Bozner Gourmet Street Food
Another Saturday, another foodie adventure!
This time I visited a brand new presence in town: the Street Food Gourmet truck.
I’ll spend some words on Erica Petroni, owner and chef of the truck, for all curious readers.
She comes from Tuscany, but lived and worked almost everywhere. In spite of her young age, she has a long experience in the food industry: creative chef, restaurant owner, food photographer and writer, and much more. Now she has landed at street food with her personal philosophy that I completely embrace: bringing high quality food and creative recipes in the streets, among people, at everyone’s disposal, at affordable prices. She works hard on her self-designed ‘furgonzin’ (a vintage Ducato truck) in Meran and Bolzano. The menu changes almost every day, depending on the season, on the fresh products and on the inspiration of Erica, but always makes my mouth water…
Last Saturday's menu: - Tuscan schiacciata with fresh salami and caramelised spring onion - Tripe with polenta concia (it means enriched with blue or farm cheese) and spring onion - Home-made porchetta of smoked belly ribs and stuffed spring onion wrapped in home-made piadina - Schiacciata with lampredotto (typical Tuscan tripe sandwich)
These succulent plates remind me of the times I went visiting my brother in Florence. Memory food… I simply had to try!
I met with Manuel at 12:25, famished and ready to taste the planned and desired lunch: imagine our expectations. And try to figure out what an unwelcome surprise we got by hearing from Erica that she already run out of almost everything! Damn, at 12:25! Is it possible? Yes it is, because she cooks every dish in limited quantity every morning with this specific purpose. Quality, freshness and naturalness instead of quantity.
My hint: Reserve your portions in advance… Being left empty-handed is very disappointing!
Luckily, we managed to grab last tripe and porchetta portions and started savouring our lunch paired with a glass of local red wine. How was it? Tasty, lovely and full of memories.
Here some photos, so that you can get an idea and start planning your visit :-)
Moreover, Erica enjoys the contact with customers and loves to chatter. This way the truck becomes a little community of people, regularly meeting there and sharing their lunchtime together. I really cherish such an ambience in the middle of a crowded urban open-air market!
The glitch: Eating outdoors could have drawbacks set aside! In this season, weather is cold and windy: food becomes cold in seconds, losing a good part of its best features, while red wine has no chance of giving off its aromas. I hope spring will come soon to deeply enjoy mild weather, flavourful food and the good company!
Erica is amazing - she even invited me on the truck to experience how it feels to be a street food chef! - and her food delicious. I think that paying a visit will become a steady appointment for me :-)
What about you? Are there Gourmet Street Food trucks in your home town? What’s your favourite?
Let me know, I am so nosy about that!
More Bozner Street food in my December post. Click HERE to read!