Barbecue pulled pork. Steak taco. Burger beast.
When stuffed into an egg roll, these make rather interesting culinary creations. With the classic crunchy shell on the outside, the fried morsels are stuffed with seemingly endless possibilities.
World Famous, a South Florida-based Asian fusion egg roll business, serves up inventive, sometimes decadent twists on the classic dish. It has four brick-and-mortar storefronts — in Fort Lauderdale, Boynton Beach, Miami Gardens and Hollywood — but also travels across the state in seven food trucks, drawing crowds wherever it parks.
From Feb. 27 to March 1, the egg roll empire set up shop in Gainesville. Plastered with images of savory slabs of meat and thick wedges of cheesecake, the gargantuan truck parked outside a Walmart in northwest Gainesville off of Northwest 34th Boulevard.
World Famous visits Gainesville every six to eight weeks, said Latanya Grant, a 20-year-old cashier who’s worked for the business for about two years.
She leaned out the window, calling out numbers as she slid stacks of steaming plastic boxes across the counter to eager customers. Behind her, a full wall of screens displayed livestreams from the truck’s locations across the state.
Every location is different, the Fort Lauderdale resident said, but she enjoys the laid-back energy and weather in Gainesville. Grant's favorite part of her job, she said, is constantly being on the move.
“You meet a lot of cool people; you're always in a cool town,” she said, handing a lemonade cup roughly the size of her head to a family of three.
One key to the egg roll empire’s success lies in its marketing. Its unique social media approach involves posting its schedule and location four or five times every day, accompanied by ultrazoomed photos of egg rolls dripping with cheese or perched aside handfuls of crispy fries.
Its fleet is rigged with 4K cameras, Ring doorbells and livestream setups, broadcasting live in a kind of egg roll surveillance state as employees flip and fry up roll after roll.
Veggie teriyaki and brisket mac and cheese egg rolls from The World Famous Eggroll Truck at 5700 NW 23rd St., Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.
Instagram and TikTok videos first lured Jason Aguiar, a 22-year-old UF biology senior, to the siren song of sizzling soy sauce and shrimp.
Aguiar has ordered a new item each time he’s visited the truck. Most recently, he opted for the baked mac and cheese roll: cheddar jack cheese, baked in cavatappi pasta and crammed into the truck’s signature crispy egg roll.
He described the concoction’s taste as “revolutionary.”
“And, I don’t want to be basic, but delicious,” he added.
Aguiar was one of about two dozen people to line up for a taste of the self-described “world famous” cuisine. Parents holding the hands of small children, employees from the nearby Walmart and UF students dressed in Gator garb all squinted at the overwhelming menu before selecting their rolls of choice.
First-timer Toni Gibbs heard about the truck from work. The 40-year-old customer service supervisor drove in from Bronson to try the hibachi and Southern soul food egg rolls — and plans to also get a car wash.
“I went for the one that sounded the best, but there are several that I like,” she said of her selections.
The hibachi roll comes with hibachi steak, chicken and shrimp fried rice, while the Southern soul food roll comes stuffed with slow-cooked barbecue chicken, kettle-cooked collard greens and baked mac and cheese.
World Famous rolled out of Gainesville March 1, but the business dutifully alerts customers to its next tour stops on social media.
Contact Zoey Thomas at zthomas@alligator.org and Corey Fiske at cfiske@alligator.org. Follow Zoey on X @zoeythomas39 and Corey on X @coreyfiske7.
Zoey Thomas is a UF media production senior and the Spring 2026 editor-in-chief of The Alligator. She has previously been data editor and engagement managing editor, as well as a reporter for three semesters. She was also a intern at the Orlando Sentinel. In her sparse free time, Zoey enjoys reading a good book, going for a run or waking up her roommates with the sound of her espresso machine.
Corey Fiske is a journalism senior and the Spring 2026 Avenue editor. He previously served as opinions editor, as well as food reporter for the Avenue. Over this past summer, he was a reporting intern at the Portland Press Herald. In his free time, Corey enjoys watching new TV shows, eating chocolate fudge brownie ice cream and traveling to new places.
