Food trucks bring a world of flavor

Enterprising Lake County residents are bringing the delights of ethnic foods to rural Montana.

Terace Stewart operates the Fire and Ice Jamaican jerk chicken food truck at Salish Kootenai College four days a week from noon to 7 p.m., and many weekends in Polson. Stewart is originally from Jamaica, where he gained hospitality experience tending bar and working kitchens at five-star resorts. He currently works in Financial Aid and teaches food service and hospitality classes at the college.

Terace and his wife Leslie Camel Stewart, who is from Ronan, started serving Jamaican jerk chicken at powwows and other gatherings. They learned the concept was successful, and they found people liked to see them grilling the meat, so they put a large outdoor grill on the porch of the trailer.

The Stewarts had only recently taken the financial risk to purchase the food truck when the coronavirus pandemic hit. But it has worked out well.

“When we went to pick up the truck we asked, ‘Is it the wrong time? How can we make this kind of mistake?’” Terace said. “But it turned out to be perfect. This is the time when nobody wants to go inside.”

Robin Lopez’s family brought the Super Gyro truck to Polson in 2018. She didn’t know how to make gyros when she purchased it, but the previous owner shared his expertise and family recipes from Israel. Robin says the truck has been popular, both at its summer lot on First Street, and now at its winter home at Glacier Brewing Company, which offers warm, indoor seating. They are open 2 to 8:30 p.m. most Tuesdays through Saturdays.

“We wanted to make this truck part of the community,” Robin said. “We stay in one town, and we use local ingredients as much as possible. Working together as a community, that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

She said she likes sharing space in a “food truck pod” that offers hungry folks a wide selection of foods.

The success of the food truck business is supporting the family and “allowing us to do our love of farming,” Robin said.

Richard Thomas brought his love of the taqueria to life with Tacos el Pelón (Tacos from the Bald Guy). Richard moved his family to Polson many years ago, but still works off and on as a heavy equipment operator in California.

Richard opens the taco truck for lunch 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in St. Ignatius on Tuesdays and Fridays, in Ronan Mondays and Wednesdays, and occasionally in Polson. He sometimes offers dinner, such as at the drive-in movie in St. Ignatius on Halloween night.

“The beauty of this is being able to do what you want,” Richard said.

Business has been continually “multiplying,” he said. “We’ve been getting quite the crowd, and it continues to build.”

The truck serves a limited but popular menu of street tacos, burritos and super burritos.

“I try to make burritos big enough you can eat half of it and use the other half for a pillow for your siesta.”