Shaking things up with Saucy Mouth

Food truck opens in Bonavista, offering familiar items with an exotic twist

When Allyson Howse and Brad Gover started seeing one another, they quickly discovered a mutual love for two things: great food and trips around the bay, or “baycations.”

“We did a lot of baycationing,” says Howse. “When we’d go, we’d always try to find restaurants, and unfortunately it’s a lot of brown (deep fried) food when you’re going to more rural Newfoundland.”

But on the Bonavista Peninsula, the duo from St. John’s found an eclectic culinary scene taking shape, including the Oh My Cheeses food truck in Port Rexton, operated by their friend Lisa LeShane.

Last summer, Gover and Phil Goodland — his business partner in two other small food operations, Flip Out: The Best Little Apple Flip Company in the World and Sneaky BBQ — were offered the chance to work out of LeShane’s food truck two days a week.

The results were tantalizing.

Now, Howse and Gover have brought their Saucy Mouth food truck to Bonavista. The Saucy Mouth menu will feature their spin on chips, dressing and gravy alongside Korean street fries, a dish consisting of fresh carrots and cucumber, homemade Newfoundland kimchi and a fried egg atop a bed of sweet potato fries.

Another staple on the menu is homemade soda, similar to Italian soda. So far, they’ve tested a strawberry shortcake lemonade and a blueberry cream soda — “They’re absolutely delicious,” says Gover, but the plan is to connect with local growers so they can experiment with other locally-grown berries.

“We really want to keep a small menu and if things aren’t selling, we’ll change it,” says Howse. “We want to focus on having cool specials, things that people want to try, so that way we can keep it exciting for people living in the area.”

As for the name Saucy Mouth, she says it’s their nod to Newfoundland culture, but it’s also meant to disarm people who may be apprehensive about the cuisine.

“It really is about what’s going to bring people to our truck, because we’re not serving your traditional chip truck fare, so we need a way to welcome people in and make them feel comfortable and not afraid to try a Korean street fry or a blueberry basil homemade soda.”

We want to focus on having cool specials, things that people want to try, so that way we can keep it exciting for people living in the area. Allyson Howse

Partners Allyson Howse (left) and Brad Gover have launched a new food truck operation called Saucy Mouth, based out of Bonavista.

The Saucy Mouth truck came from Yarmouth, N.S., and was previously used for an entreprise called the Gaia Food Truck. The truck called Bonavista home for most of the summer, save for some special events, and will be available for special events through the late fall and winter.

Korean street fries will be a staple on the Saucy Mouth menu. The dish features fresh carrot and cucumber, homemade Newfoundland kimchi, and a fried egg atop a bed of sweet potato fries.