Here in Orléans we are fortunate indeed to be blessed by a number of excellent food truck. Of course, that hasn’t always been the case. In fact, just four or five years ago there were no food trucks in Orléans, just a handful of chip trucks that sold fries, fries with gravy and perhaps, if you were lucky, your standard poutine. The odd one also sold hamburgers and hot dogs if they had a grill on board.

Today, there are seven food trucks in the area and an eighth one in nearby Navan.

The oldest ones are Fritomania and 3s Company, both of which are located on
St. Joseph Blvd. and both of which started out as chip trucks.

Golden Fries, located in the Convent Glen Mall, is celebrating its 13th year in business. Owned and operated by one-time bartender and now successful entrepreneur Jade Racicot, Golden Fries has built up a loyal following thanks mainly to their selection of poutines, their chicken parm sandwich and their fish and chips which rival that found in any sit-down restaurant in the city. I’ve tried both and I honestly can’t make up my mind which is better. The fish and chips are amazing, but so is the chicken parm sandwich. I’ll let you decide for yourself. The food truck will remain open until the third week of November.

The Almighty Cheese food truck, located in the parking lot next to Kid’s Kingdom on Trim Road near St. Joseph Blvd., has been around since 2019.

Owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Steven and Julie Carle, Almighty Cheese specializes in everything cheezy. They have four different grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu and two mac & cheese dishes.

They also have a number of cheezy pou-tines including the Loaded Potato poutine which won the award for best poutine at the 2019 Orléans Poutine Festival. It’s an order of fries piled high with cheese curds, bacon and green onions smothered with vegan gravy, sour cream and cheese sauce.

But for my money, the best thing on their menu is the El Cubano sandwich, which contains slices of pork loin and Black Forest ham with bread and butter pickles, swiss cheese and mustard on a Ciabatta bun. Simply delicious!

The La Ha Taco food truck beside the self-serve car wash on Youville Drive is also celebrating three years in business.

Owned and operated by Jason Wing, La Ha Tacos offers a nice selection of the Mexico inspired street fare. My personal favourite is the fish taco, but you really can’t go wrong with any of them. They also make their own fire-roasted salsa and tortilla chips, which you can eat separately or include in a plate of nachos.

Only in its second year, Dottie’s food truck in Navan has grown leaps and bounds both in terms of sales and in terms of their menu.

Owned and operated by Orléans native Amy Henderson, their bread and butter are gourmet hot dogs, my personal favourite of which is the Fiesta Dog covered with corn salsa and nacho cheese sauce. They also have a Cubano, Smoked Meat and Philly Cheesesteak sandwich on the menu, plus they have several flavours of ice cream for sale for the young and young at heart.

Besides the regular menu items, Amy is always coming up with weekly specials which they post on their Facebook page at facebook.com/dottiessnacks.

The two newest food trucks in Orléans are Stoked and T.F.T. That Food Truck.

Stoked is located across Youville Drive from La Ha Tacos and is owned and operated by high school friends Matt Robitaille and Sutton McKay. Their signature items include the Brisket Sandwich, Crispy Brussel Sprouts, Burnt Ends and the Shrimp Boil served with sweet corn, crispy smashed potatoes, fresh herbs and lemon. But for my money the best time to visit Stoked is on Rib Wednesdays when you can get four fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs smothered in their signature root beer BBQ sauce.
T.F.T That Food Truck is owned and operated by another group of high school friends. Owen O’Donnell, Meagan MacKenzie and Kitana Samson all went to Cairine Wilson Secondary School.

They opened their food truck in the parking lot beside Gabriel Pizza on St. Joseph Boulevard in the spring and haven’t looked back since.

Their menu is 95 per cent gluten free and includes an eclectic selection of items. The crowd favourites are the Patty Melt, the T.F.T. Burger and the Corn Dogs.

There is still plenty of time to check out one or all of these local food trucks this season. To learn more, look them up on Facebook.

(If you wish to comment on this or any other View Point column please write to Fred Sherwin at fsherwin@orleansstar.ca)