St. Augustine is home to more than its fair share of food trucks, and you can find nearly any food that your heart desires being served a la carte and on the go. But though some local trucks have permanent residence, you’ll often have to search around to find where your favorite truck is parked for the day. So Brendan and Kelly Schneck decided to do something about that. In order to not only give food trucks a place to set down some roots but also give locals a comfortable spot to enjoy their fare, the two opened the Village Garden Food Truck Park.
The Village Garden is home to three permanent trucks as well as rotating guest trucks, so you can always find eclectic and exciting dishes to try out. You may recognize Brendan and Kelly’s names because they’re also the culinary creatives behind Big Island Bowls, which happens to be one of the park’s permanent trucks. It also happened to be the first stop on our culinary tour of the food truck park.
Since we’re fans of fresh and delicious food, this certainly wasn’t our first time dining with Big Island Bowls but we were still wowed by their flavors. Brendan and his team treated us to the Maui Bowl with a little twist. Instead of the traditional acai, they blended dragonfruit for the base and topped it with granola, pineapple, kiwi, and strawberry. The base is tangy and sweet, the fruit adds a burst of freshness, and the granola offers a perfect little crunch. A St. Augustine staple for sure.
Next, we made our way to Pele’s Wood Fire, where pizzas and burgers reign supreme. The Vegas was slipped into the wood fire oven (hence the truck’s name) for us, and it came out beautifully charred with that delightful hint of smokiness. The pizza starts with a garlic riccota base that’s then topped with mozzarella, fontina, lemon arugula, bacon, and roasted mushrooms. And if that weren’t enough, they drizzle just a hint of truffle honey for good measure. We plan to become regulars.
Nestled between Pele’s and Big Island is New York Beach Bagel, a spot that threatens to become your breakfast, lunch, and dinner go-to. We tried The Captree (that could, frankly, work for any of those meals) – roast beef, turkey, ham, cheddar cheese, and bacon all sandwiched between two slices of an Everything bagel. It’s classic, delicious, unpretentious, and totally filling.
And last but certainly not least, we crossed the foliage-shaded eating area to sample the fare of that week’s guest truck – What’s the Catch. And their Pork Belly Tacos did not disappoint. They start with braised, blackened pork belly that’s topped with an organic spring mix and honey sriracha slaw, then garnished with cucumber and pickled onion. We hate to tell you how good it was since they’re just a guest, but we’ll tell you anyways.
Just off the beach, this park is a little culinary oasis. With something for everyone and always new dishes to try, it’s a spot you can’t miss this summer.
The Village Garden Food Truck Park is located at 1480 South Old A1A. Visit them online at www.villagegardenftp.com. Photography by Brian Miller.