Fans of the NBA in the ’80s and ’90s may recall writers’ efforts some years to give the league’s MVP award to someone other than Michael Jordan. No one doubted that Jordan was the most valuable player on the planet. And yet, whether out of boredom or just to do something different, pundits would sometimes find a reason to give the award to someone else.

Those pundits might find it uninteresting to give the same food award to the same recipient year after year. And yet, among an excellent crop of food trucks and stands in Charlottesville, one continues to stand out. Talented as they may be, the greatest virtue of Côte-Rôtie’s Peter and Merrill Robertson is not their talent. It’s their passion, which shows in everything that comes off their truck. Côte-Rôtie serves food made by people who love to eat for people who love to eat.

As in 2017 and 2018, the winner of the 2019 Best Food Truck or Stand is Côte-Rôtie.