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EDITOR’S NOTE: Taste the Town is a series written about local restaurants, delis, coffee shops, bakeries, breweries, wineries and distilleries in hopes to broaden the knowledge of what businesses -- new or familiar -- are in the community
Two local food trucks that specialize in barbecue, Dad's BBQ and Bean's BBQ, have been serving up delights of smoked meats, pulled pork and chicken, mac and cheese and coleslaw. You're not going to want to miss the love that the chefs put into their cooking.
Dad's BBQ is a local staple that has made major inroads with authentic smoked flavors and unique menu options.
"I've been a backyard smoker, probably for more than a decade, just cooking in my backyard," said Marshall Winters, of how he and his wife came to found Dad's BBQ, "I love all the various meats, and my wife has always been known for making some pretty killer mac and cheese."
The couple initially decided to do catering, starting out with a smoker on wheels, thinking they'd do some backyard parties and similar catering events.
"But once you start going down that path of designing it, you think 'well, I'd rather cook on site,' but also have a kitchen on site so the trailer just kept getting fancier as we planned it out," Marshall said.
They started building the business coming out of the height of COVID-19 when it was difficult to get appliances and trailers due to supply chain issues.
"It took a lot longer to put the business together than we would have liked," Marshall said.
By August 2022, the couple were licensed and in such a short time, they have expanded to include full-time pitmaster, Chris Anthony, and 20 part-time staff members.
With the expansion, the Winters have no plans of slowing down.
"We are now housed out of a property next to Huffman Office Supplies on Lycoming Mall Drive, so we've got maybe 1,200 square feet, where we're eventually going to have a tasting room that's well-decorated where we can house small events, small parties and things like that. But that's where the trailers meets for now, when it's not on the move," Marshall said.
Along with the expansion of the business, the wide-ranging menu is part of Dad's BBQ's appeal in a community awash with food trucks.
The Prime Cowboy Brisket is a fan-favorite item.
"Prime Cowboy Brisket is only made with prime grade brisket, and so we spend a little more money on our brisket to make sure it's marbled for better flavoring, and then that smoked over Pennsylvania hickory and cherry wood and hand trimmed and seasoned," Marshall said.
"For the sides, I joke around that we could be a mac and cheese truck because we sell so much of Mama's Mac and Cheese, that's the name of that menu item. It's a high quality, three cheese blend," he added.
"It's something that you know, it's not on everybody's priority list, but it's on mine," Jennifer said. "So, I just started making my own, and dabbling in different flavors, and when we decided to do the barbecue trailer, I locked in on one in particular that I really loved."
"I've had a few people who said right off the bat, when I hand them the mac and cheese 'oh, do you have some salt and pepper I can put on it?' And I tell them 'I promise you you do not need this. There's so much flavor in it, just try it first,' and they try it and they're like 'wow, you're right,'" she said.
Mama's Mac and Cheese may be the highlight, but Dad's offers a variety of different sides including a hot German-style potato salad called Hot Mama's Spuds, a 40-year old family recipe of Gunny's Baked Beans and Gangsta Green Beans. The sides feature flavors of bacon, onion and more.
"We just released Gangsta Green Beans, and they are a little sweet, a little savory. They also have real bacon, brown sugar and a little soy sauce. That's a new recipe that we just released, and are offering that to our catering customers and our weddings," Marshall said.
Collaborating with local businesses is a top priority for the couple, who also own The Hatchet House, and have several new joint ventures going on.
"We recently just teamed up with The Empanada Shack, and they are making Mama's Mac Buffalo Chicken Empanadas, and they are incredible," Marshall said. "They purchase trays of our mac and cheese to use in those empanadas, and they are quite tasty. So that's been fun."
They also just started a collaboration with The Locker Room in Montoursville.
"They buy a couple of our homemade sauces," Marshall added. "It's important to try to support each other and stuff and work together. Barbecue isn't for everyone, so somebody may prefer an empanada over a brisket sandwich."
Dad's BBQ has a variety of sauces that they make and sell including the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is is a mild garlic buffalo sauce; White Tang is an Alabama-style white pepper tang sauce; Show Me The Honey, which is made with a local honey into a honey barbecue sauce; and Carolina Can't Decide, which is a vinegar-based Carolina barbecue sauce with red pepper.
Dad's BBQ will be open all year long, and with holiday season right around the corner, they are looking to add some festive options over the next few months.
"I did smoked prime ribs for Christmas last year through a buy order only, like pre-order only," Marshall says, "I did a bunch of smoked prime rib last year, and that was big. I may do smoked turkeys this year for Thanksgiving. So we're going to dabble all winter long, and mix the menu up a little bit, seasonally, maybe do some hams for Easter next year. But that's sort of our game plan."
"We advertise ourselves as a custom, small batch barbecue company," Marshall said.
"We're really particular about our process, like for our barbecue, it's authentic. We cook exclusively over Pennsylvania, cherry and hickory wood for our meats. We're not using propane assist or anything like that. It is literally just a fire, we're not throwing it in an oven and adding liquid smoke, it's all authentic. And we take we love we take a ton of pride in what we're serving. We want it to be the best food in the area, that's why we're using the best ingredients and the best process," Marshall said.
"Something else that I feel like sets us is that we do give a personal touch," Jennifer added. "When we go to big events to cater them, we really take a real personal interest in making sure that everything runs smoothly and that their day is a success."
