Danielle Whittington dreamed for years of owning a food truck. She was a bartender, waitress, restaurant manager, everything from “front of house to back of house.”
A North Carolina transplant who moved from Manhattan to Hamden when the pandemic hit, Whittington decided that now was the right time to follow her dream.
“I’ve always worked corporate jobs and have always had a food industry job on the side — that’s always what’s made me happy,” Whittington said. “So I decided just to do what makes me happy full time.”
That happiness took shape in Vittles Food Truck, which offers southern comfort food as a nod to her roots.
“I feel that there’s not enough southern food up in the north,” Whittington said. “I want people to experience the happiness of southern food.”
There’s plenty of southern flair on the menu, from a “hog wild hot dog,” featuring mustard, relish, jalapenos and bacon, to pork rinds and Cheerwine, a North Carolina-made soda. But it’s the fried chicken sandwich that she’s most proud of.
“I actually marinate it with half buttermilk and half dill pickle juice, and that’s what makes it so juicy,” Whittington said. “And then I serve it with my homemade coleslaw, dill pickles and sassy sauce.”
Sassy sauce is a mildly spicy sauce made with Duke’s Mayonnaise, another touch that’s “almost impossible to find in the north.”
“Everything you make with it tastes better,” Whittington said. “If you’re not using Duke’s in the south, people will judge you.”
Pulled pork, corn dogs and collard greens are soon to be added to the menu, which will continue to develop as time goes on.
“It was things that I grew up eating combined with items that I could cook fresh quickly and get out to the customer,” Whittington said.
For dessert, the truck offers fried Oreos, fried Snickers and her homemade vanilla based “Nanner Puddin.”
“It’s all homemade,” Whittington said. “I just don’t grow the bananas.”
Vittles has been in the works for over a year, though the truck has only been in operation for the last two weeks. But even in such a short timespan, it’s been a hit.
“I’m already booked every weekend until January,” Whittington said. “So I would say it’s been a success.”
Whittington hopes to expand to multiple trucks in the future, creating “a little fleet.” She also has plans to grow her footprint with stops at places like Quinnipiac University, which hosts several food trucks across its campuses every week.
Vittles will next be set up at the Durham, Connecticut, Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 4.
One reply on “Vittles Food Truck bringing southern flair to Connecticut”
I lived in GA for 20 years. It’s a taste that is acquired, if you’re not from the south. I miss it. I was a chef for 40 years and 20 of them were in GA. Hope to see you someday soon.