By Sarah Opdahl

Anyone who has eaten from New Fairfield’s Dawn and Neal Hirsch’s delicious food truck, catering, or former cafe menus will not be surprised that they have recently been awarded Best Burrito and Best Tacos in Fairfield County 2026 by CT Magazine. “We are humbled to know that our customers have voted us two years in a row for this honor,” Dawn said, “and we don’t take it for granted!  When you love what you do, people can see it.  And we do what we love, and we love what we do.”

At the start of their sixth season with the Taco Road Trip food truck, Dawn and Neal are excited to enter the busy season “because it’s when everything we love about running our food truck comes to life! The longer days, warmer weather, and packed event calendars mean more opportunities to connect with our community, serve up our award-winning food, and see familiar faces alongside new customers discovering us for the first time.” Neal emphasized, “There’s an energy during this time that you just can’t replicate—the rush of a line forming, the sound of happy customers, and the satisfaction of delivering great food quickly and consistently. After the slower months, it’s also incredibly rewarding to see our hard work pay off and to push ourselves to grow, improve, and make this season our best one yet.”

Mobility is key to the food truck business and the Hirsch’s lean into the opportunities presented, from busy downtown spots, festivals and private events to local breweries and even apartment complexes. The couple loves to “go where the demand is and meet customers right where they are,” Dawn says, adding that it “lets us constantly expand our reach, build a strong brand presence, and test new locations without the overhead of a traditional restaurant.” Locally, residents can find the food truck at varied spots, “we’ve been by Candlewood Lake in the past, we hit the Dog Park on Sports day for games and practices when we can.  We also park at Memorial Field Pavillion Upper Lot across from the Post Office for events and lunch times and, most recently, across from Starbucks at Veteran’s Memorial Park.”

What might first timers want to try from the menu? Neal suggests a bestseller, “From our taco options on our REGULAR MENU it is definitely the Texas Frito Pie Tacos…from our SPECIALS MENU it would be our Loaded Nachos.  Shareable, your choice of vegetarian, beef, or chicken. Truly a guilty pleasure cheat meal.” With food inspired by travel and crafted with passion, another crowd favorite is their award-winning Beefy, Cheesy, Spicy, Crunchy Burrito, which features broken tortilla chips inside aptly named by their daughter. Some New Fairfield customer’s special favorites include After Midnight Tacos (Pork Carnitas meets Disco Fries), Chicken & Waffles Tacos, and De-constructed Eggroll Tacos. Dawn remarked, “we are quite proud that we haven’t raised our prices in the past 5 years.  Neal is a master of balancing food costs while maintaining high-quality, handmade products.”

Having spent three decades in traditional restaurants and corporate food service as a formally trained executive chef, Neal pointed out that the food truck provides freedom for them to “get creative with our menu, introduce seasonal specials, and quickly adapt to customer preferences and trends.” With Dawn’s lengthy career in human resources and marketing, she oversees all social media which “gives us a powerful (and low-cost) way to market ourselves, build a loyal following, and keep people excited about where we’ll be next.”

While their food truck business was largely walk-up sales in the beginning, they have now “steadily shifted to primarily pre-paid private events due to word of mouth and positive reviews online.  Plus, since winning Best Food Truck, Best Burrito, and Best Tacos in Fairfield County 2025 and then going on to win all of those categories in the BEST OF CT from CT Magazine…we’ve definitely seen a big increase in demand for us to be at large events— private and public—so we don’t have the opportunity to vend for walk-ups as much,” Neal said. The truck is available for any gatherings, “We do it all!! Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Sweet 16’s, Birthday parties, Corporate Events, and School PTO activities,” Dawn commented. The truck is known for their high-quality food, speedy service, and genuine hospitality.

With an emphasis on keeping great food local and giving back to the community, Neal and Dawn offer all military members and veterans, and first responders a 20% discount when they come to the truck to show their appreciation for their service. Dawn remarked, “we also give free chips & homemade salsa with their taco orders to the teachers in New Fairfield, when we go to the schools, as a thank you for the great job they did with our kids, who both attended from Consolidated to NFHS! We love our town.“ 

On the busiest of summer days, the Hirsch’s children, Jack (20) and Jordan (16) lend a hand.  Between cooking with Neal and baking with Dawn they have a true love of food. Dawn reflected, “Food brings families together and ours is a family of foodies. Our son grew up in our first cafe in North Salem and then our daughter grew up in our latest cafe in Brewster. They have it in their blood and always offer to jump right in and help with caterings … whether they are with or without the food truck. We are truly in sync when the four of us work together….like a well-oiled machine.” Dawn added, “As parents, having been both corporate employees and then small business owners in our lives we try to show our kids that you can do whatever you put your mind to and to follow your passion. There isn’t one ‘right’ career path. That it isn’t a ladder but more of a lattice or spider web to branch out and gain experiences and that no matter what life throws you (like a pandemic that puts you out of business) you NEVER give up and you just pivot and try the next idea…because sometimes it isn’t a loss but a re-direction to something greater.” Neal shared, “Seeing them in action on the food truck with us makes us feel lucky and proud but we understand that working with us is just a foundation to help them reach their own goals through real-life experience and to decide what their true passion is.  Dawn adds, “Neal and I have always had a passion for food. His was formal (culinary school), mine was informal (growing up with an Italian Grandmother who was a baker)  and all of our experiences led us to this.”

With the very long winter behind them and miles of open road ahead, Taco Road Trip Food Truck is ready to serve you “FUN FOOD!,” Neal coined. Check out www.moonlightmobilekitchen.com to see where the truck is each day, and follow them on social media FB, X, IG, TT: @moonlightmk850.