Do you remember the ice cream man, the telltale jingle that could be heard from blocks away that served as a radar beacon for every child with a sweet tooth on hot summer days? That familiar tune could turn children into superhumans, enabling them to sprint faster than an Olympian, scale fences in a single bound, and brought out vocal calls to “wait!” and “stop!” that would make Steven Tyler proud. We would scavenge every quarter we could find and keep them in our pockets, hopeful that the magical ice cream truck would visit our neighborhood.

Then, the price of Screwballs went up. We got too old to chase the ice cream man, and it wasn’t “cool.” Shortly thereafter, we were doing taxes, paying mortgages, calculating retirement goals, and making odd noises every time we sat down or stood up. We got old. And the ice cream man was just a long, lost, faint memory of an impossibly simple time in our lives when the word “responsibility” was just a tough one on the upcoming vocabulary quiz. Why can’t we enjoy treats from a truck like we did in our past? Why can’t we relive our innocent childhood once more? Because we can’t leap over fences in a single bound or sprint from block to block without worrying about a future knee replacement surgery, that’s why. The ice cream man is still around, but he’s way too fast, way too elusive for us adults. For the same reason, we can’t jump in a ball pit or fit in the Fisher Price Coupe anymore; it’s just not meant to be, it’s past our time.

Well, thankfully, there is a community of clever adults who realize this missing euphoria in our lives and know exactly how to captivate us once more. These crafty and clever entrepreneurs have “nailed it,” as they say, with this generation’s adult version: the food truck. These food trucks serve a smorgasbord of food and dessert options, and best yet – you don’t have to chase them around the neighborhood begging them to stop. So, for this month’s Food Challenge, we decided to attend the monthly Lake Nona food truck bazaar that coincided with the Art After Dark exhibition at the Lake Nona Town Center. The art and entertainment happens every Friday, but the first Friday of the month is when a wide assortment of food trucks get to join the fun. So, we decided to have a bite at each. The challenge was to see if we could bring back that magical feeling of ordering delicious mysteries from a perfect stranger in a truck.

Tamale & Co.

This truck has been serving tamales and tacos to the Orlando food truck scene for several years now. They have also opened a brick and mortar restaurant in Altamonte Springs. There is a reason that they have managed to last this long in a tough business, where most trucks don’t make it out of the first year of operations.

Their tamales are traditional in the very best way. The steamed masa is soft. The chorizo, chicken and pork fillings are plentiful. The verde, roja and ranchero sauces had great depth of flavor. Be careful with the ranchero sauce – the menu says habanero, and the spice level is not for the faint of heart. Given the generous portions of the tamales and the prospect of three more trucks, we decided to skip the tacos.

A Lo Cubano

Of course, the first item on the menu was a Cuban sandwich. Sadly, we were just a bit too full, so we selected small bites from the menu: duck wings, tostones and croquetas. Duck wings with a Cuban coffee glaze, tostones with mojo aioli and croquetas. The wings were crispy, and the glaze had a pleasant coffee and sweet caramel flavor. The tostones were freshly fried and perfectly salted, and the accompanying sauce paired well. The croquetas came in three flavors: ham and bacon, chorizo and manchego, and chicken and truffle. All three were delicious, crunchy on the outside and loaded with hot creamy filling. They walked the line of being too salty, but it worked well to bring out the flavors of the fillings.

The Local Chef

The highlight of this mobile eatery was the mac and cheese. A heaping portion came piping hot and perfectly creamy. The burger, served up on an Olde Hearth bun, was decent as well. The BBQ tacos weren’t necessarily a crowd favorite; they had an overwhelming taste of celery that didn’t seem to fit the dish. Still, make sure you get there to get some of that mac and cheese, which is well worth the $2.99 price tag.

Sweet City Gelato    

As we all know, no meal is complete without dessert. Thankfully, this truck showed up to the party. Of course, the truck featured several flavors of gelato and sorbet (for the vegan crowd). Pecan crunch, salted caramel and milk and cookies were some of the highlights. Along with the gelato, there were a few desserts, gelato cookie sandwiches, and some fun variations of the soda float. The creamsicle float made with orange soda and vanilla was really quite good.

The real star of the show was the Bananas Foster bread pudding – warm bread pudding with butter rum sauce and a generous dollop of whipped cream. Add a scoop of salted caramel gelato, and you have the best bite of the night.

We might not have hit the childhood dream jackpot with two pieces of gum at the bottom of a Screwball, or a rocket-shaped popsicle with ice cream inside, but no one got hurt or lost their voice, and we weren’t panting breathlessly whilst trying to order our food. The feeling of getting something that you just can’t get every day still hit the tickle spot. Food trucks really are the grownup, full-course ice cream truck. Anyway, we are far too mature and sophisticated these days to be running around barefoot with a Push-up Pop in one hand and a Choco Taco in the other…or are we?

If you have a food challenge you would like us to try, please submit it at: http://nonahood.to/foodchallenge.