We asked and you voted for your favorite mobile cuisine in our fine state. During voting the names of your favorites stood next to a lot of other fantastic road warriors. When they’re hitting the streets this summer, be sure to support these hard-working and creative chefs by attending a food truck event or chasing down a truck like the hungry dog you are. We sure have a lot to celebrate.
Friskie Fries, Favorite Truck 2018, Favorite French Fries, Favorite Food Truck with Storefront and Favorite Graphics
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever parked? Outside of a cemetery
If you were on a desert island with your truck, what ingredients would you want to have with you?
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever parked? My daughter’s driveway
Haven Brothers, Favorite Burger/ Slider and Favorite Late Night Truck
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever parked? We catered a house party with armed security, and they weren’t friendly.
What device would you invent for your truck to help business run better? Magic is totally allowed. A fryer that can fry a basket of fries in seconds
How did you come up with the name for your business? It was established in 1893 by Ann Haven.
If someone was going to try one dish of yours, what would you recommend? Of course it’s the murder burger. Once you eat it, you feel you’ve died and gone to heaven. The flavor is killer…
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Rich and famous because I have ketchup in my blood and hot dogs in my genes. I knew I was destined for Havenly things!
What’s your favorite other food truck? Haven Bros Diner — that’s what got me started in the mobile catering business!
Championship Melt, Favorite Grilled Cheese
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever parked? We did an event for the special teams coach of the New England Patriots, and he had a basketball court built at his house just for the event. It was a 2 on 2 tournament that he was having for NFL players.
What’s the most lost you’ve ever gotten with the truck? We went to Melrose, MA and the GPS took us down a road with a tunnel that had 8-foot-clearance, which we couldn’t mae. Directly in front of us is the tunnel and on either side of us were two one-way roads and we had nowhere to go but backward.
What device would you invent for your truck to help business run better? Magic is totally allowed. It exists in reality and it’s called an air conditioner. It gets hot on the truck this time of year.
How did you come up with the name of your business? I bought the truck from the previous owner. It’s a play on words for a championship title belt.
If someone was going to try one dish of yours, what would you recommend? The most popular is called the Stan Hansen, named after a very popular US wrestler who wrestled in Japan. It’s cheddar, pulled pork, honey BBQ sauce and macaroni and cheese.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to do something in wrestling. And that’s kind of cool because we get to promote wrestling events through my organization, Beyond Wrestling.
What’s your favorite other food truck? Pretty much anyone who’s going to give us free food at the end of the night.
If you were on a desert island with your truck – what ingredients would you bring?
We have just a flat top grill on the truck, so I would bring the ingredients to make myself a chicken stir fry sandwich.
Citizen Wing, Favorite Chicken Wings
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever parked? You mean besides Kennedy Plaza? Actually the weirdest/coolest moment was on the set of the Ghostbusters reboot parked next to Ecto-1; it was just nuts to me.
What’s the most lost you’ve ever gotten with the truck? We did a party for some friends last year down on Wallum Lake. Anyways, GPS took us down a steep and narrow dirt looking “path” you could call it, and at the end was the the lake. So I almost drove into the lake basically.
What device would you invent for your truck to help business run better? Magic is totally allowed. Self cleaning fryers or self cleaning truck. I spend more time cleaning than I do cooking, but that may be just my OCD. I love a clean kitchen!
How did you come up with the name for your business? I originally told people I named it to build a brand that could become more than just a food truck that everyone could relate to. Then someone asked if it had anything to do with Citizen Kane. Lately I have been inclined to think the latter. It might just be my rosebud and my demise someday. Just kidding — I actually love what I do no matter how hard it gets!
If someone was going to try one dish of yours, what would you recommend? I love our chicken & waffles, poutine and other creations, but our wings are unique. We brine them in beer from local breweries, season them and deep fry them — sometimes beer battered, grilled, smoked, sous vide. We are always trying new stuff. But I would say smoked chicken wings with Volcanic ash sauce, which is made with Borealis coffee, habaneros, fig jam and cardamom, then topped with toasted sesame seeds and scallions.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I’m not really sure I knew when I was a kid. I mean definitely Indiana Jones, but it didn’t seem like a real option.
What’s your favorite other food truck? Do not make me pick! This is a tough one. It has to Be Plouf Plouf Gastronomie and Rocket Fine Street Food. But again I’m not gonna pick one in any order at any time!
If you were on a desert island with your truck, what ingredients would you want to have with you? I would have to say we need duck fat to fry stuff, lots of beer and Sriracha, cuz I could eat just about anything with Sriracha on it!
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever parked? We do all kinds of weird stuff. Probably my first event that my wife and I did when we launched our food truck. We were in CT at a large festival and were selling only pulled pork with cole slaw and in two days we sold, like, I can’t even remember the amount. It was an absurd amount. We were like, “Whoa, why did we do this?” It took off for us then.
What’s the most lost you’ve ever gotten with the truck? Probably trying to navigate through Boston. The truck can’t go through the tunnels, so we have to stay on the surface roads. Going to Suffolk Downs with a truck from RI is really difficult.
What device would you invent for your truck to help business run better? Magic is totally allowed. Probably a way for the trucks to clean themselves. Our trucks get blown up, so something that would allow us to push a button and steam clean the whole thing.
How did you come up with the name of your business? I did it without anybody understanding what it was. When I came up with GottaQ, it’s a noun, a verb and an adjective. GottaQ is the business name. GottaQ as in, you’ve gotta eat this barbecue. As an adjective, it’s gottaq. GottaQ barbecue is the only kind of barbecue. Got to have that barbecue.
