5 Best Food Trucks In Las Vegas
Operating a food truck isn't easy. While there's certainly lower overhead compared to a brick-and-mortar eatery, operators are forced to brave (mostly) outdated municipal restrictions, random — or sometimes even targeted — police ticketing, and the misdirected ire of insecure traditional restaurants who often make it their business to stir up trouble for the competition. Although far from the latest food trend, they are one of the best things to happen to the American culinary scene, and the general public can't seem to get enough of these roaming gastronomic hubs.
The Daily Meal recently published our 101 Best Food Trucks in America for 2014, and in order to compile our ranking, we started with the more than 450 food trucks from over 40 cities that were considered for last year's ranking and added 50 to the list, mostly new trucks and those suggested by readers. We factored in Twitter followers, Yelp reviews, and Yelp stars into a weighted algorithm, rounded out by an originality score that took into account menu innovation, overall concept, and geography.
Here are the five best food trucks in Las Vegas, according to our ranking. A few made this year's list, there is one from the 2013 compilation, and two that were considered for the list but were beaten out by competitors in other cities and didn't quite make the cut. The next time you find yourself in The Entertainment Capital of the World, make sure to scope out at least one of these nomadic purveyors of quick and delicious dishes.
In 2010, Ric Guerrero launched Slidin' Thru at 26 after being dumped, and ended up with a truck so popular that it has been credited for helping spawn the entire Vegas food truck movement, as well as a brick-and-mortar location. The cartoon-themed truck's ridiculously delicious-looking sliders with names like Pep Pep (lettuce, tomato, pickle, Cheddar, special sauce, sautéed onion), Chicky Boom (lemon garlic chicken salad with sriracha), Buffalo Soldier (grilled chicken with lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, Swiss, hot sauce, and ranch dressing), and Captain's Order (tomato, arugula, feta, and balsamic reduction) are all good reasons why this truck keeps drawing long lines.
TWITTER: @slidinthru
FOLLOWERS: 9,118
LOCATION/SCHEDULE: Check Twitter
"Be Careful How You Pronounce It," noted one headline announcing the arrival of Robert "Mags" Magsalin and Colin Fukunaga's exotic burger and fry truck back in 2010. Just keep in mind that it's a last name when you say the truck's name out loud (correct pronunciation is "foo-koo-burger), and choose from just five burgers (plus a chicken katsu sandwich). Fukuburger's "All-American" burgers with a Japanese twist feature toppings like wasabi mayo, pickled red ginger, avocado cream, Japanese barbecue sauce, and furikake (dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, and salt).
TWITTER: @fukuburger
FOLLOWERS: 13.6K
LOCATION/SCHEDULE: Check for listings
Started by two East Coast deli fanatics, Coast 2 Coast Deli brings Las Vegas an "outside-the-box modern twist" to deli sandwiches. With geographic sandwich names like The Greenwich (turkey, Swiss, caramelized onions, spinach, and avocado ranch), The Bloody Bay (jerk chicken, pepper jack, mango-bean salsa, and lettuce), and The Montana (New York strip steak and rib-eye, Cheddar, blue cheese crumbles, onion rings, and BBQ ranch), the menu meshes East Coast tradition with a splash of the West. And who doesn't appreciate waffle fries? Coast 2 Coast offers seasonings such as chile and lime, barbecue, cayenne and coco, lavender and sea salt, and rosemary and salt and pepper for the waffle fries, as well as cheese sauces like Calico brown ale beer cheese. Whether you identify with the East Coast or West Coast, these guys have a sandwich for anyone craving an especially delicious taste of home.
TWITTER: @Coast2CoastLV
FOLLOWERS: 3,383
LOCATION/SCHEDULE: Check Site
Founded as a brick-and-mortar establishment in 2008 in the Red Rock Resort, LBS: A Burger Joint quickly became a favorite of locals and tourists alike, and two years later they lunched the LBS Patty Wagon. The restaurant location closed in February of this year, but the mobile version is truckin' on, bringing both "Perfect" and "Classic" sliders to the streets of Las Vegas. Their "Perfect Slider" is comprised of a beef patty topped with Gruyère cheese, bacon, oven roasted tomato, frisée, red onion marmalade, house "LBS" sauce, and herb mayo, while the "Classic" version is a beef patty topped with American cheese, grilled onions, spicy mustard, and "LBS" sauce. Don't care where the beef is? They also serve "The California" turkey burger and an Ahi tuna slider, along with a chopped salad and shoestring fries.
TWITTER: @LBSPattyWagon
FOLLOWERS: 1,451
LOCATION/SCHEDULE: Check Site
Barbecue and Mexican food is a marriage made in heaven, particularly in the hands of celebrity chef and Food Network star Mike Minor. Slow-cooked meat is covered in a sweet molasses-based sauce, and then incorporated into south of the boarder favorites like tortas, tacos, and burritos. Be sure to try some of their more unusual items, like the blackened catfish taco with barbecue aioli, citrus cabbage slaw, guacamole, and charred corn relish, or the pulled pork and duck fat fries burrito with their house "TruckU" sauce and chipotle honey coleslaw. The truck is easy to spot, too, as HGTV star Luca Paganico designed the black and red exterior covered with eye-catching tattoo artwork.
TWITTER: @TruckUBarbeque
FOLLOWERS: 403
LOCATION/SCHEDULE: Check Site
Kate Kolenda is the Restaurant and City Guide Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @BeefWerky and @theconversant.