El Fat Cat, Esterno’s named to top 10 list for food trucks in Washington

Two Tri-Cities food trucks — El Fat Cat Grill, 539 Edison St. in Kennewick, and Esterno’s Wood Fired Pizza, 88 Wellsian Way in Richland — have been honored as among the best in Washington by a travel website.

They were named on the “Washington’s 10 best food trucks to try” list, compiled by The Culture Trip.

Felix Sanchez, El Fat Cat Grill owner and chef, said it’s special to be honored alongside food trucks in larger metropolitan areas like Seattle.

“Being from Eastern Washington and the Columbia Basin, it’s awesome,” Sanchez said. “It brings more recognition for all of us.”

El Fat Cat Grill prides itself on being more of a mobile gourmet restaurant than a taco truck. It serves cheeseburgers, as well as a selection of tortas, burritos and tostadas, offered up with a variety of salsas.

The website notes that El Fat Cat Grill’s offerings change to accommodate the chef’s creativity. It specifically recommended the Firecracker Burger, made with Thai chili, habanero sauce, pickled onion, jalapeno, lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo and house mayo on a sweet bun. Visitors are warned to bring cash, because the truck doesn’t accept credit cards.

Sanchez and his wife, Jenny, moved the business in 2012 from a brick-and-mortar site in Kennewick because the building’s owner raised the rent. They’ve been based out of a 24-foot trailer since that time.

Business recently has been strong at the truck, Sanchez said.

“It was a little bit of a struggle trying to get people out here being a food truck,” he said.

The Culture Trip touts Esterno’s because the family-owned business, which opened in 2012, offers a variety of build-your-own or specialty pies. Among the thin-crust pizzas the website recommends is the carne amante, made with red sauce, fresh mozzarella, small smoked pepperoni, large pepperoni, Italian sausage, onion, bacon and fresh tomatoes. It calls the pizza a “tantalizing choice.”

Esterno’s owners could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The Culture Trip provides recommendations to travelers about places around the world. Its rankings include restaurants, museums and music venues.

Seattle led The Culture Trip’s Washington top 10 list with four food trucks selected. Spokane, Olympia, Vancouver and Sequim had one truck each.

This story was originally published February 17, 2015 at 8:38 PM with the headline "El Fat Cat, Esterno’s named to top 10 list for food trucks in Washington."