Bounty Food Truck: Farm to Mobile Kitchen Gourmet Burgers + More w/ ALL the Juicy Details

The Border Burger in all its glory, via Chef Vacca’s Twitter

Burger month?  Pssshh, what Bounty Food Truck and its three owners have in store for you will make every single day burger day and have you quivering, falling to your knees in praise of the burger gods.  This, all from a brand new food truck that’s just entered into its first full-time week traveling around Westport.  The owners, James Edkins, Chris Vacca, and Christiaan Rizy, all from the Westport/Wilton area, are ready to make your mornings, days, and maybe even nights a little better.

The Chef:  Chris Vacca

Like any great food truck, it all starts with a talented chef who’s manning the grill, coming up with great menu choices, and pumps out awesome food quickly.  And, you could say Chef Chris Vacca has been around the kitchen a bit…22 years, actually.  Not only is he a graduate of the CIA, he has also traveled the world, and worked in culinary meccas like NYC (Park Avenue Cafe, Le Madri, Il Toscanaccio), Napa (Cantinetta Piero), Italy (Antica Trattoria San Lorenzo), and other European spots like Switzerland (Giradet), and he also owns Trevi Trattoria in Wantagh, NY.  He has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants and also has local connections, recently consulting at Zaza in Scarsdale and 323 Restaurant in Westport.  By his side are James Edkins and Christiaan Rizy who help run the food truck, offer up guidance, resources, business planning, organization, and help in growing the food truck into an even more successful business.  Bounty Food Truck all began because they loved seeing the mobile food truck scene thriving in NY and thought, hey, we can do that.  And do that they are…

Where They Are Going

They just visited the Westport Farmers’ Market today and will hit up Wakeman’s Field in Westport on Saturday.  But, don’t fret, they’ll also be hitting up other spots in Lower Fairfield County.  They already have their certification to feed your need in Stamford and just got approval to visit Norwalk a few hours ago.  So, by now you’re probably asking what kind of food will they be serving?  Let’s do it:

The Menu

Bounty Food Truck is like a high end burger bar on wheels (hot damn, we just wet ourselves).  But, for Chef Vacca and co. it all has to do with quality.  They’ll be making their patties with their own proprietary blend (via Saugatuck Craft Butchery) that’s hormone and antibiotic free and comes from grass-fed cows.  And, to get you the freshest 6 oz. patties, the burgers are fresh ground daily.  Just check out this lunch menu (more menu items mentioned below):

Simple Burger:  lettuce, tomato, onion $7

Bounty:  american cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickle, spread $8

Bacon Blue:  apple wood bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion $9

Bordelaise Burger:  caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, malbec butter, arugula $10

Border/Santa Fe Burger:  chorizo, mushroom, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, avocado spread $9

Lobster Roll:  lobster salad, lettuce, wave hill lobster roll $15

Chef Vacca isn’t using your standard, store bought sauces, either.  He’s mixing up his own batches for use on the burgers to highlight flavors like The Bounty Spread:  a mixture of ketchup, mayo, mustard, coriander, pickle juice, lime, and ground capers.  Keeping that burger in place will be some Wave Hill Bread buns, based right in Norwalk.  And, adding even more to the local vibe of this truck are the veggies that they are sourcing from Easton’s own Gilbertie’s Farm.  They actually purchased a bed with them to ensure that they’d have the best and freshest supply of veggies around like lettuce and tomatoes.  Eggs are supplied through Holbrook Farm in Bethel, they are getting yogurt from New Pond Farm in Redding, and will be getting lots of fresh dairy from Arethusa Farm & Dairy in Litchfield.  Yeah, it’s the best of CT farms on a food truck!

Evolving Menu Items and Meal Services

But, don’t expect Chef Vacca, James, and Christiaan to stick to just those key menu items.  They want to be able to “move it around a little bit, excite people, and keep ourselves creatively inspired.”  They have already begun with breakfast service down at Shippan, Harbor Point.  They are serving up light dishes like yogurt parfait, but are also making BBCs (Bacon Bounty Egg and Cheese), egg and cheese sandwiches, croque monsieurs, and more.  Looking ahead into the future, they would love to park at a busy area and feed the need late-night with things like sausage and peppers, Chef Vacca’s take on a Philly cheesesteak, and of course burgers.  And, you can possibly look forward to some more creative ideas to hit the menu soon like:

• Bunny Chow (hollowed out bread bowl) stuffed with all kinds of amazingness (African in origin, though they’ll put their spin on it no doubt)

• Specialty sandwiches like one that includes roast pork, broccoli rabe, pesto, sharp provolone, and other ingredients

• The Bulgogi Burger which includes a short rib burger (the meat marinates in a Korean style BBQ sauce), quick pickles, cilantro, and Asian slaw

Looking Ahead

The Bounty Food Truck has already hit it big and they’ve only just started.  One person at the Westport Farmers’ Market told him today that his burger was the best one he’d ever had…and, after talking with Chef Vacca today and Christiaan yesterday, we don’t doubt it.  We are dying to get our hands around the burgers and we bet you are too.  So, check them out at the Westport Farmers’ Market, the Rowayton Music Festival, the Norwalk Boat Show, and other spots throughout Lower Fairfield County.  Keep up to date with what the boys are up to by following them on Facebook and Twitter.  They also do catering and private parties, so hit um up at (203) 493-1396 or info@bountytruck.com if you’d like more info.

In the meantime, we’ll be dreaming about all these burgers, especially the Bordelaise Burger that Chef told us tasted just like you’re eating a bowl of French Onion soup.  Damn…just damn.

To our belly, yes…agreed