During the summer, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern West Virginia hosts Food Truck Fridays where a couple local food trucks set up during lunch time at their space and give a percentage of their proceeds to the charity.



This is a genius idea because it's consistent, but with new opportunities, and allows folks to try a few different things. It's like a mini festival every week. Recently, I was able to go and got to try a brand new-to-me food truck: Philipos!



This Italian-American food truck features hamburgers, hot dogs, fried bologna and meatballs. I had to try a meatball, of course. It was a good size and had just a bit of cheese on it. I wouldn't have hated more salt, but not bad overall.

Grade: B

Have you heard of The Peach Truck? The Nashville-based food truck partners with Georgia farmers to sell fresh Georgia peaches around the country.



Recently, I saw they were going to be stopping in Hilliard, Ohio, and I had been wanting to go there anyway because I knew of a DiCarlo's location in the town. So, I figured I could kill two birds with one stone: check out the peach truck and get my DiCarlo's fix.



So, I placed my order online for the smallest amount - 25 lbs. of peaches! They took three days to ripen, and I systematically doled out peaches to all my friends so they didn't go to waste. For my part, I made a peach crisp. Tasty. Plump, juicy and fresh. It doesn't get much better.

Riverchick Farm Food Truck is a new food truck in the Fayetteville area that has a focus on crepes using their local eggs.



When I heard that the food truck would be stationed at Bridge Brew Works, I found it the perfect excuse to enjoy some sunshine with tasty food and brews.



The menu featured both savory and sweet crepes. And they had all different sorts of combinations - pepperoni pizza, gyro, even a "pig in the blanket" option. Which of course is what I got. It was a footlong hot dog rolled up in a crepe with pimento cheese and pickled ramp relish. Great flavors. It got a bit mooshy, so some crunch texture would send this to the next level.



And, I ordered a "sweet and creamy" Iced Thai Tea with boba. So refreshing and delicious.
 
Grade: A

The Kanawha Valley is home to a new food truck: Joey's Rockin' Dogs and Tacos.

This area is no stranger to hot dogs or tacos, so I'll be honest - I wasn't overly excited to check it out. However, I was driving through the area and caught the bright red and yellow food truck and decided to give it a go. It was very cold on this day, so I did a little turnabout and pulled up alongside the truck. Convenient and warm? I'll take it.

So tacos include carne asada, pulled pollo, and grilled mahi. You can also get pulled pork, chicken wraps and quesadilla. On the hot dog side, there is a Chicago dog, a baked bean dog, a chili dog and more.

And I had to try a little of column A and a little from column B: Pulled pollo taco with homemade marinade, fresco cheese, avocado, fresh cilantro and lime juice. And then a classic dog with sweet green relish, raw diced white onions and yellow mustard.

Both of these were delicious. I was absolutely blown away by the quality of the taco. That fresh cheese, the fresh avocado, the tender chicken. The bold flavors blended beautifully. It was really, really good. I could've eaten like five of these.

But don't sleep on the hot dog! I'm not usually a relish person. But I liked this sweet relish with the mustard and onion and the dog was like fried. All these flavors together made for a dang good hot dog. I would eat both of these again, hands down.

Grade: A

Belknap Dough Company is a mobile wood-fired, brick-oven pizza food truck. They can be found setting up shop around the Teays Valley area, and they always post on their Facebook where they will be. So I got lucky one day recently and caught them out and about.

They serve up some standard pizzas, like cheese, pepperoni, sausage, then "Piggie Pie" which has sausage, bacon and ham. And then there's the Buffalo Chicken, which has a garlic base, buffalo chicken, and a ranch drizzle. That one sounded the most exciting, so it had my vote.

First of all, it looks fabulous.  That is one inviting pie. And biting into it, I was instantly hit with a ton of cheese, a hint of garlic and a little heat from the buffalo sauce. A classic combination that's brought to life on a fresh pizza dough. This is definitely a tasty pie.

Grade: A

The Shape Shop Cafe is a health-based restaurant that when I last visited, was located on the West Side. They've since moved locations, and I need to go check them out. But in the meantime, they've been out on the street in their food truck.

The food truck features wraps, soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches and paninis. They're pretty standard with a main protein and lettuce, tomato, onions on top. I went for a ham & cheese panini, which came with a side of chips.

Fairly healthy and tasty.

Who doesn't love a food truck? ESPECIALLY one that specializes in cheese?!


Truckin' Cheesy is a Huntington-based food truck that serves up cheeseburgers, ham sandwiches, philly cheesesteaks, and sides of nachos and crinkle fries.



So I ordered the "Cheesin' Philly" - Two grilled cheese sandwiches with Colby/jack on toast; folded in half& loaded with our savory Philly beef or chicken, onions, bell peppers, & melted cheese sauce.


If that doesn't look delicious, I don't know what does.

Connie's Hot Dogs is a small hot dog truck that occasionally parks outside of Encova in downtown Charleston and sells delicious hot dogs.



She supplies fresh slaw and chili for a tasty hot dog. Have you tried them yet?

Adventures Grill Food Truck is a new food truck that sits in downtown Charleston mid-week, dishing out Mediterranean food and more.

Their rough schedule: Tuesday at Laidley tower, Wednesday and Thursday United Bank on Laidley and Virginia Street. They also own Fairways Bar & Grill in Hurricane.

So I stopped by to get lunch: a chicken quesadilla with sour cream and salsa, as well as two grape leaves.



Have you been?

In the Charleston-Huntington area, there really aren't a ton of places to find a macaron.

Macarons are s a confection made up of two round, flat, almond-flour-based cookies sandwiching a filling like cream, ganache or jam - not the shredded coconut mound cookies.

So when Abbey Shae Bakes burst onto the scene on four wheels dishing out unique flavored macarons, it shot up on my list of places to try. I recently was able to catch her in Huntington.

She had strawberry lemonade, salty caramel, orange creamsicle, cookies & cream and cotton candy flavors. I had to try one - or two - of each. Wow! She now has her fall flavors out, so be sure to catch her.

This summer has been HOT. And you know what is perfect for a hot summer day? Popsicles.

B-Pops is a new food cart that features these really creative popsicle flavors. Think roasted plum & yogurt, peach jalapeno and more. I went for the roasted plum & yogurt flavor, because that's not something you see every day.

These are so fun and tasty. I can't wait to try another flavor.

Have you seen the coffee truck around town?

Park N Perk Coffee Truck is a new mobile coffee shop that also serves up some pastries and other items. 

I found them near the BBT downtown and looked over the menu.

The daily special was a white chocolate mocha, so I went with that.

And - they had blueberry, banana and chocolate muffins, and more!

Have you been here?