Pasta food truck to sling spaghetti in Western Pa.
Peter Williams came up with a pasta pandemic idea: He decided to sling spaghetti from a food truck.
The manager of the Wilkinsburg-based Revival Chili food truck spent his time at home experimenting with sauces. He started with a classic red sauce and from there created grilled chicken with artichoke and pistachio, beef Bolognese and mint and forest mushroom.
“Some people made bread during quarantine. I made pasta sauce,” said Williams, as he stirred a pot of sauce inside the new Revival Pasta food truck on a recent Monday evening.
The truck — a converted trolley car — takes to the road this week.
The first road stop is noon Saturday at the Apollo Area Historical Society’s first May Daze. Next week, it will be in Upper St. Clair, Highland Park, Vandergrift and Hampton.
Follow the truck’s route beginning in May at revival pasta.com/visit.
Williams’ four sauces are:
Mint and forest mushroom: dried forest mushroom blend, asparagus, mint, white onion, lemon juice, ponzu (citrus-based), garlic, extra virgin olive oil, vegetable stock, butter, salt and Italian herb blend.
Grilled chicken with artichoke and pistachio: grilled chicken breast, sugar snap peas, baby artichokes, crushed pistachio, capers, lemongrass, lemon juice, cream, white wine, white balsamic, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and dried parmesan.
Beef Bolognese: beef chunk, pancetta, carrots, celery, beef stock, red wine, tomatoes (crushed and paste), agave, oregano, thyme, extra virgin olive oil, milk, nutmeg, and dried parmesan.
Classic red sauce: tomatoes (crushed and paste), garlic, basil, extra virgin olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper.
The sauces will be served over classic spaghetti, fettuccine, lemon pepper linguine or tomato basil linguine — all fresh pasta from Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. in the Strip District. David Sunseri’s family has owned the Italian food store for 119 years.
“Partnering with local businesses is important,” Sunseri said. “It is so nice to see something new, and Peter is incredibly ambitious.”
Williams is not one to sit around. After taking the Revival Chili truck all over Western Pennsylvania, he plans to put some miles on the pasta truck, which also will be available for private parties and catering.
The menu will change seasonally.
Revival Pasta is the sister truck to Revival Chili and part of the company owned by Jordan Robarge, which includes Nancy’s Revival in Wilkinsburg.
When Williams told Robarge about the pasta truck idea, he was all in.
Robarge of Friendship said the people who work for him are more than employees. Dedicated to hiring people who have been incarcerated and others who might find barriers to employment, he wants to help create better lives for his staff. Robarge cites an underage drinking incident that kept him from being hired many times, and he works to break the cycle for others.
A recent tasting of menu items from the pasta food truck was held outside Nancy’s Revival.
“This is pretty awesome,” said Jason Reynolds of McKeesport, who attended the event with his dad, Dean Reynolds. “The chicken sauce was amazing.”
“I want a gallon of that sauce,” Dean Reynolds said. “I look forward to seeing them out and about. I will be chasing down that pasta truck.”
“We are very excited to be launching our second truck,” Robarge said. “We are happy to give Peter this opportunity.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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