Empire Food Truck Plaza (9822 Anderson Rd Lot 3) may be the best foodie destination in Tampa. Multiple mobile eateries now call the destination home, and the latest addition is Sheila’s Cuban Bakery. One reviewer, Alejandro Vila, wrote that this truck may make “the best Cuban sweets in Tampa.
Sheila’s operates out of a wide and pink truck. Cuban pastries are displayed in a glass case in front of the truck to tantalize visitors looking to explore the food truck park. The show stealer has to be the Caracol. This dessert is like a cross between the classic Lobster Tail pastry and a Hungarian Chimney Cake. Caracol literally translates to Snail Steel. An airy, spiraled pastry is wrapped around a sweet filled and dusted the powdered sugar. Its cone shape makes it the perfect handheld treat.
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Other must-try desserts include the tres leches cake, super sweet chocolate frosted donuts ,and flaky pastries filled with guava and cheese.
The main event is the crunch Cuban pizza. This is thicker than your average pie, and the top seller is generously topped with ham. For the uninitiated, The Infatuation out of Miami breaks down what constitutes Cuban Pizza: “Cuban pizza is basically a pan pizza that has a thick crust and an impressive amount of cheese, which melts to create a crispy cheese halo that circles the pizza like a crown.” 
Sheila’s Cuban Bakery is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon-11pm. Follow along on Instagram for updates on new menu items, and updated hours.
Other food trucks at Empire Plaza include:
What to read next:
- The 2024 spring/summer Tampa Food Festival guide
- Tampa Pig Jig adds Dierks Bentley as the headline performer
- Oxford Exchange Book Fair returns this week in Tampa
- Lettuce Lake Park, a 240-acre paradise in Hillsborough County
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