Food Truck Scene

02 Feb Food Truck Scene

Have you visited any of the new food trucks popping up all over town? It seems to be the new thing: old delivery trucks converted to mobile kitchens serving up unique recipes and dishes that are out-of-this-world delish!

It just so happens that Tampa Bay’s Best Food Truck is right here in St. Pete! Founded by Ronicca Whaley in 2019, Shiso Crispy is making waves with locally sourced Japanese goodness, and she’s serving up an all-female owned and operated fun, friendly, warm & welcoming vibe (including her bestie and my girl, Kasia Collins).

The concept came to Ronicca after traveling to Malaysia to open a 250-food truck franchise [listen to more about that here].  When she returned to St. Pete, she realized the food she was eating everyday in Malaysia, gyozas, were not readily available. Always one for a play on words Shiso Crispy was born.

So, you ask, what the heck is a gyoza? Well, we call them potstickers. But these are not your grandma’s dumplings. No, these are Ronicca-style. She spends days in the kitchen prepping and coming up with the perfect recipes and proprietary blends. Shiso Crispy gyozas are filled with Asian goodness: sauces, local meats and sourced produce, that would make the Food Network Chefs take notice. Even our local downtown Japanese Soul Food hotspot, Buya, added Ronicca’s handmade gyozas to their menu in the beginning of 2019.

And now Shiso Crispy is all over town. She’s flinging them out of her food truck all over local neighborhoods, and on February 6th, she’ll be sliding them out of her new trailer, ‘Shiso Crispy Flying Boat Edition’.  She is rollin’ out two new favorites – the Firecracker, sure to be a vegan crowd pleaser, and the Bacon Ribeye Cheeseburger, a downright mouthwatering delicious delicacy that will leave you wondering why you only ordered one.

Now let’s talk more about that trailer. She’s hitched up with Flying Boat Brewery to launch a local party destination. With hip outdoor entertainment and a rich St. Pete legacy, Flying Boat Brewery is a hidden gem for craft beer fans and families alike.

Flying Boat Brewery pays homage to the first commercial flight between Clearwater and Tampa, back in 1912. The cost of the flight ticket was $15 and the ride was priceless, landing on the water. Thus the term flying boat was born.

And now the two, Flying Boat Brewery and Shiso Crispy, are taking off together. Remember that trailer I mentioned? It’s permanently parked around back of the Brewery, just waiting for you to visit, again and again.

And the perfect time to check it out? How about the grand reopening of the Flying Boat Brewery this Saturday, February 6th?