BEST OF DAYTON: 3 most crave-worthy food truck dishes

Dayton is obsessed with its food trucks. That’s plain to see at any food truck rally or festival every spring, summer and fall.

Some food trucks stand out from the rest.

>> BEST OF DAYTON: The top 3 food trucks in Dayton

Some food truck eats stand out from the rest.

These are the three most popular food truck dishes in the Gem City, as voted by YOU, our readers, in Dayton.com’s Best of Dayton 2018 contest.

>> 7 decadent food truck dishes we are ready to eat now

🏆🍴WINNER: Zombie Dogz Calling in Dead

Zombie Dogz is a repeat winner for Best Food Truck in Dayton.com’s Best of Dayton contest.

This year, it’s winner in a new category: Best Food Truck Dish.

Dayton just can’t get enough of the Calling in Dead gourmet hot dog. This is a hot dog covered in delicious melty truffle mac and cheese with parmesan garlic bread crumbs. That mac and cheese is so good it was also voted winner in another new category this year: Best Mac and Cheese.

The food truck turned brick-and-mortar restaurant on Brown Street specializes in gourmet hot dogs. And we mean gourmet. The food truck still makes appearances on the festival circuit as well.

This year, Zombie Dogz has branched out a bit. Husband and wife owners, David and Lee VanArtsdalen, said the menu gives people more choices. But not everyone wants to eat hot dogs.

“We are really good at hot dogs, but we’ve been working on some recipes for some other food items, dessert and starters,” said Zombie Dogz manager Lisa Vitale. “We have some more fun, kitschy things to add that’s us.”

New additions include cheese curds, pretzel bits and tater tot poutine.

Want to go?

Facebook | Website | Brick-and-mortar store: 1200 Brown St., Dayton | See Facebook for food truck appearances

🍴SECOND PLACE: Greek Street Food Truck Lamb Gyros

Credit: Greek Street Food Truck

The second-place finisher hit Dayton’s streets in 2016 with authentic Greek cuisine that pleased foodies out of the gates. Centerville High School graduate Chris Spirtos launched Greek Street Food Truck after being raised surrounded by Greek culture and food.

Explore>>Best of Dayton 2018 winners: Food & Dining

“All our meat is non-processed,” said Spirtos, who is of Greek descent on both of sides of his family. “For instance, the chicken is chicken breast and chicken thighs layered on a spit, a vertical broiler. The lamb one is half lamb, half beef.”

The food truck offers spanakopita, Greek fries, gyros and other authentic Greek cuisine. The fan favorite was the lamb gyros.

Spirtos' cooking chops are impressive. His first job after culinary school was as a chef at the former L'Auberge restaurant.

He worked for the Naples Yacht Club and Sung’s Korean Bistro in Cincinnati. He worked with Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef Art Smith for three years and cooked in California for a dinner for the first graduates of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Spirtos returned to the Dayton area a few years ago to help his mother and was the chef for Zombie Dogz food truck for two and half years.

>> OPA! Pork belly gyro, authentic Greek food on new Dayton food truck (2016)

Want to go?

See Facebook for food truck appearances.