Published on : Saturday, June 21, 2014
Say it five times fast: Philly’s fallen for food trucks. From Temple University’s campus to South Philly, the beyond-fun dining craze has truly boomed. If a diner craves something, chances are he or she can find it on wheels: brick-oven soppressata pizza, green-tea macaroons, gourmet mac and cheese, Spam musubi, sweet-cream ice cream, pour-over coffee, along with staples such as soul food, cheesesteaks, crepes and falafel. Lunch seekers can find trucks all over the city, especially near universities, but they know to check Twitter before they make a trip.
These trucks have wheels and often use them to feed new neighborhoods, which is exactly what they do during The Food Trusts’ Night Market events, taking place several times a year in different neighborhoods and attracting enormous crowds eager to get their mobile-food fix.
University City:
The city’s first—and only—Brazilian rotisserie, BrazBQ dishes out spit-roasted fare. There’s a steak sandwich with chimichurri sauce and potato sticks, steak or chicken tacos and grilled pineapple dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Mondays through Fridays, 33rd & Arch Streets.
Grilled Venezuelan arepas stuffed with adobo-braised steak and plaintains; chicken salad and avocado; or chorizo and pico de gallo are all hot sellers at Delicias. Lynette Gueits’ repurposed truck calls University City home, but a second truck travels citywide. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 35th & Market Streets; Tuesdays through Fridays, 40th & Locust Streets; Thursdays, Love Park, 16thStreet & John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
Soul and Caribbean foods mix and mingle on the giant platters dished out at Denise’s,
a 30th Street Station landmark that specializes in jerk chicken, cornbread, mac and cheese and candied yams—all easily sopped up with slices of Wonder bread. Weekdays. 30th & Chestnut Streets
“Foowiches”—grilled square sandwiches filled with green-curry quinoa salad, gingery meatballs, pork belly with tea egg or peanut-flecked lemongrass chicken—are the signature items at Foo Truck,an uber-casual Asian-fusion concept. Weekdays except Tuesdays, 35th & Market Streets; Tuesdays, Love Park, 16th Street & John F. Kennedy Boulevard; Friday and Saturday nights starting at 9:00 p.m., Front & Master Streets.
The winners of Philly’s first-ever Vendy Awards, the long-established Gigi and Big R serves up down-home Caribbean fare such as fried whiting and curried chicken, along with generous portions of greens, beans, rice and mac and cheese. The outfit’s bricks-and-mortar location resides in West Philly.
The shiny red caffeine mobile known as HubBub Coffee purveys Stumptown and Reanimator roasts via espresso drinks drawn from swank La Marzocco machines. It also sells the croissants and bagels necessary to go with these liquid delights. In addition to the original truck at 38th & Spruce Streets, HubBub has three immobile locations: 3736 Spruce Street, (215) 387-0700; 1717 Arch Street, (215) 665-1982; 232 N. Radnor Chester Road, Radnor,
Specializing in vegetarian and vegan fare, Kung Fu Hoagies has wooed the meat-free set with tofu banh mi, BBQ “beef” hoagies and cold sesame peanut “chicken” noodles. Tuesdays through Fridays, 104 S. 38th Street; Saturdays, Clark Park, 43rd Street & Chester Avenue.
The nail-polish pink Mac Mart truck turns America’s favorite side (macaroni and cheese) into a main course by mixing in barbecue chicken, homemade garlic croutons, bacon bits and more into five-cheese pasta. Locations and times vary but the truck can be found on Drexel’s campus on occasional weekdays, 33rd & Arch Streets.
Catering to budget-minded vegetarian eaters since 1984—long before it was trendy—Penn stapleMagic Carpet (with two trucks) has a slew of meat-free options, from the Smurf ’n Turf platter (tofu meatballs, rice, veggies and cheese) to the Sloppy Jason pita sandwiches and the exquisitely light spinach pies. Weekdays, Spruce Street between 35th & 36th and 34th & Walnut Streets.
An espresso bar on wheels, Rival Bros’ truck, bearing its old-fashioned pugilist logo, serves up espresso, pour-overs and drip-brewed single-origins and blends. It also sells fresh-roasted beans by the bag. Weekdays, 33rd & Arch Streets. A permanent shop is now open seven days a week at 2400 Lombard Street.
Specialty sirloin burgers, hand-cut fries, hand-butchered cheesesteaks, roast pork loin sandwiches and creative concoctions like meatballs stuffed with sharp provolone, have made Spot, owned and operated by a former butcher, a highly sought-after lunch stop on Drexel’s campus. Weekdays, 33rd & Market Streets.
Haute cuisine in a decidedly non-haute atmosphere is the idea beyond Street Food, where truffle parmesan fries, brisket with housemade gnocchi and salted brownies have made appearances on the seasonal menu. Weekdays, 62 N. 33rd Street, with other locations.
A patisserie on wheels, Sugar Philly operates out of a truck named Sheila, vending perfectly engineered treats like crème fraîche cheesecake with blueberry compote, along with green-tea macaroons and classic crème brûlée. Weekdays, 38th Street between Walnut & Sansom Streets.sugarphillytruck.com, twitter.com/sugarphilly
The wait for lunch can be long at Tacos Don Memo, whose passionate University City fan base swears by the generous tacos al pastor, vegetarian burritos and gigantic tortas layered with mayo, cheese and pickled jalapeños.
