I love street food and food trucks. There’s something about them that is so communal and specialized; you can’t replicate it indoors. On a hot summer night, the air in the line of a taco stand or Thai food truck is wild and delicious. And eating steaming food off of paper plates with plastic utensils makes it that much better. Now that it’s summer (or pretending to be), it’s the perfect time to sample the fresh ingredients, local foods and bright culture of your neighborhood food truck scene. Here are some of the best food trucks across the country.
Don Chow. Los Angeles. This truck blends Asian and Mexican flavors in unique, and uniquely Los Angeles, flavor combinations. One of their specialties is the “chimale,” a tamale with Asian meats and tomato salsa. Like most vehicles on wheels, you’ll have to follow this truck on their website to see where it's parked.
Austin Daily Press. Austin, Texas. Co-owners Cory Nunez and Amy Hildenbrand serve up grilled sandwiches wrapped in a piece of newsprint from The Onion. This truck also functions as a delivery service, so hungry patrons can call up the truck and have sandwiches delivered straight to their homes.
Crepes Bonaparte. Fullerton, California. This food truck was inspired by the owner, Christian Murcia’s, experience eating street crepes in Paris. In the United States, crepes are a high class dining affair, but the goofballs who run this truck—a vehicle they have painted with a huge moustache and dubbed “Gaston”—wanted to bring crepes to the masses.
Schnitzel & Things. New York City. This New York City food truck that combines street food and schnitzel is more than I can bear. Schnitzel is an Austrian dinner of pounded chicken or veal, breaded and deep-fried and served with a dollop of ketchup and a lemon. They also have potato salad, which is the requisite side for this dish. I guess they all serve brats at this stand, but I don’t care about that and neither should you.
Food Shark. Marfa, Texas. Most food trucks have gimmicky paintjobs or themes, but this food truck is more like the kind of mom-and-pop truck that rolled by before all the hype. The truck is simple, a metal vehicle with hand-painted lettering, and serves the best (and some of the only) Middle Eastern and Meditteranean food in Marfa. Try the “Marfalafel,” the truck’s falafel.
Nom Nom Truck. Los Angeles, California. This team was on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race and they were seriously high-strung and annoying. They have a pretty cute truck, though, with a little Asian-looking creature “nom-nomming” down on the “Nom Nom” sign. Okay, that’s pretty annoying, too. But I guess the truck’s rep is that it serves some of the best bahn mi, Vietnamese sandwiches that include coleslaw, pork and sweet and sour sauce on a baguette, in Los Angeles.
Nana Queens. Culver City, California. This truck, run by a team of sisters, started off with one seriously impressive banana pudding. The truck has since added wings and a wider variety of puddings, including savory and sweet combinations.