New England meets the Deep South at this new Coast food truck. Lobster rolls, anyone?

A new food truck now open on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is bringing East Coast seafood to the Deep South.

Ngoc Nguyen, 33, owns and operates Salty Jax Seafood Co. The food truck pops up at various spots along the Coast and is only open on weekends.

Nguyen was born and raised in California and comes from a family of 10 siblings. She found her passion for food as a child by watching her mother cook Vietnamese dishes and was always the first to try them. Nguyen began to ask questions to learn how to remake those exact same dishes that she still prepares today.

When her mother died of breast cancer, Nguyen and her family moved to South Mississippi, and they pushed her to pursue her dream of opening a food truck.

“It just makes me so happy,” to continue her mother’s cooking legacy, she said.

Salty Jax is very much New England meets the South. The menu includes lobster rolls, New England lobster chowder and lobster mac and cheese. But there’s also Coast favorites like a lobster BLT, tacos, loaded nachos or fries and a surf and turf burger.

You can get your lobster roll three ways:

• The Connecticut Roll (served warm) is dressed with butter.

• The Maine Roll (served chilled) has mayo and is served with a lemon wedge.

• The Cajun Roll, the best seller, is served warm and is dressed with a cajun butter.

There’s also a shrimp roll on the menu that can be served warmed or chilled and is cajun style.

Nguyen’s favorite dish is the loaded nachos or fries that come topped with white queso, chipotle crema, gulf shrimp, pico de gallo, green onions, cilantro and fresh jalapenos.

Salty Jax opened Labor Day weekend and Nguyen said the response was “insane.”

“Our support system is amazing,” Ngoc said.

Nguyen informs diners of the truck’s location and hours on Facebook.

This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 5:50 AM.