Truck Stop: Sum Pig Food Truck
What you'll find: Their motto is "globally inspired gourmet comfort food." Their menu is basically pork, pork and more pork, with the perk that it's hormone-free and organically pastured, from Leidy's, in Souderton.
What you'll find: Their motto is "globally inspired gourmet comfort food." Their menu is basically pork, pork and more pork, with the perk that it's hormone-free and organically pastured, from Leidy's, in Souderton.
Come hungry: This is no place for dieters. And better get the stain-stick ready. Sandwiches come heaping, dripping and greasy - in the best possible way.
The details: The Western is smoked pork, sharp cheddar cheese, thick-cut bacon and barbecue sauce ($9); Penguin's Pub is smoked pork, provolone, sautéed onions and jalapeño relish ($9); Bacon Bleu is smoked pork, bacon and chunky blue cheese ($9); and the Austin Thomas is two beef franks with bacon and Cheez Whiz ($7). Or try the El-Rob taco, smoked pork in a corn tortilla with pepper jack cheese, creamy chipotle sauce and cilantro.
Most unusual offering: A pork parfait! Served in a see-through cup, the parfait ($10) is luscious layers of smoked pork, cheesy mashed potatoes, cheese, bacon, "Caribbean corn" and collard greens ($10). Sum Pig usually has at least one non-pork dish on a menu that changes daily, such as buffalo chicken nachos, crawfish étouffée or French onion soup.
Where to find it: Wednesdays through December at the Navy Yard, in South Philly; Wednesdays in December at The Porch at 30th Street Station; or Fridays at Venturef0rth, a shared workspace at 7th and Willow.
Social stuff: Twitter (@SumPigFoodTruck), Facebook (Sum Pig Food Truck) and at sumpigfoodtruck.com.
Backstory: Yes, owners Stephen Koste, 37, and Jessica Iannuzzi, 31, are Charlotte's Web fans. The engaged couple took their business name from the words a fictional spider spun in her web to save her porcine pal, Wilbur, from slaughter. (The name also is a nod to their wanderlust, as in they're the "sum of their travels," Iannuzzi said. Both have traveled extensively - Iannuzzi as a former professional race-car driver, and Koste as the son of radio jockey Mike Koste. Painted postcards dance across their truck's exterior.) Koste and Iannuzzi launched their business in October 2012 in Koste's hometown of Ambler and soon expanded to Philly. Besides feeding the lunchtime masses, they also cater weddings and other large events.
Quote: Said Iannuzzi: "We use recipes that mean something to us - not just something we found in a cookbook." Like their buffalo chicken nachos, invented by her mother, then tweaked by the couple for their truck. "We put our heart and soul into our food," Iannuzzi added.