The Food Truck, Up-Island Dining With Josh Aronie On Martha’s Vineyard

As of January 26th, you can now get a late breakfast or lunch at Beetlebung Corner in Chilmark. In front of the Chilmark General Store you’ll find The Food Truck parked and ready to serve up some delicious bites.

What? A food truck Up-Island in January? What is this craziness? Well, actually it’s far from crazy. Josh Aronie (Menemsha Cafe & Cafe Moxie) has opened The Food Truck. Monday thru Friday from 10:30 a.m. –  2 p.m., you can get some of the best eats around at this truck.

The Food Truck

First, there is something so cool about seeing life in that spot in January. Second, it’s great to get out of your car and be greeted by the smell of something delicious. Third, the truck is a three person gig and the people in the truck are a lot of fun.

I walked up to The Food Truck, greeted by Dana Nicolette. Not only is she gorgeous, but she is funny and engaging — a brilliant promoter for this new endeavor. She is only here for a while, but I bet she brings a little joy to the workers Up-Island. Also, she is really fun to talk to, and is excited about the food being served.

Inside the truck you’ll find Island favorite, Josh Aronie working his magic with food, but in a truck. You’ll also find Nick Barbera cooking along side of him. Apparently having a food truck is sort of a dream for both of these guys.

I find that interesting. I thought it would be restrictive and hard. When the reality is it is freeing. Josh can have a lot of fun with fun there. It’s a micro menu so the focus is on quality, not quantity.

As in the past, Josh does not disappoint. The menu has a number of options. There are somethings that will most likely be available daily like the hot chicken sandwich and the falafel, but each day there are new additions too.

You can find out what those are via Twitter (@thefoodtruckmv) and Facebook.

I braved the snow to try The Food Truck. Only open for three days, it already has a big following. How psyched are people to have an option for food in Chilmark right now.

There are a good amount of people working Up-Island, and they should be able to grab lunch out too. While I was there, even the health inspector came to grab one of Josh’s scrumptious cherry tart oatmeal cookies.

Let’s talk menu. For Wednesday, January 28th, the soup of the day was hearty chili, perfect since it was snowy and 22 degrees. The special for the day was chicken tacos. There was also a breakfast burrito made with local eggs (Joe Chapman’s eggs to be exact), a falafel wrap, the chicken sandwich, chicken tacos and pork tacos.

Soon, you’ll also be able to get Josh’s lemon rosemary fries (the fryer should be fixed next week). For beverages, you can get a piping hot Chilmark Coffee or assorted soft drinks.

Josh and Nick are right at home in this tiny kitchen, working together between the flattop and set-up area. I ordered the pork tacos, though the chicken sandwich was a contender, which has bacon and apparently the best special sauce. Maybe next time.

Visiting The Food Truck

The pork tacos were made with mouth watering fresh, well seasoned shredded pork, topped with fresh slaw, homemade pico de gallo and garnished with lime wedges.

The tacos were amazing. I ate one immediately in my car. I couldn’t wait. It was so good, I had to eat the other one while driving home, I couldn’t wait. Those two tacos were plenty. I was full and felt like I got a great lunch for $10.

Though I have to say that I do wish I could have had some fries. I love those rosemary lemon fries!

Oh and for full disclosure, I too grabbed a cherry tart oatmeal cookie. Thank goodness those cookies are about 18 miles away from me because I could eat one everyday.

The Food Truck will be open until April, that’s when his permit expires. Also, I imagine that the Chilmark General Store will be getting ready to open. This newest adventure in cooking on Martha’s Vineyard is proving to not only be successful but also fun.

Have a menu he can play with and making fresh food for the community that has supported him at Menemsha Cafe and Cafe Moxie. And he really enjoys the ability to interact with customers. He’s so close.

It was nice watching him know and talk with customers who were grabbing a bite. This fresh, made-to-order food ranges in price from about $4 – $10.

I love that Josh opened a food truck. Currently he’s leasing it from Irie Bites, but perhaps someday he’ll have his own shiny, perfect, portable kitchen where he can do what he loves. For Josh, he can do two things, he can cook and he is a great dad. Doing both everyday makes for a pretty good life.

Noteworthy — soon Josh will have a phone for The Food Truck and then you can call in your order. Also, it is a cash only situation. Luckily, the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank is right there if you need to visit the ATM. You don’t want to miss out eating here just because you don’t have cash.

Thanks for reading On Point.  You can learn more about The Food Truck on Facebook.  Speaking of social media, don’t forget to  “Like” us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Linked In, Pinterest and YouTube.