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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.)
Luckily for everyone in the Greater Williamsport area, there's two taco trucks that bring homemade, authentic flavors and treats throughout the year.
Taco Bill's Taco Madness and Real Taste 570 equally pack a punch with a variety of taco options including some with homemade pico de gallo, taco sauce and tortillas.
Taco Bill's Taco Madness is a local fixture that was at the forefront of what has become an explosion of food trucks throughout the area, but even after all this time, the husband-wife duo shows no signs of slowing down.
"We've been doing this for seven years," owner and operator Bill Lamey said. "When I first met my wife, Sarah, she wanted to have a restaurant and I didn't, because I still worked full time, and I didn't want the overhead of a restaurant."
The two ended up compromising on a food truck.
"At first, I wanted to work full-time and do this part-time, but this is not a part-time job," Lamey laughed.
Lamey says fond childhood memories are responsible for the truck's focus on tacos.
"I said, 'if we're gonna do it, I want to do tacos,' because my mom always made tacos growing up the way we make them. That's the only thing I have the most passion about, tacos. So that was why we did that," he said.
Taco Bill's offers a variety of popular menu items that are available in both beef and chicken, but there are a few that keep the crowds coming back.
"I would say the 'Who's Your Daddy?,' because that's the one almost everybody in the truck eats," Lamey says.
The fan favorite is made like a traditional taco, but mixes that up by including nacho chips.
"It's the best of both worlds, because you get a regular taco with a little crunch," he said.
"'Big Papa' is another (big seller), which is similar to the 'Daddy,' but includes another shell around it with liquid nacho cheese," he added.
"Elephant Ears also sell pretty well. And those are made with churro chips and topped with either chocolate or caramel.
Another dessert that Taco Bill rolls out occasionally are the customer favorite, Strawberry Cheesecake Chimichanga, which often sells out quickly.
With winter weather on the horizon, fans of the food truck can rest assured that Taco Bill's will be around to deliver their favorite tasty treats.
"I'm definitely planning on taking the truck around as much as possible, as long as it's not snowing," Lamey said.
And with the colder weather, Sarah will be cooking up new menu items to keep their customers warm.
"Definitely soups," Lamey said. "They seem to be a big hit. I personally like soup when it's cool out, and it's always a nice break from tacos for a second."
A few options come to mind when asked what flavors his wife might have in the works.
"Definitely lasagna, whether she makes it or not," Lamey said. "I'm gonna figure out how to do it. That's really good!"
Last year, Sarah made a quinoa soup that "was really good," according to Lamey. "That's the thing with soup, it's so nice because you can experiment with different stuff, and just throw random stuff together and sometimes you think, 'oh, that's not gonna be good' and you end up throwing it together, and it's really good."
Lamey said the community has supported his business from the start, and it continues to amaze him.
"It's been overwhelming, all the support," he said. "I feel like we don't have customers...we have friends that come to the truck. I feel like once you've come to the truck more than once, you're not a customer, you're a friend."
Many in the community refer to Bill as the "OG," who is always willing to offer guidance to start-ups or lend a helping hand to anyone in the business.
"I'm not in it for competition," Lamey said. "I want us all to do good. I don't want one truck to do good over another, and I think there's enough people around here that always can thrive."
And, the Lameys' commitment to community spreads well beyond just the food truck industry.
"We purchase at least 90% of our produce from Jac's Produce, right in South Williamsport," Lamey said.
As for what has kept the business thriving for so long, Bill says it is down to providing a friendly service to his patrons.
"I think our attitudes set us apart, I don't feel like we have the best food, because that all depends on someone's taste, and everyone is different. But, I'm big on customer service," he said. "I don't care how good your food is, if you don't have a good attitude. I don't want to go there."
"I appreciate everybody that's come to our truck. If it wasn't for everybody, we wouldn't be doing this. So are our friends, aka customers, who keep us alive," he said.
To catch Taco Bill's Taco Madness at any of their upcoming stops, visit their Facebook page or Instagram at @tacobillstacomadness.
Another staple food truck in the area is Real Taste 570, and they have big things in store.
Real Taste had a helping hand in developing the industry into what it is today.
"I was at city council fighting for food truck rights in downtown Williamsport 10 years ago. So, Real Taste pushed the way for a lot of these other vendors that are here now, which is great. I love it," says Curiel Bame, who owns Real Taste along with wife, Erica.
