In Philadelphia, Food Trucks are Rolling FOOD trucks used to be fleeting purveyors of adventurous cuisine, so hard to locate that following the right Twitter feed was the only way to find them. Now, they are a nearly inescapable part of the culinary landscape in many cities, as common as trucker hats once were among their clientele. In fact, the indie food-truck operators who tweet their location of the day to those in the know in Philadelphia have been retweeted by the likes of Le Meridien, a luxury hotel in Center City across from a plaza where many trucks set up. That a hotel would promote trucks across the street in addition to its own upscale brasserie is an indication that food trucks, as overexposed as they seem, have their merits: they churn out reliably good, affordable food that you wouldn't find on an average menu. And in Philadelphia, the scene is far from reaching its saturation point. "There's definitely a growing trend in the area of gourmet food trucks," said Andrew Gerson, founder of the Philadelphia Mobile Food Association. Out of 48 members, almost 20 of them are new trucks, and 10 have started in just the last year. The best way to experience Philadelphia's still surging street-food scene is at one of the city's Night Markets, organized by the local nonprofit Food Trust, with financing from the William Penn Foundation. In the market, first held in October 2010, a battalion of trucks (and other mobile food vendors) converges on a designated stretch of a particular neighborhood. This year's first two events will take place in the Northern Liberties neighborhood on May 24, on Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia, across from the city's historic Italian Market, on June 28, and in Mount Airy on Aug. 16. Philadelphia has this amazing local food scene. We just wanted to find a way to promote that," said Diana Iskolsky Minkus, night market coordinator for the Food Trust, explaining that inspiration came from pop-up events developed by vendors" organizations in places like San Francisco as well as the fabled night markets of Hong Kong and Taiwan. One of this year's newcomers is Matthew Feldman's Lucky Old Souls burger truck (luckyoldsouls.com; Twitter: @LOSBurgerTruck), which sources grass-fed beef from nearby Lancaster County and tops the L.O.S. burger ($9) with house-cured bacon, smoked Cheddar, pickled tomatoes and sautéed onions. Look for the dense maple black pepper milkshake ($6.25) made from a local favorite, Bassetts Ice Cream. Another participant is Pitruco Pizza, (pitrucopizza.com; Twitter: @pitrucopizza), a mobile trailer home to a brick-lined wood-fired oven that is run by three childhood friends from northwest Philadelphia. The 900-degree heat provides just a touch of char on 11-inch pies like the radicchio ($9), which includes wild mushrooms and mozzarella and is finished with Parmesan and balsamic vinegar. Even the Iron Chef winner Jose Garces, head of a small empire of critically acclaimed restaurants centered in Philadelphia, has jumped into the fray with his Guapos Tacos (guapostacos.com; Twitter: @guapostacos) truck, whose exterior is patterned with thousands of bottle caps. Unconventional options include duck barbacoa ($8), the tender meat topped with kimchi and peanuts. For dessert, search out the Sweetbox (iheartsweetphilly.com; Twitter: @SweetBoxTruck) truck, wrapped in a boldly colored custom design courtesy of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. The owner Gretchen Fantini's cupcakes are modest in size but hefty in flavor, especially her favorite, a moist yet crumbly chocolate covered with a thick swipe of chocolate ganache ($3). "Considering the trucks that are out there now and the trucks that are planning to open, this could be a great thing for Philly," Mr. Feldman said. It could become something that Philly becomes known for.