Let’s be honest, food tastes so much better from a food truck. It’s typically fresher and lends a whole new experience to your food adventures. They’re experimental, over the top, and pretty much always delicious. Plus, they can be cheaper sit-down restaurants, and boast a certain vibe of energy that you won’t find anywhere else.
As far as I’m concerned these are the 17 most epic food trucks in America. I recommend you track them down immediately.
1. Koji BBQ (Los Angeles)
Photo courtesy of @kojibbq on Pinterest
Kogi BBQ is shaking things up in LA with their famous Korean barbecue, especially with their iconic $2.50 Korean tacos famous across the street food industry. Other fan favorites include their kimchi quesadilla, short rib burrito, and Pacman burge—which features all three of their meats, both their salsas, sesame mayo, salad, and jack and cheddar cheeses. Pretty much everything you could ever want in a burger.
They’ve also recently opened up their first sit-down restaurant, Chego, which specializes in rice bowls that can be enjoyed with a cold beer if your heart so desires.
2. Cupcakes for Courage (Chicago)
Photo courtesy of @staciesmitherson on Instagram
This food truck allows you to eat cupcakes while also contributing to cancer research. It’s a win win for both your morals and your belly. Their lime green food truck is often found on the streets of Chicago carrying at times over 500 cupcakes waiting to be devoured by hungry customers.
And you know the cupcakes are great because the sisters who own the business appeared on Cupcake Wars. There are 13 different cupcake flavors served daily, ranging from banana cream pie to dark chocolate to maple bacon. How could you possibly choose just one?
3. Yumbii (Atlanta)
Photo courtesy of @kilo_charlie_ on Instagram
As Atlanta’s first food truck and five time winner of best Atlanta food truck, you know they know what they’re doing. Yumbii fuses together Southern fare and Asian-Mexican flavors to craft delicious, “far out food” unlike anything you’ve eaten before.
The menu features tacos and burritos stuffed with your choice of asian rib-eye beef, stir-fried tofu, chicken, spicy pulled pork, or panko-crusted tilapia. They’re served with a special red Asian BBQ sauce and soy sesame vinaigrette, along with a side of sesame fries. You’re gonna need napkins.
4. Wafels & Dinges (New York)
Photo courtesy of @s_chan97 on Instagram
If you thought you could only get good waffles from a food truck somewhere in Europe, think again. Wafels & Dinges is raved about by both tourists and native New Yorkers alike, a true glory in the world of food trucks. The Belgian-inspired waffle menu includes both savory and sweet options, topped with pretty much whatever you want, which they’ve dubbed as “dinges.” You can choose from spekuloos spread, Vermont maple syrup, dulce de leche, or a sweet scoop of ice cream. It’s like being a kid in a candy store that makes waffles.
5. Ms. Cheezious (Miami)
Photo courtesy of @snacksalldayeveryday on Instagram
Behold a truck that’s whipping up perhaps the most delicious variety of grilled cheese sandwiches you never thought were possible. Mac ‘n cheese and bacon, goat cheese and prosciutto, and s’mores are just a few of the must-try combinations melted in-between two slices of their toasted bread.
You can also always try your hand at making your own epic grilled cheese creation, starting with bread, your favorite cheese, and additions like buffalo tempeh, spiced apples, and/or a fried egg. It’s sure to put your mom’s grilled cheese to shame (sorry moms).
6. DC Empanadas (Washington D.C.)
Photo courtesy of @fedcitybros on Instagram
If you love like empanadas this is the food truck for you. Each is hand-made fresh with seasonal, local ingredients. They focus on unexpected flavor combinations like oven-roasted pork in an Asian sweet chili glaze, white meat chicken with peas in Alfredo sauce, and vegetarian options such as brie, figs and almonds.
DC Empanadas’ menu changes daily, rotating between 44 unique creations. As a bonus, the empanadas are not only delicious, but highly portable and easy enough to eat as you walk around touring the rest of the nation’s capital.
7. Prime Stache (Philadelphia)
Photo courtesy of @primestacheoldcity on Instagram
Prime Stache is giving a new face to your average food truck by putting a high class spin on burgers, wraps, and tacos. They serve up salmon burgers with tarragon aioli on brioche buns and cheesesteak wraps with thin sliced ribeye on flour tortillas—to name two of the best.
Perhaps the most impressive menu item is the Ron Burgundy, which contains pulled pork, roast pork, pork belly, apple cider barbecue sauce, chipotle coleslaw and American cheese all in a long Amoroso roll. If that doesn’t impress your favorite Anchorman I don’t know what will.
8. The Cinnamon Snail (New York)
Photo courtesy of @hungryobsession on Instagram
This food truck whips up something delicious for every meal, starting with fig pancakes for breakfast, sandwiches and burgers for lunch and dinner, and delectable donuts (and other pastries) for dessert. Everything that comes out of the truck is vegan and organic, with menu items changing every so often depending on what’s in season.
The most popular thing on their menu is of course the donuts, which are made fresh daily and run out quickly. Their donut flavors range from chocolate truffle to caramel apple crumb to blueberry rhubarb. You definitely want to get their early before they’re all gone.