If someone was going to try one dish of yours, what would you recommend? Brisket. Our beef brisket is national class. I would put it against any barbecue house anywhere in the country.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I did it. I was a firefighter/EMM/paramedic for 37 years. In my second career, I built theme park attractions for Disney. In my retirement, I switched from doing lighting and sound to doing the food part of events.
What’s your favorite other food truck? We most get along with Presto Strange-o. We’re going to use their brand of drinks on our trucks and store.
If you were on a desert island with your truck – what ingredients would you bring? Brisket and dry rub. I’m sure I could build a smoker out of something.
Jeff’s Wood Fired Pizza, Favorite Pizza
What’s the most lost you’ve ever gotten with the truck? We have never gotten lost (thank you gps). We did once cater a wedding that in order to get to required us to go under a bridge we wouldn’t fit under. Fortunately, a local saw us coming and told us how to get to our destination without going under the bridge.
Buddha Belly, Favorite Other Ethnic
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever parked? I haven’t really parked anywhere weird. I have had the opportunity to park in some really cool spots, such as a beautiful ocean-front spot while providing service at a yacht club or in the middle of the RI POPS at Roger Williams Park Temple of Music. If I had to answer this, I would say my driveway at home. Before I opened to the public I did a couple test runs with my friends, family, and neighbors out of my driveway to work out any kinks.
What’s the most lost you’ve ever gotten with the truck? I have never really gotten lost. I’m born and raised in this area and with all the technology available to us, there really is no excuse to be lost in Rhode Island.
What device would you invent for your truck to help business run better? Magic is totally allowed. I would love to invent a robot that can prepare the whole truck for me. Handle the shopping and make my sauces. If it would also cut veggies and make my batter and clean – that would be pretty awesome. Now that I think about it, how about it does everything and I just interact with customers?
How did you come up with the name for your business? Buddha Belly came from my thinking that I wanted something that could tie together something Asian with something food-related that conveyed my sense of humor. I use the Laughing Buddha image on my truck and joke that is a self-portrait or my twin brother.
If someone was going to try one dish of yours, what would you recommend? I would definitely recommend my Chinese Style Crepe. It is unique in this area and is THE number 1 street food in China. It really is a great representation of my truck and a true Chinese street food cuisine.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a surgeon or an Air Force jet pilot.
What’s your favorite other food truck? I think there is something from each that I really love to eat every once in awhile. With that said I will NEVER pass up the opportunity to get a burrito from Mijio’s or the Artichoke Balls off of Noble Knots! This is like asking me to choose between my two children, this is not possible – I want them all, all of the time!
If you were on a desert island with your truck, what ingredients would you want to have with you? I would want the 11 ingredients I use to make my chicken wing sauce; it’s an awesome sauce that seems to taste pretty good on anything I put it on!!
Jo Jo’s Cupcakes, Favorite Dessert
Del’s Lemonade, Favorite Frozen Dessert
It just wouldn’t be RI without Del’s. The relief on a hot day, the bits of real lemon, the spoon straw … it’s no wonder you can’t resist the siren song of the yellow and green cup!
Like No Udder, Favorite Vegan / Vegetarian Options
Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever parked? We served a funeral; the person who passed away wanted something fun at the funeral and requested an ice cream truck. She also requested that the ice cream be eaten outside to ensure ice cream wouldn’t be spilled on the carpet.
How did you come up with the name of your business? A friend of ours came up with the name Like No Udder in her sleep.
If someone was going to try only one dish of yours, what would you recommend? The peanut butter chocolate shake is the most popular item on the truck.
Presto Strange O Coffee Truck, Favorite Coffee / Beverage Truck
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever parked? Probably on the wrong side of a state highway at an abandoned rest stop to serve a movie crew at 1am.
Iggy’s Doughboys, Favorite Outdoor Treat
Deep-fried bread served with a generous sprinkling of sugar — no fair, carnival, beach day or any summer day spent outside would be complete without it. We’re just glad their delicious doughboys don’t actually come out of the fryer with faces. We’d still devour it, but we’d feel bad about it.
Yacht Club Soda, Favorite Locally Produced Food Carried in Stores or Trucks
Rhode Island’s been loving Yacht Club for more than 100 years! Made with artesian water and no high fructose corn syrup before being bottled in glass, the anchor label means you’re about to taste the good stuff. At a backyard BBQ, at the beach, mixed with liquor, turned into ice pops or served with food truck fare, Yacht Club’s exceptional flavors make them a favorite year after year.
The Burgundian, Favorite Mobile Pop Up
What’s been your most unusual pop-up experience? I would probably say the Attleboro Zoo. I was legit right near the lion’s den and Mufasa was definitely staring me down the entire time. It was kind of creepy cool.
Tricycle Ice Cream, Favorite Truck on a Bike
What device would you invent for your cart to help business run better? Magic is totally allowed. I would make a self-driving tricycle that could make deliveries right to your door. I’d also like to create dry ice that doesn’t sublimate, so I can save some money.
How did you come up with the name for your business? I like business names that are both simple and conjure up an image in a consumer’s head. Obviously, we vend out of a tricycle, so some inspiration came from that. However, we liked the name, too, because it conjures up a kind of nostalgia that would resonate with a lot of people.
Hope Village / Hope Street Market (Pawtucket), Favorite Farmer’s Market
The Hope Street Farmers Market is like something out of a movie. Filled with couples, families and budding chefs, Saturday mornings at Lippit Park is a gorgeous experience. There’s freshly picked produce, coffee, baked goods and live music right next to a playground and an occasional artists market. And of course, there’s always a food truck nearby.
Frank Terranova, Achievement Award
Chef Terranova announced his retirement this year, and we want to thank him for keeping us Cooking with Class for so many years. See our interview with him on page XX.
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