Since 1983, Yue Kee has been charming visitors with its no-nonsense proprietress and cheap, authentic Chinese- and Hong Kong-style eats such as sesame chicken, fried fish in garlic sauce and stewed pork ribs with rice.
Temple University:
A pair of grads from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art run Cloud Coffee, using ReAnimator beans and careful effort to create marvelous beverages. Bonus: The owners screen films and curate art shows right out of their truck. Mondays through Fridays, 2001 N. 13th Street.
Classic (Nutella, banana, berries) and not-so-classic (pepperoni, ranch dressing, barbecue ribs, tuna salad) fillings stuff the crepes at The Creperie, a longtime campus favorite. Mondays through Saturdays, 13th & W. Norris Streets.
A trio of intellectuals run Poi Dog Snack Shop, the first and only Hawaiian truck in town. The menu lists tacos, musubi and sweets. Ingredients include fried Spam, Kalua pork, small-batch tofu “poke” and mochiko- and furikake-battered chicken. Weekdays, 13th Street & Montgomery Avenue, with other locations.
A neon night owl is the symbol for U Got Munchies, which stays open until the wee hours to satisfy student snackers. After all, at 2:00 a.m., there’s nothing quite like bacon burgers, buffalo chicken-topped fries, mac and cheese hot dogs or deep-fried Oreos.
Roving:
The Jersey Special (potatoes, American cheese, peppers and onions) and the Moe Green (grilled asparagus and sharp provolone) are just a couple of the topped hotdog options at The Dapper Dog.Friday and Saturday nights, 2nd & Poplar Streets; Thursday afternoons, Love Park, 16th Street & John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
Calling itself a “food truck” and “gallery,” the artsy, rustic and eco-friendly Farm Truck prepares seasonal sandwiches, salads and sides that might include a chopped apple salad or a Sriracha sausage on a long roll. The truck occasionally vends fresh produce too.
Pork fritters stuffed with capers, pistachios and whole-grain mustard and served with hoisin sriracha dipping sauce. Braised duck with fresh cucumber, pickled onion and sesame chili aioli rolled in laffa. If the meals at Local 215 sound more like gastropub fare, well, that’s exactly the point. Various locations include 33rd & Arch Streets and Love Park at 16th Street & John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
A mobile wood-fired oven bakes the charred-crusted, eggplant, sausage, soppressata, spicy garlic, margherita and radicchio pies at Pitruco Pizza, one of the most reliably everywhere trucks on this list. Mondays, Love Park, 16th Street & John F. Kennedy Boulevard; Tuesdays, 22nd & Brown Streets; Wednesdays, The Porch at 30th Street Station; Wednesday evenings, Germantown Avenue & Winston Street; Thursdays, 33rd & Arch Streets; Thursday evenings, 10th & Fitzwater Streets.
The grilled-cheese sandwich, described by its makers as “brown-bagged meltyness,” is the raison d’être of Say Cheese, whose variations include a grown-up version featuring house-cured meats. The truck also serves up hand-butchered cheesesteaks, buffalo chicken sandwiches and sandwiches featuring homemade mozzarella.
Global fare in sandwich form comprises cuisine from Germany, Latin America, Vietnam, Italy and the U.S.A. at Vernalicious. On any given day, at any location, eaters line up for pulled-pork grilled cheeses, mushroom burgers, Buffalo-chicken sausage and loads more. Tuesdays at Love Park, 16th Street & John F. Kennedy Boulevard, with other locations.
The Chipwich, taken up several notches, is the star of Zsa’s Ice Cream, a retro van serving artisanal ice creams and sorbets in flavors like salted caramel, maple toffee graham and cinnamon. Cookies include cinnamon chocolate chip oatmeal, dulce de leche and double chocolate chip.
Other Neighborhoods:
Famous for its heftily portioned fried chickpea balls, Rittenhouse’s boisterous, busy Falafel Truck also distinguishes itself with charcoal-grilled chicken and an array of accompanying tastily spiced treats (beet hummus, fresh grapes, salads) that changes daily. Weekdays, 20th & Market Streets
Authentic German street food sails off The Frying Deutschman’s nautically painted truck. Wiener schnitzel, bockwurst and Berlin-style currywurst pair up with slaw, potato salad and dumplings. Tuesdays, 1 Crescent Drive.
Stationed on weekends at the Headhouse Square Farmers Market, HEARTFood Truck has dedicated itself to local, sustainable and seasonal fare. Yet the food, whipped up by a former restaurant chef is anything but simple: mushroom deviled eggs, griddled pork belly and escargot.
Fans line up for the brown stew chicken, curry goat and oxtails at Jamaican D’s, a friendly jerk-centric truck, which has become a mainstay of the Community College of Philadelphia campus. Their storefront is 1265 E. Chelten Avenue.
The tacos on offer at Pennsport’s Taco Loco include pastor, chicken, tripe, tongue and chorizo fillings. Sold three for $7.50, all are delicately seasoned with chopped onions and cilantro—and are best washed down with a bottle of Jarritos soda.
Source:- Visit Philadelphia
Tags: Food Trucks Satisfy, VISIT PHILADELPHIA
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