Street Food

Until recently “Miami street food” meant nothing more than hot dogs, sausages, and arepas, outside the arena on game day. But now, the national food truck trend has caught on and Miami street food has come alive. Like the rest of the nation, Miami food trucks are about elevating the notion of street food; about great chefs, good ingredients, restaurant quality food, and inspired dishes. Legendary dives are reinventing themselves with their mobile kitchens and up-and-coming chefs are using food trucks as marketing tools for their restaurants. These trucks are not only providing the typical street food fair, they are dishing out gourmet food with cultural inspirations. Food lovers are taking notice and are flocking to these trucks and following them around town, day and night.

Tuesday night we made plans to meet up with friends at BTTR, the Biscayne Triangle Truck Roundup [at Johnson and Wales University on Biscayne Boulevard], one of many food truck rallies taking place around the city. Thirty trucks meet here every week on this night for what seems to be an impromptu street festival; filled with food, music, and meandering foodies lining up at their favorite trucks to sample the menu.

Our first stop was Mr. Good Stuff, a Venezuelan inspired truck pumping out stuffed Lunas (arepas), burgers, and tostones. The truck itself served as a canvas for local artist Lebo. Now, if you think that the cartoon print is just a funky way to draw attention to the truck, all you have to do is take a peek behind the window. The inspiration and the man behind the red cap is Chef Alfredo Montero. The guy is legit and the food he’s serving up is proof of that. We went with the Sweet Caroline: a Carolina pulled pork luna topped with cheddar cheese and coleslaw; and the 4 Cheezy-My-Neezy: deep fried cheese bite made up of cheddar, gorgonzola, mozzarella and provolone with a spicy guava dipping sauce. Both were absolutely delicious. At this point, I would have been content grabbing another luna and waffle fries, and working my way through their assortment of sauces, but that wasn’t our goal today. With our sights set on sharing a sampling of as many trucks as our stomachs could handle, we moved on.

At Ms. Cheezious, the fresh made grilled cheese truck, we ordered the Goat Cheese and Prosciutto with tomato and arugula on a marble rye, while our less adventurous companions decided to create their own: a grilled bacon and cheddar. In spite of its simplicity, the bacon and cheddar was pretty good; the smoke from the bacon and sharpness of the cheddar always makes for a tasty combination, but it was definitely the Goat cheese and Prosciutto that was the standout. The creamy cheese and salty prosciutto make for the perfect marriage,  complimented and balanced by the slice of tomato.

Still hungry and ready for more, we made a stop at Arepa Box and paid homage to a Miami street food original, with a Cachapa: a tasty sweet corn arepa filled with guayanes cheese. That was followed by Che Grill, an Argentinean inspired truck where we tried one of their specialties, the Gaucho Burger. This is the kind of burger that would hit the spot at 3 in the morning after a long night of drinking. Topping this 8 oz. beef patty is everything you’d expect for breakfast: ham, bacon, a fried egg, and throw in a slice mozzarella cheese for good measure. Next up were a pair of stuffed tostones at Miso Hungry. The twice fried plantain cup served as a perfect vessel for this Asian-fusion pulled pork. The curry chicken stuffed tostón, on the other hand, was in need of complementary flavors to soften the punch of spices.

A little sluggish and about ready to throw in the towel we walked up to the Purple People Eatery. On the day’s specials was a must try, the Truffled Loaded Cheese Fries. Topped with truffle oil, cheese, bacon, scallion, and crema, these fries were delicious and definitely one of the night’s highlights. The menu is crammed with tasty creations by chefs David Shipman and Michelle Duncan, ranging from bison burgers to ginger beer battered mahi tacos. Without question, a do-over on an empty stomach.

The night was coming to an end and it was difficult to imagine having anything else, but we figured there’s always room for dessert, right? Cue Coolhaus. How could four architects pass up this architecture themed dessert truck? Reading through and giggling at the list of architect-named ice cream sandwiches like the Mies Vanilla Rohe, the Louis Ba-kahn, and BuckMINTster Fuller, we quickly realized with the awkward stares that these puns were lost on most; nonetheless, it did not deter anyone from lining up to try one of these tasty creations.  We went with the I.M. Pie-Nut Butter ice cream in a Smore’s Cookie. The peanut butter ice cream was well balanced with sweet and salty, while the graham cracker and marshmallow cookie served a good compliment and as a great last bite.

Whether you are tracking your favorite food truck on the go or catching them at one of the many truck rallies around town, you’ll always find good service, great food, and even better people.