Celine Costa of Newton is the owner and head chef of Up Street Food Truck (upstreetfoodtruck.wixsite.com/upstreet, [email protected], and on Facebook and Instagram), which she runs with her partner, Scott Magnusson. Up Street gets its name from its “upscale street food” concept, offering a rotating menu of options like fish tacos, sandwiches, hand-breaded chicken tenders, Thai curry fries or tater tots, fried pickles and more. Since launching the 32- by 10-foot trailer last year, Costa and Magnusson have parked at several spots all over New Hampshire, including Lithermans Limited Brewery in Concord and North Country Hard Cider in Rollinsford, and have participated in local events. Up Street is also available to book for corporate events, weddings and private parties and gatherings.
What is your must-have kitchen item?
Herbs are such a big part of our cooking, whether they’re in the dish or as a garnish. I like pairing herbs with different things that you wouldn’t think would necessarily go together.
What would you have for your last meal?
I would definitely do malai kofta from Gypsy Cafe in Lincoln. It’s a north Indian potato dish with vegetables, rolled into little balls in a tomato cream sauce, and they serve it with basmati rice. It’s so delicious.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
Cafe El Camino in Plaistow. They’re right down the street from us and they’ve been really good friends. … I would say their beef empanadas are probably one of the best things on the menu, but they have a new guava and cheese empanada that is also really good.
What celebrity would you like to see ordering from your food truck?
Conan O’Brien, because he is my favorite. … I had a dream one time that Scott invited him to my birthday party, so now I just have this whole scene in my head of him showing up. … Scott said Adam Sandler would be pretty cool, too.
What is your favorite thing on your menu?
We recently did a sandwich that we called One Hot Honey. It’s a hot honey fried chicken sandwich with a chile-infused hot honey and a spring mix. That’s probably my No. 1.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
One thing that definitely comes to mind is charcuterie boards. I feel like everybody is doing their own version of their charcuterie board, or something to do with charcuterie. … There’s also an emphasis on buying local. I feel like I see that growing more and more, especially as we travel around.
What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
I would say my grandmother’s cranberry chicken recipe. It just brings back good childhood memories and it’s wicked easy to make.
Beama’s cranberry chicken
From the kitchen of Celine Costa of Up Street Food Truck
8 chicken breasts (totaling 4 pounds)
1 16-ounce can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 8-ounce bottle Catalina dressing
1 package onion soup mix
Place chicken breasts in a greased baking dish. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees. Combine all other ingredients in a pot and simmer on low heat, stirring until ingredients have combined well. Pour cranberry mixture over chicken and bake for roughly one hour, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. (Suggestion: serve with rice pilaf, grape goat cheese garden salad and cranberry gin and tonic with a sprig of burnt rosemary).
Featured photo: Celine Costa. Courtesy photo.