If the ever-expanding food truck movement over the past few years has taught us one thing, it's that often, food from a mobile kitchen can be as good—or sometimes better—than anything offered by a brick and mortar restaurant. Our small but indefatigable fleet of food trucks and carts in central Arkansas is no exception. You'll find some of the most talented chefs, inventive menus, and skilled artisans cramped within the confines of a rolling restaurant. Indeed, some trucks will offer dishes unlike anything you'll find elsewhere in central Arkansas. It's this ingenuity that often attracts diners to food trucks, and keeps patrons lining up outside their order windows. One of Little Rock's freshest faces in the mobile dining scene is hoping to continue our tradition of eating excellence, and they're doing it through one of America's most beloved dishes, pizza. However, the folks behind Pizzeria Santa Lucia would not be content with throwing together a few half-hearted, grease-soaked, pedestrian pies. Instead, they are bringing to Little Rock something yet to be offered by any other pizzeria in this town, sharing their passion by spreading the gospel of authentic Neapolitan pizza.

Recently, on a cold, wet, stormy night, Santa Lucia was camped out on Kavanaugh Blvd. slinging pizzas for a charity event. Their large, dome-shaped wood-fired oven sat on a trailer was parked on a street corner, while pizzas were assembled under a number of tents, overhangs, and tarps. The weather had deterred most prospective diners, but I was fortunate to spend a little time getting to know the brains and brawn behind this operation…and of course, I sampled some of their fine product.

Pizzeria Santa Lucia’s head pizzaiolo, Georges Launet is a Little Rock native who has been floating around the restaurant business for fifteen years. After cooking for a number of quality restaurants around town, he describes his latest venture with the fine foods catering company, Palette, to be the most influential and inspiring of his career. Here he met Jeremy and Jacquelyn Pittman, and the two chef/owners took Launet under their culinary wings. As Launet began to develop aspirations of his own, he was reminded of time spent in France with his father, where he would be introduced to Neapolitan pizza for the first time. Launet fell in love with the art of creating authentic Neapolitan pies, claiming that after sampling them, he “would never be the same again.” Drawing upon his experiences in Europe, and after cutting his teeth in the kitchens at Palette Catering, Launet was determined to bring authentic Neapolitan pizza to Little Rock, the first of its kind, something unlike any other pie in central Arkansas.

Food truck fans rejoice, because Chef Jeffrey Palsa is bringing back SoMa Second Thursdays to the Bernice Garden on March 14. The monthly event has some returning favorites, including Palsa's own The Food Truck, Southern Gourmasian, Clyde and Kiddo's Barbecue, and dessert truck Sugar Shack Sweets. If that's not exciting enough, the first event of 2013 will also mark the return of Green Cuisine, the popular vegetarian truck that has been on an extended hiatus.

In addition to those returning greats, two new trucks will be debuting on South Main: Kyle Pounder's Excaliburger, home of the burger-with-grilled-cheese-sandwich-buns (which we told you about here late last year), and a completely new truck concept in the Rock, Santa Lucia Pizzeria. Santa Lucia is owned by Jacquelyn and Jeremy Pittman, who some of you may be familiar with from Palette Catering in the Heights. I have word from Jeffrey that they've been seasoning the stone in their mobile wood-fired pizza oven by firing it up daily for the past month, so it's sure to be a much different pizza experience than anyone expects from a truck.

In addition to the good eats, there will a face-painter and outdoor games for the kids, and Loblolly Creamery will have their soda fountain open late. And as part of the eco-friendly mission of the Bernice Garden and SoMa neighborhood, the event is a low-waste affair, so patrons are asked to bring their own cups, forks, and knives (rinse stations will be available). These events were a lot of fun last year, and it looks like there's even more to be had coming up!

Little Rock food truck favorite Michael Juliano — a.k.a. Hot Dog Mike — announced today on his blog that he's packing up the hot dog cart and heading to his home state of New Jersey in order to run his family business. Fans of Juliano's wiener creations have until the end of January to get their fill, and given the level of popularity Hot Dog Mike has attained in Central Arkansas, I hope he's well stocked for the month — I foresee a run on his product.

In addition to providing a certain level of "cool" to his wares, Juliano has been very active in supporting the local food truck scene as well as charities that help the poor and homeless. Perhaps his most well-known charity event was the creation of the $1501 hot dog, four of which were sold to benefit The One (also known as The Van). Creating the world's most expensive dog is one thing, but giving all but one dollar of the proceeds to charity is quite another, and it's a testament to the sort of guy Mike is.

