HAVEN EXPRESS

Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★

Smoked meats, wings, & comfort food

Standout Dishes: Philly Egg Rolls; Spicy Lemon Pepper Wings; Kool-Aid Pickles

The Haven Express food truck is essentially a backyard BBQ on wheels. Between the classic cookout dishes like wings and smoked meats and the jovial, welcoming nature of chef/owner DeVaute Nunn, Haven Express has both the flavors and ethos of a neighborhood gathering.

A gathering, that is, hosted by a guy who has a serious handle on flavor and the confidence to pull off some unique dishes.

Nunn started the truck in 2020 as a labor of love, and it became so successful that he chose to take it on full time. His food has a general theme—smoked meats presented in various ways, some much more unexpected than others.

Haven Express is best known for posting up at 2408 Leavenworth in the parking lot across from the now closed 11 Worth Cafe. As the truck has gotten more popular and is booked for events, it’s located less frequently at its expected location. Consider it best to check Haven Express’ social media posts at the beginning of each week to see its schedule.

And loosen the belt buckle when you visit, because you’re going to break your diet at Haven Express. Most items involve cheese sauce, deep frying, or both, and DeVaute doesn’t hold back on the portion sizes. His signature dish is called The Big Back (a slang term used to describe a gluttonous eater) for a reason.

But the flavors are so good that you’ll want to keep eating long after your hunger is satiated.

You’ll find smoked meat in nearly all of Haven Express’ dishes, and the proteins give a solid baseline to start with. The smoked beef is tender and deeply savory with just the right amount of smoke. The pork is a bit tougher and lacks the lusciousness of perfect pulled pork, but it’s a perfectly acceptable meat, especially when slathered in sauce.

The Big Back (pictured in the header photo) combines two of Haven Express’ most popular dishes—wings and loaded fries—into one combo meal. The wings are breaded, giving them a crispy, battered exterior. The meat remains pretty juicy and, though the wings could be larger, provides a great baseline for the sauce.

The Spicy Lemon Pepper is the most popular flavor, and it’s not hard to understand why. The buttery heat of buffalo sauce dances with the acidic heat of lemon pepper, crafting a unique sauce that truly makes the wings sing.

The base of the Loaded Saucy Fries is a standard crinkle cut that doesn’t stand a chance at staying crispy with everything Haven Express loads on top. That includes the protein of your choice, a tangy BBQ sauce, and a heavy, creamy cheese sauce, the latter two combining to create one sweet, rich amalgamation. It’s a mess of a dish, but one you can’t stop digging your fork into.

Pork and beef appear once more on the Smoked BBQ Sandwich, which simply dunks about 6 ounces of meat is BBQ sauce and loads it onto a bun. The bun isn’t toasted, and there are no pickles or onions to add texture and acidity, but as far as a basic pulled pork sandwich goes, you can do a lot worse.

Haven Express switches up the protein in its most beloved dish: the Philly Egg Rolls. Tender, well-seasoned steak and gobs of mozzarella cheese are rolled in a wonton wrapper to order and deep fried, giving the exterior a hearty crunch. The steak is delicious, and the luscious cheese practically jumps out of the roll with each bite.

It’s often nice to end a heavy, salty meal with a sweet note, and Haven Express happily obliges. The Peach Roll is basically what you’d get if you combined peach pie and an egg roll, dusted with powdered sugar. It’s sinfully delicious.

And the Kool Aid Pickles are tasty as they are simple. The tang of the dill spears is complemented by the sweet, fruity flavor of the sugary drink of your childhood.

The pickles explain what Haven Express does rather nicely. They deliver flavors you’re familiar with and bring nostalgia, but presented in a new way. That innovation, combined with DeVaute’s gregarious, outgoing personality, make this a food truck worth seeking out.