Food truck season: New mobile munchies hit the road in Westchester, Rockland

There's a lot to love about food trucks: They're fast, affordable and offer that extra vibe of taking your meal to a bench or a patch of greenery and enjoying the surrounding scenery. Balancing your food while eating it, especially while seated in your car, is also part of the charm, as is trying something new.

After all, food trucks don't require a big commitment. You can walk right up to the kitchen, see (and smell) what’s cooking, ask the chef about the dish, and if you’re still not sure, ask those standing nearby how they like it for instant customer feedback.

The food trucks in Westchester and Rockland have always been consistently good, but this season a new batch have rolled out, upping the gourmet game to include sweet and savory egg rolls, decadent Italian doughnuts, Filipino/Hawaiian fusion cuisine, vegan fare and creative empanadas. While many cater to private events, you can find them at a variety of venues this summer, from farmers markets to coffeeshops. You can also book them for your own party.

What follows is a sampling of new ones that have hit the road for their first-time this summer.

Scotty's Egg Rolls

When you've got Chef Dave DiBari (owner of The Parlor and The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry) as your mentor — and your brother-in-law — you know you're off to a good start. Scott Rhodes is a cook in his own right, having worked in restaurants many years ago and even owning (again years ago) a catering company. Though he left it for corporate America, he's always cooked on the side. Which led to brainstorming with DiBari on how to put that passion to use. The answer: Scotty's Eggrolls which officially rolled out in January and features a host of creative eggrolls such as Tex Mex, Reuben, Buffalo chicken, Mac 'n Cheese, apple cobbler and raspberry and cream. There are also rice wraps — think shrimp with mesclun salad in addition to a scallion noddle and coconut rice. You'll find him select days at the Chappaqua Farmers Market. More info: 845-745-3039 or scottyseggrolls.com.

Ray's Empanadas

The motto at Ray's Empanadas is “no rules empanadas and tacos." In other words, expect out of the box empanada flavors such as sweet chili oxtail, jerk chicken, seafood mac and cheese, apple pie and chopped cheese. Taco options are also unique and include bang bang shrimp, steak and chicken fajita. Owner Ray Durrett Jr. also caters to vegan eaters with vegan chopped cheese empanada and bang bang fried mushroom tacos.

Durrett Jr., a New Rochelle native, started his empanada truck in honor of his late grandfather, LT, who was a chef at many well-known restaurants in the New York area. The business was officially created in July 2020 when he mainly did pop-up events and catering out of a local kitchen. The food truck launched last September. More information at raysempanadas.com or via email [email protected].

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Wanna Sip?

Frosé anyone? Or how about beer and wine on tap? The folks behind Wanna Empanada (Doreen Philip and Kenelyn Gioio) along with Nicole Dos Santos said for years they've been asked "What about the drinks?" when they served empanadas from their food truck. So, excited for another challenge as well as a way to connect with their customers, they got another truck. Wanna Sip? is a full mobile bar equipped with beer taps and slushie machines for customers to customize and create their own drinks. That includes regular slushies (flavors change each event) for non-alcoholic drinks in addition to water, sodas, and ciders. More info: wannasipny.com.

Il Cornetto New York

Looking for a creative mix on Italian desserts? Il Cornetto specializes in Italian cornetti (Italian croissants) and bomboloni (Italian donuts). Owner Franco Dimarino, who rolled out his truck last September, said he's known for putting a twist on the traditional Italian cornetto. That means cornetti filled with a variety of flavors such as Nutella, Oreo, Fruity Pebbles, Kinder Bueno and Biscoff which is then drizzled with Nutella, white chocolate, and hazelnut creams. He also offers soft serve ice cream with all the same toppings. More info via Instagram, text at 914-804-1026 or email [email protected].

Triboro Vegan

What started with a table and a tent three years ago at the Ramsey, NJ farmers market is now a full-blown business for Nick Fatato who eventually graduated to a food trailer and, as of last year, a truck.

"Each week we got bigger and bigger," he said of his vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free organic food which also features a host of juices.

You can now find the self-taught chef (who grew up in the restaurant business) every Thursday at the Nyack Farmers Market serving up items that include a veggie burger, mushroom salad, barbecue jackfruit sandwich with cashew cheese, and sugar-free desserts. He also does catering. Eighty percent of his food is seasonal and local, with the majority of ingredients sourced from Madura Farms in Orange County. More info via Instagram at triborovegan.

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YumBro

Filipino/Hawaiian fusion cuisine is the specialty of Yonkers-based YumBro which features items such as Chicken Adobo, classic lumpia (fried spring rolls filled with savory mixtures), pork skewers, smoked Tapa pepper steak, loaded fries and more. Owner Kate Palacio launched the truck last June but has a new truck as of January. More info at 914-907-7646 or via email at [email protected].

American Swirl

Summer is synonymous with ice cream and at this food truck, on the road since last June, you'll find self-serve soft-serve flavors with 10 different toppings. The business was started by John Cioffi, John Aversano, and Paul Aversano (of Aversano Restaurant in Brewster). Some in northern Westchester may know Cioffi from his years running the A & S Marketplace in Mount Kisco and from the Mobile Pie Pizza truck at Exit 4 Food Hall which he built and ran.

While the truck is mainly focused on private events, they also can be found at Harvest Moon Orchard in North Salem on select Friday and Saturday nights. More info at americanswirl.com.

Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @jeannemuchnick or via the lohudfood newsletter. 

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester, Rockland food trucks roll out for first time this season