Mike was a regular winner of Readers' Choice awards from this and other publications. I can't help but be a little jealous that Jersey is going to get all that hot dog goodness, but from all of us at Eat Arkansas: Best of luck, Mike, and may your new adventures lead you to even greater success — you will be missed.

With its body shops, factories, and rim shops, Asher Avenue probably wouldn't strike anybody as a street where a body could find a culinary treasure, but there is a hidden gem to be had: the Hot 'Lanta Wings food truck. In addition to the advertised wings, Hot 'Lanta also offers a menu that reads like a who's who of Southern food, with fried catfish, barbecue, okra, and chicken and waffles in addition to an assortment of burgers, sandwiches, and corn dogs. And while a rickety picnic table in a gravel lot on one of Southwest Little Rock's busiest streets might not be most people's concept of the ideal lunch spot, once I (along fellow foodie travelers Daniel Walker and Kevin Shalin) got a taste of the food coming out of Hot 'Lanta not a one of us cared about the traffic whizzing by.

The immediate thing that caught my eye was the Catfish Sandwich paired with an order of onion rings. The fish was freshly battered and fried while I waited, and the dark, crisp batter had an excellent flavor that gave way to the tender fish. The sandwich was simple — two filets on a couple of pieces of wheat bread — but the lettuce and tomato that came with it were fresh, and I was pleasantly surprised that it came with a couple of packages of Louisiana Hot Sauce — and if you've never had catfish with hot sauce, you're missing out. The onion rings were excellent, with a thin, crisp coating that held snug to the rings of sweet onion, and I'd put them up against any onion rings in town in terms of taste and quality.

Kevin's choice of grub was the Patty Melt, and he rated the burger-and-onion combo somewhere between "not bad" and "just okay." It was with his choice of side, fried okra, where Hot 'Lanta really showed their stuff, though, and we all passed around the crunchy bits of fresh-tasting okra and marveled at how good it was (although I still have to take issue with Mr. Shalin's use of ketchup on that okra). Fried okra is one of those dishes that's either really, really good or incredibly bad, and this okra was most definitely the former. It's available as a stand-alone menu item — and I foresee myself returning to Hot 'Lanta just to get an order.

Of course, if there are Chicken and Waffles on the menu, we all know that Dan's going to order them. We were all very skeptical of how this particular dish would emerge from the depths of the food truck — I was honestly expecting something along the lines of an Eggo-brand frozen waffle with a few frozen chicken strips. There's no way I could have been more wrong. The waffles were fresh made, four perfect little circles of fluffy golden brown batter that were slightly crunchy on the outside and pillow-soft on the interior. Delicately flavored, and with some fresh cut strawberries nestled in the center, these waffles would have been a fine dish on their own. Served to the side was a massive pile of breaded chicken wings, piping hot from the fryer. I watched with no small amount of envy as Dan smeared those luscious waffles with butter, loaded them up with the fried chicken, and covered the lot with a flood of warm syrup. It might sound like hyperbole to call this dish a revelation, but there aren't many places serving up chicken and waffles as well as Hot 'Lanta.

As somebody who pays attention to food possibly more than is normal, I've picked up on a few things that point to a meal that is going well and being enjoyed. Three of those things happened right after our food hit the table: all conversation stopped as first and second bites were taken, a look of pleasant surprise was shared across the table, and then we all started talking over each other about who needed to try a bite of what. Food is the most basic thing over which people bond, and the discovery of an unexpected source for that food makes the experience all the more memorable. I've eaten at a lot of food trucks over the years, and I'd put Hot 'Lanta Wings up against any of them. It's a simple, honest menu executed with skill and style, and a valuable addition to a neighborhood that most people don't think of as a destination for great food.

Hot 'Lanta food truck is set up behind an enclosed fence on Asher Avenue. Coming from University, the trailer is just before the Site station that used to be Uncle Abe's (on the right side). Coming from Roosevelt, it's just past the old J&M Products building on the left — look for the white trailer with the bright yellow and red signage.

Those of you who work and play downtown may have noticed that Grills on Wheels, the big black food truck that serves hearty soft shelled tacos and a killer bean and cheese burrito for a very reasonable amount of dinero, hasn't been parked at it's usual President Clinton Avenue location at the east side of the Arkansas Studies Institute. According to owner Al Aquino, for the past three weeks the staff has been on vacation, the truck is having a dented bumper repaired, and he's trying to figure out where to move, since a four story mixed-use commercial building is going up where Grills used to park. The Arcade Building, a proposed 80,000 square foot space is being developed by Moses Tucker Real Estate and, according to the firm's website, will include "retail space, office and residential space and an auditorium/theater to be developed in conjunction with the Public Library." Aquino expects Grills on Wheels to be back in business in about two weeks. He's not sure if he'll have to move at that time, but when the time comes, he plans to find another spot downtown.

