Joni Williams

​So, you went away for the holidays. And now it's time to hit the long road home. Or maybe your home is a wintry wonderland and you're driving down for some fun in the Magic City sun.

Either way, we know how it is. The race to get here can be a real drag. The last thing you want is to make the long road longer by driving around searching for places to fill up fast on food, fuel and, maybe even, a little fun.

No worries. We've found some convenient, interesting stops right by Florida's interstates that can get you fed and fueled in no time flat.

Here's a few to get you started:
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Everyone loves Mac'n.

​Last month, we gave four trucks the opportunity to compete to the sixteenth and final truck to be invited to park on the sands of Miami Beach for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival's Trucks on the Beach event hosted by Andrew Zimmern on February 26.

Mac'n Soul Food, Miso Hungry, Sugar Rush, and the MexZican Gourment all hoped you the reader would help them win the popular vote for the chance to feed Zimmern and slew of other TV personalities, chefs, and, of course, the regular crowd. However, only one could make it and Miami's 100 percent vegan food truck Mac'n Soul Food won the big prize.
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Courtesy of South Beach Wine & Food Festival

Help us help Andrew Zimmern pick another food truck.

​With all the South Beach Wine & Food Festival events scheduled for next year's edition, we are perhaps most excited about Trucks on the Beach. The bash, hosted by Andrew Zimmern and serving as the official closing party, will feature 15 trucks dishing out mobile-made bites on the sands of South Beach. And for $95, it's perhaps one of the best priced events.

The local and national trucks scheduled to appear include the Baketress, Big Gay Ice Cream, Bite Gastrotruck, CheeseMe Mobile, Chipotle, CUBANCUBE, C&S Brisket Bus, Dim Ssam a Gogo, the Fish Box, Latin Burger & Taco, Mangia Mia, Mr. Good Stuff, The Rolling Stove, Stocked N Loaded, and Wicked Witches.

However, New Times loves the democratic process, so we asked the festival organizers if we could include one more truck picked by you, our Short Order readers. That's right, a 16th truck will find a place on the sands if you deem it worthy. We've already selected the finalists, but now it's up to you to pick the winner.
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Photo by Paulina Aguilera

Munch on a bite-sized vegan pumpkin whoopie pie from Mac'n this Thanksgiving!

​We're just a few days out from Thanksgiving, and you'll soon have quite the spread in front of you. Before you go crazy this Thursday, try warming up your Thanksgiving appetite with a sweet treat from Mac'n Food Truck. The Miami New Times caught up with "Miami's Original Vegan Food Truck" to check out the pumpkin whoopie pies that one Twitterer called worthy of a "foodgasm."

"I like whoopie pies because they're not quite cookies, and they're not quite cupcakes," says Francesca Lacuesta, owner of the food truck called Mac'n. "I love anything that has pumpkin in it, especially this time because it makes me feel comfort(ed)."

You got that right! Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!

The bite-size pastries are gluten-free, flavored with a subtle blend of spices that don't overpower ;other flavors, and sport a rich, creamy middle sandwiched by exquisitely moist cake. And they're sweetened just right. Foodgasm indeed!

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​The restaurant industry has always been male-dominated, and the Miami food truck scene is no different. Luckily for all you guys hitting the next food truck meetup, there are some industrious females to distract you from your meal. Their businesses come in all shapes and sizes, from the simple candy-covered fold-up table to the full-size mobile gelato dispensary. So check out these ladies at the next meetup -- they make mobile dining look good.

1. The Yepes Sisters from Dolci Peccati

This identical-twin duo, whose truck hit the road last November, is known for some of the best gelato in town, and the ladies are "melting to meet you." Nati -- the GM and head ice-cream maker -- makes their goods from scratch daily and then hits the pavement to provide the masses with her rotating list of unique flavors. When sis Stefanie joins her on the road, you'll think you're seeing double, and saying no to gelato at that point is damn near impossible. Just don't get them confused -- they don't like that.
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​At the Biscayne Truck Triangle Roundup on the grounds of Johnson & Wales University, chef and restauranteur Michelle Bernstein made about 1,000 samples of a refreshing summer dish to distribute to visitors for free. All of the meals were scarfed down by eager eaters within an hour.

