#WeAreHuntsville Blogs • We Are Huntsville

RickyHSV’s Favorite Food Trucks

April 16, 2021 By Ricky Garcia 1 Comment

Beast Mode!
That’s RickyHSV’s Favorite Food Truck in Huntsville. Have you found yours?

Huntsville has a very active and accessible food truck scene. From company parking lots, NASA Food Truck Corral, downtown Food Truck Rallies, neighborhood Club House visits, and even some with semi-permanent locations. Most operate for a couple of hours during lunch and/or dinner. Here are my top tips to make your next Food Truck Adventure a success!

Follow Them!

Like their Facebook page. Most post weekly schedules on Monday.

Find Them!

Plug the location into GPS and roll out! You can usually spot them upon arrival. If it’s at a larger company you can find them in the employee parking lots.

Enjoy!

The Following are the Top Food Trucks that I recommend you check out. Along with hotspot locations and items to try.

Beast Mode

This is my favorite truck in town. You can usually find them at the UAH campus Monday-Wednesday from 11am-1pm and 4:30pm-7pm. Check their Facebook page for specific location updates and Daily specials. I recommend you try their Cuban Burger and loaded chips.

New South Hot Dog and Sushi

The Hottest Truck in town! This truck is usually out 4-6 days a week. You can find them ALL over the rocket city area. From New market, Hampton cove, downtown Huntsville, South Huntsville, and sometimes even Decatur. No matter where you live chances are they’re coming to your neck of the woods this week. Every First Friday of each Month, May-October, they will be downtown at big spring park taking part in the Trucks vs Trailers food rallies.
Try their amazing crunchy Dog!

FastFrankies

Here you will find Mr. and Mrs. WickedEats rocking out as they serve up burritos and southern greatness!

Be sure to try anything that has their famous spicy Mac n Cheese.
I recommend their NEW “Pork-U-Leese” Burrito. This truck will be rocking out downtown at the park on every 3rd Friday of each month May to October.

Get Loaded

Here you can choose from Baked Potatoes, Fries, Fry Bread, or Nachos and Mickey will “LOAD ‘em up” for you. I mean, you gotta try the fry bread! A savory cushion of fried dough loaded your choice of meat and toppings. Downtown at the park every 3rd Friday of each month May to October.

Level UP Burgers

The newest Truck in town. That everyone should try. My favorite thing in the menu is their Master Chief Burger. But I hear their Level UP fries are where very popular as well! You can also find these guys downtown at the park on the first Friday of every month from May to October.

The Pink Pig

Is Home to one of The Top Four spots for Pulled pork in the state of Alabama, Alabama Pork Producers. I visited this truck in the RAIN! And I wasn’t alone two other cars pulled up and walked to the window as we waited for our turn to try out one of the best. Of course you’re going to try the pork, But if you get lucky enough and they haven’t run out by the time you get there, get some of their fried pickles. One of their trucks is usually in Moulton AL in front of the Walmart. The other rolls out beyond so make sure to follow them! Find Them! Enjoy!

Just Wing it

That’s right a chicken wings and more food truck! You can find them on Mondays informing iron Such-n-Such in Decatur. Spicy chicken and waffles. Don’t let the name fool you. There’s no waffles here. Travis has created one of the most delicious wing flavors I’ve ever tried. Make sure you at least try this sauce. Get a gallon of it if they ever start selling it.

Nanny’s Old Fashioned Lemonade

Sophie and I Love their lemonade! They have a fleet of stands, trucks, and trailers that are present at almost every major event across Madison county.

Happi Pappi Beignets

Early morning, lunch and dinner, they are up and frying up powdered sugar clouds of joy. With two trucks this year one will be at the Trash Pandas Stadium all season long! So if it’s Saturday and you want beignets. Go to the trash pandas stadium and try them out!

2 Chicks on a Roll

Best Brussels sprouts in the city! I also love their cheesesteak sliders. you can usually find them in Hazel green as well as rolling about in Huntsville.

Nice ICE Baby

Yes it’s punny yes it’s delicious! If you’re one to sing along every time Sweet Caroline comes on the radio Then you’ll love their new Sweet Caroline Caramel shaved Ice! They’re usually at Fern Ball Park in south HSV. Be sure to follow them! Find Them! And sing along as you enjoy their shaved ice creations.

