The Lehigh Valley is a complex web of cities, townships and municipalities, all with their own rules and regulations, which makes owning a food truck tricky business. You can’t simply pull up, park and start feeding the masses. That’s why the Greater Lehigh Valley Mobile Food Alliance was formed—to help the trucks, their drivers and the places they go all work together to get what they need: access to hungry customers.
There are 30 of them so far, and more keep popping up, says Tracey Mathews, Mobile Food Alliance president. Many of the Alliance trucks regularly rotate between Stabler Corporate Center (Center Valley Parkway) and Lehigh Valley Corporate Center (Schoenersville Road) for its Food Truck Friday events. And a couple of them have fixed locations, too, such as Bad Bones BBQ at Newhard Farms Corn Shed in Coplay, and The Smokin’ Bull Shack at the Inside Scoop in Coopersburg.
To track these trucks, follow their individual social media accounts, which detail their constantly changing whereabouts. In general, you can expect the trucks to be out and about from spring through fall. They’re also available for hire. Want a whole lot more? Check out the Lehigh Valley Food Truck Festival at Coca-Cola Park on May 14.
Peculiar Culinary Company
Who:
Gene and Miranda Philbin founded the company in Pittston—that’s up near Scranton—as a way to throw pop-up supper clubs and grow community in 2012; the food truck launched with Kickstarter support in October 2015.
What:
These folks take sustainability to heart, using as many seasonal and local food items as possible for their “peculiar” twists on comfort foods, such as chicken and waffles, short rib tacos and brisket breakfast burritos. Don’t miss their double-cooked fries with homemade ketchup.
Where & When:
They have done some appearances around here at Weyerbacher, so keep an eye out.
Follow:
peculiarculinary.com
facebook.com/peculiarculinarycompany
Vince’s Cheesesteaks
Who:
With roots in the region, starting with a basement steak shop to full-on trailers at festivals and two brick-and-mortar locales, this three-generation business, run by Vince Cocca and his son Chris, dates to 1957 and added two food trucks to its fleet last year.
What:
Vince’s Original cheesesteak with everything: steak, American cheese, onions, sauce, pickles, hot peppers;
the Italian adds sweet peppers. Chicken iterations such as the bacon chicken chipotle win big too—it was an award-
winner at the IronPigs Bacon & Brews bash last year.
Where & When:
Take-out at Lynnville Hotel, 8148 Bausch Rd., New Tripoli; steak shop at 806 Hamilton St., Allentown; Food Truck Fridays.
Follow:
thecheesesteakplacepa.com
facebook.com/vincescheesesteaks
The FÜD Truk
Who:
Opened by Lehigh University in 2012, this truck was started as a way to make food more accessible during special events and in places on campus lacking access to dining options.
What:
Food truck fare, bumped up a notch; hand-cut fries, breakfast sandwiches all day; a zesty falafel that’s made from scratch from a Palestinian recipe, and then some.
Where & When:
March–November: Mon.–Fri. 8 a.m.– 3 p.m., December–March: 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m. Sometimes the truck operates through the later hours depending on what’s happening on campus. 8 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem.
Follow:
Full of Crepe
Who:
Crepes have gone from a simple storefront in Southside Bethlehem in 2012 to a burgeoning, full-time business for owner Ashley Caldwell. You may have seen the “Green Machine,” a.k.a. her truck, pulling up at festivals around the Valley since 2014.
After spending a season with the Easton Farmers’ Market, Caldwell’s also now part of the Easton Public Market.
What:
Fully loaded crepes, Moravian Sugar Cake and the Old Faithful (strawberries, nutella, bananas) are big hits, along with the have-it-your-way Blue Plate Special breakfast crepe.
Where & When:
333 S. New St., Bethlehem; 325 Northampton St., Easton and festivals and special events around the Valley.
Follow:
The Moo Truck
Who:
Evan Asoudegan started the Moo truck several years ago to much fanfare. The Moo truck became so popular that Asoudegan opened a roadside joint in Ottsville (which has since closed) and another one in New Hope in 2015.
What:
Fresh, locally sourced grass-fed burgers, plus fries, hot dogs, shakes and salads. Ask for the Moo burger, with special sauce and bacon.
When & Where:
Moo is for hire for all kinds of parties, including weddings. The brick-and-mortar location is at 137 S. Main St., New Hope.
Follow:
Aioli: A Fine Food Truck
Who:
Cooking buddies Dakota Bonney, 23, and Dustin Lance, 25, were looking for something different, so they started up the Aioli food truck in May 2015. “We wanted to get out of the kitchen scene, and take a restaurant experience and make it mobile. We wanted to be the total opposite of the ‘roach coach’ food you see at industrial parks,” says Bonney.
What:
Restaurant quality, scratch-made fare, served truck-side. Look for the fried pickles and pulled pork.
When & Where:
Food Truck Friday and anywhere else. “We go [wherever] we are invited,” says Bonney.
Follow:
The Taza Truck
Who:
Tim Bonner and Hala Rihan-Bonner started the truck in March 2014.
What:
“Taza” means “fresh” in Arabic, and the edict is taken seriously for this duo’s Egyptian fare, much of it vegetarian and gluten free; the meat is halal. Think shawarma, kushari and a seriously garlicky hummus. And Egyptian falafel, which contains fava beans, not chickpeas, “with lots of herbs such as dill, parsley and cilantro and over six different spices, to the point that when you break open a falafel, it is green inside from the herbs,” says Rihan-Bonner.
Where & When:
May–October: Thursdays at the Bethlehem Farmers’ Market and the Macungie Farmers’ Market. They’re also a permanent vendor in the Easton Public Market at 325 Northampton St.
Follow:
1865 House of Pi
Who:
Opened by Lehigh University in 2014, this wood-burning pizza cart—it’s not quite a truck—parks up the hill from the university’s FÜD Truk and pops up all over the Valley at special events, including Musikfest. The name is a nod to the University’s founding date and its academic ties to math, science and engineering.
What:
Ten-inch, wood-fired pizzas with sauce made from scratch, including a seasonal farmers’ market option, with homemade mozzarella and fresh, local ingredients.
Where & When:
March-November: Mon., Wed., Thurs. 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m., on E. Packer Ave. “by the flagpole,” says Dan Burke of Lehigh Dining Services.
Follow:
Trixie’s Treats
Who:
Tracey Mathews shrewdly set up her truck, Stella, outside Volpe’s Sports Bar in Allentown on Super Bowl Sunday 2013, and gave away cupcakes. A business was born, bearing her nickname from when she worked at PJ Whelihan’s.
What:
Cupcakes, triple threat brownies, pecan pie bread pudding and other sweets. Best-sellers are banana fluffer nutter and salted caramel pretzel cupcakes.
Where & When:
Food Truck Friday, and around the Lehigh Valley. You’ll also find her at Trixie’s Oven Lovin’ at Buzz by FoC (Full of Crepe), 21 S. Second St., Easton.