For most Arkansans, the fall season brings a much-needed relief from the sweltering summer heat. It's finally possible to be outdoors from more than five minutes without feeling like your face is about to melt off. Additionally, for food truck followers, there is no finer time to get outside and experience the cultural phenomenon that continues to blossom in Arkansas. I've spent a good number of summer afternoons eating the offerings of local food trucks on sidewalks, car hoods, and picnic tables, whilst enduring the soul-crushing heat of the summer sun. No matter how wonderful the food in this situation, the settings are often far from ideal and it is sometimes difficult not to yearn for the luxury of the air-conditioning inside a restaurant. We, here at Eat Arkansas, anxiously look forward to the many opportunities in the coming months to comfortably revisit some of Arkansas' leading food trucks as well as sample the craft of some of the newest trucks to hit the asphalt.

This coming Saturday, Sept 22, Hillcrest is hosting their annual HarvestFest celebration. This is a wonderful opportunity to drag your friends and family out of the house and experience the handiwork of some of Little Rock ’s most creative artists and craftsmen. Vendor booths, live music, fashion shows, and children's activities are all on the schedule for this year’s event, and you definitely won't want to miss the cheese dip contest as we reported here previously. A handful of mobile food vendors will be positioned at various locations around the festival grounds as well, and this year's HarvestFest will also see the debut of Little Rock 's first dedicated dessert truck, Sugar Shack Sweets. I was fortunate enough to meet up with the two ladies running this oven on wheels, and I was able to sample a handful of the tantalizing treats this crew will be offering.

Sugar Shack Sweets is the brainchild of co-owners and long-time friends, Cheryl Hicks and Sheryl Harrison. These two women, who affectionately refer to themselves as "the two S/Cheryls," had dreamed of owning a bakery for a number of years. Once, they imagined opening a sweets shop in Little Rock, but after the cupcake boom that hit the country like a ton of radioactive plutonium, they worried they had missed their golden opportunity. Then in late 2011, determined to make their dream become a reality, and following in the steps of many burgeoning food truck operations, they decided to take their baking to the streets and bring Little Rock its first dessert truck. In the spring of this year, they began honing their business model and spreading samples of their baked goods through a successful delivery operation until their truck became fully operational. Finally, their eye-catching truck is ready to roll, and will be making its first pit stop at this years HarvestFest. One of the impressive aspects of The Sugar Shack truck is the fact that they are baking and preparing everything within the truck. I've sampled a number of dessert trucks in other cities, but most use an offsite kitchen to bake their wares, and simply use their truck as a mobile vending outlet. The Sugar Shack folks are baking everything onsite, ensuring that everything they put out is at its freshest.

Lovers of Indian food had a reason to rejoice today with the return of Banana Leaf, the popular food truck that's been serving up authentic Indian cuisine in Hillcrest since 2011. The menu at Banana Leaf is a perfect example of a good food truck menu, with simple, quick-to-prepare dishes that are loaded with flavor and served up hot for not a lot of cash. Owner Poorni Muthaian and crew had been on hiatus since late May, and judging by the crowd of people waiting for lunch when I showed up today, they were greatly missed. In fact, by the time I arrived they had already run out of both their vegetarian and non-vegetarian lunch offerings and seemed pleasantly surprised that business was so good.

Lucky for me, they hadn't yet run out of Chicken 65, an extremely spicy marinated chicken dish that had me wiping sweat from my forehead and guzzling water. The flavor of this chicken is incredible, with the complex play of spice, salt, and just the vaguest hint of sweet working together to create something truly special. My favorite kind of spicy dishes are the ones that are capable of matching their heat with bold, assertive flavor, and the Chicken 65 does this well.

To temper the spice of my chicken, I also ordered an Egg Dhosa, a rice crisp stuffed with egg, onions, tomatoes and cilantro. This was my first experience with a dhosa, but it will definitely not be my last, with its light, chewy exterior and warm filling — it was like a happy marriage between an omelet and a crepe. Heartier eaters can order a potato-filled version, but since I'm an egg-lover, I thought this dish was perfection. I'm relatively inexperienced with Indian food, but my trip to Banana Leaf today made me realize that it's a cuisine with which I need to become better acquainted.

