More Food Trucks in Asheville—A Local’s Perspective
- Ian Wasserman
- Jul 28
- 4 min read
Food trucks are truly an ephemeral thing. Here one moment, gone the next. Drifting down the road of life towards places undiscovered, towards flavors unimagined. Many times I’ve sampled some food truck delicacies at a local brewery or a festival, only to forever lose touch with the roving kitchen that created it, as they drive on towards greener pastures.
These tragedies stop today. As some have seen in my previous article, all it takes is some good ol’ fashion legwork to find out just what’s going down with all the best food trucks here in the Paris of the South. I’ve charted the routes. I've read the winds. So if you too just can’t get enough of meals-on-wheels, then read on and discover five more of the best food trucks in Asheville.
We’re wearing our Asheville colors proud here on the first entry of our list. This food truck does one thing, and they do it darn well: smashburgers, crafted from organic NC grass-fed beef. Plus hand-cut fries. And fried chicken sandwiches. So really they do three things darn well. Not that I'm complaining.
Their travels take them back and forth between breweries in Fairview, a great little small town about fifteen minutes from Asheville, and the downtown/RAD, with frequent stops at New Belgium Brewing. Come summertime, they tend to put in extra showings at all the great free concerts and events hosted in Pack Square.
Your best bet for finding this mouthwatering food truck is of course, visiting their website. With luck, you too will have a chance to see why many call their cheeseburgers “life-changing.”
Where to Find Them: Whistlehop Brewing (Fairview), Tuesdays. Some weekends at New Belgium Brewing.
Part of the inspiration of this article is the fact that I simply couldn’t fit all the great food trucks in Asheville in the last one. Foremost in my mind was Tin Can Pizza, a staple sight at breweries and festivals all across town.
Known for their thin, perfectly-chewy rustic style crusts, the pies here are sized precisely for a meal-on-the-fly. Hence its popularity at all Asheville’s hippest happenings.
Tin Can also specializes in catering, so if you fall in love with this particular food truck, be sure to keep it in mind for your next great-big Asheville event.
Where to Find Them: Check their website for the latest.
Part of what I love about food trucks is the sense that you’re discovering something a little secretive. Eating something that not many people have had the good fortune to enjoy. Melt Your Heart, for instance has made a big impression among Asheville gourmands for their decadent sandwiches, and kickin’ coleslaw, but even locals often have hard time figuring out just where this great food truck went.
The mystery takes us out to Black Mountain, possibly my favorite small town near Asheville, where Melt Your Heart’s enterprising owners have set-up their very own brick-and-mortar breakfast spot, the Open Oven Brunch & Bakery.
It's got that same comforting small-town feel as the food truck, with an extended menu, and of course, tables and chairs. I’d call it a true hidden gem. Plus, Melt Your Heart food truck still pays the occasional visit to Highlands Brewery and New Belgium, bringing them back into Asheville’s food truck heartland.
Where to Find Them: Wednesdays at Highland Brewing, 2pm-9pm. Saturdays at New Belgium from noon to 8pm.
Perhaps one of Asheville’s most iconic food trucks, this violet van roams the streets serving no-fuss hibachi. All it takes is one boxful of their sauced-up salmon or shrimp, accompanied by steaming dumplings or spring rolls, and I reckon you too will be singing their praises.
Recently they’ve even been adding seared ahi tuna to their repertoire. Available in limited amounts, this Purple People Feeder special is the perfect excuse to nail down their schedule, and step up first in line.
They’re frequent fliers at West Asheville’s Brew Pump, as well as common sight at many of Asheville’s music festivals.
Where to Find Them: Check their website for the latest.
Last but not least, we have here not only one of the best food trucks in Asheville—voted, in fact, “Best of WNC, 2024”—but one of the best vegan restaurants as well. I’m not going to pretend to know your opinion on vegan cuisine; some people feel strongly one way or another.
All I’ll say is Asheville’s one of the best places in all of NC to come in and dine on some plant-based cuisine. And out of all the spots in Asheville, the Smokin’ Onion in particular prides itself on food that surpasses expectations, food enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans alike.
And I’d say between their impossible burgers, vegan buttermilk-fried chicken, and their namesake smoked-onion-tossed fries, they have succeeded. So great has been their success, in fact, that they’ve opened up a permanent restaurant in West Asheville, serving an extended menu, with breakfast all day.
Where to Find Them: Check their website for the latest.
Businesses Mentioned
Smasheville Food Truck
21 Craven St, Asheville, NC 28806 (New Belgium Brewing)
Tin Can Pizzeria
(828)-458-6933
21 Craven St, Asheville, NC 28806
Open Oven Brunch & Bakery (Restaurant)
(828)-357-8553
102 Church St, Black Mountain, NC 28711
Smokin' Onion (Restaurant)
697 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
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