both of them (his mom and dad) and combined it into one truck.”

That one truck comes complete with flat top, oven, grills, fryers, fridge and freezers. Tipping the scale at 10,000 pounds makes it quite the establishment on wheels.

Once completed and ready to serve, Hanks began his business using Dying Breed in Oakdale as a home base. He now visits Last Call in Oakdale every Wednesday, as well as Contentment Brewery and Tapped Apple in Modesto.

“We’ve built up a decent reputation in Oakdale,” the self-taught cook/truck owner shared. “We have a bunch of faithful customers. It’s been great.”

So great in fact that approximately 50 percent of his Wednesday night customers at Last Call are take out; patrons coming from as far as Stockton, Valley Springs and Sonora.

“That’s what I enjoy the most, is the people that are enjoying the food,” he explained. “It’s something different for them. That was the goal I had in mind was to get something different out here in the valley that I enjoyed growing up.”

With roots in Oakdale, Hanks knew he needed to add something for the customer that didn’t want to experiment or try something new. Hence the blend of Western food with an Asian complement.

“That’s kind of how I was raised too,” he said of the two cuisines, noting the variety his parents brought to the table. “Even if it was a fancy dinner my dad was making, I always had some kind of Asian inspiration in there too.”

The East Meats West Food Truck menu offers something for everyone, including a kids meal menu. Items like Bao and Yakitori Meals for those looking for the true Asian flare, pork belly options and the well-known bowls are all offered at an affordable price and made to order on the food truck. For the traditional western eater, Hanks has you covered as well, offering a burgundy pepper tri-tip sandwich, pulled pork sandwich and even homemade corndogs.

Much of the fare was inspired by Hanks’ travels to Japan often as a youth.

“Street food there is completely different to what we consider, at least in the rural areas,” Hanks said of the delicious food he ate while there. “Food trucks are still accepted, in Japan it’s everywhere. Everyone eats off a food truck. It was interesting and it was something unique to me, so I wanted to bring that to Oakdale.”

For the customer looking to break away from traditional western cuisine, East Meats West also offers combo meals, bringing the two flavors together.

“Almost everything we do is from scratch,” he said. “I didn’t want to do a standard food truck. I wanted to do more restaurant style. It takes us about two full days of prep to do one dinner serving.”

And while he has his sights set to someday settle in a brick-and-mortar location, for now, Hanks is happy with the nature of the business he has started.

“I’m enjoying what I do,” he confided, “much better than managing people or spread sheets. Plus, I get to work with my family. I’m having a good time.”

He also has another goal, expanding the reach of his truck to more generations of residents.

“I’m just really hoping we can break into the Oakdale market more. Especially the older community,” Hanks shared. “They don’t look at food trucks as a viable option. I’m hoping that we slowly start to turn that.”

East Meats West can be found on all social media platforms, as well as on their website: eastmeatswestfoodtruck.com