J osh Berner ’ s HG80 food truck is more than a lunch option ; it ’ s an experience . The bright orange truck run by an entrepreneur who spent twenty years in the restaurant business shows dog , cat and animal videos on loop so guests get a quick escape from work while they wait for their tacos .
“ It provides a moment of joy and happiness in their day ,” Berner says . “ Life is stressful , so I want to give people something to smile about , if not from good food , then puppy videos or good music .”
The truck is named for Berner ’ s first dog , a greyhound named Mercury . HG80 is the symbol for Mercury in the periodic table of elements . “ I needed a fast name ,” says Berner , who had his dog for more than ten years . He jokes that his wife recently surpassed his longest relationship after they just celebrated twelve years together . Now the couple has a cat , Magellan , also known as Gill , Gilly , Mag- Gill-Gill and McGillicuddy .
The tacos are playful takes on popular dishes stuffed into tortillas . Berner has turned everything from chicken Parmesan , hamburgers ,
Greek gyros and Reuben sandwiches into tacos by subbing soft corn tortillas in place of bread and buns .
“ Because it ’ s not in my nature to do anything the normal way , what I do is take all your favorite dishes from a bunch of different cuisines and I turn them into taco form ,” he says . “ It ’ s been a fun project to take these dishes and reimagine them as tacos .”
Hence the truck ’ s new tagline : “ Your Faves . Tacofied .” Everything on the menu is made from scratch using farm ingredients whenever possible , including meat from Radical Roots Farm and Baffoni ’ s
74 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MAY 2021