From Montego Bay's crab fritters to Roam's smash burgers, try these 6 food trucks
While eating at a food truck is a good idea any time of year, it’s especially appealing during the summer months, when the only thing better than being outside is enjoying an easy and delicious meal while you’re at it.
Nowadays you can get pretty much anything your taste buds desire from a restaurant on wheels. Here are six worth a stop this season from across the Hudson Valley:
Montego Bay Mobile Café
What’s on the menu: Caribbean fusion food such as Rasta Pasta (what owner and chef Robert Johnson describes as jerk chicken al fredo), slow-braised oxtail, crab and crawfish fritters and smoked jerk barbecue ribs. Occasionally you can even find a jerk chicken and donut sandwich made with confections from Dave’s Daylight Donuts just up the block.
Where to get it: 186 Route 17M, Harriman (in the Army Navy store parking lot.) Monday, 12-8pm and Wednesdays-Saturdays 3-8pm. Follow them on Instagram @mbmcfoodtruck for specials and event appearances.
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ROAM Food Truck
What’s on the menu: Anything that appeals to foodie friends and owners Greg Rhein and James Isgro. Think two kinds of smash burgers—traditional and au poivre, the latter of which comes with bacon, onion, Swiss, cremini mushroom and cognac peppercorn cream—as well as beet toast with goat cheese whipped ricotta, a fried chicken sandwich with spiced honey, arancini, fried manicotti, and their burrata fries, (fries topped with burrata and homemade pesto.)
ROAM’s motto is “we cook to taste and try not to waste” and most of their produce and meat are locally sourced.
Where to get it: When they aren’t appearing at festivals, breweries or private events, ROAM’s home base is Baird Tavern (103 Main Street, Warwick.) Follow them on Instagram @roamfoodtruck for their schedule.
The NoCo Hotbox
What’s On the Menu: NoCo stands for northern comfort, a nod to owner Joe Agnello’s southern comfort style food. This means sandwiches such as The Hog Father, a pile of Agnello’s famous pulled pork on a potato bun topped with homemade coleslaw or the Knuckle Sandwich— maple-brined pork loin with bacon, homemade pickles, pepper jack cheese and maple bourbon aioli.
Add an order of Fuggedaboutit Fries (topped with rosemary garlic sauce) or Redneck Rolls (bacon mac and cheese in an eggroll) and then clear your afternoon schedule for a post-lunch nap.
Where to get it: 32 Old Tappan Road, Tappan; Tuesdays-Saturdays 12-7 p.m. Check their social media @nococatering for updates on events and catering.
Valley Rock Inn Taco Truck
What’s on the Menu: If you can’t get a rez at the Valley Rock Inn’s Cantina, you can always pick up a taco (or four) and eat them at the outdoor tables situated in front of the property’s organic market. Choose from three options: chicken, avocado and pico de gallo; Cajun fish with lime and cilantro cabbage slaw; or sweet onion and portabello fajita with vegan cheddar and fire roasted peppers.
Where to get it: 27 Mill Street, Sloatsburg; Wednesdays-Saturdays 12-7 p.m. Sundays 12-5pm.
F*rk This
What's on the menu: As the mobile counterpart to The Helm, a popular Greenwood Lake eatery that focuses on seasonal cuisine, F*rk This highlights some of the restaurant's best dishes. Think fried cheese curds topped with homemade gravy, marinara, or chipotle aioli, poutine with homemade gravy or IPA cheese fondue, smoked wings, brisket, mac and cheese, and a rotating menu of specials such as sliders, tacos, salads and gyros.
Where to get it: When they aren't at festivals or private events, Fork This is often parked at The Irish Whisper (112 Windemere Avenue, Greenwood Lake.) For their schedule and specials, follow them on Instagram @ f_rkthis_
The Bus at Salinger’s Orchard
What’s on the menu: Only the best BEC (bacon egg and cheese) you’ll ever eat—topped with hash browns, homemade ketchup and gochujang sauce. If burgers are more your bag, The Bus makes a killer one, in both taste and size. Owners Tim Salinger and David DiBari slather theirs in Happy Sauce, their take on Big Mac sauce. There’s also a fried chicken sandwich and their famous potato wedges, which are tossed in rendered beef fat (madello cheese sauce optional.)
Where to get it: The Bus is parked at Salinger’s Orchard, 230 Guinea Road, Brewster; Saturdays and Sundays 10am-5pm. Follow them on Instagram @thebus_salingers where you can also find a link to order food online.
Michelle Hainer is a Hudson Valley freelance writer.