By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Jun 23, 2021 at 12:31 PM

Love food trucks? So do we! So much so that OnMilwaukee partnered with Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. to bring the first MKE Food Truck Fest to Henry Maier Festival Park in July. Find out more here

Founded by Chef Deb and Chef Kreig, Hard Wood Cafe – in a converted camper that resembled a rustic cabin – has been a fixture on the Milwaukee food truck scene for a number of years and in 2013 was featured on the Travel Channel’s “Fandemonium” with Adam Richman.

The chefs – who ran the Spirit of Milwaukee dinner cruise yacht – also do a lot of catering work and in addition to weddings, meetings and other events, have served as a caterer for the headliners at Summerfest. So when Hard Wood Cafe returns to the Henry Maier Festival Park for the July 24 Food Truck Fest, sponsored by OnMilwaukee and Summerfest, it will feel right at home.

Type of food: American, a mix of northern comfort food and southern barbecue.

Vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free options: Sweet potato fries, french fries, ranch baked beans, collard greens, mac ‘n’ cheese.

Most popular item: With names like the Bacon Beastie and Redneck Burrito, how could these handhelds not be a hit?

Where to find truck: The truck can often be found at spots like Schlitz Park, The Rock Sports Complex, the Couny Courthouse and festivals like the OnMilwaukee/Summerfest event on July 24. It also makes stops farther afield in cities like Kenosha and Waukesha.

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.