Crystal Wise
Dana and Justin Brewer.
In more ways than one, few eateries live up to their names as much as the Fifty Fifty Food Trailer, a locally owned, chef-driven sandwich truck you can find roving through Fort Worth and beyond.
The menu, for starters, is evenly divided between three vegan and three non-vegan sandwiches. On any given day, for instance, carnivores can indulge in a terrific Italian beef, while those craving vegan options can, and should, go with the honey shroom, a sandwich filled with fried mushrooms, dill slaw, pickles, and honey tinged with a touch of spice.
Intentionally or not, the name also describes those who run Fifty Fifty: locals Justin Brewer and his mother Dana. Mom’s the face of the truck, the one up front describing the food, taking the orders, delivering the sandwiches to waiting customers.
A graduate of Fort Worth Culinary School, Justin, meanwhile, is the executive chef. He cooks and prepares his sandwiches with a health-conscious and farm-to-trailer aesthetic in mind, as he utilizes local, organic, and minimally processed ingredients whenever and wherever he can.
In addition to the Italian beef, the carnivore side of the menu often includes a bacon caprese sandwich, an addicting mashup of bacon, mozzarella, tomato, and basil, and a chicken parm sandwich smeared with a house pesto.
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On the vegan side, the honey shroom is in good company with a meatless burger, whose patty is made with falafel, and a vegan rendition of a Philly cheesesteak, topped with marinated mushrooms, caramelized onions, green peppers, and queso made with raw and organic cashews.
All sandwiches come with an order of stellar fries — thick, crispy, and perfectly seasoned.
Fifty Fifty has been a part of Fort Worth’s mobile restaurant circuit for almost two years. Before the trailer launched in the fall of 2022, Justin spent time working in some of the city’s most well-known restaurants, including Shinjuku Station and Provender Hall.
That day-to-day grind of working in a traditional restaurant, however, led him to strike out on his own.
“The idea came when my family pushed me to leave restaurant work behind and do something for myself,” he says. The menu, too, was inspired by his family. “My mom and brother are vegan, but my father and I are not,” he says. “I consult with my mom and brother on vegan dishes and my father for anything related to smoked meats.”
Justin’s love of cooking started with his grandmother, Wanda, who taught him how to scramble eggs in an old-school Teflon pan. “From that point on, I was hooked,” he wrote on Fifty Fifty’s website.
In addition to the food trailer, Justin and Dana run a catering service called Brewer Hospitality. Their food truck schedule can be found on Instagram at instagram.com/fiftyfiftyfoodtrailer.