Like many of our local food trucks, Banana Leaf is active on Facebook and Twitter, so check them out for daily specials and announcements. Banana Leaf food truck is located at 201 N. Van Buren, and they are open from 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The service is quick and friendly, even when there's a crowd of hungry folks all waiting to get their hands on some tasty food.

Chef Jeffrey Palsa has been operating The Food Truck in Little Rock for a couple of years now, serving up hot gourmet sandwiches and and soups with a cheerful smile and a ready laugh. After a hot, dry summer that proved difficult for many of our local trucks, Palsa wanted to reignite excitement in the food truck scene, deciding to create a monthly truck even in the SoMa neighborhood called Second Thursday Truck Night. The event will be held on September 13 from 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Bernice Garden and will continue throughout the fall every second Thursday of the month. Chef Palsa chose evenings for his event in order to bring people down to a neighborhood that doesn't have many options for dining out past five o'clock, although he stresses that the ladies of Loblolly Creamery will have their soda fountain in the Green Corner Store open for folks in need of ice cream or a fresh-made soda.

For the inaugural event, Palsa has lined up several of Little Rock's best trucks in addition to his own, including The Southern Gourmasian, Clyde & Kiddo's Barbecue, and Taqueria Samantha III. Little Rock Urban Farming will also have a booth set-up with flowers, Arkansas honey, and produce. The trucks are all planning specials for the event, including some kid-friendly dishes. There will be ample covered seating available so that everyone can enjoy their meals comfortably, and parking is located both next door to the garden as well as across the street.

If you haven't had a chance to try these trucks, or would like to get a taste of things to come during the upcoming Main Street Food Truck Festival, this new food truck event is the perfect opportunity to come down to SoMa, enjoy the peaceful surroundings of the sculpture garden, and sample a lot of really great food. Bernice Garden is located at 1401 S. Main in Little Rock.

You learn something about yourself when you eat at a taco truck. Are you the kind of person who prefers the luxury of padded seating, air conditioning, or a waiter to talk you through a menu when you dine? Or are you content with a tasty morsel no matter what conditions it is served under, perhaps inhaled from the front seat of your Honda Accord? Are you comfortable eating in sometimes questionable locales, the parking lot of a pawn shop, behind a now abandoned Blockbuster video? Or do you prefer the valet-serviced glitz of a swanky downtown hotel restaurant? Taco trucks speak to everyone differently and are adored by patrons in nearly every city in the nation for their cheap, often authentic food, with each new truck holding the hope that this latest find will the greatest hidden treasure in town. Some truck locations move daily but some tend to stay planted, allowing their fans an opportunity to get their fix without the need to constantly stalk a Twitter feed. Taco trucks and trailers are essentially the granddaddies of all mobile dining, they have been in the business for a long time, but they manage to stay relevant and popular today due to their ability to offer patrons a quick, delicious lunch in an environment that welcomes all comers...if you've got the cash, they've got the tacos.

It helps to know some solid folks on Twitter, as they can be invaluable when needing to find a secret gem to grub out. I recently posed a question to Twitterworld, asking where the best tacos can be found in Little Rock, as I was seriously jonesing for some tortilla love. Luckily, I was provided with many-an-option, adding to my steadily growing list of Mexican restaurants and shops to try. This week, I decided to stop by Taqueria Tamaulipas, a trailer parked in Sherwood near the parking lot of a Walmart, just the kind of place I would expect to find brilliantly done Mexican food.

The set-up is familiar. An indiscrete, no frills white trailer parked in the lot of an antiques shop just off Highway 107 in Sherwood. A solitary wooden picnic table rests under a small makeshift awning, shading a few lucky patrons from the heat as they wait patiently for their promised culinary gold. The cash-only menu is decorated with classic Mexican favorites, burritos, tortas, gorditas, hamburguesas, and tamales...but I came for one thing only, the great equalizer…the tacos. Tacos are offered in 7 or 8 filling varieties, with the usual adornments which includes cilantro, raw chopped white onion, red or green salsa, a wedge of lime, and grilled onion slices, all wrapped up in a corn tortilla. Fillings include chicken and steak, marinated pork, chicharron (pork skin), or desebrada (shredded beef). I ordered up four ($1.50 each) and took my spoils to enjoy in the front seat of my car.

