Whether attending a local event around the lake, or meandering about town, there’s a good chance you could run into one of the many food trucks that are scattered throughout the basin. From pizza to ice cream to sushi (yes, one even combines two), there’s no shortage of delectable cuisine options that these trucks are dishing out. 

Let’s get to know a few.  

Get Rad Pizza 

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After meeting in Santa Cruz in 2015, Max and Kelly started their culinary journey by operating pop-ups until they dove headfirst into the Get Rad brand and purchased their custom-made truck in 2022. The kicker to the custom-made truck: it has a built-in wood-fired oven for pumping out perfect pies. 

“I had seen this similar model when we were up in Portland, Oregon, and I just thought that would be so fun to create pizzas,” said Max.  “The original thought was we could create slices with different farmers produce on them.”

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With the couple’s experience in working farmer’s markets, and seeing how successful hot food was, the idea of farm to table pizzas was born. 

With favorites like the Sidewinder (basil pesto, mozzarella, sun dried tomato, and parmesan), Mr. Toads (truffle oil, mozzarella, gourmet mushrooms, and parmesan), or Pow Day (Bianco DiNapoli tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, ricotta, and spicy honey), each 11-inch pizza is made to order and most have playful names of places or experiences around Tahoe – hence the name: Get Rad. 

With the flow of the truck specifically designed for pizzas, the truck tries to maintain a quick seven-to-eight-minute turnaround time. 

In the busy season the truck is cranking out 250-300 pizzas a day and if you seriously have a need for pizza, you can usually always find them posted up at the Hangar in South Lake Tahoe. But, Get Rad still does catering and pop-ups so there’s a chance you might see them at another location. They also recently added DoorDash as an option so you can get their pizza delivered directly to your door. 

Learn More: getradpizza.com

Little Truckee Ice Creamery 

After opening a brick and mortar in 2017, and participating at Truckee Thursdays a couple years later, owner Kenny Blum quickly learned that in order to do offsite events, a truck, not a tent, was needed.  

“When COVID hit, we ended up parking the trailer pretty much almost full time in downtown Truckee and that went really well for us. But we also needed another second trailer for doing events, so we ended up building a second trailer,” said Blum. 

While the trailers hop around events around North Lake Tahoe and Truckee, you can usually catch one sitting in downtown Tahoe City during the summer. You can also find the truck bouncing around some of the signature events around the region like Made in Tahoe or the Tahoe City Food and Wine Classic. The business is also opening a second brick and mortar location in Reno over the summer. 

The secret behind the popularity of the frozen treats: a dedication that’s focused on serving the best ice cream in town by making everything from scratch. 

Whether their signature flavor of Truckee Trails (pineapple brittle, brownie and a sweet cream ice cream), which was born out of a fundraising event for the Truckee Trails Foundation, Banana Chocolate Chunk, or their Triple Berry Cobbler, the dedication to the process can be felt in every bite. 

Learn More: truckeeicecream.com 

Betty’s Balls and Tapas 

With probably the largest coverage area of all the food trucks in the area, Betty’s Balls and Tapas hits the festival scene all summer long, traveling as much as a five-hour radius around the region. And for the husband-and-wife team of Marica and Dan Walker, it’s exactly why they do it. 

“It’s truly why we started this business, to have the lifestyle of going to festivals all the time,” added Marcia. “We have our daughter now and now she’s growing up in the festival world and it’s pretty cool.” 

After opening in July during the pandemic, the two homed in on the location outside South Lake Brewing Company with their trailer, Baby Betty. And with a menu focused on being made from scratch and local and sustainable as much as possible, it constantly changes. 

But, you can always count on having some type of meatball (which are gluten free), a vegan option, or typically a slider, which can range from filet mignon to brisket and everything in between. 

Their tapas-style approach also means they are a great option for any type of event, which this year will also include trips to the west slope of El Dorado County for the annual Passport event and Apple Hill during the fall.

But for now, they will still pop in and out of their familiar location at SLBC, but there’s a good chance you will see them around at another location this summer.  

Marcia added, “We’re around, but we’re everywhere. It’s hard to keep up with us.”

Learn More: bettysballstapas.com 

Big Blue Q 

Following retirement in 2019, owner Shane Mathias purchased a huge 28-foot mobile kitchen started on his second career full time, operating Big Blue Q. The initial approach to the menu started out with barbecue but has evolved into so much more.  

“When I first started 13 years ago, I was doing mostly barbecue, so briskets and ribs and tri-tip and I got really bored with it really quickly,” said Mathias. “I’m like, there’s not a lot of mystique to this.” 

That’s when the menu started to evolve to include items like jambalaya and paella that are, while delicious, as much as a show as they are just a single dish. In addition to those, Mathias has also incorporated shrimp boils, beignets, and even soft-shell crab tacos. 

