Truffles & Grouper Cheeks From a Food Truck?

Grouper Cheeks Over Saffron Rice

Many of my friends still worry about ordering food off a food truck. I guess they are worried about food sanitation, which is silly since the trucks have top-of-the-line freezers and refrigerators. I can't vouch for the quality on every food truck, but I do know that some Orlando-area food trucks serve original, gourmet food, made from the finest ingredients.

Take Ford in the Road, a gourmet food truck headed by Bryce Balluf, a former executive chef at Orlando restaurants. He puts together a unique, upscale menu that you won't see on any other truck. Today, I was excited when I saw the lunch menu at Fork in the Road. Among the dishes I wanted to try were: Escargot Puff with Mustard Cremeux, Bison Burger with Bacon Jam, Grouper Cheek Over Saffron Rice, and Mako Taco. I opted for the Grouper Cheek and MakoTaco. 

Chef Bryce Balluf

The Grouper Cheek was lightly dusted in cornmeal and spices and delicately fried. It was served with a jam that complemented the fish and saffron rice nicely. The Mako Taco was my first introduction to shark, which was also lightly breaded with cornmeal and fried. The Taco was topped with slaw and a delicious spicy mayo sauce. I truly loved the flavors and textures of both dishes. I would also highly recommend Fork in the Road's White Truffle Fungi Fries, which are topped with a delicious mushroom gravy. 

The only shock I had was when I went to pay: $22 for two entrees. While this is higher than many other food truck dishes, the quality is outstanding. At food truck events, I recommend going with friends, ordering items form a few different trucks and splitting them, so everyone gets to try delectable dishes such as those from Fork in the Road.

Where: See where Fork in the Road will be next at www.facebook.com/forkintheroad

Top Chefs Can be Found on Food Trucks

Bruno Fonseca making Balsamic "Caviar"

For all my friends who are still worried about - or snobby about - eating food from trucks, I give you Bruno Fonseca and the 5 Gastronomy truck and catering service. Like several other food truck chefs in town, Fonseca is a classically-trained chef who has worked for the finest restaurants in town. Have you heard of the top-rated Norman's at the Ritz Carlton Orlando? Fonseca was a chef de partie and house butcher there prior to being the owner and executive chef at 5 Gastronomy.


Now, let me get to my point: Fonseca recently won a hard-fought competition at the Whole Foods Market on Sand Lake Road in Orlando. Whole Foods Market's annual Chef Summer Cook-off event reminds me of the challenges that Top Chef contestants have to go through, and I was happy to see that, this year, the store decided to feature the very talented chefs from local food trucks. Over three nights, Fonseca; Bryce Balluf, owner and  chef at Fork in the Road truck; Catarina Triacca of Gastro Trina Truck; and Tony Adams with Big Wheel Provisions, competed. Each chef was given $20 and 20 minutes to speed shop for ingredients, then they had 20 minutes to prepare a delicious, affordable summer meal using only a grill. 

The final three - Adams, Balluf, Fonseca - competed in the last cook-off challenge late last week. Fonseca won with his Sous vide Corvina fish with grilled smoked sausage, accompanied by a Spanish sofrito and watercress salad with sherry vinaigrette. Still, Fonseca is not satisfied. He is always try to think of creative ways to incorporate his fine dining dishes into hand-held food truck fare. "We get really bored with food, and want to show what else we can do.The other food truck chefs and myself talk about how we can translate our fine dining sense onto a paper plate," Fonseca told Flavorful Excursions.


Readers of this blog have heard about some of my favorite dishes from 5 Gastronomy, which makes regular appearances at Tasty Tuesdays in the Milk District, RDV Sportsplex on Friday afternoons, and several other Food Truck Bazaars and events. My favorite dish is the Soft Shell Crab BLT and 5 Gastronomy's crispy fries (better than many other trucks' fries). I also love the "Perfect Burger", which features melted Gruyere cheese and hickory bacon jam, as well as the Pork Tacos, and the FIVE Mac 'n Cheese.

Fungi Fries & Vegan Cupcakes Top Eats at Sanford Food Truck Bazaar

The weather for the monthly Food Truck Bazaar near Lake Monroe in Sanford last Saturday was just perfect, as was the setting. My hubby and I were able to choose from gourmet and fried food from 20 different food trucks, then sit down to eat at a number of benches and porch swings along the beautiful lake. We also could have brought our beach chairs - as many others did - stayed for the evening, and listened to music. 

While it was tempting to try food from every truck - including Monsta Lobsta, 5 Gastronomy and Saigon Sizzle - we selected items from a few new ones and an old favorite. Yum Yum Cupcakes is a favorite of ours, so of course we got dessert first! The Chocolate on Chocolate Action is a chocolate-lovers dream and I loved the unique frosting on the Peterbrooke-Inspired Salted Caramel cupcake. I was also very impressed with Yum Yum's Lady Bird vegan, gluten-free cupcake. Based on a Southern hummingbird cake recipe, the cupcake is moist with a strong hint of banana and pecans and the vegan cream cheese frosting tastes like the real thing!

Fork in the Road's
Fungi Fries

For dinner, I tried Cafe Rouge's Chicken Wrap with Mango Salsa and Saffron Rice. The wrap had a nice kick of heat, all the ingredients were fresh, and the flavors worked well together. I also had the best crispy Yucca Fries from Twisted Cuban. The husband had perhaps the best french fries he has ever had: Fork in the Road's Fungi Fries. You would think the fries would simply be topped with mushrooms. No. The chefs at Fork in the Road mixed up a perfect mixture of portabella mushrooms, mushroom gravy and mozzarella cheese to top off crispy potato fries.

Missed the Sanford Food Truck Bazaar? Check out the next TheDailyCity.com Food Truck Bazaar outside City Hall in Casselberry, 95 Triplet Lake Dr., on April 13. And, the next Sanford Food Truck Bazaar will be on May 5 at Palmetto Ave. and Seminole Blvd. (behind the courthouse).

Gourmet Food at Lake Mary Food Trucks

It was a cool, rainy day here in Central Florida this past Sunday. But that did not keep a motley group of food trucks from serving up their delicious wares at Central Park in front of City Hall in Lake Mary. Families came out and were having a great time as well. The park has plenty of seating and natural beauty, so it beats some of the other food truck stops in parking lots.

I was excited to try new food from unique trucks I haven’t seen at other food truck events. Fork in the Road and Nubu Grill did not disappoint. Fork in the Road, started by Lake Mary chef Bryce Balluf, offers up gourmet plates such as Scotch Quail Egg, Toasted Tomato Mac ‘n Cheese Pops, and Elvis Cookie-wich.

Nubu Grill also had tasty dishes such as Lemon Pepper Flounder and Polynesian Beef. I had the Coconut Curry Chicken from Nubu Grill, and was really impressed with the homemade curry and spicy peanut sauce on this dish. Plus, I got a big serving of rice, chicken, and fresh vegetables for $7.

Central Park - Lake Mary

Some of the other food trucks that I was not able to try but that looked great were: Louis Bistro, Kona Dog, and Firehouse BBQ. If you have tried these food trucks or the Lake Mary food truck event, what did you think? Comment below.

When: The last Sunday of every month.

Where: Central Park, 100 North Country Club Rd., Lake Mary (on the corner of Lake Mary Blvd. and Country Club Rd.)