milford morsels Truckin’

With Spring upon us, a wide array of food trucks will be hitting the road and taking their mobile goodies to Milford’s beaches, farmer’s markets, breweries, weddings, graduations, and birthdays. But before we talk about that…lets travel back to understand the origins of our collective affection for food on wheels.

From the very minute we come into existence, we are born reaching out for sustenance, to be satiated. From liquids to veggie slurries to solids, moving up the food ladder are a child’s first milestones. We eventually learn that Mom or Dad goes to the store, buys food, brings it home, and cooks it. We like that set up; it works. Then one day, something magical happens. Maybe we’re playing in the yard or on a swing at the park. All is calm until we hear, very faintly, the sound of music. It sounds kind of warped and muffled as if it is coming from a broken toy. It’s an old nursery rhyme, it’s on repeat, and it’s getting closer. You see the other children, as if in a trance, start to stumble toward the direction of the music, until finally one of the older kids shouts out in knowing, rapturous glee, “ICE CREAM MAN!” A sudden stampede raises clouds of dust that waft around the parked truck, pictures of ice cream ringing the window. Children clutching wrinkled dollars and annoyed parents form a rough line. A man steps away from his seat, slides open the window, and says to the first kid, “Ok, whaddya want?” Delicious food from a truck, your life is forever changed.

While the humble Bomb Pop, Choco Taco, and ice cream sandwich will forever hold a place in our hearts, the world of food trucks has evolved to incorporate every type of cuisine. If it can be cooked in a tight space, someone has put it on wheels.

The Melting Truck

www.themeltingtruck.com

Facebook @themeltingtruck

One food truck well-known to Milford’s residents is The Melting Truck, which specializes and elevates a very homey comfort food: the grilled cheese sandwich. Founded in 2020 by partners Tim Bristol and Michael Young, the Melting Truck itself originally began as a humble FedEx truck. The original concept was a lobster roll truck, but as the price of lobster soared during the first year of the pandemic, the idea of something down to earth like grilled cheese made more financial sense. It’s simple, cost efficient, and more important, unique around here. The most popular sandwich the Melting Truck serves is the classic grilled cheese with American and cheddar cheese. Some of the possible add-ons include jalapenos, kielbasa, chicken, pepperoni, avocado, bacon, pickles, Irish sausage, sliced apples, mushrooms, pulled pork, peppers and more. They also serve an assortment of soups and mac and cheese. Want to find them? Check out their Facebook page.

Silver Sands Pizza Truck

www.silversandspizzatruck.com

One of the most popular foods that would seem difficult to replicate from restaurant to truck, is pizza. Incorporating a large pizza oven into a truck, while maintaining enough space to prep the dough and create the pizza, is a struggle. For this reason, pizza trucks can either go small with a just a portable pizza oven on a trailer, or go big with a large trailer sporting a full pizza oven and plenty of space for prep. This is the case with Silver Sands Pizza truck. The offshoot of two brick and mortar pizza restaurants in Stratford and Wallingford, Silver Sands Pizza Truck is a large wood fired pizza restaurant on wheels. Owner Osman Tunali has been bringing his pizza truck to events around Milford for more than six years. From farmer markets and festivals to weddings and corporate functions, the Silver Sands Pizza Truck is always in high demand so if you’re interested, book early.