If we had to pick one trend right now as our favorite, it would easily be the food truck craze. Food trucks are one of the most fun parts of the food service spectrum because food truck menus are often experiential, and driven by the customers ordering from them. Think back to fifteen years ago when all you could get out of a truck was a sausage or an ice cream bar. Now, food truck menus can include just about anything from gourmet grilled cheese to Korean barbecue to deep fried oreos!

In honor of our favorite trend, we’re devoting this week’s blog to the food truck menu! We’re going to look at some of the popular food truck menus across the country and give suggestions on how you can adapt them into a menu of your own. By the end of this post, you’ll be searching for your next street food stop.

- Sweet Treats -

Baked goods might not seem like a likely contender for the food truck scene, but Hey Cupcake! would tell you otherwise.  The shiny silver airstream with the giant cupcake on its roof is an Austin, TX fan favorite. Since opening, the cupcake giant has expanded to 6 locations including a brick and mortar bakery which helps to keep up with the demand for more sweets on the streets.

The Hey Cupcake! menu includes both traditional cupcake varieties as well as some surprising combinations like the Michael Jackson, a tribute to the late pop mega star, featuring a cream cheese frosting on top of chocolate cake.

If sweets are where your head is at for your food truck menu, we recommend taking a page from another great trend: fusion! Time to get really creative and make your sweets stand apart from the crowd. Try crepe burritos, stuffed with the customer’s choice of fillings or how about a donut sandwich truck serving up ice-cream in between a halved donut.  By merging two of your customer’s favorites into one delectable treat you can be sure to please the masses.

- Fried Favorites -

Fried food has always been a staple across food truck menus, but more recently it’s taken a gourmet twist.  Take the Top Fries, for example, this French fry truck is making a meal out of what people normally consider a side.  Covered in just about any topping you could think of, Top Fries has kept their menu simple by offering a singular item done in a variety of ways.

If fried food is your idea of a good time take a page from Top Fries book and do one thing in a number of ways. Chicken wings and strips are another popular fried item that can be done in so many different ways, with crazy sauces toppings or sides. For a super fun creative twist on fried chicken, offer a dessert menu of chicken and waffles served with a side of hot maple syrup or barbecue sauce.

- Ethnic Cuisine -

exPeople love eating the types of food they can’t get at home, which is one of the reasons why Spanish food is so popular with food truck fans. Austin native, Mellizoz Tacos, opened their 42’ truck in 2006, and created a menu they knew would be a winner.  Mellizoz prides themselves on fresh ingrediants, great service and some of the best tacos, tortas and made to order guacamole around. Unlike most trucks, Mellizoz offers a full menu including breakfast, lunch and dinner, serving captive fans at each day part.

When you start thinking about your food truck menu, consider tacos as an easy custom ordered menu item. Customization is a HUGE trend right now, so why not apply it to your menu? We also suggest taking a lead from Mellizoz in creating a breakfast taco menu too. Breakfast is often cheaper to produce and offers some of the best return, so it’s a no brainer to be available in the morning!

- Portable Pizza -

There is no denying that American’s love pizza. In fact, we eat about 100 acres of pizza each day! That’s 350 slices a second!   So it makes sense that pizza would be a good fit for the food truck biz. Street-za was recently ranked the #1 Food Truck in the US, with their low prices, and fresh pizza it’s no surprise they would be so popular.

Street-za’s menu includes traditional offerings like cheese, pepperoni and veggie, but their special slices of the day are where they really shine. Daily specials range from chicken alfredo pizza to vegan to Wisconsin cheese!

If you’re considering pizza for a food truck menu item, focus on making the best cheese pizza first. Once you’ve nailed the classic, you can then work on toppings galore. Just like the taco trend, you can allow customers to customize their pizza when they order it and give them exactly what they want.

There you have it. Four great food truck menus down, and we have to admit, we’re rather hungry. Time to track down our own local favorite, the Dog Father. While hot dogs may seem to be an unoriginal offering, the Dog Father is anything but boring as he mastered the art of gourmet dog toppings. What’s your favorite food truck? We’d love to know, sound off in the comments below!

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