Go Doggz

Downtown late night eats are taken care of by these two brothers. As you’re enjoying the downtown night life you can’t miss them. I sat behind the brothers and watched them dish out dozens of hotdogs to hungry customers with efficiency and grace. You walk up tell em what you want on your Doggz and boom! Before you realize you’re standing in the middle of the street, there’s a hotdog in your hand.
Downtown Friday and Saturday nights in front of Sammy T’s.

Valentina’s Kitchen

After my previous “RickyHSV’s Top Ten Tacos” blog, you guys demanded to know why Valentina’s wasn’t on that list. The support for this truck was amazing, so of course I had to try them out. I’ve never been able to find a Torta that I actually liked here in town, until now!

You can choose your meat of course, but when I saw the words “cochinita pibil” on that menu, I was sold! Get a sample of it. Get 8 tacos it. Or do like I did and get a torta with it. But make sure you try their cochinita pibil. They are on the corner of Jeff and 72. I know you’ve seen them. Now pull over and try them out!

If you’ve made it this far in the blog, Thank You. Genuinely. I appreciate your time and I will continue to hunt down all things Food in and beyond Huntsville. #RickyHSV

Stanlieo’s Celebrates 50 Years

April 15, 2021 By Bo Williams 2 Comments

All it takes to see what Stanlieo’s Sub Villa means to Huntsville is sitting at a table in the dining room with founder Glenn Watson and his daughter Connie Ward. There is a continuous stream of decades-long customers saying hello, and they know them all by name and anecdote.

(No small feat, as Stanlieo’s turns 50 this May.)

After stints in the United States Air Force and at the University of Alabama, Watson discovered that while Huntsville was a delightful place, there were no sub shops. So, after aggressively apprenticing (for no pay!) at a sub shop called Santoro’s in Boston, as well as an intense tenure in senior roles at the flagship local Burger King, he opened Stanlieo’s in 1971, one door south of the current location on Jordan Lane.

(And Jordan Lane was the edge of town back then.)

Poetically (for Huntsville), there is a solid connection to the defense industry from the very beginning. “The day I opened the door, I had four one-dollar bills to my name,” Watson remembers. “If it hadn’t been for my wife Alice, who really is more responsible for Stanlieo’s success than I am (but people don’t believe that)…her check came in from Lockheed and paid the first payroll.”

Watson worked seven days a week for over a year to get Stanlieo’s off the ground. He also credits Alessandro’s, a long-departed bakery that allowed him to work at night to bake and perfect his bread (which today has the same recipe from 1971). And Ward mentions longtime area wholesaler Halsey Foodservice, who extended Stanlieo’s a line of credit back when “nobody gave lines of credit, especially to a brand-new restaurant.”

Oakwood University (then Oakwood College) also played an interesting role in the early success of Stanlieo’s. In 1973, when a group of students came in and said they were vegetarians, Watson created the “Oakwood Special”–three slices each of Swiss, American, and provolone. This led to Oakwood students educating Watson about the soy-based “meat” products they enjoyed, and Watson’s creation of sandwiches from the products. From then on, Stanlieo’s operated (and operates) with extended hours on Oakwood’s annual alumni weekend, enjoying robust support.

There is a menu full of marvelous sandwiches at Stanlieo’s, and I’ve had quite a few of them. Many of them have been on the menu from the beginning. I’ve never ordered one that I didn’t enjoy and finish.

But if there is an official sandwich of Huntsville, the Kitchen Sink is it. Packing Genoa salami, cotto salami, ham, turkey, roast beef, cappicola, pepperoni, Swiss, American, and provolone, it’s a full pound of deliciousness. I got the impression talking to Mr. Watson that it is slightly more popular hot, but I always get mine cold because I think the pickles, onions, tomatoes, and oregano really pop that way. Moreover, it’s the same experience every time I get it. That core consistency is why people are loyal to Stanlieo’s (and their menu favorites).

