An Essential Guide to Houston’s Finest Food Trucks

In Houston, the food truck craze has been going strong for at least a decade. Boasting some of the city’s best tacos, sandwiches, and more, these trucks allow up-and-coming chefs to test out new dishes, get creative, and serve killer eats at popular haunts like Axelrad and Kirby Ice House.

Home to literally dozens of food trucks boasting an endless array of cuisines from across the globe, which means that it can be hard to figure out a solid starting point for exploring the city’s mobile eatery scene. Start with these 13 trucks, slinging everything from Korean-Mexican dishes to doughnut ice cream cones and solid Cuban sandwiches.

Tacos Tierra Caliente

Amy McCarthy/Eater

• The details: Posted up in a convenience store parking lot, Tacos Tierra Caliente is a city staple. The faded white and orange truck is a beacon to hungry Houstonians whether they’re going out, hanging at West Alabama Ice House next door, or fueling up for the day with breakfast tacos. Tortas and quesadillas grace the menu, but the street tacos steal the show.
• What to order: Standouts include barbacoa, pastor, and lengua tacos served on corn tortillas with onions and cilantro. Note: Tacos Tierra Caliente is cash only.
• Where to find it: 2003 West Alabama Street, in the parking lot of a small convenience store across the street from West Alabama Ice House.

Gyro King

• The details: This Medical Center mainstay features a menu of Halal Mediterranean specialties like falafel sandwiches, lamb gyros, chicken over rice, and heaping combo platters topped with signature white sauce.
• What to order: A gyro and chicken platter paired with one of the truck’s fresh pressed vegetable or fruit juices.
• Where to find it: 2424 Old Spanish Trail in the Medical Center

Mico’s Hot Chicken

Mico’s Hot Chicken/Facebook

• The details: This stationary truck near Midtown may be one of the newest, but it’s setting the city ablaze. A new contender in the ongoing chicken sandwich war, Mico’s boasts that it’s Houston’s first legit purveyor of spicy Nashville-style chicken.
• What to order: Juicy Nashville hot chicken, house slaw, and crisp pickles pressed between a toasted bun. Heat levels for sandwiches or tenders range from none to mild, medium, hot, and x-hot for the true daredevils.
• Where to find it: 2829 Chimney Rock Road near Midtown

Los Perros

• The details: A greasy and meaty respite after going out, this truck serves Columbian favorites like perros (hot dogs), burgers, arepas, and skewered meats to late night revelers on Washington Avenue.
• What to order: Order a famous burger and see why it’s named that: beef stacked with ham, bacon, cheese, grilled onions, crushed potato chips, and a slew of sauces including sweet and tart raspberry come together to create something deliciously balanced and impossible to describe.
• Where to find it: Parked at 4212 Washington Avenue

Oh My Gogi!/Facebook

Oh My Gogi

• The details: One of Houston’s most beloved food trucks now has storefronts inside H-Mart, Downtown’s Kanaloa tiki bar, and Extra Credit: UH’s rooftop bar, while the mobile truck can be found at homebase Rice Village or popping up everywhere from Astros games to Astroworld Festival.
• What to order: Try the OMG fries loaded with Korean beef, spicy chicken, or kimchi and topped with cheese, onions, and spicy mayo. The ramen burger—a choice of protein sandwiched between crisp, homemade ramen buns— is another crowd pleaser.
• Where to find it: 5555 Morningside Drive in Rice Village

The Waffle Bus

• The details: The Waffle Bus’ debut brick and mortar location recently landed in the Heights, but students and nightcrawlers can still catch one of the city’s favorite trucks at local hotspots like Midtown, UH, and Truck Yard.
• What to order: Waffle sandwiches, thunder fries (waffle fries drizzled with spicy mayo and ancho honey butter), and fryders: buttermilk chicken or cheeseburger sliders with waffle fry buns. Dessert options include the decadent banana Nutella waffle, eliminating the need to waffle between sweet and savory.
• Where to find it: Keep up with the Waffle Bus’s schedule via its website, or try the permanent location at 1835 Shepherd Drive.

Courtesy The DoughCone

The DoughCone

• The details: The DoughCone is an ice cream truck like no other. The basic waffle cone is replaced with cinnamon-dusted doughnut dough, then slathered with decadent fillings like Nutella or cookie butter before adding in scoops of ice cream.
• What to order: Fill a cone with organic vanilla bean ice cream, and unlimited toppings like nuts, cookies, and candy.
• Where to find it: Follow the truck on Instagram for schedule and location info.

Muiishi Makirritos

• The details: Houston is known for fusion food—Viet-Cajun, BBQ Tex-Mex—but Muiishi Makirritos uniquely melds Japanese, Korean, and Mexican cuisine.
• What to order: Burrito-sized Japansese hand rolls, actual burritos bulging with Korean bulgogi, crispy chicken karaage, and sushi rice are all solid choices.
• Where to find it: Catch the truck at bustling patio bars like Axelrad and Kirby Ice House, and keep up with the truck on Instagram.

Houston Sauce Company

• The details: Houston Sauce Company serves homestyle plates of Southern cooking like gumbo, boudin balls, and po’ boys with a major twist: everything on the menu is completely vegan.
• What to order: Fried oyster mushrooms or cauliflower wings dripping with one of their handcrafted red or green sauces are crunchy and indulgent.
• Where to find it: Stop by the small storefront on Wayside Dr. for pre-packed plates or keep up with the truck which frequents Third Ward and the East End.

Foreign Policy

• The details: Foreign Policy spotlights Houston’s multicultural culinary landscape by offering a little bit of everything. Get fries, burgers, or pitas in either Texas, Korean, Mexican or Greek style.
• What to order: WGlobal flavors are incorporated seamlessly in dishes like the Greek burger with gyro meat, tzatziki, and feta or the Mexican pita with fajita meat, queso, and cilantro. Even American excess is celebrated by way of the donut bacon burger where buns are swapped out for glazed donuts.
• Where to find it: Keep up with Foreign Policy’s whereabouts on Facebook.

The Cuban Spot

• The details: The Cuban Spot’s menu features a variety of sandwiches, but the star of the show is, of course, the classic Cuban.
• What to order: Ham, pulled pork, mustard, pickles, and swiss cheese on a buttered and pressed Cuban bun is an iconic combination expertly executed here. Other notable menu items include fritas (mixed beef, pork, and chorizo burgers piled with potato sticks), tostones (fried plantains), and saucy loaded fries.
• Where to find it: Use the Cuban Spot’s truck locator to find out where it’s going to be. It’s generally closed on Monday and Tuesday.

Eatsie Boys

• The details: A true O.G. of Houston’s food truck scene, Eatsie Boys’s distinctively over-the-top dishes are a Downtown fixture.
• What to order: Elote fries, or waffle fries showered in buttery corn, hot Cheetos, mayo, and cotija cheese, and a pulled pork sandwich on brioche bun.
• Where to find it: Parked outside 8th Wonder Brewery at 2202 Dallas Street.