Dim and Den Sum food truck now a fixture at the Cleveland Clinic farmers market

By Kaye Spector

Plain Dealer Health and Medical Writer

Setting up his Dim and Den Sum food truck at the Cleveland Clinic’s farmers market was a no-brainer for chef Chris Hodgson.

After all, he uses only fresh ingredients, grown or raised locally, just like what’s sold at the farmers market. Hodgson also likes the idea of serving — and selling — well-prepared food to the people from whom he bought the ingredients.

And then there’s the sheer number of potential customers: nearly 22,000 Clinic employees at the main campus, where the farmers market will continue for the next four Wednesdays this year.

That’s a lot more fish tacos and blue burgers than Dim and Den Sum sells at some of its other haunts, like late at night outside the Flying Monkey in Tremont or the Happy Dog in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.

The Clinic invited Hodgson, his three helpers and his revamped FedEx truck to its main-campus farmers market to induce people other than hospital employees to patronize the weekly event.

The market was created as a way to offer nutritious food to Clinic employees, patients and visitors as well as residents of the surrounding Fairfax neighborhood, where it’s difficult to find fresh food.

But a few things had to happen before the truck could participate. Hodgson had to retool his high-end menu to comply with Clinic guidelines for food sold on its premises: No trans fat, no added sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, no fried foods.

That meant Dim and Den Sum couldn’t serve its signature dish: handmade tater tots, served with fancy sauces. “We had a huge following, just for tater tots,” Hodgson says.

Hodgson and his crew took the potato treats off the menu. Each week they instead create three Clinic-friendly side dishes. On Wednesday, there was couscous with almonds, cilantro, red onion and cranberries; a Greek-yogurt parfait with almonds, granola and Ohio honey; and corn salad with smoked carrots and basil.

Because Dim and Den Sum is a movable feast, the business has to get the word out often and quickly about where it’s going to set up shop and what’s going to be sold, both of which change from day to day and, sometimes, on short notice.

Its fans keep track of Dim and Den’s movements and menu by “liking” the business on Facebook, checking on dimanddensum.com or following @DimAndDenSum on Twitter.

A tweet brought Caitlin Hooi, 28, to the farmers market on Wednesday. She made a detour from her home in North Ridgeville to her business in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood to lunch at the food truck.

Hooi, who had never been to the Clinic farmers market, was disappointed she couldn’t buy any tater tots. “It makes me very sad. They’re amazing,” she said, laughing while waiting for her gourmet burger topped with blue cheese, sweet slaw and lettuce.

Hodgson is hoping to compete in the Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race.” As of Wednesday, fans who voted for Dim and Den Sum on the Food Network’s website (foodnetwork.com/the-great-food-truck-race) have put the business in third place.

The main-campus market, operated by the North Union Farmers Market, is open Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. through Oct. 6.