There have been different locations and dabblings in franchising over the years. Today there are locations on Jordan Lane and Governors Drive. So how about another 50 years? When I put the question to Ward, who has captained the Stanlieo’s ship since shortly after the turn of the century, she says “why not? Maybe one of my nephews.”

That’s excellent news for lovers of marvelous food.

Stanlieo’s Sub Villa
Huntsville

605 Jordan Lane
(256) 837-7220

602 Governors Drive
(256) 536-6585

Supporting and Learning about the AAPI Community

April 15, 2021 By Amanda Welch Leave a Comment

Even I can be a Disney Princess

Growing up in the 90s and being an Asian American girl in Alabama, I knew I was different and it was evident through the way I looked and in the way I was treated by others. I am half Filipina and was born on Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Philippines, ultimately ending up in Huntsville, Alabama with my family. As a child I found myself desperately wishing I had blonde hair and blue eyes, often being tragically made to feel the way I looked was inadequate. I was bullied and developed self – esteem issues. Rarely did I see Asian girls, much less South East Asian girls, being represented on the big screen, and they were definitely never the main character. (Reader beware, I am sure you did not realize I was going to take you down a road of savage truths, but they are my truths and maybe if it helps one person then it will be worth it.)

These types of behaviors and bullying still occur today, as evident through the many recent hate crimes ravaging throughout the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. I was, and still am, a minority, but thankfully I have grown and learned so much to help me become the strong and confident woman I am today. These experiences have led me to understand how powerful representation is for minorities. Now as an adult I am excited when films such as Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Finding Ohana are created. I felt I was always the “sidekick,” never the main character. When I watch movies such as these and I look at the main character, I see a woman who looks similar to me. I see a woman who looks like she could be my aunt or cousin. Respectful representation is needed in the media, because it allows individuals within the AAPI community to feel included, and helps to undo decades of harmful and stereotypical misrepresentation. The AAPI community receiving positive representation is so important and gives children and adults the confidence and support that I felt was lacking during my childhood.

The current events affecting the AAPI community have been tragic. As a member of the AAPI community, I feel a responsibility to help others learn about what is going on. It is important to understand that we are all different, and these differences are what make us unique and should be respected. I composed a list of five ways you and your loved ones can learn about and support the AAPI community.

Do not be afraid to have those difficult conversations with loved ones. Sometimes the hardest conversations we need to have are with the people we care about the most. Communication is key, and change cannot happen until you speak up against people’s racism and hate.
Talk to the AAPI individuals in your lives. Ask how you can advocate and make a safe space for them.
Support your local AAPI owned small businesses! Here is a list of my local favorites! If I left anyone out, let us know!

Liz Kusina Filipino Restaurant
Big Oh’s
Viet Cuisine
Haru
Viet Huong Vietnamese Restuarant
Thai Garden
Champy’s Madison

Donate to a reputable charity to support a worthy cause on behalf of the AAPI Community

NAPIESV | National Organization of Asians and Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence

Asian Pacific Fund | COVID-19 Recovery Fund

Asian Mental Health Collective (asianmhc.org)

the center for asian pacific american women (apawomen.org)

Share resources with others.

View All Resources | AAPIP

Mountain Cabin Camping at Monte Sano

April 15, 2021 By Helen Brown Leave a Comment

With the many challenges this world has faced this year, sometimes you simply need to get away, even if it is just for a weekend. It is no mystery one of my favorite places to spend time in Huntsville is at Monte Sano State Park, so this is where my story begins. I have enjoyed so many fun-filled times bonding with my friends and family over the years at Monte Sano, it is impossible to say which time I loved the most. This last camping trip proved no exception. Along with my boyfriend Brandon, I simply could not stand being quarantined to the degree I had been any longer. So, we took to Monte Sano, this time cabin camping being the only option.

Monte Sano, meaning “mountain of health,” has many visitors that enjoy a variety of activities. These activities include mountain scenery, hiking trails, 14 rustic cabins, 11 original CCC cabins erected by the Civilian Conservation Corps, primitive camping, buildings for business meetings, open air grilling and fireplaces, family and friendly gatherings, weddings, and a waterfall near the scenic perch right as you enter the park on the right, when Huntsville receives a lot of rain. Although I hoped for better weather, as any camper knows, the weather sometimes is what it is. So, as we ascended the mountain, I felt as if we were in a Robert Frost poem. It was as if we were in a cloud, everything around us surrounded by fog. However, it was simply amazing.

