Page 15 - Valley Table - Spring 2022

EVEN BEFORE COVID WREAKED havoc on the food industry, working in a restaurant was not for the faint
of heart. “It’s a lot of late nights,
little time off, and no holidays with family,” remembers John Castrovillari, who toiled away in the kitchens of The Iron Forge and Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery in Warwick and Café Luxembourg in New York City. So, what’s a passionate yet stressed out chef to do? Open a food truck, of course.
Castrovillari, now the co-owner of Pitchfork Barbecue & Biscuits in Pine Island, describes
a food truck as being “financially accessible
at an entry level.” After all, there’s no lease to sign or investors to entice to literally get rolling. Plus, mobile meals have come a long way
from the grilled grub (think basic burgers and hotdogs) that once characterized the genre. With more and more trained chefs taking their craft
to the streets, customers have their choice of everything from classic American comfort food like fried chicken and biscuits to ethnic options such as Venezuelan cachapas (corn pancakes). The Hudson Valley is home to many high-end food trucks. Here are three worth a stop.
THE BUS AT SALINGER’S ORCHARD
Brewster • @thebus_atsalingersorchard
When Tim Salinger took over his family’s century-old orchard four years ago, he knew he wanted to up the outdoor food game. “We wanted fun food that fit our setting,” says Salinger, a former general manager at The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry. When he heard about a vintage bus for sale with a full-scale professional kitchen inside,
he enlisted his friend and celebrated chef David DiBari (The Cookery, The Parlor), and the two opened The Bus
at Salinger’s Orchard in September 2020. “We take deli classics and just go over the top,” says Salinger of the menu, which includes a bacon, egg, and cheese topped with hash browns and homemade ketchup with gochujang sauce, and a fried eggplant cutlet served on a hard roll with lemon chili aioli. There’s also a fried chicken sandwich with spicy maple sauce, porchetta with apple chutney, Japanese mayo, and their famous potato wedges, which are tossed in rendered beef fat to give them an “umami burst of flavor,” says Salinger. This spring, DiBari and Salinger are hoping to utilize their new smoker (they make their own bacon), add a pizza truck, and expand their alcohol offerings. “We want to build an outdoor dining experience here,” says Salinger, “having fun with what we like.”
14 the valley table march – may 2022 photos (from top to bottom) courtesy of pitchfork barbecue & biscuits; the bus