The Phoenix Cafe gets around. And if you’re in Palmyra … or Pittsfield … or Palmyra again, you can eat there. If you can catch it.
The kitchen on wheels, which Mark and Jennifer Yarbrough launched after Mark was laid off from his job at Citibank last year, serves Southwest inspired food (Phoenix Spicy Sausage and Egg Burrito, Jumbo Tacos) — prepared in a white box trailer attached to their truck.
“Basically, it’s a full-service restaurant kitchen on wheels … It’s got a generator, its own water supply, sinks, a refrigerator, and a freezer. It’s completely independent. I could just pull it over in the woods somewhere and start serving food,” Mark says.
I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before demand grows and you’ll have to track the Phoenix Cafe on Twitter like many of the food carts in D.C., L.A. and NYC — but for now customers can dine on a set schedule: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Pittsfield (just across from the Pittsfield Public Library) and during the same hours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in Palmyra.
And don’t think that just because the roads are going to get slippery in a few months (or weeks) that it will slow down this culinary cart. The Yarbroughs say they intend to keep driving through the winter.
“It’s like a paper mill … You have to either keep it going or shut it down completely,” Jennifer said. Spoken like a true Mainer.
Jessica Strelitz is a contributing writer to Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.