Mobile Meals with Rocket Fine and Buddha Belly
What We’re Savoring on the Streets This Fall
Rocket Fine Street Food
Joe and Patricia Meneguzzo serve quality burgers, hot dogs and other yummies at Rocket Fine Street Food and they pride themselves on serving only naturally raised Black Angus beef, raised without hormones or antibiotics and primarily on family-owned sustainable farms. Even better: Their other ingredients are often sourced locally and organically making the menu that much more satisfying.
Try the Flying Saucer Specials (“You don’t see them all the time…”) or go for a customer-favorite burger, the Parisienne: where sweet and salty duke it out over caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese, lightened up with garlic aioli. More of a hot dog person? The Obi-Wan Kenobi is satisfying and sweet with the Backyard Food Company candied jalapeños. Top it all off with a Yacht Club soda, and you’ve got the finest food truck dinner around!
—Phoebe Gallo
Vehicle: Chevy P30 Step Van with a Grumman Olson body (Grumman also built the Apollo lunar module)
Owners: Chef Joe and Patricia Meneguzzo
Favorite hangout: Streets of Providence and local farmers’ markets
Follow: Facebook & Twitter @rockettruck and at RocketStreetFood.com
Rain or shine: “For the most part and year-round too.”
Most people served: 200 in one hour!
Local purveyors: PV Farm Stand, Blackbird Farm, Baffoni Farm, Rhody Fresh, Daniele, Dave’s Coffee, Jens and Marie veggie burgers and more.
Best menu name: The Ron Swanson Burger (naturally raised Black Angus beef, local fried jumbo egg, extra nitrate-free bacon) gets a lot of smiles.
Buddha Belly Food Truck
Owner and chef of the Buddha Belly food truck, Paul Gervais has transported true Chinese street food to the Providence area. With a simple yet satisfying menu, Gervais epitomizes the expression “less is more.” His take on Jianbing, a Chinese-style crepe (a common and beloved Chinese street food) filled with egg, will make you fall in love with crepes in a whole different way. Gervais says he spends a lot of time (and money) on the sauce for his Buddha Wings and the investment pays off with a perfect blend of sweet, savory and spicy. Gervais’ food truck is surely capable of giving anyone a happy Buddha belly—just head to the streets of Providence to find your own edible nirvana.
—Ian Hagerty
Vehicle: 1997 Chevy P30 with a giant Buddha painted on the side
Chef/Owner: Paul Gervais
Follow on: Facebook & Twitter @BuddhaBellyRI and at BuddhaBellyFoodTruck.com
Favorite hangout: Thayer Street, Providence
Most popular dish: Jian Bing (Chinese-style crepes) and the Buddha Wings as a close second.
Rain or shine: “As long as Mother Nature cooperates, I’ll be out there.”
Most people served: After deliberation, considering the distracting nature of running a kitchen … 400 people at the RI Food Bank Truck Stop fundraiser.
Most rewarding service: Providing a taste of home cooking for students whose home is 6,000 miles away.
