Dining Guide | Food Trucks: Culinary Versatility: From Bricks to Wheels and Back Again

In the last few years, food trucks have become a staple of the culinary culture in the Valley. With trucks specializing in pizza, tacos, gourmet burgers, and even wine, there is literally a food truck for everyone. Some have become so successful that they have been able to open up brick and mortar locations while continuing to feed raving fans around town.

An added bonus of these great feasting opportunities is that you are able to hire these trucks for special events like house parties, weddings or corporate events. If you are looking to grab a bite around town, follow the trucks to a food truck caravan or add a little something extra to your next party, these six business can fit the bill for any and all of the above.

6 of the Best Food Trucks with Brick & Mortar Restaurants

FRC The Rocket
With more than 10 restaurants in the Fox Restaurant Concepts portfolio, the company offers a variety of cuisines and vibes to please any craving you might have. FRC covers tacos, vegetarian, burgers, seafood and so much more. While each restaurant follows a different theme they all have impeccable customer service, friendly and helpful staff and some of the best culinary teams in the Valley.
If you are planning an event and really want to impress your guests, consider The Rocket; a roaming 700-degree wood-burning pizza oven. If you love the menu at North Italia, you’ll be delighted to have a mini version on wheels at your next party. The Rocket offers a variety of signature pizzas, charcuterie, bruschetta and fresh salads. The Rocket can accommodate up to 300 guests and offers customizable menus to fit all of your party needs. This is so much better than delivery!
Call for more information or to book | 480.905.8010

United Lunchadores
Ask any quesadilla aficionado which truck you can get the best ‘dillas from and you will hear high praise for United Lunchadores. Whether you caught up with the truck while working in Downtown Phoenix or after some imbibing on the weekend in Tempe, you’ve likely never forgotten what you had. While a quesadilla at its core is just a tortilla and some cheese, the United Lunchadores are creating delicious flavor combinations like their All Thai’d Up version with citrus marinated chicken breast, fiery serrano peppers, sweet grilled onions, a sweet Thai chili sauce and jack cheese. The flavor here is unexpected in relation to what you expect from the Mexican handheld treat and eat fiery bite is a reminder that these are no ordinary quesadillas. If you’re looking for tacos, you can get some of the best at their Taco & Dilla Parlor in Central Phoenix along with their gourmet quesadillas and sweet treats like churros, tres leches cake, and caramel flan. If you’re looking for an unforgettable fiesta, the United Lunchadores truck can accommodate up to 1,000 people with a customizable menu.
Call for more information or to book | 602.399.4024

Aioli Gourmet Burgers
Now, I know what you’re thinking; there’s a burger joint on every corner and new ones surfacing all the time. What’s so special about Aioli Burger? Our burgers have evolved from the simplistic version that we grew up with our family making on the grill in the backyard. What once was decorated with lettuce, onions, and tomatoes has now grown up into accoutrements like avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, truffles, and sometimes foie gras. Aioli Burger, created by three life-long friends, parlayed their creativity and passion for feeding others into a successful food truck business with three trucks and a newly opened restaurant right in the neighborhood where it all began. The food truck offers seven unique burgers ranging from the not-so-standard Aioli burger, with aged sharp cheddar, an Applewood bacon jam, lettuce, tomato, and their signature roasted garlic aioli, to their vegetarian falafel burger that comes with fluffy homemade falafel, pickled onion, a mango sauce, cucumber and a sumac aioli. The restaurant features the same burgers along with far more sides, salads and desserts than offered on the truck. Aioli Burger is the perfect addition to a backyard birthday party or a fun and casual wedding reception, feeding 20 to 2,500 of your closest friends. I mean, everyone loved burgers, right?
Call for more information or to book | 602.435.7489

Pho King Kitchen
An Vietnamese-Mexican fusion truck? The guys behind the truck have perfected the delicate art of melding the traditional flavors of both regions to create their own pho-nomenal cuisine craze. The burrito phorrito is the perfect example of this. The culinary team matched a grilled steak with traditional stir fried vegetables with an Asian marinade and kimchi with decidedly Mexican cilantro-lime rice and tie it all together with a Sriracha mayo tucked neatly inside a tortilla. This culinary wonder is available both on the truck and in the restaurant, but it deserves saying that the restaurant has a much more diverse menu. Make sure not to miss out on Pho King Kitchen’s handmade dumplings which come in six different variations and are the perfect combination of fluffy and crispy. There is no limit to the number of guests that can be accommodated since they have both the restaurant kitchen and truck kitchen to work with. If you really want to wow your next events guests and introduce them to something completely new and different, the Pho King Kitchen is ready to serve!
Call for more information or to book | 480.947.5100

Sorso Wine Room Wagon
Have you ever heard the ice cream truck making rounds in your neighborhood and thought what you really needed was a wine truck? Well, so did the owners of Sorso Wine Room. While the Wine Wagon may not be cruising around your neighborhood on those days when you can’t drag yourself to the store, you can have them come to treat your guests at your next party. The Wagon has eight taps on board which allows you to select the wine or craft beers you would like to serve right along with an educated attendant to answer all your wine questions, manage the taps and even provide mood music. If you would like a little food to nosh on while visiting the Wagon, make sure to check out their restaurant at Sorso Wine Room first and sample any one of their 18 bruschettas, salads, charcuterie board offerings, sandwiches or snacks, all of which can be included in your party package for up to 150 guests.
Call for more information or to book | 480.951.4344

Il Bosco Pizza
When translated from Italian, bosco means forest, which gives seems appropriate for Il Bosco, the restaurant opened by Bill and Gina Forrest in 2012 after years of a successful mobile pizza oven business. Il Bosco offers Forrest’s take on Neopolitan pizzas, or as he calls it neo-Neopolitan. The crust, made on site in the open kitchen, provides a light, airy, and chewy texture which holds up to the layers of toppings you can expect. While the former golf pro and his wife have no specific pizza related certifications, they certainly excel in creating an inviting space for pizza lovers along with simple and approachable pizza creations. You can go basic but beautiful with the Gina, a combination of tomato sauce, and basil or complex with the Biaggia, topped with prosciutto, fig jam, goat cheese and arugula. Want to share these artisan pizzas with more people than will fit in the 20 seat restaurant? Il Bosco will bring the shiny Valoriani pizza over straight to you.
Call for more information or to book | 480.335.8680

This article, written by Taryn Jeffries, originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of So Scottsdale Magazine and Uptown Magazine.

If you are looking for the best and latest in Arizona restaurant and culinary news, please make sure to sign up for our newsletter, give us a like on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram to make sure that you never miss a bite!

© Taryn Jeffries 2016