9. Marination Mobile (Seattle)
Photo courtesy of
@mrfrankstagram on Instagram
According to the New York Times, if you have only 36 hours in Seattle a stop at this food truck is necessary. At Marination Mobile they combine Hawaiian and Korean cuisines to create some of the city’s most popular tacos, sliders, and quesadillas.
Go for the Korean cheesesteak—made with Kalbi beef, grilled onions, jalapeños, melted cheese, and mayo on a Macrina demi-baguette—or the SPAM slider with signature slaw and Nunya sauce on a Hawaiian roll, to really delve into Marination Mobile’s bold flavor combinations.
10. Wok n Roll (Cleveland)
Photo courtesy of clewoknroll.com
Wok n Roll will soon be your new go-to replacement for Chinese takeout. The food is an experiment with Vietnamese and Asian fare, fused with other world dishes such as Canadian poutine and Southern fritters. Customers can choose from one of four dishes, including Bibimbap or Yunnanese noodles, then add a protein such as lemongrass chicken, caramelized pork, or tempeh “bulgogi”for vegetarians and vegans. All dishes are also prepared with fresh ingredients, from Korean red sauce to kimchi slaw to cucumbers.
You can kiss takeout General Tso’s chicken goodbye.
11. Emerson Fry Bread (Phoenix)
Photo courtesy of @karlv22 on Instagram
Emerson Fry Bread may just be the only food truck in the country that specializes in Native American cuisine. They give their dishes a Mexican twist, serving up fry bread a variety of ways with toppings like pinto beans, carne asada, pico de gallo, cheese, and sour cream. You can also get their authentic Native American fry bread “buck naked”—handmade and hand-stretched everyday. They also serve fry bread as a dessert, either topped with powdered sugar or cinnamon, and honey. There’s nothing like fresh warm bread, no matter what form.
12. Oink and Moo BBQ (New Jersey and Philadelphia)
Photo courtesy of @amd2130 on Instagram
Here’s yet another bangin’ BBQ food truck, but this one’s working the streets of the East Coast. Oink and Moo serves up a handful of classic barbecue dishes from within their food truck, including baby back ribs, pulled pork tacos, brisket sliders, and their award winning chili, served with a made-from-scratch piece of warm cornbread.
In 2014 they won Rookie of the Year in the Vendy Awards, which is a pretty big deal in the food truck biz. They’re a pretty big deal.
13. Two for the Road (San Diego)
Photo courtesy of Twofortheroadsd on facebook.com
At Two for the Road they take everything you expect about traditional American food and up the ante (about a dozen times). Their weekly menu features specials such as Cap N’ Crunch crab cakes, spinach artichoke grilled cheese, and an epic Brooklyn Burger, which consists of half pound Angus Beef patty topped with hot pastrami, melted swiss and spicy jalapeño slaw. How you’d fit your mouth around that, I have no idea.
14. Veracruz All Natural (Austin)
Photo courtesy of @jenniferlover on Instagram
In Austin, tacos are an essential part of everyone’s diet and may be consumed for any (or all) meals of the day. The Veracruz All Natural food truck specializes in breakfast tacos which are different from, and possibly better than, any breakfast burrito you’ve ever eaten.
Their Migas Taco is a crowd pleaser, stuffed with scrambled eggs, tortilla chips, pico de gallo, avocado, and cheese, it’s sure to get you excited no matter how rough you’re morning is going. And don’t worry about food comas, they sell coffee too.
15. Hard Times Sundaes (Brooklyn)
Photo courtesy of @noleftovers_ on Instagram
Despite the name, you won’t find any sundaes here. However, you will find Fox News insists is NYC’s #1 burger truck. Why they had to confuse everyone with their name beats me. But after you try one of their glorious burgers you’ll probably forget any craving you had for sundaes. Get “the hard times burger” as a single, double, or triple burger with American cheese, caramelized onions, and thick-cut hardwood smoked bacon on a buttered and grilled potato roll.
If you’re more of a hot dog person, they have those too—deep fried Brooklyn-style of course.
16. The Fat Shallot (Chicago)
Photo courtesy of @thefatshallot on Instagram
The sandwiches they whip up at The Fat Shallot are well on their way to beomcing as iconic as Chicago as deep dish pizza itself. Yep, I said it.
The Fat Shallot menu features an epic grilled cheese made with melted Muenster, caramelized onions, and sautéed spinach on sourdough, a meatball sub with shaved fennel, spicy breadcrumbs and fresh oregano on a baguette, as well as buffalo chicken strips with blue cheese sauce and celery salad on an egg bun. Do yourself a favor and visit this food truck, everyday, until you’ve tried them all.
17. Del Popolo (San Francisco)
Photo courtesy of @pizzadelpopolo on Instagram
If you didn’t think pizza could be made in a food truck, think again. Del Popolo isn’t just serving up your average frozen pizza either, they’re crafting traditional, Neapolitan-inspired pies in a wood-fired oven inside a twenty-foot glass-enclosed transatlantic shipping container. They offer eight different kinds of pies, including a classic marinara as well as Margherita, butterball potato, and anchovy.
This food truck also has a hefty wine selection which you can purchase to-go. I guarantee you’ll never feel classier eating pizza out of a food truck anywhere else.