Gourmet food trucks rolled into Florida with a blast of spice, flame and a wild menu ranging from tacos to cupcakes. Look for them at markets, art shows and street fairs. Track their stops by following them on Twitter or Facebook.
Fort Myers
Popular chef Scott Sopher outfitted the Nosh Truck (twitter.com/noshtruck), a 27-foot step van with a full commercial kitchen, last fall. His favorite stop is the Saturday Alliance for the Arts Green Market. He starts with goat-cheese crepes or bananas-foster waffes for breakfast and moves on to his favorite — Korean barbecue sliders — at lunch.
Miami
The largest truckable feast is in this city, where food truckers work solo spots and in concert. The biggest roundup is Tuesday night at Biscayne Boulevard and 109th Street. Founding truck Jefe’s Original Fish Taco & Burgers (jefesoriginal.com) is dedicated to a legendary West Coast surfer who made beachside fish tacos Baja California’s best-loved export. Beer-battered fish crackle with authenticity, while Miami gourmands go for the two-handed double burger with extra cheese and grilled onions (don’t go in the ocean for 24 hours). Do brave the hot sauce, smoking with chipotle and tamarind.
Orlando
A former used-car lot on Orange Blossom Trail regularly corrals a half-dozen trucks and Latin favorites from an entire region, including arepas, Cuban sandwiches and Dominican chimi burgers. Tacos del Rio (tacosdelrio.com), a permanent fixture here, serves up tacos, tortas and quesadillas with juicy carne asada and pineapple-puncy al pastor — pork with pineapple. On weekends, the truck cranks out tacos of varied meats until 3 a.m.
The Orlando Food Truck Bazaar, put on by TheDailCity.com, put nine of Orlando’s most popular food trucks in one parking lot, hoping some people would show up to eat. Find out how successful it was and what lesson they learned. Full Story »
