Aurora, Colorado, has no shortage of places to grab a bite — but every once in a while, a food truck rolls up and flips the script entirely. 🚚
Rustic Nomads is that truck — a family-owned burger gem born out of sheer determination, military-kid wanderlust, and an unshakeable belief that great food is the fastest way to someone’s soul.
How Rustic Nomads Won Aurora’s Hearts
Owner Nathan Wiersum signed the paperwork to launch Rustic Nomads just one week before COVID-19 brought the world to a halt in 2020. 😤
Rather than walk away from his dream, he pivoted — building relationships with local breweries, showing up for his community, and letting the food speak for itself.
His military upbringing — moving across continents and experiencing diverse cuisines from a young age — is woven into the very DNA of the menu, with each dish reflecting flavors he encountered and loved along the way. 🌍
That worldly perspective shows up in every single bite, from the green chile-loaded Route 66 Burger to the Reuben-Cuban mashup that has people lining up week after week.
Wiersum’s own-grind burger patties, housemade pastrami that sells out every single week, and a rotating seasonal menu built around the freshest available ingredients have turned this Aurora, Colorado, food truck into something far bigger than a roadside stop. 🍔
Word spread fast through the brewery circuit, and soon Rustic Nomads had a reputation as one of the best burgers in Aurora — bold, creative, and made with the kind of genuine care that chain restaurants simply cannot replicate.
Food Highlights 🍔
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The Backyard Burger: The house classic built on Wiersum’s own-ground, custom beef blend topped with ketchup, mayo, tomato, lettuce, and pickled red onions.
- The Philly Nomad: Provolone cheese, charred bell peppers, caramelized onions, and garlic aioli on a juicy burger.
- The Caprese Burger: Fresh mozzarella, blistered tomato, pickled red onions, garlic aioli, and balsamic demi glaze on a juicy burger. 🫙
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Continental Divide: A juicy cheeseburger layered with secret sauce, caramelized onions, banana peppers, and lettuce.
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Gold Digger Burger: A show-stopping combination of caramelized pineapple, crumbled blue cheese, garlic aioli, lettuce, and tomato — bold, sweet, and tangy. 🍍
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The Nomad Burger: Housemade pastrami layered with Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, and pesto on a fresh-ground burger patty.
- The Wanderlust: A bold, flavor-packed burger layered with bacon, brie cheese, fig jam, arugula, and garlic aioli.
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The Cheesy Rider: A cheeseburger on marbled rye from a local baker, stacked with Swiss cheese, green chiles, caramelized onions, and garlic aioli.
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The Nutterbuster: A bacon cheeseburger built with peanut butter, green chiles, artisan pickles, and garlic aioli. 🥜
- Route 66 Burger: A cheeseburger loaded with Hatch green chiles, street corn, garlic aioli, lettuce, and tomato. 🌶️
Atmosphere
Rustic Nomads operates as a food truck, which means the atmosphere is as lively and spontaneous as the menu itself — you’ll find it parked at local breweries, community events, and neighborhood pop-ups across the Aurora and Denver metro area. 🍺
The vibe is unpretentious, warm, and genuinely community-driven — the kind of spot where the owner knows your name and the regulars become part of the crew.
There’s an energy around this truck that you simply don’t find at a sit-down restaurant — it feels like a gathering of people who are all in on the same delicious secret.
Check rusticnomads.us for the latest truck schedule and locations before you head out. 📍
Bottom Line
Rustic Nomads is Aurora’s most soulful burger experience — built on grit, community love, housemade everything, and a menu that travels the world through flavor. It’s a food truck that eats like a legend. Track it down. You won’t regret it.
Address:
Aurora, CO 80016 (Food Truck — check rusticnomads.us for current location)
📞 (720) 900-5373
🕔 Open Tue–Fri, 4:00 PM–7:00 PM | Sat, 12:00 PM–7:00 PM (Sun–Mon closed)