Camo-covered PB&ME Truck Launches to Bring Peanut Butter Sandwiches to Hipsters and Tough Guys Alike

[Courtesy photo]

PB&ME, a food truck "specializing in the art of the peanut butter sandwich," launched over the weekend at the US Toboggan Championships at the Camden Snow Bowl. The truck, a 24-footer wrapped in peanut butter and jelly colored camouflage, is owned and operated by Brad Stout. The wrap and characters were designed by O'Chang Studios. "The characters are supposed to be every guy who lives in Maine, from the hippest hipster at Sonny's on Saturday night to the toughest guy at the truck pulls at the Windsor Fair," according to Stout. "Everybody can relate to either 'PB' or 'ME'."

The menu incorporates locally sourced ingredients to make creative, peanut butter-focused offerings. "A friend of mine and I have been joking about starting a truck that sells Fluff for a few years," Stout says. "It was the ongoing joke on fishing trips until this fall when we took action and rescued a 1987 Grumman Olsen from a field in Millinocket."

"The idea was/is to make the truck fun and to serve the best peanut butter sandwiches you've ever had," Stout says. "We use local ingredients as much as we can." These include Matt's Coffee, bread from Rosemont Bakery, jams and jellies from Bar Harbor Jam Co., bacon and chicken from Bisson Farm in Topsham, beef from Wee Bit Farm in Orland, and Maine potatoes, honey and maple syrup.

The most popular menu items in Camden, according to Stout, were the "King-Ah" (peanut butter, bacon, bananas and honey deep-fried, with nutmeg and cinnamon), "Jump Jump" (peanut butter, fluff, Nutella and Biscoff spread striped on one piece of bread with apple jelly, grape jelly, strawberry jam and raspberry jam striped on the other, "then put together criss-crossed so no two bites are the same") and the "Salt on Salt on Salt" (peanut butter, pickles and fritos, "for only the most refined pallets"). Some specials: "Burgalicious" (grass-fed ground steak burger with Thai peanut sauce, hot pepper/blueberry/sriracha jam and a handful of fries), "PB&ME Wings" (free-range chicken wings fried in peanut oil then tossed in Thai peanut sauce and served with a hot pepper dip). Also, chocolate covered bacon.

This weekend, the PB&ME truck will be at the Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby. One new special: A PB&J bread pudding topped with a toasted dollop of fluff.

Stout says he's going to focus on festivals and events around the state for now. He may apply for a Portland permit in the future.
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