Food trucks have surpassed the ice cream truck of our youth and the greasy Chinese food restaurants on wheels of adolescence. The trucks that you are seeing more and more of around the city offer restaurant-quality gourmet food with prices that are much friendlier to your wallet.
In recent years the popularity of food trucks in major cities around the country has risen tremendously. The National Restaurant Association claims their popularity will grow even more, according to 2012 research that found rising consumer interest.
As of now the city of Boston has over 20 food trucks, each with a coordinating schedule of times and locations decided in part by the city. Locations include but are not limited to Back Bay, Downtown, Cleveland Circle and many more.
Depending on the truck, hours include breakfast before 10 a.m., lunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner after 3 p.m. By going to cityboston.gov/business/mobile/schedule, you can conveniently search all the different food trucks by name, location and time.
Standouts include Roxy’s Grilled Cheese (which is so successful they’ve created a Roxy’s Grilled Cheese II), which serves sandwiches like the Green Muenster Melt (muenster cheese, homemade guacamole and apple wood bacon) and the Mighty Rib Melt (fontina, braised short ribs and caramelized onions). Current side orders include hand-cut truffle fries and a Sam Adams Summer Ale gazpacho.
Another popular truck is Clover, which offers fun, tasty and healthy fare like granola with yogurt and peaches for breakfast, a soy BLT for lunch and chickpea fritters for dinner. Yummy sides include French fries with rosemary and fried okra.
If you’re in the mood for something sweet go check out the schedule for Kick *ss Cupcakes, whose cupcakes they claim “taste as good as they look.” They have all the favorites such as chocolate and vanilla, but also bake fun and creative ones like the fall-forward limited edition Caramel Apple cupcake (cider cakes with apples baked in, and vanilla icing drizzled with caramel). They even have vegan and gluten-free cupcakes.
Michael DiSabatino, co-owner and manager of Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, says of the booming food truck industry, “I think it’s a new, fresh experience for people and the food speaks for itself. There’s a lot of great food, and there’s a lot of great food trucks out there.”
Food trucks are certainly a fresh, updated concept for the city of Boston. They are also fast, convenient and cheap. Their primary locations in busy downtown areas are ideal for lunch breaks and for people on the go. Go online to find out more about where your favorite food trucks may be lurking and exactly when they’ll be there.
