Santa Fe is no stranger to street food. Callie's Galley and Roque's Carnitas are just two of the stalwart eateries that have beckoned folks who want a hot meal on the fly.

So far, though, the city's food-cart options can only be counted on two hands, while across the country, food-truck culture is rapidly growing to the tune of hundreds per city.

However, there's a new truck in town, and its name is Le Pod.

The Airstream creperie on the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Old Santa Fe Trail is shiny as a silver Tiffany & Co. charm with a cherry-red interior and bold graphics. Before its transformation, the Airstream, once a pockmarked, gutted wreck, would have looked right at home on Breaking Bad. Now, the refurbished trailer gleams and sparkles with a kitchen and custom serving windows.

Owner Jean-Luc Salles, who was one of the original owners of Slurp!, spent six months restoring the Airstream.

"Cats have nine lives, and it's the same with Airstream trailers. You can refurbish and redesign them at will and they last forever," said Salles, 50, a classically trained chef who hails from the Bordeaux region of France.

"Until recently, I had no other choice in my mind but to work in the traditional restaurant industry. I opened an upscale French restaurant in Austin, Texas, and enjoyed ... great success," Salles said in a recent interview. "But it also had some stress attached to it. Therefore, as I got older, I realized that maybe stress should not be such a big a part of my life."

Looking for change, Salles then began to explore ways in which "to do something similar, but much more low-key." On his search, Salles turned to his love of systems.

"I'm very interested in systems: how fast-food chains are able to establish systems so people can come and eat good food quickly, with great customer service and good value when it comes time to pay the bill," Salles said.

"A food trailer was pretty much the answer. It's a challenge to give customers restaurant quality within a fast-food system. But we do it. We serve people affordable food within five minutes."

Although French street food seemed like a natural venture, Salles said he and his wife, Frances Salles, mulled over many food options before they developed their game plan for Le Pod.

"There are lots of different styles of cuisine that attracted me. ... But, ultimately we went back to my origins: French," he said. "It made sense to introduce people to French street food; not the expensive stuff people think of -- uppity, classic cuisine -- but crepes and hot dogs."

Hot dogs?

"Yes, back in France, they made it [hot dogs] their own," he reasoned.

Instead of using traditional hot dog buns, Salles, like many French street vendors, uses unsliced baguettes to make what he calls "frog dogs."

To make a frog dog, Salles pierces the baguette and molds it lengthwise using a special hot dog-shaped heating element. He then slides a Hebrew National frank into the baguette and tops it with mustard and -- what else? -- green chile, a welcome nod to local cuisine ($7.75).

But much more than its frog dogs, Le Pod is known for its crepes.

Through the Airstream's large windows, customers are able to watch Salles in action making his crepes. First, he ladles crepe batter onto the hot griddle, then he spreads it evenly to form a perfect crepe, and finally, with a flick of his wrist, he flips it to cook the other side.

"What you see is what you get, and the big service window also goes with the idea of the theater," he said. "We open the window and it's like opening a curtain, and we put on a show."

The savory crepes ($7 to $7.75) are quite sophisticated, Salles said. The Normandie, for instance, is stuffed with braised pork, apples, crispy onions and cornichon pickles. Slathered in mornay sauce, the Parisienne is made with ham and Swiss cheese. For those who are not meat eaters, the Vegétarienne is filled with sweet potatoes, winter squash, pecans and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Classic sweet crepes ($3.25 to $4.25), such as sugar and lemon juice, Nutella, and fruit compote, also are made daily.

Le Pod also offers a potage du jour, or a soup of the day ($4.95 to $5.25), in addition to baguette sandwiches ($6.75 to $7), including a French Dip made with roast beef, horseradish and brie cheese. The menu also has side dishes, such as the Salade d'Airstream, which features beets and caramelized apples ($5.50).

For the time being, Salles said the current menu will not change, but he plans to alter it as the seasons change.

"I might add some little things here and there, [but] I'm always tweaking the menu," he said. "Every six months, we'll do a seasonal rotation. I'd like to expand into new forays, maybe meals to go in the evening ... but for the time being, what we have works pretty darn well."

Although Le Pod is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Salles said his 12-hour work days usually start at 7 a.m., when he begins food preparation and baking at a professional commissary kitchen.

"We have 19 foods to work with," he said, "and we have to make sure we don't run out of anything, including the packaging. It's a lot of work, but I like it. It's exciting to be part of the growing food-truck movement in Santa Fe."

IF YOU GO

What: Le Pod curbside cuisine

Where: 502 Old Santa Fe Trail (across from Kaune's Neighborhood Market)

When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

Information: Call 501-0069, or visit lepodsantafe.com