"There were no actual food truck ordinances in the City of Williamsport, and a group of us helped work with the city council and developed the actual ordinances that are now in place," Bame says of the work he did to help make the recent boom of local food trucks possible.
"We were one of the first food trucks out there," Bame says. "When I started food trucking in 2012, it was Leonard's, We Be Cheesin' and Taco Bill. Now there's 12 different trucks. I'm very happy to see it. There's a whole other generation that's coming in, a bunch of new cool little food trucks."
The truck was originally a little purple curry truck that was purchased in Washington, D.C. Bame renovated it into a taco truck and started doing gigs downtown.
The name "Real Taste" was emblazoned on the truck when Bame purchased it. A happy coincidence that he calls "serendipity" due to the authentic nature of his products.
"I'm from El Paso, and I wanted to have authentic street food the way it should be, and I'm not gonna say there's not good Mexican here, but the street food, that's different," Bame said. "I wanted to bring that El Paso cultural food, which is different as well."
"When you talk about the differences between Mexican food, California cuisine, and El Paso cuisine, El Paso Mexican food is very old Mexican food. And, there's different styles, and it's not so American influenced. It uses a lot of traditional ingredients as far as the chilies that are involved, so, I didn't pick the name. I couldn't afford to change the name of Real Taste, so I just kept the name."
Bame added that he wanted to create a cuisine that remains true to his family and where he is from.
"Most places buy what's called a corn tortilla or your flour tortilla, but we actually make them from scratch. We use a white corn, which is traditional to taco trucks, versus yellow corn," he said.
"I wanted it to be authentic, I wanted it to be true to the flavors and profiles of where I'm from. We make frijoles out of pinto beans, as opposed to black beans, and we use what's called a mission style frijoles that was developed out of the missionaries from the church areas around old El Paso and the West. Each of our burritos have a true flavor of that area, of the old west."
Bame also works with Carpenter's Farm, located in Linden. Bame picks fresh tomatoes every week for homemade pico de gallo, as well as jalapenos and poblanos.
I'll be out there picking right up until Thanksgiving. He has a special tunnel for me that he puts a heater in there to keep them going," Bame said.
As for the biggest draw for customers, Bame says their fish tacos are among their highest sellers.
"We do a mahi mahi taco with a fresh pineapple salsa on it, an Asian slaw and it gets sriracha and sour cream on it. And people love it," he said. "The other one would probably be our American beef tacos, with lettuce and shredded cheese, and we do a homemade taco sauce and a homemade sour cream, of course on a homemade tortilla."
Exciting things are ahead for Real Taste. The Bames have recently purchased the former Bridge Tavern in South Williamsport, and along with the property came a liquor license.
"The Bridge Booze Truck is what it's going to be called," Bame said. "And, they're going to follow each other around. Obviously, there are open container laws, but you can have private events and weddings and things like that. So, that will be another outlet for our customers."
In addition to its brick and mortar location in Jersey Shore, Real Taste also has a truck dedicated to New Trail Brewery.
"We've stayed committed to that company and we run that truck all year round. So everyone will be able to get tacos in the winter off that truck," he said.
The truck at New Trail was especially beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to restrictions on selling alcohol without a meal.
"When you're a food trucker, it's not like being a brick and mortar," Bame said. "The beautiful thing about getting a bunch of food trucks together is not just the fact that people will come, but the food truckers themselves will communicate about what's going on within the community. People are a little more eager to help each other."
As for what keeps the customers coming back, Bame says it comes down to a team of people dedicated to bringing the best experience to their clientele.
"It's not just me, it's my entire team," Bame says proudly. "I have remarkable assistants. I have a staff of about 30 people now. And, we are busy. Everything is fabricated in the commissary and then it's shipped into the trucks and they go to their locations. You know, it's nothing for Real Taste to be in four different towns on a given Saturday. We're booked a year out already, but we still take on more and my opinion is if there's business there, I'll just build another truck."
Bame added that the food truck serves from State College to Bloomsburg and down to Lewisburg.
"Real taste is very committed, and we have a very original product," Bame says, "I don't think there's anybody that can match our street tacos. We've been around for a long time, and amongst the community, we are reliable. The community knows that, so they've stuck with us through it. "You're gonna get the most consistent product from Real Taste versus any other food truck. I guarantee it."
Those interested in more information on, or booking Real Taste 570, please visit their Facebook page, @realtaste570 on Instagram, or www.realtaste570.com.