Born out of the big cities, food truck mania has spread across the world like wildfire. From cheap, no-frills tacos in Long Island City, Queens to a mobile mozzarella bar in Paris, food trucks are here and they’re here to stay. They’ve even started organizing food truck festivals in cities like New York and Brussels, where foodies can roam around and try out lots of different food truck fare at one time.

Why Everybody Loves a Good Food Truck

Part of the appeal of a food truck is the casual nature of it. Normally if you wanted a quick, cheap meal, you’d head to the closest fast food restaurant and be in and out in a few minutes. Food trucks offer the same convenience and affordable price point, but with significantly better food options.

And from a restaurant point of view, the food truck business model just makes sense. One of the largest overhead expenses that restaurants have is rent. Many restaurants pay a premium to be in a space that has good street visibility and high foot or driving traffic. While this can cost an arm and a leg, it generally ensures that a restaurant will be able to sustain itself with a higher volume of customers.

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Food trucks, on the other hand, don’t have to pay rent. There’s the one-time cost of purchasing and outfitting the truck with equipment, while the recurring costs of gas and maintenance are far less than you’d be paying at a large stationary space. Even better, food trucks can take advantage of different neighborhoods to test out which areas have higher volumes of potential customers. They can also move their operations around to take advantage of areas that have high traffic at specific times of the day, or park near festivals or events where large groups of people will be milling around.

Still, with the steep rise in popularity of food trucks, new food truck owners have to get really creative in order to stay ahead of the competition. And that’s why these four food truck businesses are really raising the bar.

1. Waffles and Dinges in New York City

Very few food trucks have the type of cult following that Waffles and Dinges has in New York City. In fact, they’re so popular that they actually ended up opening a brick and mortar store. They sell exactly what you’d expect – delicious Belgian waffles with varying toppings ranging from sweet (topped with the mother of all spreads – spekuloos pasta) to savory (like the bbq pulled pork waffle).

2. Co-Kot Food Truck in Brussels, Belgium

Co-Kot is based in Brussels, Belgium and is actually run by the same owners that run MIM brasserie and L’Orangerie – both gourmet restaurants in Belgium’s capital. Co-Kot is known for their tuna black burger (which looks incredible, by the way), but they offer a range of innovative burgers and other gourmet items.

3. Le Camion Gourmand in Paris, France

Ever heard of the farm-to-table movement? Well, this creative food truck business takes it a step further with farm-to-truck dishes with ingredients sourced locally every day so that the food is incredibly fresh and delicious. They specialize in burgers and fries, but with a slightly gourmet twist.

4. Kogi Food Truck in Los Angeles, California

Chef Roy Choi started his career as a classically trained chef and then left to start a food truck. Since then, he’s collaborated with Wolfgang Puck and David Chang to create Korean and Mexican inspired fusion dishes for his Kogi Food Truck headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. It attracts customers from all over the world, and he’s known especially for his short rib beef taco, which features a complex 21 ingredient sauce.