GoodTaste

Two fine Philly trucks, one great dessert

As one of Philly's more ambitious food trucks, Street Food has always offered interesting desserts, from salted fudge brownies to bananas Foster flambéed in the take-out window. So when chefs and co-owners Michael Sultan and Carolyn Nguyen opened their second truck, Taco Mondo, a signature dessert was in order: Latin tres leches cake with a fusion twist - a Vietnamese coffee cream soak nodding to Nguyen's heritage. But one day Sultan accidentally left the Vietnamese coffee back at the garage. So he turned for help to friend and neighboring 33d Street food trucker, Jonathan Adams. Adams (a.k.a. "Johnny Mac") of the Rival Bros. Coffee truck put his old chef pants back on and whipped up a custard so good - his Whistle & Cuss espresso sweetened with brown sugar, then mixed with condensed milk, heavy cream, and whole milk - I managed to wait until the entire wedge of lime-zest-scented yellow cake had soaked up every last drop before plunging my fork in. The accidental tres leches, it turns out, was a sweet triumph of caffeinated neighborly collaboration. - Craig LaBan
Tres leches cake with Rival Bros. coffee sauce, $3, Taco Mondo truck, usually at 33d and Arch Streets or the Porch. Follow on Twitter: @TacoMondo