Despite the rain, and that my car got stuck in the front yard in the first 30 minutes of arriving, in which I had to be towed, Brandon and I had such a relaxing trip. It ended up being an eerily cozy time, nestled up there in the fog, overlooking the skyline of Huntsville’s twinkling, city lights. We stayed in Cabin 1 for the entire weekend, with all the amenities of a hotel but with the atmosphere and charm a cabin in the woods has to offer.

With just the two of us, Brandon and I burned all the firewood we had just because we could. We enjoyed cooking camp food in the kitchenette, eating our weight in beef jerky, as well as admiring the stone architecture, drinking wine, and gazing into the fireplace for hours on end. Ironically, after my parents and I visited Monte Sano over six years ago, and upon choosing to stay at Monte Sano instead of a hotel, that I decided to give up the hustle and bustle of New Orleans and move to Huntsville and start a different life. One could say that Monte Sano has always called to me at pivotal times in my life. The cabin we stayed in, Cabin 1, offered two beds, a kitchenette, silverware, cookware, a refrigerator, cable T.V., a bathroom with all the towels and amenities you would need for a weekend getaway.

The generous staff were extremely accommodating, offering firewood delivery, allowing privacy, and the camp store offer any amenity or food items you might forget. There is also a coin operated laundromat if you need to wash your clothes, perfect for make packing a little lighter. It really is the perfect couples retreat or an individual’s paradise if solitude is needed. As they have a new online camping reservation tool, it is extremely convenient to see what dates are available for cabin reservations online, although it is always fun to go into the camp store, to get a quick hike in, and see exactly what is available in person. The cabins go very quickly, so if interested be sure to strike while the iron’s hot, just remember to not park in the yard at any cost while unloading supplies. I hope you can enjoy the low maintenance of cabin camping just like I did, enjoy the serenity the mountains have to offer, and that you continue to support our beautiful Alabama State Parks.

Website: Monte Sano State Park at alapark.com
Location: 5105 Nolen Ave. Huntsville, AL 35801
Phone Numbers: (256) 534-3757, (256) 534-6589
Hours: Office Hours 7 days a week 8am-5:00pm, trails close 30 minutes prior to sunset.

5 Things to do This Weekend – April 16

April 14, 2021 By Katelyn Henderson Leave a Comment

Your weekend has arrived and here are the things you should do!

Things to do This Weekend in Huntsville, AL, April 16 – 18, 2021

1. Throwback Night

Date: Friday, April 16
Time: 7pm
Location: VBC
Event Information

Join us in honoring Havoc legends as the Havoc take the ice as the Huntsville Channel Cats!

2. Yoga at The Camp

Date: Saturday, April 17
Time: 9:30am
Location: MidCity/Camp
Event Information

Join for free, all-ages, all-levels yoga at MidCity! Our Saturday morning yoga sessions are led by several amazing instructors in our region.

3. Tennessee Valley Music Showcase

Date: Saturday, April 17
Time: 2pm
Location: Mars Music Hall
Event Information

The Tennessee Valley Music Showcase features an awesome lineup of talented local artists.

4. The Market at MidCity

Date: Sunday, April 18
Time: 1pm
Location: Midcity/The Camp
Event Information

Huntsville’s Market for Farmers, Artisans, Makers, Growers, Musicians, and more!
Each week they host between 35-45 local businesses and farmers so you can shop small every Sunday.

5. Music for Healthcare All-Day Fest

Date: Sunday, April 18
Time: 7pm
Location: Stovehouse
Event Information

Bands hit the stage at Stovehouse to raise awareness and funds for the Community Free Clinic of Huntsville.

For even more stuff to do, check out our Events Calendar!

Passion for Pints: A look at Mad Malts Brewing

April 14, 2021 By Ben Ackerman Leave a Comment

“On the wrong side of the railroad tracks and out in left field.”

That is how Chris Bramon, one of the owners of Mad Malts Brewing, would describe his business, and he isn’t wrong.

