Not only is Roti Rolls consistently voted Charleston's best food truck, but for a time it was the South Carolina city's one and only food truck! To be sure, the "Green Machine" is always a welcome sight on the streets, serving roti parathas padded with Caribbean-, Asian- and Indian-inspired fillings made from locally grown ingredients. Think the Funky Farmer with coconut-green-curried local vegetables, the Thurman Murman with braised local short rib and Creole mac 'n' cheese, and the Shrimpin' Ain't Easy, featuring pickled local shrimp and butter bean chow-chow.

"Eat Healthy for a Good Cause" is the motto at Fava Pot, a beloved D.C. truck that's also birthed a brick-and-mortar business. That means every purchase of gluten-free fava bean falafel, antibiotic-free grilled Cornish hens sprinkled with sumac, and Egypt's vegetarian street staple, koshary (lentils, rice, chickpeas and pasta, bathed in spicy tomato sauce) goes to fund founder Dina Daniel's work with Coptic Orphans. Building on their Valuable Girl Project (a development program that empowers young women through educational mentoring), she currently sponsors Coptic Girl Rising, offering scholarships to gifted girls with college aspirations.

Nong Poonsukwattana immigrated from Bangkok to Oregon back in 2003, with $70, two suitcases and one badass recipe for khao man gai. And as it turns out, that's all she really needed to open one of the most-sought-after mobile food vending operations in one of America's most-food truck-obsessed cities. Not only has Nong been on the receiving end of major, high-profile press (everywhere from The New York Times to the Washington Post, as well as CNN, Ted Talks, Eater, Munchies and more), but she was able to open a restaurant too, on the strength of a single dish. All patrons need to do is order white or dark meat, from free-range chicken simmered in ginger, garlic and pandan. The chicken is served with a concentrated broth made from the poaching liquid, and jasmine rice toasted in the poultry's rendered fat.

Who knew that those freezer-section potato nuggets could form the basis of an entire business? Yes, the tots at St. Paul's mobile spud slinger come courtesy of good old Ore-Ida, while the truck tends to indulgent toppings. Here, tots are wrapped in bacon, substituted for corn chips in nachos, tricked out like pizza, doused in gravy and cheese curds for poutine, and even styled into that Minnesota staple, hot dish — a meat, veggie and canned-soup casserole paved with crunchy tots.