Six Hot New Food Trucks To Check Out This Summer

Ever since food trucks rolled onto the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the hungry masses have been satisfied whether on a downtown lunch break, rallying around a food truck festival, or drunk at one of our dozens of taprooms. Some of Minneapolis' hottest new restaurants, got their start as trucks, and the trend shows no sign of slowing. Here are six new trucks to check out across town this summer.

-Brian Martucci

Tatanka Truck

Photo courtesy Tatanka Facebook

Tatanka Truck is the Twin Cities’ — and possibly the country’s — first food truck devoted exclusively to pre-contact Native American fare. That means no beef, pork or chicken, according to brand manager Dana Thompson. Also forbidden: dairy, wheat and refined sugars. The brainchild of Sean Sherman, owner of Seward’s wildly successful Sioux Chef restaurant. Look for multiple takes on bison, and possibly other native game species, with native plants to bulk up the plates. The truck and fare is also gaining national attention.

Baldy's BBQ

Photo courtesy Baldy's BBQ Facebook

Most Minneapolitans know Baldy’s BBQ as a reliable source of down-home cooking on SE University Avenue. The Dinkytown restaurant, a go-to for the U of M crowd, has been reliably busy since opening a couple years back. Owner Brian Wheeler apparently needed another challenge this spring. Baldy’s BBQ’s mobile edition made its soft debut earlier this year, serving up a truncated version of the eatery’s in-house menu: Italian sausage, pulled pork and chicken sandwiches, brisket baskets, plus the usual assortment of barbecue sides.

The Curious Goat

Photo courtesy The Curious Goat Facebook

The Curious Goat specializes in, well, goat. Chef Ian Gray (of the now-shuttered Gray House) rotates braised goat sliders, maple goat sliders with goat bacon, goat cheese and Brussels sprouts, and goat cheese curds through a slightly pricier-than-average menu that rewards big spenders with truly outstanding flavors. The truck has a standing relationship with Sociable Cider Werks.

Brooks High Beer Battered

Photo courtesy Brooks High Kickstarter

Owners Brent Drake and Pete Toft launched a wildly successful Kickstarter this past winter, thanks in part to a hilarious video explaining their beer-battered fish concept. And they’ve been active on Twitter for months, providing a rare look into the gestation period of an unborn food truck. Brooks High will frequent Tin Whiskers, Fair State, Lynlake, Bauhaus, and Tattersall Distilling and utilize those beer (and spirits) in their recipes. Brooks is expected to hit the streets any day now.

Green + The Grain

Photo courtesy Green + The Grain Facebook

Green + the Grain, best known its serving up salads, wraps, and certified organic frozen yogurt, went brick-and-mortar this past spring. Both the trck and the downtown skyway location (900 LaSalle) continues to pay homage to its sustainable mission statement while serving up its Cowboy Salad.

Butcher Salt

Photo courtesy Butcher Salt Facebook

Although it debuted last year, the truck continues to remain hot as it hits up the taproom scene and features a menu of breakfast items, lunch standbys, and those salted caramels. Just about everything gets a liberal seasoning of sea salt infused with rosemary, sage, thyme and marjoram, aka, butcher salt.

Next read: Eater.com's The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Street Food in America.