Located off of Meridian Street just north of 565, they are quite literally across the railroad tracks from the majority of the Huntsville breweries that occupy downtown and Campus 805, and when you have beers that incorporate yams and kudzu into their recipes, you can understand what Chris means.

Their location is very easy to miss, and probably a little off the beaten path from most people’s excursions. Their unassuming building (a simple white, metal, building) is a far cry from many other flashier breweries. A peek inside reveals even more simplicity: a big open space with concrete floors and ample seating, and more seating and space out back where they host live music and events. “We dug bands out of garages and anywhere else we could”, Chris exclaimed. It is eclectic and unique, but it fits right in with what Mad Malts is doing.

“We run a smaller footprint, which means we can be more experimental and try things that interest us,” Chris explained.

Mad Malts, as it sits today, was founded around 2015, but they have been a part of the Huntsville beer scene much longer than that. The team originally opened as the Brew Stooges and operated as such for a couple of years, until the family of a similarly-named TV comedy trio issued a cease-and-desist letter to the team. That is when Chris, along with his partner Jeff Peck sat down and came up with the new name.

“We sat down, wrote some names down. Had a few beers. Wrote some more names down. Drank more beer. The names got more creative as we went along, surprisingly,” Chris chuckled. The team were left with 3 pages of new names, which they then went through and researched all the possible monikers until they narrowed it down to a few that weren’t already in usage, one of which was Mad Malts. The team of two engineers describe themselves as a little crazy, and their beers seem to be more on the malty side, so it stuck.

6 years later, the team is still going strong, cranking out great beers and filling a niche in the exploding Huntsville beer scene that is needed. Their beer lineup offers many solid standards such as their Hefeweizen, which is a true-to-form take on the German standard with strong notes of banana and clove. There is also their Winkie’s Bitter, a traditional English-style bitter made exclusively for Poppy and Parliament. Bready and malty with a good toffee and caramel taste, it reminded me of the great bitter beers I had living in England years ago. Add in to this line up their Cajun Steamer Bayou Amber, a crisp and refreshing amber made to pair nicely with the offerings from local joint Cajun Steamer and you have good beers that even your “regular” beer drinker would enjoy.

Where they shine though, and the real reason places like Mad Malts excites me, is in their unique, experimental beers.

Take their Yam I Am, a beer that gushes fall flavors, but I would happily enjoy year-round. Exuding sweetness from the sweet potatoes, it is balanced out well with ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. Try it rimmed with brown sugar to elevate that taste.

If you need something a little more quenching for the warmer weather, their Dirty Blonde is an easy drinking blonde ale with a little nuttiness. You can also go for their Raspberry Blonde, which is their blonde ale with notes of raspberries and honey to really sweeten and mellow the beer. They also take their already-fantastic Imperial IPA, and amp it up with flavors in their Blood Orange IPA.

I am anxiously awaiting the return of the Alabama Gose, a riff on a soured-hefeweizen that brings in a little salt and ground kudzu to make a beer that is unique and delicious.

Sitting down with Chris as he worked on a part for one of their tanks and gushed over all the ideas they have for beers, it is clear the passion he and his partners have and the care they put in, even with the set-backs of the last year. He said Federal and State aid has helped a lot, but it still hurt because they just weren’t able to move volume.

“No one was going out,” Chris said, “so sales took a hit, which really made it hard.” It hit so hard they dropped to 20% of their core business, and lost a lot of their distribution footprint outside of Huntsville. Now that things are opening back up, however, they are focusing on re-expanding to markets like Birmingham and on down I-65 to Mobile.

They aren’t forgetting their core market, though, which is and always will be the Rocket City.

“What we love is being that place where people can just come in, stand around the bar, try new and exciting beers, and talk about them for 20-30 minutes,” Chris said.

That passion for beer and their clientele is what makes Mad Malts special. The personality driven by the former NASA employees and love for the town is different in a very good way. It is a unique vibe that can’t be found anywhere else in the area and translates directly into the beer they make and the creativity they push through the new beers they create. Combined with their great lineup of local music and other events, it makes for an exciting and welcome addition to the local beer scene.

Be sure to check out their Facebook page for their upcoming events: Facebook.com/MadMaltsBrewing1