"Service is just as important as the quality of the food," Marshall said. We're not the 'that's not my job, people.' We want it to go perfectly. We have a big wedding next month that asked for Buffalo Chicken Dip. We've never had buffalo chicken dip on our menu but we will next month."
While Dad's BBQ holds down the fort near Lycoming Mall Drive, there's a new kid on the block of local food trucks in the Lycoming Creek Road area.
Cody Fink is the owner and operator of Bean's BBQ, but don't let the name fool you, the truck has much more to offer.
"It's actually a nickname from when I was growing as a small child," Fink said. "My aunt would call me cocoa bean, and then it ended up being bean, so I just used that, and it's kind of like a little homage to my aunt. Some people do get confused a little bit thinking 'where's the beans,' you know?"
"But, I wasn't really sure what name to use. I didn't really want to use more of those generic names of something like "Rolling Smoke" or something like that. I wanted something more personal to me."
Though he has only been running his truck since March, it has been a lifelong interest of Fink's to be involved in the food business.
"Years ago, I was living in Colorado, and I would help friends work the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, so I kind of fell in love with the whole vending side of things," Fink said. "I used to work in some kitchens here and there and I've always loved cooking. Growing up, I thought maybe I'd start a little restaurant or something, but I really fell in love with being able to be mobile and going to different events and things like that, but I didn't really know what niche I was gonna be in with what food I was going to sell."
He started getting into barbecue years later.
"I love doing it," Fink said. "I enjoy smoking food and I love putting smiles on people's faces with the food I make. But I didn't really know what my niche was going to be, because you have Taco Bill's, you've got Leonard's, and the grilled cheese guy, so I didn't want to overlap with anybody else. I kind of wanted to have my own thing."
"I've been smoking meats for six years now, and the smoking was just on the side," Fink, who also works at Corter's Flooring, says. "Fridays and Saturdays, I would smoke for customers and then deliver to them. That kind of got my start, and everybody's like 'you should probably get a truck or at least maybe a restaurant if you can find.'"
Fink's hard work has definitely begun to pay off in a major way.
"I get a lot of repeat customers once people find out where I'm at. I have my diehard customers, and I get new customers every week that absolutely love it, and some leave Facebook messages to me," he said.
"I get calls every week asking if I'm coming back to different businesses because I'm so popular there, so I definitely have a good word of mouth," Fink said. "Having a new, nice, clean trailer helps make it look a lot more professional, and just being courteous and kind with everybody and just trying to go above and beyond with every customer that I have, to take care of them."
Though the main focus of Bean's BBQ is pulled pork, chicken and smoked brisket, the menu is quite expansive, including sides such as coleslaw and macaroni and cheese, but by far, the biggest seller has been pork belly burnt ends.
"That's what actually got me started from the beginning," Fink says of his friends encouraging him to sell the unique item. "That (pork belly burnt ends), and my brisket are my two top sellers, and then of course the pulled pork and chicken really do well, too. It just all depends. Some days customers will buy a lot of chicken, other days a lot of brisket one day, and then some days everything goes real quick."
"I wish I could locally source, but maybe next year," Fink said. "I'd love to work with some local farmers and other folks to be able to procure most of my meats and other things."
In the meantime, all of the recipes he uses are varieties of either his own, or ones that have been passed down through his family.
"I currently get my beans from a can, but they're just plain beans. Some people will get Bush's Baked Beans, just doctor them up a little bit, and call them theirs, but everything's made from scratch here."
"The recipes are mine, but there's a few that I use, like the baked beans one and my pickled slaw, those are my grandmother's," Fink said. "Pretty much every other recipe is mine, or a version of something that I found and made it my own, you know, added this, subtracted that, cooked it a little bit different."
Getting the truck up and running has been a big undertaking for Fink, who has had several back surgeries.
"I'm doing everything myself. I'm splitting the wood, making the food, loading the trailer, making the sides, so it's mostly a one man crew. I do get a little help from my mom and my nephew, and I've had friends that would stop in and help out for a couple hours too. So that's awesome," he said.
With colder weather just around the bend, Fink is looking to add some autumn favorites.
"I'm thinking of some soups in the fall. Maybe chicken and rice or chicken noodle, and once it gets a little colder out, some brisket enchiladas. I'm a big fan of TexMex stuff, so I'd like to put a little bit of a Mexican flair. There's so much spice and goodness in there. So I do really make a great barbacoa for tacos and Berea, and pork carnitas every once in a while."
"I make a really, really good shrimp or seafood bisque. Maybe a chowder, and possibly a chili too, without the beans because real chili is not made with beans -- ask any Texan," Fink said.
Fink is very proud and appreciative of the praise he's received in such a short time of being open.
"It makes me feel great and makes me know that I'm on the right track and have the quality that I want at a great price point," Fink said. "My sandwiches are either a half pound or over a half pound. I want to feel like people are getting their money's worth and not going away hungry."
"And, you gotta have a mixture. I like to have a variety of everything, so that there's something for everyone," Fink says of his quickly growing fan base.
"I offer top quality food at the best prices. I do traditional smoked barbecue. It's totally different from 99% of the other food trucks out there. It's definitely something you don't see in the Williamsport area, really," he said.
For more information and to find out where Bean's BBQ will be located, visit their Facebook page.