Public Affairs Gastropub food truck bringing good late-night eats to downtown Pensacola

After Doan Truong recently moved into the heart of downtown Pensacola, he realized that options for good food start to dwindle as the night goes on. Not only did he want to provide something fresh to his downtown neighbors, but he was getting tired of ordering pizza every night.

He wanted to appeal to those who were out late but still craving a home-cooked meal. As a lifelong chef who grew up eating and learning his mother’s authentic Vietnamese cooking, he decided to start a food truck and offer his own late night food option.

Now, Public Affairs Gastropub food truck is ready to roll into downtown.

“I’m looking to get into the late-night demographic,” he said. “You go to all these bars; you need the food to go with it.”

He said cooking was ingrained in him at an early age. His mother, one of 14 siblings and a home cook since the age of 11, taught him if he was hungry, he needed good food, not junk food. This meant he never indulged in the childhood snacks his friends grew up on, like Goldfish or Fruit Roll-Ups.

“She would always cook food from scratch for us,” he said. “As a kid — we had no snacks.”

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Though you won’t find many Vietnamese items on the menu, he was influenced by her cooking style. Since Vietnam was colonized by French, he said a lot of the techniques she grew up with had French influence.

The knowledge that he did not naturally pick up from his mom, he learned in formal culinary school at Johnson & Wales University. That lead him to a career in education, teaching others about culinary arts.

“I have loved cooking since I was 10,” he said. “That’s something I’ve always been passionate about.”

Truong’s vision for his own business was to create all the foods that would embody a gastropub, but without the brews, since his restaurant must adhere to strict regulations since it is on wheels. He said he is hoping his smokehouse-style menu will encourage people to “follow their nose” to him while they're strolling through the streets of Pensacola.

The menu items are familiar enough to appeal to the average barfly — like a house burger, fries or grilled cheese — but come with a twist.

Truong‘s signature fries, for instance, aren’t just pulled out a freezer, but transformed into a poutine ($11) with hand-cut, skin on potatoes loaded with gravy, cheese curds and green onions.

After a long night out, Truong said there are few things he finds more satisfying.

“You can tell someone was drunk when they made this,” he said.

His grilled cheese is also crafted with different layers of flavor. It is topped with a tomato jam, balanced by the sharp tang of cheddar, a creamy provolone, thick bacon and a sliced brioche ($11.) If you want to make it a little heartier, you can opt to pile on a stack of his Texas-style smoked brisket.

“I was making sure (they were) items people were familiar with without pushing them over the edge,” Truong said of creating his menu.

The smoked meat varieties do not stop there, as Truong has crafted dishes to reflect different regions of the world.

A smoked pulled chicken serves as the star of his Alabama chicken sandwich ($13) topped with bacon, provolone, white BBQ and served on a homestyle potato bun.

The char sui pork, a Cantonese style of barbecued pork, is cured to compliment his homemade banh mi sauce, cucumber, cilantro, pickled veggies and French bread in his Char Sui Banh Mi ($13.50).

Aside from the handhelds, Truong also showcases four entrees in his inaugural menu, like a chicken yakitori rice bowl ($12) made with chargrilled chicken and green onion skewers, broken jasmine, tare glaze, green onion confit and togarashi, a Japanese chili.

Truong is still popping up around town attempting to find the right spot, but hopes to stay in the downtown vicinity. Some may have spotted the baby blue truck in one of his trial pop-ups this past week at locations like the Corinne Jones Park or the corner of South Reus and Government streets.

Truong said the menu is not set in stone and provides him with flexibility to give people what they need.

“If the menu doesn’t take well to the people of Pensacola, I can just change it,” Truong said.

Those looking to get a taste of Truong’s creations can follow him along on Facebook for truck locations and hours. Orders can either be placed in-person or online using the Clover app.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola food truck Public Affairs Gastropub to bring late-night eats