The pandemic can’t stop Cincy’s ever-growing food truck scene, including this comfort food-meets-Mexican eatery on wheels, which rolled into the area last year.
Delightfully dubbed Feast Beast, this food truck offers a petite menu of deep-fried and smoked eats. But what it lacks in options, it makes up for in over-the-top savory goodness.
Owner Paul Borgarding wanted to share a taste of nostalgia with the Greater Cincinnati community, and was inspired to start a food truck that featured the deep-fried beef tacos his stepfather used to make for the family when they lived in Texas — a recipe shared with him by family friends.
“When my stepdad was in the Army, he was stationed in Texas, and he became friends with a family from Mexico. Sometimes he’d go have dinner with them and that’s how he learned to fry tacos,” says Borgarding in an email interview.
“So, when we had tacos at my house growing up, it wasn’t like Taco Bell. We didn’t buy a box of Ortega shells. We had these hot, greasy, delicious little pieces of heaven.”
The crispy-crunchy tacos are accompanied by Borgarding’s succulent hickory-smoked boneless chicken wings; he notes his smoked chicken is the best “in the universe.”
The third menu item offered at Feast Beast is a deep-fried delicacy: mac and cheese balls.
Borgarding says the best way to enjoy them all is by ordering the “The Feast,” which includes a little bit of everything, including Feast Beast’s homemade secret Beast Sauce.
There’s a kind of refreshing confidence behind Borgarding’s business. For him, the truck is more than just a job. He takes a great deal of pride in what he brings to the table, and insists you try it for yourself — in hopes that you love it as much as he does.
“Above all else, I just want people to enjoy my food. I enjoy my food. When my customers tell me they really love my food, it gives me great pleasure. It means I was able, in a small way, to make something about their day good. For me at least, true happiness comes from creating happiness for others,” he says.
If you’d like to stop by and give it a try, you can usually find Borgarding and the truck at 9529 Pippin Road in Colerain, or at the corner of 747 and Crescentville Road during lunch. Follow Feast Beast on Facebook or give Borgarding a call at 513-430-6529 to confirm his location.
This article appears in The Fall Guide.
