Food Trucks Are Hot!

There was a time when eating from a food truck was something you did when you either had no time or no choice. Now there are trucks featuring food so good that patrons line up for blocks to grab a bite before the “Sold Out” sign goes up. The ultimate homage to the food truck is that kiosks designed to look like trucks are popping up inside convention centers, hotels, and shopping plazas in the hopes of cashing in on the truck craze.

I wanted the real deal though, so I went in search of not only the most highly-rated food, but trucks putting a new twist on street grub.  I found everything from gourmet burgers to French cuisine. From donuts to cone-shaped pizza. Here’s my list of the food trucks in every state that are worth pulling over for.

Alabama Melt offers so much more than grilled cheese sandwiches. There’s meatloaf, smoked turkey, and buffalo hot wings on bread, all topped with gooey cheese, of course.

Alaska Talkeetna Spinach Bread serves up their signature bread with piping hot coffee or cocoa from an airstream trailer on Main Street in Talkeetna. Cheese, spinach, and wood-fired bread– what a combo.

50 food trucks Alaska

Spinach bread that melts in your mouth. Photo courtesy of Talkeetna Spinach Bread

Arizona Planet of the Crepes serves up a handful of good food in a crepe. Breakfast, lunch, or just a snack are all reasons to roll up some of this goodness.

Arkansas Crepes Paulette is a delightful surprise in Bentonville. The only hard part is deciding whether you will go sweet or savory.

California  Devilicious claims to serve food so good that it’s bad. It would seem that butter-poached lobster on a grilled cheese sandwich fits the bill.

Colorado Roaming Bull Brasserie serves up an amazing array of tapas, sandwiches, and burgers, with a European flair.

Connecticut The Cheese Truck offers a sandwich oozing with six melted cheeses. Add bacon or pulled pork if you must.

Delaware Taco Reho has a selection of fish, shrimp, chicken, or beef short rib, rolled in a fresh tortilla. This is how you do a taco truck.

Florida Garbo’s Grill in Key West serves tacos, burritos, burgers and dogs to locals and visitors in the know. Trust us when we tell you that you will not leave hungry from Garbo’s.

Georgia The Blaxican goes where no other truck dares– fusing Mexican and soul food into tacos filled with smoked sausage and coleslaw or pulled pork and pineapple Pico.

Hawaii Chalupa’s brings authentic Mexican food to Kauai. Imagine eating tamales, tortas, enchiladas, and chalupas made from island-fresh ingredients. This is paradise.

Idaho Coeur de Breizh is a touch of France in the heart of the Rockies. Whether you choose sweet or savory, the artful blend of flavors wrapped in delicate crepes is sure to please.

Illinois There are donut shops, and then there is the Doughnut Vault, featuring creations so artful that lines often form before opening time at the two non-truck locations, each person hoping they made it in time for a share of the day’s offerings. Luckily there is the Vault Van. It is on the road seven days a week. Word on the street is that if you see the van—run, don’t walk.

50 food trucks

There are no words! Photo courtesy of Doughnut Vault.

Indiana It’s off-season for the Rolling Stonebaker truck, but catch it in the spring for wood-fired pizza baked with farm-fresh ingredients.

Iowa Serious chefs frying Belgian fries with specialty toppings and sauces in a truck called Powered by Fries. Is there really anything more to say?

Kansas Start with Varsity Donuts, serving sweet deliciousness every day, then add the Varsity Truck serving grilled mac ‘n’ cheese in the alley on weekend evenings and you have a winner.

Kentucky This is so not your standard food truck food. Gastro Gnomes in Lexington serves dishes like “Pork rib eye with garlic mashed potatoes asparagus with Szechuan peppercorn au poive sauce!” Yes, really!

Louisiana Dirty Dishes serves NOLA breakfast from a stall in the St. Roche Market, and from a mobile truck. We’ll have the ham and cheese-stuffed waffle with a sunny side up, please.

Maine Is there really any question about what you would get from a food truck in Maine? If you said anything other than a lobster roll, just move along to the next state, please. Bite into Maine is closed for the winter, but find them in May for the answer to all your lobster roll questions.

Maryland Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, fresh hot waffles are on the menu at T & J Waffles. Topped with fruit, sweet sauces, or savory chicken, this is definitely a truck worth going out of your way for.

Massachusetts The Bacon Truck feeds Boston’s pork cravings. From burgers to Nutella-covered bacon, just look for the pink truck.

50 food trucks

Because. Bacon. Photo courtesy of Boston Magazine

Michigan White on Rice proves that sushi can go mobile. Hopefully a new brick and mortar location in Traverse City won’t stop the truck from rolling.