Miami was the inaugural stop of the Macy's Chefs A-Go-Go's national food truck tour. It definitely could be considered nothing but a total success. The truck features plates by chefs on Macy's Culinary Council, all big names, including Todd English and Ming Tsai. Michelle Bernstein, a local and big name herself, appropriately made dishes for the Miami-folk. After the food ran out, what were tartufo-like pops that tasted like a slightly salty banana split, Emeril's recipe, were distributed to passersby. People were encouraged to donate to Feeding America, to help the hungry.

We caught Bernstein and asked her a bit about summer food and working with Macy's.
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​Everyone's getting in on the food truck action. Even Macy's is taking the popularity of the mobile meal and using the talents of famous chefs to market to the good old U.S.A.

Miami is the first stop on the national Macy's Chefs A-Go-Go food truck tour, which will be showcasing Macy's Culinary Council chefs, including such big names as Rick Bayless, Michelle Bernstein, Cat Cora, Todd English, Ming Tsai and Takashi Yagihashi. People can sample signature side dishes by a different chef at each stop. Of course, we'll be able to munch on the favorite summertime chow of Miami's own Ms. Bernstein of restaurants Michy's and Senora Martinez.
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​Looking for something to cool you down on these hot summer days? Real Sorbert, a new cart debuting this week, may be just what you need.

Husband and wife, Nick and Tessa Mencia, moved to Miami six months ago to start the cart. It was a learning process, says Nick, but they're now ready to serve their sorbets on our streets. The couple prepares small batches of their sorbets weekly, using primarily local, pesticide-free fruits and leaving out any artificial colorings, high-fructose corn syrup, stabilizers or gums.

"Our primary focus is using organic produce as local as possible in combination with the best sugars, spices and herbs," says Nick. "We want to make people happy and give them something that's cool and fun and good for you."

On the opening menu, the coconut chocolate sorbet made with milk from organic coconuts the couple got at a Broward farm, cocoa, vanilla extract and Celtic sea salt, sounds like a real treat. Other flavors include watermelon with ginger, lime and a splash of Texan vodka; peach iced tea made with organic yellow peaches and yerba mate tea; grapefruit with mint and splash of silver rum; and orange espresso prepared with Florida oranges, fair trade espresso, cinnamon and a hint of cayenne. Prices will range from $4 for four ounces to $5.50 for six.

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El Rincon del Mar: Food Truck in Hatillo, PR.

​The food truck craze that has taken over the United States may have well started in Puerto Rico. On La Isla del Encanto, food trucks are everywhere. "Food trucks have been in Puerto Rico for at least ten years," my travel companion explained.

El Churry, in the city of Rio Piedra, is one of the most popular food trucks in Puerto Rico. It stations itself in the evenings on a grimy city street by the metro campus of the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico and stays open until 3 or 4 a.m. with lines that stretch almost a full city block.
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Cooking Channel

James Cunningham is the food truck guy.

​Food trucks are a natural fit for TV -- part restaurant and part carnival attraction. Each chef and rolling kitchen has a unique story. As host of Cooking Channel's Eat Street, the new series that follows the street food craze around the country, James Cunninghan has his work cut out for him -- namely eating his way through miles and miles of burgers, tacos, schnitzels, perogies and sandwiches. James told Short Order about his adventures on the road, naming his craziest finds and inventing his own truck.

New Times: You're a stand-up comedian, but don't really have a food background. How did you get the gig hosting Eat Street?

James Cunningham: I auditioned for a completely different show. Apparently, my audition was passed around and I got a call from Vancouver. The production company that was doing Eat Street said we have a new food show on the Cooking Channel, would you like to try out. They wanted me to fly out to New York and do a test shoot that weekend with The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and Schnitzel & Things. My girlfriend lives in New York, so I thought, sure! We shot some test segments and it went so well and there was so much chemistry between everyone that we shot the first couple of segments right then and there!

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