Keep on truckin’: Winneburger

Serving up staples: Winneburger
Photo by Dan Haber

Food trucks are the next big thing in Montreal cuisine. It began with one truck last year, and since then a few more sets of wheels have hit the streets on a hunt for hungry people. But you needn’t look far to be fed, because Cult MTL presents you with a new mini-series on Montreal food trucks — who runs them, what they serve and where you can find them.

Winneburger
With festival season in full swing, throngs of hungry folks are hanging out in front of Place des Arts — and the Just for Laughs Souk is running from 12–11 p.m. to keep them well fed (until July 28).

You don’t need to be a fan of comedy to go down and sample what these mobile kitchens have to offer, and it’s a great opportunity to see how wildly popular the Montreal food truck scene has become.

One of the newest trucks on the block — literally — is Winneburger, the souped-up Winnebago from the team behind Nouveau Palais. It specializes in one of their popular restaurant staples, the hamburger.

“The food truck was something we always wanted to do, and we realized that if we do a burger truck now, we’ll be the only ones, but if we wait until next year, there will definitely be someone else doing it,” co-owner Gita Seaton says.

And they certainly do it well. If you’ve ever sampled the smaller late-night burger at Nouveau, expect the truck’s offerings to taste exactly the same. Seaton is adamant about quality and consistency. “We want people to know that if they taste it once, it’s what they’re going to get every time. It’s all about having a good, consistent product and focusing on that.”

Offered as a single or double patty with cheese, they were so juicy and delish that we went back for seconds, washed down with one of my favorite summer drinks, an Arnold Palmer (half lemonade, half iced tea) and a side of artisanal potato chips from a small company in New Brunswick. But fear not, vegetarians, there’s also a pulled tofu sandwich made up of grilled tofu skin marinated in chilies and garlic with grilled pineapple and a frozen dessert called the Monkey Tail worth checking out.

A moveable feast
Photo by Dan Haber

Taking advantage of the quieter summer months at the terrasse-less Nouveau Palais, Seaton says Winneburger gives them the chance to keep the staff busy and also get involved in the Montreal community.

“Thankfully, we have the restaurant kitchen to prep, because you really need the extra space. It’s not cheap to run a food truck, and since we already have the infrastructure, it’s easier for us,” she says.

For now, Seaton and her Palais partners are running on all cylinders throughout the summer. And although it’s tiring, she’s happy to be part of the first wave of this exciting local food movement.

After Just for Laughs concludes, you can find the Winneburger, along with the other food trucks, at the Olympic Stadium the first Friday of every month, as well as at Place Émilie-Gamelin from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. a couple of times a week. ■

See the Nouveau Palais Facebook page for locations and schedules.