Chef Menachem Cone has opened a kosher food truck named Ruth, offering what he describes as “world food from a kosher lens” in the parking lot of the Chabad of Burlington community center at 57 South Williams Street in Burlington. He plans to operate through the winter, serving the families of 90 students who attend the preschool and day school housed at Chabad, as well as the general public.
“Just because it’s kosher, it’s not exclusive,” Cone said. “It’s for anyone and everyone. I just love to feed people.”
Cone, 37, became a Hasidic Orthodox Jew after growing up in Topsham in a Jewish family he described as “very, very assimilated.”
He named his business for a beloved, now-deceased family dog, who was, in turn, named in honor of Old Testament matriarch Ruth, who “chose to be Jewish,” he said.
The chef comes from a family of artists and moved to New York City for art school, but he soon left and started cooking for a living. Over six years, Cone worked his way up in kitchens helmed by notable chefs, learning Italian technique under Michelin-starred Missy Robbins, pan-Latin cuisine from Ulrich Sterling and the farm-to-table approach from the Green Table’s Mary Cleaver.
After Cone returned to Topsham in 2012, he opened a food truck called In the Road, which catered festivals and private events for about a decade. As he became more observant, it felt wrong to work on Shabbat and cook food he would no longer eat himself, Cone said.
This summer, he gutted and rebuilt his small, stainless-steel truck to comply with strict kosher rules. Ruth’s menu will vary weekly but always include a housemade pastrami sandwich; falafel made from scratch with dry chickpeas; freshly cut shoestring fries; and kids’ meals. Since the truck offers meat, it does not serve dairy.
Follow @ruthtruck on Instagram for hours.
