Revival Pasta truck is creativity in motion
There’s a saying in journalism that one should never bury the lede, so I’ll skip the pleasantries and get right to it: I’m eating pasta tossed with cantaloupe that was made in a purple and red trolley.
No hallucinogens were involved in the creation of that sentence and superficially, at least, it makes my inner-Italian food purist’s head want to explode like in the scene in “Scanners.” But it’s … actually pretty good?
To be specific, it’s small chunks of cantaloupe and pancetta in a light cream sauce with some shredded kale, and finished with fresh mozzarella. It’s a play on the classic Italian appetizer prosciutto e melone and it’s the creation of Peter Williams, a local restaurant industry vet who captains the Revival Pasta food truck, fashioned out of one of those old trolley-style shuttle buses people rent for weddings.
“I let him run with it,” truck owner Jordan Robarge said. “He’s worked in the industry for so long but never had the opportunity to
create his own menu and be in charge, so giving him that opportunity is something I was really excited about.”
The cantaloupe and pancetta has that same salty and sweet quality as its inspiration, but lighter as it’s rounded out with a velvety cream sauce that’s not too heavy to eat in warm weather. It is totally different and for $12 well worth a try.
“We want to offer something that people might not have tried before,” Mr. Robarge said. “Peter was excited about it and came up to me like, ‘Jordan, Jordan, Jordan, I got something crazy for you, but ya gotta bear with me.’ Then I tried it and was like hell, yeah, we’re doing this.”
Launched in May, the Revival Pasta truck is the third endeavor under the “Revival” banner by Mr. Robarge, a 28-year-old transplant from Falls Church, Va., who started the Revival Chili trailer in 2016 after coming here the year prior as a fellow with Venture for America, a nonprofit that encourages entrepreneurship in cities. His concept was a food business, making chili recipes he’d perfected while a student at the University of Virginia. The business’ unique mission is to hire people with barriers to employment and to get them practical business and job skills.
That business was a success, such that Mr. Robarge was able to further his mission in 2019 by purchasing Wilkinsburg institution Nancy’s Diner, family-run since 1976. He rechristened it Nancy’s Revival and continued its spirit as a community hub with affordable, quality diner fare for breakfast and lunch. They offer life, job and financial literacy skills classes as well.
Like every other food business on the planet, Revival has had to nip, tuck, duck and dodge its way through the pandemic, but has come through the other side, while adding the new pasta truck to the repertoire.
The truck uses fresh pasta from Cleveland’s Ohio City Pasta procured by Pennsylvania Macaroni. The current options are a traditional spaghetti and fettuccine and garlic-basil or spinach linguine. In addition to the aforementioned cantaloupe concoction, they currently offer a zesty summer garden mix: red sauce with plum tomatoes, garlic, red wine, summer squash, zucchini, red and yellow peppers and eggplant. It’s finished with ricotta.
There’s also a green beans and pesto sauce ($11); butter, garlic and black pepper ($7); and a classic red sauce ($8), to which meatballs can be added for a $3 upcharge. The food comes out quickly and the noodles are a perfect al dente.
Mr. Robarge bought the brightly colored trolleytruck used from an owner in Kansas City, and had to drive it some 850 miles back to Pittsburgh.
“I couldn’t go more than 10 minutes without people honking or waving at me,” he said.
It definitely attracts attention — not unlike that crazy cantaloupe pasta dish.