A popular Bluffton food truck has been on the streets for 15 months, and locals have quickly developed a taste for it.
Slap!Truck, owned by chef Matt Valentino, combines fine-dining quality with approachable, street-style eats.
“I wanted to bring my fine dining touch to things with my tastes and quality of food that I’m selling, but I also wanted to create a menu that was fun and create an experience that when you come to the truck, it’s not like ordering at a white tablecloth restaurant,” Valentino told What Now Charleston.
Valentino moved to Bluffton more than 20 years ago and studied at the Culinary Institute of Savannah. He has worked in kitchens across the region, including Palmetto Bluff, Michael Anthony’s, OMBRA and McCrady’s in Charleston. Most recently, he was known for opening The Pearl Kitchen + Bar in Old Town Bluffton.
With years of culinary experience, Valentino said he didn’t want to focus on just one food concept. While he’s currently updating the menu, the truck is known for its popular variety of smash burgers and chicken sandwiches, each with a unique name.
“When I first opened, I was doing smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, footlong hot dogs, wings and appetizers,” he said. “But I’ve noticed that a lot of people want more desserts and drinks, so I’m trying to create a custom menu.”
The name Slap!Truck came from a teenage dishwasher at a restaurant where Valentino once worked. After trying a dish, the teen would often say it “slaps,” and the phrase stuck.
One lesson Valentino has learned from operating a kitchen on wheels is that demand is constant.
“I kind of just noticed that people just want my food,” he said.
Given the truck’s popularity, Valentino hopes to eventually launch a second truck.
“Financially and logically, it would make more sense to double what I’m doing and just make another truck that’s also called Slap!Truck and just double it and double my profits,” he said. “And I would want to maybe start a dessert truck or separate concept. But now, I’m focused on doing something fun.”
Slap!Truck has a regular weekly route. It stops at Lot 9 on Mondays, rotates among car dealerships in Hilton Head on Tuesdays, travels outside Beaufort on Wednesdays, parks at Local Only Taproom on Thursdays and visits a local seafood stand on Fridays.
When not on the road, Slap!Truck also caters private events, including block parties, graduations and weddings.
Check out their social media to find out where the truck will be parked next.
