Find: With a catch-them-if-you-can attitude, these rolling restaurants set up for a few hours at a time (mostly for lunch and late-night snacking). Follow: You better be hip to the social media scene. Only a few trucks have their own websites. Feast: Fill up with treats far from greasy street meat and for less than a 10 spot.
Hello, Moto
From China's night markets to the hawker centers of Malaysia, eastern Asian countries mastered street food long ago. Perhaps that's why grabbing a bite from Umami Moto tastes so right. Jae Stulock and Sandy Madachik's food truck drove onto the burgeoning scene of traveling cuisine in November. As chef, Stulock studied Thailand's street food culture while conceiving the truck. There, pad thai is a pillar of the streets, and here, it's become Stulock's signature dish. But that's no reason to skip the rest of the Southeast Asian fusion menu, including chicken curry ($5) with thick potato cubes and carrot slices over rice. True to Vietnamese cuisine, which favors fresh herbs, cilantro adds flavor to the mild sauce for a comforting and light dish. As a snack, the skewer of golf-ball-size meatballs ($3) gets a welcome kick from Jae's sweet and spicy sauce. Although the American-size price of $1 a ball is hard to swallow, we're not deterred. After all, until there's some kind of meat on a stick, it's just not street food. And Umami Moto does Asian street food proud. umamimototruck.com
Food trucks busted onto the Cleveland food scene in 2010, and it looks like this year will bring a full-scale invasion. Loans and grants from the city have helped an armada of trucks rev their engines. Here are five to follow through the dog days of summer.
| STREAT MOBILE BISTRO |
Chef and owner Izzy Schachner also runs the cafeteria at the U.S. Federal Courthouse downtown, so he's a pro at cooking for groups. The truck gives him the freedom to source locally and recycle. You'll find seasonal, bistro-style comfort food such as a pork belly sandwich with spicy peanut butter and a buffalo chicken mac-and-cheese.
| jibaro |
Elvis Serrano named his truck after the working-class mountain people of Puerto Rico. He serves Caribbean cuisine with American tie-ins, such as potato balls, marinated bananas and seviche. "They're all Hispanic meals with a twist," says truck manager, Lorna McLain. "We have our typical Puerto Rican dishes and a Caribbean influence."
| seti's polish boys |
Owner Seti Martinez has been serving polish boys and fries since 2001. "When you look at the barbecue restaurants that sell polish boys, to me it seemed like it wasn't a priority," says Martinez, who pulled his truck into Michael Symon's backyard one day last summer. "So I figured I was going to do it more justice."
Others to follow: Traveling Treats by Cakes Plus Specializes in gourmet desserts, namely ultimate brownies, strawberry cheesecake and a walnut mocha torte. Pranzo Forno Wood Fired Pizza More mobile pizza oven cart than truck, expect fresh, wood-fired, hand-tossed pizzas.
