10 Great Places to Eat from a Food Truck

Aug. 21, 2011— -- Some of the best meals these days come out of trucks, says James Cunningham, host of Eat Street, a Cooking Channel show about street food. Cunningham says many trucks are run by chefs who lost jobs or restaurants during the recession and decided to try out their skills in mobile kitchens. "Stuff being handed off the carts is literally gourmet — as good as I've gotten from the best restaurants in the world." Social media has also fueled the trend, making it easy to track down trucks on Twitter and Facebook. Cunningham shares some favorite trucks, carts and vans with Larry Bleiberg for USA TODAY.

The Grilled Cheese Truck

Los Angeles

Forget your diet if you plan to track down this truck serving modern versions of classic comfort food. The cheese is melted between slices of Texas toast that's buttered on both sides. Cunningham's fond of the Cheesy Mac and Rib sandwich, which includes macaroni and cheese, barbecued pork and caramelized onions. Other sandwiches feature double-cream brie, Gruyere and habanero jack cheese. Twitter: @grlldcheesetruk; thegrilledcheesetruck.com

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

New York

New York's familiar soft-serve ice cream truck gets a makeover with this imaginative shop on wheels. Cones come with wild toppings like ground wasabi peas. But Cunningham swears by the Salty Pimp: vanilla ice cream with dulce de leche sauce, rolled in sea salt and dipped in chocolate. "The combination of the salt and the chocolate and the cold of the ice cream is just delicious." Twitter: @biggayicecream; biggayicecream.com