For one food truck, an easy &#39A&#39

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Dave Danhi and Michele Grant own the grilled cheese truck, one of the most popular food trucks in L.A. They've been on the Food Network, the BBC, the Rachel Ray Show, and they've got over 30 thousand twitter followers. But all that buzz pales in importance to the grade they got today - a straight A from the health department. Building on the success of the restaurant grading program, the Board of Supervisors decided last October that L.A. food trucks would also receive letter grades.


Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky explained the new system: "People will vote with their feet...They'll go to a cart that has a grade, rather than take their chances on one that doesn't have a grade cause they'll know that something's up." By next June, all trucks should have a grade - if they don't, they're illegal.


The Grilled Cheese Truck is among the first trucks to get graded. Danhi says his truck was already getting inspected every few months - with the new rating system he'll now get to broadcast the results. The letter grade will be obviously displayed on the front of the truck.


Danhi welcomes the new level of scrutiny: "The term roach coach is out there or was out there for a reason - I think what this is going to help do is get rid of that...and it's going to get rid of the people who just don't care."


Public health inspectors have a busy schedule ahead. They plan to inspect the 6,000 mobile food operations in L.A. - from large trucks to small hand carts - by June 2012 .


Inspections will be unannounced. To track the trucks down, the public health department will have to do what we do - find their routes online and follow them on twitter.


L.A .is the first city to apply grades to food trucks and mobile vendors. Officials are hoping this new program will have the same success as its restaurant program - which brought food borne illnesses down 13 percent.


Trucks that aren't as fortunate as the Grilled Cheese Truck will get two chances to up their grade - otherwise that B or C sticks for a year.


With melts full of marshmallow cream, Fritos, and homemade chili - and displaying a big, fat A grade - the grilled cheese truck made itself very popular today with employees from the Public Health Department.


For Annenberg Radio News, I'm Emily Frost.

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