This morning one of my favorite tweeters, LX Chicago @lxc5, asked, “If there are ice cream trucks in the summer then why are there no coffee/hot chocolate trucks in the winter?”
Good question. Until last year, a Chicago ordinance prohibited food trucks from preparing anything aboard their vehicles, making freshly brewed coffee pretty much illegal for mobile vendors. However, since the practice was legalized last July, Chicagoans can expect more fresh coffee trucks brewing throughout the city in months to come. It may take some time, however, before this java dream becomes reality. In Chicago, obtaining the proper license to prepare food aboard a vehicle is a daunting task even with the new regulations.
Still, we can recommend a couple of fearless roasters, tested and approved, who right now are offering great coffee and hot cocoa with food truck convenience. We’re pretty serious about our coffee (see ‘4 Reasons to Visit Chicago’s Local Coffee Shops and Stop Drinking Coffee You Hate’) so you can take our word that these two won’t disappoint!
– Beavers Coffee and Donuts
Follow the truck: http://beaversdonuts.com/
Fresh coffee and gourmet donuts prepared right on the spot! Specialty toppings include PB&J, Smores, and honey with graham cracker crumbs. Beavers Coffee and Donuts isn’t new to this food truck thing. They’ve been brewing fresh coffee and preparing delicious gourmet donuts with specialty toppings for years. “We have always cooked onboard our truck, and thus the quality of our product has always been received well. We are literally the only [food truck] in Chicago where you can get a donut directly out of the fryer,” co-owner Gabriel Wiesen recently told Serious Eats. Look for $2 coffees and fresh donuts ranging from $2-$6. Try a donut with Nutella Dream topping (their mixture of strawberry sauce and nutella).
-Mojo Express
Follow the truck: on Twitter @mjexpress14
After a humble start serving coffee at local farmers’ markets, Mojo Express is now a full service food truck offering packaged Danishes, cocoa, tea, and fair trade Ugandan coffee (a portion of the proceeds are returned to farmers in Uganda). Being relatively new, Mojo Express is off to a great start and promises to only get better with time. My opinion: Since they’re packaged, leave the pastries on the bus. There are plenty of fresh cupcake and baked food trucks throughout the city and expect the cocoa here to be more Swiss Miss then Abuelita. The coffee, though, is full bodied and, of course, as fresh as it gets. In the future, owner Renee Estese-Long promises to offer fresh vegan products and baked goods.
Beavers Coffee and Donuts photo from the company’s Facebook page.
Mojo Express photo from www.foodtruck50.com
Featured Image from www.zazzle.com