The Little Fleet

I have to admit, being that food trucks are not a commodity that I have access to at home (near Pontiac, MI), I’ve always been very curious about the whole food truck culture that seems to be a thing in hipper urban areas. I thought for sure that my first time would have been in DC when my wife and I were there in June (2015). Didn’t happen. So, I was very excited to discover a lot with parked food trucks in downtown Traverse City on a recent visit.
We had pulled pork tacos from a BBQ truck (to my shame, I can’t remember the name and didn’t take a picture) and they were amazing. I don’t say that lightly, either. I do my own for-​real BBQ at home and we have many above average BBQ joints around home.
There were 6 or 7 other trucks around that we didn’t try, but, if they taste anything like they smell, they’re legit, too.
It’s definitely worth a try and highly recommended if you’re hip to eating awesome food in an extremely casual environment. Cheers!

I stopped by The Little Fleet after a camping trip at the State park. I had a brisket sandwich from Pig Eatin’ Ribs, which was okay. My favorite part of The Little Fleet (besides the atmosphere) was the «gypsy market» that was going on! From The Little Fleet website: «The market will take place every Sunday from 12pm-​4pm starting May 31^st thru Sept 13^th. The Gypsy Market showcases some of Northern Michigan’s best handcrafted, vintage, and local wares. Vendors rotate weekly, so there is always something new to discover.» I love supporting local artists and vendors, so I was really excited to get a cute new bracelet!
The atmosphere of The Little Fleet is fun and airy. There is plenty of outdoor seating, but not much shade, so keep that in mind. (unless you are inside near the bar area, where there are tables and a little lounge spot) The bar had a nice selection of local beers and a ton of Michigan-​made spirits. Prices were very reasonable at about $ 5 per beer. We arrived at around 3:30 and several of the food trucks were closing up to prepare for the dinner rush. Follow the trucks’ Facebook pages for posted hours. Most (if not all) take credit cards, so no need to worry about cash. (There is a Chase bank less than a half a mile walk though!) There was a DJ spinning vinyl while we were there, which I thought was cool. It added nice ambient music without being overly loud. He packed up while we were there but it sounded like live music /​DJs are common there.
Overall, a fun spot to stop on vacation! It’s an awesome concept (multiple rotating food trucks parked in a permanent spot), one that is definitely not welcome in all cities due to varying ordinances, etc. (where I live, food trucks are very heavily regulated)

The Little Fleet is a collection of food trucks as well as a patio and indoor bar. Most of the trucks are there on a regular basis, a couple do move/​change. A few friends and I had wine in the patio area, we liked the lighting in the evening and enjoyed the people watching. I shared parmesan truffle fries from the Portuguese truck with a friend. Great fries, nicely crispy with a good amount of parmesan (not too much). There were a fair amount of people but it was not overly crowded.
Very cool area to check out in the edge of the downtown area.

Food Trucks everywhere with a bar!!! YES, live music, outdoor seating. There is no food here, but you can bring the food truck food in. Great concept and excellent location.

Fell in love with this place the second we walked up to it. Great open-​air atmosphere (on a nice day anyway). I’m sure the weather is going to a