With a lot of folks still feeling a little timid about dining in restaurants during a pandemic, food trucks are one solution to “eating out” without “eating in.” And, food truck owners seem particularly prescient these days given that food trucks and carts were allowed to operate in Utah during the early stages of COVID-19 while dine-in eateries were closed.
With well over 100 food trucks now operating in Utah, it’s impossible to mention them all in a single article. So, I’ve zeroed in on 10 of my favorite Utah food trucks, and I suspect they’ll become yours if you give them a try. Most have Twitter accounts and/or Facebook and Instagram pages so you can follow their meanderings.
There is no shortage of food trucks and carts in Utah serving Mexican fare, and they’re all pretty great. But I’m especially partial to Fácil Taqueria, described as a “farm-to-table concept food truck” specializing in artisan tacos. These are not your standard street corner cart tacos.
For example, Fácil Taqueria often offers tacos with fillings like Niman Ranch pork, beef short ribs, Mary’s Chicken Tinga, and a Local Farm Taco that my wife really enjoys. It’s vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free. Ingredients vary, but we like the Local Farm Taco of corn tortillas with zucchini, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and huge scoops of homemade guacamole.
For an authentic Cuban sandwich, check out Havana Eats, a food truck specializing in Cuban cuisine that was featured on Food Network’s Big Food Truck Tip with Andrew Zimmern. It’s run by military vet Brett Roderick, and the menu is inspired by his family’s Cuban recipes.
“As Havana Eats grows, we strive to assist veterans-in-need through employment opportunities and outreach programs,” Roderick says.
The menu includes the aforementioned Cuban sandwiches as well as arroz con pollo, empanaditas, fried plantains, wraps, salads, bowls and more.
If you’re not too familiar with Senegalese cuisine — as I wasn’t — Ibou Fall can help. The outgoing, always smiling Fall is the owner of Balabé food truck.
Menu items from Balabé range from a rich peanut butter stew of veggies and tubers called mafé or tiep jenn — fish with fried rice and vegetables — to a classic Senegalese curry named thiou, and lamb with fried rice known as jolof. And, you’ve gotta indulge in mbourou fass, a Senegalese cream-filled toast topped with whipped cream, Nutella and bananas.
Another favorite of mine is called Sobe Eats, a food truck and catering company operated by three owner brothers: Salvador, Fernando, and Victor Soberanis. Sobe Eats’ specialty is gourmet artisan tostadas.
“The original tostada was created to avoid wasting excess tortillas. That simple idea was our history and our future. We’re adamant in the use of eco-friendly products and the need to avoid being wasteful,” said the Soberanis.
In addition to terrific tostadas, Sobe Eats is always experimenting and offers innovative creations such as a banh mi torta, combining Vietnamese and Hispanic culinary influences.
For Middle Eastern fare via food truck, it’s hard to beat Prince of Egypt – Falafel Tree. Not surprisingly, vegan falafel wraps and salads are the specialty here. But there’s much more than falafel, including seasoned beef kebabs, Egyptian chicken wrap, chicken gyro wrap, Mediterranean salad, moussaka fries, dolmades and many more delicious Middle Eatern menu items.
For pizza, I turn to the Fire and Slice mobile wood-fired pizza oven for spectacular Neapolitan-style pizzas.
According to Chef David “DK” Kimball, the Herriman-based Fire and Slice was created by “the desire to spend more time with my family.” The result is that we get to indulge in restaurant-worthy, top-flight wood-fired pizzas at fairs, markets, food truck parks and elsewhere. FIre and Slice delivers pizza perfection on the go.
Not too far from pizza in my culinary heart of hearts is classic grilled cheese. For that, I track down the location of the Melty Way food truck.
As you might have guessed, Melty Way specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches and assorted variations thereof.
The menu includes the following options: Reuben, Ham & Swiss, Short Rib, Turkey Bacon, Chicken Avocado, Italian, Artichoke & Tomato, Chicken Parmesan, and Jalapeño Popper sandwiches. My favorite is the most traditional: The Four Cheese Classic, which has a blend of sharp provolone, havarti, fontina, and sharp cheddar.
For Caribbean flavors, I look forward to visiting Jamaica’s Kitchen, a food truck featuring island fare such as jerk chicken and pork, beef oxtail stewed with butter beans, curry chicken with potatoes and carrots, curry goat, Jamaican escovitch fish, and sides like Jamaican-style rice & peas, fried plantains, jerk wings, Jamaican beef patties, and much more.
The South Jordan-based Ramen Mobile occasionally appears at the SoHo food truck park in Holladay, which offers safe-distance outdoor seating. In addition to from-scratch ramen, the Ramen Mobile also dishes up Japanese foods such as sushi (nigiri or maki sushi), takoyaki (grilled wheat cakes with octopus), and drinks like strawberry milk with boba and green tea lattes.
The Brugesmobile food truck is the mobile outpost of the brick and mortar Bruges Waffles & Frites eateries, specializing in Belgian cuisine.
Favorites from the Brugesmobile include good old Belgian-style frites and waffles as well as the Machine Gun sandwich, Belgian dog, merguez sausages and much more. You will have to supply your own Belgium beer though.