These were beautifully done tacos. First, the tender corn tortillas were perfect. Lightly coated in oil and thrown on the flattop, the result is a tortilla just on the edge between crispy and flimsy. Enough crunch to support the fillings, but tender enough to remain soft and supple with each bite. The addition of the translucent, grease coated grilled onion slices was a welcome accent. These onions were caramelized on the edges, slightly sweet and aromatic...delicious enough to eat on their own, but perfect in a taco. Of the tacos I tasted, the marinated pork was by far the show-stopper. The spicy pork came bathed in a bright red sauce that danced over the tongue like tiny flavor fairies in the springtime. The chicharron taco also delivered a rich, fatty pork flavor that coats the tongue as it slides down the old pie hole. Their pollo and carne asada made noteworthy appearances, but unfortunately the desebrada was sold out by the time I had placed my order.

For such an inconspicuous, unassuming taco joint, I was surprised how quickly the line grew given the less than optimal temperatures outside. But good food waits for no one and even the awesome power of Mother Nature will not stop a valiant taco hunter on a mission to sample the best a city has to offer. Taqueria Tamaulipas may not look like much from the outside, but once sampled, you’ll never be able to pass by this stretch of road again without experiencing uncontrollable taco cravings.

Taqueria Tamaulipas
8715 Highway 107
Sherwood, AR

If Little Rock has anything that might be called a food truck franchise, it's Taqueria Samantha. For several years, Samantha I and II have provided some of the best tacos in town, but it's with their most ambitious addition, Samantha III, that they've really come into their own. Unlike the other Samantha taco trailers, Samantha III is a full-sized food truck that sports an expanded menu to match its new roomier digs. The ladies behind the truck are some of the most regular and faithful of the trucks that park at the University Market at 4 Corners, and in recent weeks they've added some very tasty new dishes to their already stellar selection. Samantha is one of the best meal values in town, with huge portions available for prices that are almost shockingly low, and the food is made with skill and care and served with a friendly smile. Plus, they sell liter bottles of Mexican Coca-Cola products — the kind still made with real sugar.

Of course, since we're talking taco trucks, let's talk tacos. Samantha's tacos are so large and piled with ingredients that it's sometimes an ordeal to plan a method of attack. They offer a choice of steak, chicken, pork, or tongue with their tacos, and there really isn't any way to go wrong with those choices. Each meat is tender and moist, and seasoned with just the right amount of savory spice. The tongue tacos at Samantha are particularly good, with meat reminiscent of high-quality roast beef that is fall-apart tender and very juicy. Tongue is one of those foods that makes a lot of us norteamericanos a touch squeamish, but I assure you that you're missing out if you avoid it at this truck. Each taco is heaped with lettuce, cheese, and cilantro and served with a fire-roasted jalapeno pepper and a slice of lime. Be sure to take a liberal squirt of the homemade salsa verde provided; it isn't all that hot, but the tangy flavor adds just the right balance to each taco.

If it's something more substantial you're craving, the Samantha burrito will suit you fine. These burritos are a two-handed affair, and unlike some popular chains that serve large burritos that are mostly rice, Samantha gives you the protein you crave in the form of whole pinto beans your choice of meat, wrapped tightly in a flour tortilla and toasted on the grill. For cheese lovers, the quesadilla is loaded with cheese and larger than the plate on which it's served.

It's the new portion of the menu, however, that has really separated Samantha from the taco truck pack. Recent additions include tacos and quesadillas filled with succulent shrimp prepared with the staff's usual flair for spice and flavor. The last shrimp quesadilla I ordered was so full of the shellfish that they spilled out onto the plate in tasty pink piles. Shrimp is something that I would normally be skeptical about ordering from the back of a truck, and it's a testament to the high quality of Samantha's food that I didn't hesitate for a moment before ordering their seafood. I'm hoping that this addition of shrimp to the menu means more things of that nature to come, because a fish taco would really make this menu complete.

The newest item on the Samantha menu has also become my favorite: the sope. A sope is sort of like a tostada, but instead of a regular crispy corn shell, the toppings are piled on a circle of fried masa, the same corn meal and lime mixture used to make tamales. Using masa gives the entire dish a richer flavor, and since the masa shell is thicker and more absorbent than the usual corn shell, it soaks up all the good flavors from the meat and beans. Plus, at only $2.25, it's quite possibly the cheapest lunch in town. Sopes are traditionally considered snack food and not a full meal, but the size and generous portions of the Samantha version really go beyond what I'd consider snack food. Again, the sopes are available with any of the truck's available meats, and I've found that the marinated pork goes best with the rest of the flavor profile.

Little Rock is blessed with several excellent taco trucks, but it's the service and quality of Samantha that makes their food my favorite. You can find Samantha III parked from 11am-2pm Monday-Friday for lunch in the University Market, and as of this week they are now accepting debit and credit cards.