There’s no question that the popularity — and variety — of Whatcom County food trucks has skyrocketed in recent years. And we’re the lucky recipients of the terrific trend.
Whether you’re grabbing dinner from a food truck at one of our area breweries or swing by your favorite taco truck on the regular for lunch, there are options — and locations — galore. Here are just a few that make our mouths water.
Check out the links to each food truck below to find out where they’re parked and when or how to hire them to cater your special event. Our local breweries, like Wander and Kulshan, also do a fantastic job of helping you scope out the usual spot of your favorite food truck, with calendars of who will be where and when.
Keep in mind that some trucks are only open seasonally, so check in at their websites or Facebook pages before you go in search of eats.
Sandwiches & General American Cuisine
StrEAT Food has been serving up a variety of delicious dishes since 2010, from creative burgers and sandwiches to gyros, falafel and so much more. StrEAT Food also has a cafe in the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, so if you’re not at one of their regular spots — both Kulshan breweries, Wander, and Samuel’s Furniture in Ferndale — you can still get your StrEAT Food fix.
Besides having arguably the best food truck name (this is subjective, of course, and we respect your right to prefer your own favorite food truck moniker), Hot Mess Food Truck also has Philly cheesesteaks, original-style and with tantalizing toppings. Best known for these magnificent mess-making beauties, they also dish up other rotating sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, and the like.
I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the judges for the 2015 Bite of Bellingham, where the “People’s Choice” award went to Deli’cious Mischief’s Willy B’s: a crab-stuffed, bacon-wrapped prawn with a special Hollandaise sauce. Yup. Deli’cious Mischief dishes up an array of inventive specialty sandwiches and much more, from fish and chips to calzones.
Highway 542-Go is known for its “beer box,” variations of which include barbecue pulled pork, onions and cheddar cheese served over a pile of fries. They’re also known to offer falafel, beef or veggie burgers, hummus platters, pork or chicken quesadillas and more.
Barlean’s Fishery has its own food truck dubbed Peg Leg Dave’s. Hankering for fabulous fish and chips? Head out to the fishery on Slater Road in Ferndale between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and dig in — no fishing pole required.
Barbeque
Barbeque, barbecue or BBQ. It doesn’t matter how you spell it, if you’re a meat-eater, our area barbecue trucks will have your mouth watering.
I once found myself driving behind the JT’s Smokin’ BBQ truck on a sunny afternoon. The aroma alone almost made me purposely miss my turn just so I could keep enjoying the barbecue smell. You’ll find JT’s at Kulshan Brewery on James Street on Sundays, and catering private events.
Danielle’s Back East BBQ also impressed me at the Bite. Their truck is found outside Wander Brewing on Sundays, and like many area food trucks, you can also hire them to cater your event.
Pizza
Pizza just makes perfect, portable sense, doesn’t it? (Then again, so do hot dogs.)
Goat Mountain Pizza has been serving up fantastic ’za in downtown Bellingham since 2012, selling square slices by the pound in a variety of expected and unexpected flavor combinations — all of them fantastic. You’ll also find its truck out and about, selling the same scrumptious slices.
When I moved to Bellingham 20 years ago, Cicchitti’s was a hopping downtown pizza spot. After many successful years in the pizza business, they found that their food truck business surpassed the brick-and-mortar location, so that’s where you’ll find Cicchitti’s now, serving up pizza, hoagies, grinders and more at different locations all around town.
Pizza’zza has long been a favorite for pizza, plus burgers and other scrumptious sandwiches. Now they’re jumping into the food truck fray with Pizza’zza Mobile. Pizza’zza has always focused on community, organic ingredients and supporting local vendors, so it’s no surprise that a crowd-funding campaign to help them build their food truck locally was not only reached, but shot past their intended goal.
Taco Trucks
Did the food truck craze originate with the taco truck? If it didn’t, don’t even tell me, because I want all the glory to go to these south-of-the-border wonders. The list of local taco trucks is long and I’ve yet to find one I didn’t like. Here are just a few options: Tacos Tecalitlan at the corner of the Guide and Smith Road, Chihuahua’s Taco Truck, and Diego’s Mexican Grill.
German, Asian, Indian, Greek and More
Mexican is a popular food truck staple, to be sure, but you’ll also find other ethnicities represented in Whatcom County. The Rickshaw serves up Asian, Hawaiian and Thai flavors. Look no further than the sublime Simmering Tava for Indian delights. Want German eats? Search out the Kermit Dogs Bratwurst Cart for fantastic Kulshan-infused bratwurst and sausages handcrafted at Carne, right here in Bellingham. Also serving up German eats is Schweinhaus Biergarten, with bratwurst, Nurnberger, weisswurst and more. Papou’s Gyros brings the Greek.
Dessert, anyone?
As a counterbalance to the slew of spectacular savory food truck options, there are also trucks dedicated solely to the sweet stuff. Though it took the last couple summers off (and lent its truck to Simmering Tava in the meanwhile), Mallard Ice Cream’s The Duckling plans to return this summer. Sugar Shack’s ice cream truck is also a favorite. Hank and Bubby’s serves 12 flavors of Edaleen Dairy ice cream can be rented for any occasion and is often parked at Bellingham Bells games.
How’s that for plenty of transportable dining options? And this isn’t even all of them! Check out BellinghamFoodTrucks.com for an extensive list of every food truck wandering around Whatcom County.
