Food Trucks: Not Your Father’s Roach Coach

When I hear or read the phrase “food truck”, my first thought turns to the rolling lunch wagons that travel around town stopping at construction sites and auto repair shops. The Roach Coach; you know what I mean, the silver lunch truck that rolls up to a building, the horn blasts the La Cucaracha song, the driver gets out and opens up the back of the truck to reveal and sell a pretty pedestrian offering of hot dogs, tuna salad on white bread, hamburgers and coffee that can be used as paint remover. 

My, how the Food Truck has changed!

Today’s food trucks are gourmet kitchens on wheels, staffed by local chefs, offering interesting and distinctive menus of food that span the spectrum of culinary delights. Many of you may be aware of this new dining trend, made popular by the “The Great Food Truck Race” television show that is broadcast on the Food Network.

I have wanted to experience this new food craze first-hand for months and today (Nov. 19) I got my chance. My teenage son and I hopped into my old '58 Chevy and headed to Largo this morning for the 1^st Pinellas Food Truck Rally. I love when I can connect my two hobbies, old cars and food. Wow! I am glad we made the trip. The weather was fantastic, my car ran great, we met up with some friends and we got to sample food from some of the best Food Trucks in Tampa area, including the Wicked Wiches, The Taco Bus and The Fire Monkeys.

Just to be clear, what you are NOT going to find at one of these gourmet Food Truck Rallys is row after row of taco trucks or deep fried fair food. With over twenty trucks participating today it’s hard for me to share with you a paragraph or two on everything we tried so I am just going to give you a TASTE of what we tasted.

Our favorite food, hands down was being served by The Fire Monkeys truck. We tried two of their items, Yucatan Howler Balls and Spider Monkeys (see photos).  The Spider Monkey is shredded plantains fried crispy, seasoned and served with a sriracha aioli. I apologize but I am going to go foodie on you now, this dish was a wonderful duet of savory and sweet, this was by far the best thing I put in my mouth all day.

The Yucatan Howler Balls, fried balls of savory risotto stuffed with Mexican-spiced beef, peppers, onions and cheese -- YUMMMM!

An unexpected treat was the handcrafted gourmet popsicles from the WhateverPops. These were not your run of the mill orange whips that you got from the Good Humor man. We tried three flavors: Pear Riesling, Green Apple Sauvignon (yes, both made with wine) and Vanilla Butterscotch, and they were all outstanding. 

I can go on and on, but to give you an idea of some of the other offerings we sampled: Pibil pork tacos, a variety of crepes, empanadas, eggplant and Asian pork sliders, apple butter burgers and desserts.

Speaking of desserts you can’t go wrong with an apple Pie Ala Mode cupcake.

As for the event and venue, it was very well organized. Along with the Food Trucks they had local charitable organizations selling water, a portable ATM and a DJ.  After all, what’s a party without some music. As we said in the '80s “It ain’t a party until someone drops the fang on Thriller.”

Wanna go? The next Food Truck Rally is going to be held Dec 3. Check the Tasting Tampa website at http://tastingtampa.com for details. 

If you do go, here are some tips:

1. Go with a group of friends, buy and share the food so you can try more things.
2. Bring cash, prices start at $2
3. Go early; these events are becoming more and more popular.  The lines get longer as the day goes along and some of the food trucks do run out of specific items.
4. Bring an attitude of adventure; you might just discover a new treat.