Mobile Mayflower, Bytown Bayou among Ottawa's new food trucks

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Louisiana-style barbecue pulled pork, Peruvian ceviche and fresh-made Italian gelato will be rolling onto Ottawa’s streets this summer.

Four new food trucks and one new food cart have been given the green light by the City of Ottawa, the first new additions to the street-food scene since 17 new vendors were approved two years ago.

“The addition of street food to Vanier and Hintonburg will provide excellent opportunities for more people to discover Ottawa’s exciting street-food culture,” said Mayor Jim Watson.

Rico Peru, a new truck featuring Peruvian cuisine, will be in Vanier, while Bytown Bayou Louisiana Smokehouse will roll into Hintonburg. Neither of those spots was occupied last summer.

The beloved Mayflower Restaurant and Pub, which closed on Elgin Street 18 months ago, will even get new life as a truck, to be called the Mobile Mayflower, to be located just off Woodward Drive, near Maitland Avenue, where LeRoy’s Detroit Soul Food truck was briefly.

“A total of 28 applications were received and reviewed by the Street Food Selection Panel,” said Philip Powell, the city’s manager of licensing, permits and markets. The new trucks and carts, as well as 14 that are still operating since being approved in 2013, will debut at a Street Food Showcase in front of City Hall on Wednesday, May 13, and most are expected to hit the streets the following weekend.

Here’s an early taste:

Bytown Bayou Louisiana Smokehouse truck

The background: Richard Hash, a government worker by day, has a passion for Southern barbecue. He wanted to launch a truck with a built-in smoker back in 2013, but knew he wouldn’t be ready in time for the spring launch. His truck was ready by that summer, however, and he and partner Renée Bergeron have been operating near their Embrun home and at special events since. “This is for fun,” says Hash. “Most of my cooking is done overnight in the smoker, then I hire a chef to work during the day.”

The menu: Louisiana Po’ boy sandwiches: pulled smoked pork, smoked chicken and chopped brisket, as well as poutine, tacos, ribs and even barbecued beans and bacon mac ‘n’ cheese.

The cost: From $8 for poutine topped with pulled pork to $22 for a full rack of dry rub ribs.

Don’t miss: The Cocheon, $10, pulled smoked pork with Southern slaw on a white bun.

Where you’ll find it: In Hintonburg, on the east side of Spadina between Somerset and Wellington.

Stella Luna Gelato Café cart

The background: The Stella Luna gelato shop has been wowing customers with its luscious gelatos since it opened in Old Ottawa South during the summer of 2011. Last spring, master gelato maker Tammy Giuliani and her husband, Alessandro, added a gelato cart, which they took to the Carp Farmers’ Market, weddings and special events. “That’s the original gelato,” says Tammy. “The guy standing on the street corner with a barrel. For us, the cart is like a honeymoon. We’re out there meeting the customers face to face, under the stars, under the sun.”

The menu: The cart offers an ever-changing menu of eight flavours of gelato and sorbet. “We can change with the weather,” says Giuliani. “If it’s cooler, we might tend to warmer flavours, like honey and cinnamon. On hot days, we’ll have more sorbets.”

The cost: $6 for a cone or cup.

Don’t miss: When the local strawberries are in season, Giuliani mashes them up with prosecco to make an extraordinary sorbet. “The flavour just explodes,” says Giuliani. “It epitomizes summer.”

Where you’ll find it: On the west side of Bank Street, just south of Sparks. “We’ll be there as soon as the weather warms up,” says Giuliani.

Nacho Cartel

The background: Leonardo Alvarenga, 28, grew up in Honduras, in Central America, and while he doesn’t have a culinary background, he says cooking is in his blood. “My mother was always cooking for big groups of people and I was always drawn to the kitchen.” He came to Ottawa 10 years ago to study business and economics at Carleton University, but for years has wanted to open a food business “because I have missed the good homemade Honduran food.” Before he was awarded one of the new street spots, he and his partners — sister Aida, 24, and friend Mohamad Sayed-Ali, 28 — bought a truck on private property near the University of Ottawa. They plan to open that one before May, then roll out the downtown one later this summer.

The menu: Nachos, tacos and milkshakes. “We’ll have all the usual flavours, like steak, pork, chicken, seafood and veggie,” says Alvarenga. “We’ll have the usual milkshake flavours like chocolate and strawberry, but would like to add ones like papaya and watermelon.”

The cost: From $3-$4 for tacos to $6 to $7 for nachos.

Don’t miss: “The one people seem to love the most is the shrimp taco,” says Alvarenga, who has travelled to such places as Miami and Mexico. “I batter jumbo shrimp and serve them with a special slaw. It’s a bit of a secret, but it has an Asian twist.”

Where you’ll find it: On the north side of Argyle, east of O’Connor, across from the YMCA and near the Museum of Nature. (That spot, on a one-way street, caused problems in 2013 when the truck designated for it had its takeout window on the traffic side. Alvarenga says his truck will have windows on both sides.)

Rico Peru

The background: Katherin Yparraguirre, 26, grew up in Lima, Peru, where her parents ran a restaurant for 17 years. She came to Ottawa in 2009 and her parents followed a few years later. “My mom has always been passionate about Peruvian cooking,” says Yparraguirre. “We would like for people to come visit us to try a cuisine that has already conquered the heart and tastebuds of people around the globe. Rico Peru wants to carry on that legacy here in Canada’s capital.” Rico means rich or delicious in Spanish, says Yparraguirre.

The menu: Traditional Peruvian dishes such as seafood ceviche (raw fish marinated in lemon juice) and Lomo Saltado (marinated beef stir-fried with tomatoes and onions and served with French fries and rice).

The cost: From about $4 for fresh-made fruit juices and smoothies and triple sandwiches (three-layered sandwiches made with fresh avocados, chicken or egg salad) to $13 for a seafood meal, such as ceviche served with red onions, corn and sweet potatoes.

Don’t miss: The Peruvian rotisserie chicken, which is marinated in herbs and oils and roasted until juicy and crispy skinned. “It’s my husband’s favourite, and he’s from Ottawa,” says Yparraguirre.

Where you’ll find it: On the east side of Olmstead Street, just south of Montreal Road.

Mobile Mayflower

The background: The Mayflower Restaurant and Pub operated on Elgin Street for more than 35 years. When an English-style pub was added to the restaurant, at the corner of Elgin and Cooper, in 1979, it was one of the first in Ottawa. The restaurant and pub closed in October of 2013, but its former manager, Bob Jones, is to give it new life as a food truck.

The menu: Jones didn’t respond to requests for more information, but he promised the city’s selection panel that he’d offer “made-from-scratch, up-to-date comfort food.”

Where you’ll find it: On the west side of Courtwood Crescent, just south of Woodward Drive (that’s just east of Maitland Avenue.)