Brake & Eat is a weekly series on food trucks.
Micah Maughan knows his way around a kitchen.
The Idaho native spent 10 years cooking professionally in New York City for culinary stars like Gordon Ramsay and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Since moving to Pittsburgh in 2011, he’s worked as a chef at the restaurants Tamari, Root 174 and My Goodness.
So when he and Kit Durrett launched Soul Biscuit last September, it was no surprise the mobile food cart found a following.
The friends had been planning the cart for months as the pandemic unfolded. What they discovered pretty quickly was that people were going stir-crazy and wanted to eat something — anything — outside the home. Setting up outside breweries, coffee shops and other local businesses ramped up their exposure while providing a tasty alternative for diners who couldn’t get a table in restaurants and were tired of takeout.
“It was a silver lining,” said Mr. Maughan, 44.
It didn’t hurt that the cart arrived at its first gig in front of Iron City Bikes in Lawrenceville in high style — a red-and-yellow tandem bicycle with a clever, bike spoke-inspired logo. They sold out.
Mr. Durrett said their goal is to make “exceptional” food that uses as many fresh, local and organic ingredients as possible.
Take the buttermilk biscuits used for their sandwiches. They’re made with a mix of regular flour and cornmeal for added texture and flavor, providing a sturdy canvas for Mr. Maughan’s smoked meats and berry jam or other homemade toppings.
The most popular item is the bacon, egg and cheese biscuit ($8.50), with homemade kimchi ($1.50) or a fried egg ($1) as optional adds. A creamy (and filling) mac ’n cheese made with fat, semolina elbow pasta, sharp cheddar and gorgonzola cheese sauce ($5.50 or $3 with a sandwich) is a close second, followed by a smoked turkey biscuit sammie ($9) smothered in homemade hot sauce and crispy dill pickles.
Other choices include a smoked pork butt sandwich ($9), a mac ’n cheese entree “loaded” with pork ($9), and potatoes grilled in a cast-iron pan with peppers, onion, cilantro, garlic and dill and tossed with buttery gorgonzola ($5.50). A biscuit topped with homemade strawberry and raspberry jam runs $4, and you can add pork or turkey to any sandwich for $3. Everything is served in compostable containers.
Many Soul Biscuits are enjoyed as an indulgent breakfast, but they’re also great for soaking up alcohol after too many happy hour drinks.
“It’s a perfect blend of something new and something familiar,” said Mr. Maughan, of Shaler.
Why biscuits instead of, say, pizza or burgers? For starters, both men love them. Mr. Durrett grew up watching his grandmother in Tennessee hand-roll and bake biscuits, and Mr. Maughan has made them for years as a chef. Their moist and fluffy version is a collaboration between the two.
They also felt biscuits were an untapped market for comfort food.
“They’re craveable, and something you want to eat every week,” said Mr. Maughan.
“It’s bakery meets barbecue,” said Mr. Durrettt, 36, of Lawrenceville.
Most of the ingredients are locally sourced. The buttermilk comes from Brunton Dairy in Aliquippa, the cornmeal from Frankferd Farm in Saxonburg and Weatherbury Farm in Avella, and the eggs from Miller’s Farm Products in Meadville through Three Rivers Grown. Tom Friday’s Market, a full-service butcher shop in Brighton Heights, provides the meat.
The two former Millvale neighbors came up with the idea for Soul Biscuit two years ago, after Mr. Maughan helped cater Mr. Durrett’s wedding at Grist House Craft Brewery. They ended up with so much leftover hardware that “we joked that with all this stuff we’re buying, we should start a restaurant,” said Mr. Durrett, laughing.
Going with a cart instead of a food truck, Mr. Maughan said, was cheaper and better for maneuvering narrow trails, like the one leading to Roundabout Brewery’s pop-up beer garden along the Ohio River on the North Side. They purchased the 400-pound custom cart from Dock Dawgs in Detroit, and hauled it to Pittsburgh in a U-haul last summer. Mr. Durrett, who works as a physician’s assistant during the week, handles the business side while Mr. Maughan does all the cooking.
While hitting the road by bike worked at first, it wasn’t sustainable, said Mr. Durrett. They kept breaking down. So now they use a car to haul the cart, which boasts a stainless-steel griddle, steam table and a pair of burners along with two water tanks and four sinks.
“But we’ll bring out the bike for special occasions,” said Mr. Maughan.
While a brick-and-mortar location could happen in the future, the partners are happy for now to stick with a Thursday-through-Sunday, takeout model. They also cater private events.
“I’m living my life and doing my own thing,” said Mr. Maughan. “I’m my own boss, and set my own schedule.”
“It’s been fun,” Mr. Durrett agreed.
Find Soul Biscuit schedule on Facebook. Cash or credit cards accepted.
Gretchen McKay: gmckay@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1419, or on Twitter @gtmckay and Instagram @pgrecipes.
First Published: August 11, 2021, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: August 11, 2021, 12:13 p.m.