Minnesota The Curious Goat has a menu far too eclectic to classify. Think glazed pork on a stick. Think goat burgers. Think duck dumplings. And then think cheese curds. It is Minnesota, so of course there will be cheese curds.

Mississippi Fried kimchi on a bun. That’s how Lurny D’s Grille rolls!

Missouri Look for the big red double-decker bus and you know you have found London Calling Pasty Company. A pasty is a flaky meat pie– something you probably never expected to find in Springfield.

Montana The menu and the concept at Victory Taco are simple– fresh ingredients rolled inside a fresh tortilla. Folks in Bozeman are lucky indeed.

Nebraska Nitro Burger serves burgers and sandwiches like you never dreamed. Try the “Gunslinger” loaded with jalapenos, cactus (yes, cactus!) and house whiskey BBQ sauce.

Nevada Truknyaki is fresh tepanyaki from a truck. Choose from ribeye, chicken, or shrimp.

New Hampshire The Kitchen serves over-the-top loaded burgers and unforgettable sandwiches from both a brick and mortar location in Portsmouth and a roaming food truck.

New Jersey Incrediballs wins our award for the best food truck name (and believe us, the competition is stiff.) And the meatball sandwich is tops in its class as well.

New Mexico Chef Todzilla’s truck roams the streets of Roswell serving food you would have expected to find farther to the north in trendy Santa Fe of Taos. Bring an appetite; these burgers are not for lightweights.

New York Uncle Gussy’s brings traditional Greek to Manhattan, where the lines form at every stop.

North Carolina The food truck lineup in Ashville is amazing. Gypsy Queen Cuisine leads the pack, serving falafels and delectable sides like fried cauliflower and Lebanese French fries.

North Dakota Let’s just say that a food truck in Bismarck is not exactly the place you expect to find the best Thai food. EAT Enticing Authentic Thai is out to change your mind.

Ohio The buttery buns are reason enough to try Aloha Streatery. Then factor in the pork belly or sweet island chicken and you’ve got yourself a Hawaiian dream.

Oklahoma Café Bella on Wheels is another truck breaking stereotypes by serving fresh Mediterranean food from a truck in Stillwater Oklahoma. Yup. Really.

Oregon With menu items like a mango chili pulled pork sandwich, A Taste of Hawaii is a sure-fire way to enjoy lunch in Florence.

Pennsylvania What the Fork has a fun name but the 29,911 Facebook likes tell the story of the how good the food is.

Rhode Island Plouf Plouf Gastronomie is a mobile bistro, serving organic rustic French food. Sandwiches feature duck and lamb, and the mac ‘n’ cheese has a truffle oil drizzle. Dessert is crème Brule, of course.

South Carolina Outta My Huevos is a big yellow brunch truck. Try it once and you may find yourself going outta your way to have the Huevos Rancheros again.

South Dakota Nosh Mobile Eatery may not have the most original name for a food truck, but for a quick bite in Rapid City, you cannot go wrong. Trip Advisor reviewers rank it #8 of all 235 restaurants in the city.

Tennessee Get your melted cheese fix at The Grilled Cheeserie. But don’t expect just sandwiches. How about something called brunch tots? You simply cannot go wrong with gourmet tater tots topped with bacon and eggs.

50 food trucks

Tamale melt and TOTchos. Put me down for THAT! Photo courtesy of The Grilled Cheeserie

Texas Food trucks in Texas are like delis in NYC– they sometimes come with a side of attitude from behind the counter. Hey You Gonna Eat or What? can afford the attitude. People do more than line up for the Shiner Monte Cristo sandwich; they drive to Austin from all over the state for it.

Utah Pizza in a cone? Why didn’t we think of that? Pizza Cone Zone proves that it works.

Vermont  One Hearth is a community-minded, wood-fired mobile pizza oven. Catch them at farmers’ markets and festivals for a taste of Vermont.

Virginia Karnage Asada is a Latin- Asian smack down. Words like “sweet” and “spicy” pepper the menu of lightly fried tacos. It’s a match made in heaven.

Washington Maximus/Minimus wins our award for the best truck design. When spring arrives, look for the giant metal pig roaming Downtown Seattle serving pulled pork, chicken, and veggie sandwiches.

West Virginia Island Teriyaki is the truck to solve your Japanese cravings in Red House.

Wisconsin Streetza Pizza is one of those trucks proving that when it’s done right, food from a truck really is better.

Wyoming The Daily Press serves paninis, soup, and chili in Cheyenne. Sometimes situated next to Freedom’s Edge Brewing, this truck is clearly following the trend we found across the country of mobile grub partnering with craft brewing. Not a bad idea, at all.