The Huck Truck is open for business

“We always like to say [we’re] the concept of fueling the Gorge,” Stenberg explained. “The lifestyle that we all live here is very active, very driven, very motivated. That’s why we’re largely here. We all love this spot, so we need to create a nutrient source that supports that experience.”

Fueling such an experience means making everything in house, from tortillas, to sandwich buns. Stenberg’s menu currently features a spread of sandwiches topped with Blue Bus kraut, salad, tacos, a lunch burger, and a polenta plate served with wild-harvested morels.

The focus of The Huck Truck is to nourish all aspects of the Gorge lifestyle, which Stenberg achieves with the help of locally sourced ingredients from regional farms and producers, including Blue Bus Cultured Foods.

“The collaboration with Blue Bus is like a match made in heaven,” said Stenberg. “We’re really excited to pair the delicious food, but also with the really great digestive to help you absorb the nutrients, digest the nutrients, and just go about your day.”

“We’re working on brain food here,” Stenberg added. The combination of tasty eats and fermented goods means you can’t help but feel good, Stenberg said.

Stenberg’s love affair with cooking started with a job at Dairy Queen when he was 15, then evolved in to attending culinary school.

After years of working in the food industry both in White Salmon and Hood River, Stenberg mastered his secret weapon. The ability to multitask. “I have this crazy background in customer service,” said Stenberg.

In between taking orders, Stenberg visits with customers, grills crispy pork, and dresses salads like nobody’s business, easily picking up his train of thought with friends stopping by.

“It’s coming together real well,” said Stenberg, “a lot of people are coming along and checking it out.”

The truck’s name is a derivative of The Little Huckleberry Food Truck, the official title of the business listed on the owner’s license. But where did the original name come from? A favorite trail in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

“Trail number 49,” Stenberg said. “It’s just one of my favorite zones, and I’d say largely the inspiration for The Huck Truck, as far as the mobile food unit and all that coming together.”

Look for The Huck Truck at the White Salmon market in the possible future, or swing over on Friday, June 24, from 4 to 8 p.m. at 415 W. Steuben St, Bingen to celebrate The Huck Truck and Blue Bus shop grand opening celebration. For a casual breakfast or lunch the truck operates from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.