The food truck scene in Houston is in flux, to be sure. New trucks have entered the scene as recently as the past month while long-term players have seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. Driving southbound on Montrose, you can even spot this phenomenon in action for yourself. An active truck is almost always out front at Inversion Coffeehouse while further south of Westheimer, the Bang Mi truck sits in a back lot, seemingly abandoned. Just one block south at Montrose and Richmond sits the Eatsie Boys truck, often unused as its owners work on expanding to their upcoming café just across the street in the former Kraftsmen space.
Tackling the ten best food truck items is no easy task. Not only do you have to track the trucks and their ever morphing menus down, but trying to judge and measure a burger against kimchi fries against a cupcake borders on insanity. That's not to mention the obscene calorie count accrued compiling this list.
And when all is said and done, you've gone and made a whole bunch of ardent food truck fans mad when their favorite mobile food slingers don't make the list. So instead of letting someone with a healthy sense of self-preservation or remaining shred of dignity take the challenge, I stepped up.
Honorable Mention: The Cheerleader at Bernie's Burger Bus
Really, any of the outstanding burgers from the fleet of Bernie's Burger Buses could have made this spot -- but I'm a sucker for jalapeños, so The Cheerleader got the nod. Besides, who doesn't want to eat a cheerleader? Bernie's dominated this year's Burger Bracket back in March and the success clearly hasn't hampered their quality. I tackled their monstrous Detention with it's ridiculous bacon grilled cheese sandwich buns last week and am happy to report they've still got it.
Find out which burger ousted Bernie's for a spot in the Top 10 below...
10. Mayo Fries at Flip 'n Patties
Not just another burger truck, Flip 'n Patties specializes in Filipino street food as well. Their Jeepney burger featuring longaniza sausage and an egg on top is killer. My favorite here, though, were the fries. By themselves, the not-too-thick handcut fries can stand with any food truck in Houston bar none. Topped with cilantro, mayo and sesame seeds, they are among the city's best. At just $3 when you order them with a burger ($4 regularly), and plenty large enough to share, they are also a cheapskate's dream.
9. Fajita Taconmadre Burrito at Taconmadre
This big green school bus in Denver Harbor is tough to miss, especially with bright painted signs up and down its exterior advertising everything from breakfast tacos and burritos to more interior Mexican favorites like piratas and gringas tacos, meaty charro beans and burgers. That's right; burgers. In addition to being a neighborhood staple, people from all over Houston have been trekking out to Taconmadre for years to seek refuge in its mega-sized burritos (which are nearly as large as a toddler).
8. The Chicago Dog at Good Dog Hot Dog
Don't mess with a classic, or if you do make sure you're damn good at it. Chicago-style purists might knock the brightly pickled toppings or the fancy homemade condiments, but we all know purists are idiots. Almost everything on a Good Dog is house-made with the exception of the awesome Slow Dough pretzel roll, and the care and quality shows on every dog these guys crank out.