“We’re not just a barbecue truck or a taco truck or burger truck. We can do pretty much anything, and I love the creativity of cooking.” added Mathias. 

That approach has amassed the truck quite a following, and operates almost exclusively at private events, with a few large events sprinkled in around the region, averaging 168 events per year. But if there’s one thing that the food truck prides itself on (outside of making amazing food), is being able to serve at volume. 

Mathis added, “Last year at Winter Wondergrass we served 2,800 meals in three days.”

In addition to the large mobile kitchen, the operation includes multiple hot holdings, tow behind barbecues and trailers, rotisseries, as well as a tap trailer that includes four nitrogen-based taps. 

Learn More: bbqtahoe.com 

Starkey’s – Dave & Rachel Starkey

With a background that includes culinary school out of high school and working in fine dining restaurants and country clubs on the east coast, Dave Starkey made his way to Tahoe from Baltimore, Maryland. But he really didn’t want to be a chef locally at first, until he fell into a position at Mamasake, where he first learned Japanese cuisine and the art of making sushi. 

That experience ultimately led to a stop at Dragonfly where his approach to sushi was mastered.  When Dragonfly closed, Starkey was told that he was ultimately going to be doing his own thing. After the closing of the restaurant, Starkey was at a party when an opportunity presented itself from a friend. 

“He said there’s this new place going in where Dragonfly was, and they want me to invest in it. And I said, all right,” Starkey added.  “And he looks at me and goes, I rather invest in a food truck with you than invest into this. And I said, all right, let’s do it. And that’s how it all started.”

Making the decision to go at it alone in 2014, Starkey ultimately purchased a custom food trailer (which includes a custom Napoli120 brick oven). But even with all the experience in sushi, experimenting with making dough at elevation, along with some recon in San Francisco, is what ultimately led him to add pizza to the menu.  

Serving the hits he learned to make at Dragonfly, combined with his delicate approach to pizza and toppings truly makes this truck one of the most unique in all of Tahoe. 

Starkey and his wife Rachel operate the business as far north as Portola and as far south as Meyers. 

Learn More: starkeys-tahoe.com

Pretty Odd Wieners 

Armed with the best named food truck around Tahoe, Pretty Odd Wieners was started by the husband-and-wife duo of Jilliene and Brian Main after they moved to Tahoe from Philadelphia in 2103. But what is now multiple food trucks, first started out as a hot dog cart operating just outside of South Lake Tahoe in Meyers (at the Shell station). That same location is still their flagship location, although now occupied by a full-fledged food truck that was custom built in Oregon.  

“We were limited in what we could sell through the health department as far as the hot dog cart is considered,” said Brian. “As soon as we got the food trailer, that’s where the name really took stride.”

Knowing they wanted to focus on having fun and a quirky approach to gourmet hot dogs and exotic sausages, the menu was created to include items like elk sausage with cream cheese, caramelized onions, and chipotle honey mayo. Or their Rodeo Dog which is a combination of Caramelized and crispy onions, sweet peppers and barbecue sauce on top of a hot dog. 

“That’s the fun, creative part,” said Brian. “Whatever it is that we decide to do, or if anybody has inspiration, we put it together, we take a bite of it and if it tastes good, it goes on the menu as a special when we rotate.”

One thing that’s unique about the approach is their recordings and posting of the inner workings on social media – especially check out their channel on YouTube. In addition to multiple social media platforms, you can also catch them around the basin at specific events throughout the summer. 

Learn More: prettyoddwieners.com

Melt 

When asked one day about what she would do if she had an opportunity to serve food with beer while sitting outside the Hangar in South Lake Tahoe, personal chef Abi Killebrew answered, “I don’t know, like grilled cheese … and that was the first idea and it kind of rolled with that because grilled cheese sandwiches are simple and beers and grilled cheese go together really well.”

While she never thought that idea would ultimately lead to a food truck, after conversations with the owner of the Hangar and her sister, Killebrew ultimately decided to take the risk (along with business partners). 

They found a place in Reno that builds food trailers and offered up everything that Killebrew wanted in a truck. Once the paperwork was signed in May of 2024 to build the truck, they were open by mid-July of that same year.  

With a menu that rotates a sandwich of the month along with a handful of staples, it also includes soups (mainly during the winter) and fries. The ongoing offerings include sandwiches like The Picnic (blackberry jam, balsamic glaze, sliced apples, turkey, along with goat cheese and gruyere cheese) and The Muenster (muenster, cheddar and mozzarella with ham, turkey and prosciutto). 

You can find Melt at its usual post outside the Hangar, with some potential larger events this summer. 

Learn More: meltfoodtrucklaketahoe.com 

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Summer 2025 edition of Tahoe Magazine.