5 new food trucks on the move in Asheville in 2024
ASHEVILLE - Food trucks are racing to feed the masses across Asheville this spring.
Follow these local mobile eateries for po-boys, pitas, doughnuts, smoothies, plant-based meals and more:
Iron Sharpens Iron
In September/October, Iron Sharpens Iron food trailer entered the scene with owner Alejandro Stutman at the helm.
The menu rotates with four meal options, but the mainstay is the classic double cheeseburger, a smash burger topped with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles and a special mayo-ketchup-based sauce.
Menu items, inspired by American and international-style cuisine, have included New York-style hot dogs, and different styles of burgers like the lamb burger topped with fontina cheese, roasted garlic aioli, bourbon blueberry compote, arugula and tomato on a brioche bun.
“It’s still a challenge for me because I get to come up with new things and I get inspired by whatever’s going on and whatever I feel like cooking, that’s what I cook,” said Stutman, a longtime service industry worker. “I’ve started to develop a trust with customers in Fletcher and they motivate me to be creative and come up with new things because they get excited about it.”
Meals are served with chips and a drink and range from $8-$12.
Iron Sharpens Iron is regularly serving from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday at The Village Food Truck Park, 25 Fletcher Commercial Drive in Fletcher.
Follow on facebook.com and Instagram @ironsharpensironavl.
New Moon Donuts
In late March, New Moon Donuts, a vegan doughnut mobile eatery debuted from the owners of Tahini Jar, a Middle Eastern-style food truck introduced in 2022.
Ron Jimenez, who launched the businesses with his wife, Courtney, said the doughnut concept is another way to connect to the area’s vegan community.
“I chose doughnuts partly because it’s a passion project for myself. I really love doughnuts,” Jimenez said.
He recognized an opportunity to offer an entirely vegan doughnut menu, unlike businesses that offer a few.
“That was something I saw that was a hole in the market; something that I could fill,” he said.
The menu rotates with flavors like the vegan maple bacon doughnut and a s’mores-inspired doughnut topped with graham cracker cereal, toasted marshmallow and chocolate glaze.
Doughnut selection may be made in vegan old-fashioned, sour cream or cake-style.
Doughnuts are served individually and in half and full-dozen boxes. A single doughnut costs $2-3.
Drip coffee made with Methodical Coffee roasts is served, too.
Its converted 26-foot-long activity school bus will be parked at the A-B Tech Business Center in Candler from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. every Monday and Friday in April.
Follow New Moon Donuts at facebook.com/NewMoonDonuts and on Instagram @newmoondonuts.
Shredded Smoothie
Ryan Stutes, owner, introduced Shredded Smoothie to the food truck scene more than a year ago and is revving up for a spring and summer of refreshing fruit smoothies geared toward fitness and health.
“I like to workout and one day I was leaving the gym and realized there was no easy access to healthy smoothies with protein for someone who likes to keep fit would enjoy after a workout,” Stutes said.
The menu features smoothies and smoothie bowls made with no artificial sugars or syrups and dairy-free milk and are gluten-free and may be consumed as a meal supplement or snack.
The Mighty Mango, his favorite, is made with mango, passionfruit, pineapple and coconut milk.
The Power Milkshake consists of protein powder, banana, peanut butter and almond milk.
Smoothie bowls are topped with ingredients like granola, coconut flakes and chia seeds.
Smoothies are offered in 16 oz., 24 oz. and 32 oz. ranging from $6.50-$10.50.
The food truck has circulated area fitness centers and now regularly parks at Mission Hospital at entrance three near the emergency room from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
“It has to do with people recovering and health. We can give back to the community easily there. They work with us and good people, so we enjoy doing that,” Stutes said.
For EMS Week, observed nationally May 19-25, Shredded Smoothie will give free smoothies to EMS workers, and Stutes said the food truck has hosted fundraisers with proceeds donated to cancer patients.
Follow Shredded Smoothie on Instagram @shreddedsmoothie.
The Po-Wagon
In March, owners Neal Mitchell and Doug Mcelvy launched the po-boys and Creole cuisine food truck, The Po-Wagon.
“I’ve been a chef for over 20 years and have done fine dining my entire life and wanted to get back to cooking the comfort food I grew up eating as a child, said Mitchell, a Mississippi native whose family spans across South Louisiana.
The menu features traditional gumbo, boudin, po-boys, red beans and rice, and potato salad inspired by Mitchell’s grandfather’s recipe, which the chef said earned a reputation as “the best.”
He said the shrimp and roast beef debris po-boy sandwiches have been the most popular.
A signature dish he’s introduced is the crawfish poutine ― crawfish etouffee served over waffle fries.
Items cost under $14.
Find The Po-Wagon at Haywood Country Club, 662 Haywood Road, Tuesday-Thursday and at Devil’s Foot Beverage, 131 Sweeten Creek Road, on Fridays and Saturdays.
Follow on Instagram @the_po_wagon.
Yalla
In March, Nathan Phillips and Nir Asaf, co-owners, launched Yalla, a food truck offering traditional and innovative Middle Eastern cuisine, sans meat.
Asaf, who is Israeli and a longtime chef, has had a passion for food and how it brings people together to create friendships and community, Phillips said.
“He was born and raised in Israel and our food is directly related to that but incorporates broader Middle Eastern flavors and dishes ― there’s a Greek dish, one that’s Iraqi in origin and hummus is universal across the Middle East,” Phillips said.
Yalla ― which translates from Arabic to mean “let’s go” ― uses many ingredients sourced from the Middle East, like chickpeas, Phillips said.
The menu features hummus bowls, pitas, side items and desserts like baklava. All dishes are vegetarian or vegan – dishes with an egg can be requested without the egg. Entrées average $12 with sides, desserts and kid-sized portions averaging $6.
A popular menu item is the Ara’yes, a sizzling grilled kebab served as a pita.
Sabich ― or “cloud in a pita” ― is made with caramelized eggplant, chopped salad, egg, beet cream, pickled onion and tahini.
The Sweet in Pita dessert is caramelized banana and Nutella stuffed inside pita bread.
The new menu to roll out soon is teased to have a falafel waffle. The falafel bowls will be made using a waffle maker and then topped with an assortment of ingredients to make sweet and savory variations.
Customers can find Yalla parked at Catawba Brewing’s South Slope taproom, 32 Banks Ave., Friday-Sunday every weekend. The menu is limited on Friday and Saturday.
Stop by for Yalla’s Sunday brunch service for the full menu and dance to deejay-spun tunes with more activities and vendor markets coming.
View Yalla’s menu at yallaasheville.com and follow the food truck at facebook.com and on Instagram @yalla.asheville. For more, visit catawbabrewing.com.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 5 new food trucks rolling through Asheville in 2024
