From Waffles to Gyros to Cupcakes to BBQ, find it at Food Truck Tuesday at Earleigh Heights from 4 to 8pm this summer
As the thick summer air flirts with enticing scents of street food, crowds begin to gather and mingle in the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Department parking lot for a Tuesday evening of food truck fun. What could be better than fresh food finds in the summer air right off of Ritchie Highway? EHVFD is bringing the phenomenon of food trucks to the 21146 by piloting Food Truck Tuesday this summer, a weekly gathering of fun, friends, and food. Notorious for housing other such community events as the annual Earleigh Heights Carnival, the Fire Department’s parking lot on Tuesday evenings from 4 to 8pm will be a hotspot for local food trucks serving everything from waffles to gyros to crab cakes to fried oreos and more. The Talon decided to visit the Food Truck Tuesday gathering to see if all this hubbub about street food was worth a try.
As soon as we arrived we could tell that the lively venue was busy and bustling; the lines for each truck grew each minute. Smells of authentic Greek food, Marylander classic Old Bay fries, smoky barbecue and carnival-reminiscent funnel cake wafted through the air. The assortment of trucks and tastes including T and J Waffles, Flavor Cupcakery, Greek on the Street and Truck of Deliciousness ensured that everyone’s tastes were represented. “There are food trucks everywhere and it just looks nice, and smells nice too. It’s like a summer thing and I’m kinda excited. There looks like a lot of good food,” said junior Austin McAlexander of his first impression.
We decided to approach the T and J Waffle Truck first, and had the pleasure of talking to Thierry Reboullet, one of the head chefs and founders of T and J. Reboullet and his family moved to the United States from France 25 years ago, and started the food truck in 2011. This food truck specializes in homemade savory and sweet waffles of all kinds. At T and J Waffles, Thierry and his staff serve up sweet waffles with toppings like Nutella or Mixed berries, and their signature waffle sandwiches of Chicken, Pulled Pork, BLT and more. “I’m not the one who came up with the idea to start a food truck, it was my son, my son Thomas,” he eagerly shared with us, noting that T and J in the truck’s name stand for the names of his son and daughter, Tom and Julie. “He wanted to start one to pay for his college and my two kids came up with the idea one Sunday morning. I told my kids, I already have a full time job but if you want to do it, I will help you. I will finance, but you have to work the truck. Then we put it all together and made it happen,” said Reboullet. Over just two and half short years T and J had raised enough to pay for his son’s college tuition, and started work the food truck full time with his children. We decided to try the Crème brûlée waffle, which was deliciously creamy, sweetened with powdered sugar and topped with fresh strawberries.
“I’m not the one who came up with the idea to start a food truck, it was my son, my son Thomas, He wanted to start one to pay for his college and my two kids came up with the idea one Sunday morning… we put it all together and made it happen”
–Thierry Reboullet of T and J Waffles.
Parked a little ways away from the Waffle Truck was the equally sweet Flavor Cupcakery, winner of the fourth season of the Food Network Channel’s series “Cupcake Wars”. Owner Shelly Stannard shared with us that she entered the food truck business to spread their cupcake flavors to areas that could not be reached by stores. “The truck has been fun and great for spreading the word about our business. It does have challenges in that we have a fresh baked product, with only a one-day shelf life. Therefore, we have to be real careful with how much we bake and bring on the truck each day. We also have to be selective about the events/locations we attend to be sure it will be a worthwhile venture,” said Stannard. The truck offers a very large variety of cupcake flavors that rotates daily, ranging from classic Chocolate, Vanilla and Red Velvet, to more interesting combinations like S’mores, Milky Way, Key Lime, and Cotton Candy. The cupcakery also makes sweet treats like French macarons, whoopie pies and truffles. “We keep it fresh and interesting,” said Stannard.
SPHS students also attended the event and tried a variety of foods, frequenting trucks like Greek on the Street for gyros and tzatziki and chowing down on tacos from Chubby’s BBQ. Junior Tyler Smith picked up a Hero wrap from Greek on the Street, a fan favorite food truck at this event. “I thought it was pretty lit over all. The tzatziki was refreshing and they had some good vegetables. The meat had some spices but could have used more, I give it a nine out of ten,” said Smith of his meal. He also commented that “It (the line) was pretty quick. It only took a couple of minutes.” Junior Antonio Karides enjoyed a gyro from Greek on the Street, but unfortunately found there to be something missing from his food truck experience. “One thing I didn’t like though is the fact that they ran out of octopus. I’d like to see them increase their octopus quotas in the future because I was pretty hyped for that and I was pretty sad,” said Karides. We asked Karides how Greek he thought the food actually was. “I think it’s authentically greek,” he concluded.
Sophomore Noah Foxson ate at the Truck of Deliciousness, and rated his experience well. “I got a bacon cheeseburger grilled cheese. I liked it because its two foods both with cheese in the name, which is always a plus, plus bacon. I absolutely would recommend this truck to others. It fulfilled my expectations. It was damn good,” said Foxson.
“It fulfilled my expectations. It was damn good” –Noah Foxson
Juniors Ellie Schepens and Malorie Johnson also tried a variety of food trucks that night. “I went to Beef on the Street and Crabtowne Cuisine U.S.A. I’d say the pulled pork sandwich from Beef on the Street is absolutely amazing and the BBQ sauce is to die for. Crabtowne Cuisine’s fried shrimp with their crab dip is so so good. I would ten out of ten recommend this to everyone. There are so many different options and although the line is long the food is definitely worth it,” said Schepens of her experience. “I’ve had better but it was pretty good and it wasn’t that expensive,” said Johnson about her chicken tacos from Chubby’s Food Truck, which she downed with a cool lemonade. She went on to evaluate the setting and the event as a whole, “I think the atmosphere is really casual but really social at the same time. The dynamic of the food truck promotes people to be more relaxed and come together and try different foods and it gives people exposure to foods that they normally may not have the motivation to go and drive to a restaurant for Greek food or anything like that.”
After interviewing the group of students, the consensus was that Food Truck Tuesday was a hit. You won’t want to miss this fun summer foodie event. Luckily, Food Truck Tuesday will be happening weekly until the end of the summer. Make sure to head over to Earleigh Heights to explore Severna Park’s newly found good eats.
