Lasagna Plus...?

I'm sitting here trying to figure out what to say about the new lasagna truck which started almost two weeks ago but doesn't yet have a twitter account.  Ironically most of us first learned of this truck from Brian at Basil Thyme.  Both trucks serve basically the same thing for the same price -- several varieties of lasagna for $8 on their own, or $10 as a meal which comes with a drink & dessert.  The differences in the meal?  Brian has fresh desserts and a nice "garlic crouton" on the salad (think a thick slice of french bread with garlic seasoning with a slight toast on it) whereas the new guy serves a single serving pre-pack of Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies and gives two thin mass produced breadsticks.

Now, for the differences in the lasagna... recall I actually really like Basil Thyme's lasagna but am totally put off by Brian's obsession with "we serve in less than 60 seconds and others don't" attitude because (1) for the most part the "others don't" sentiment isn't true, and (2) how hard is it to serve a slice of lasagna from a tray made earlier in the day?  Anyway, Lasagna Plus' serving (which arrived in less than 30 seconds, btw) wasn't as light as Basil Thyme's.  The sheets of pasta were probably fresh but weren't as perfectly delicate and/or were slightly overcooked.  While the lasagna could have used more seasoning and fresh flavors, overall it still tasted reasonably good.  I swear, despite what I'm about to say!  However there was something going on with the cheese I can't put my finger quite on, thus, why I'm perplexed about what to think about it.  It wasn't bad; it was just odd.  I hesitate to toss in a word like "gummy" because of the connotation, but the texture in my mouth was kind of that.  And not every bite either.  Maybe it was just too much cheese in certain spots among the layers and they congealed when it cooled down.  I really don't know.  3 honks is a reasonable score until I can figure this out....

Uncurbed, but not unfortunate

In fact I was quite fortunate to be invited to the opening night of Uncurbed DC.  We were early to arrive, and sadly early to leave with a long drive ahead of us, but I was so pleased to have participated at all.  Tadd & Che transformed an upstairs apartment in Georgetown into their own mini-restaurant with personal touches, including a fully decorated Christmas tree next to a fireplace.

Small tables in a number of rooms were covered with paper and stocked with #3, #5, and #24 sauces along with plastic-ware and napkins.  In addition, over the last few days they were able to get permission to serve alcohol, so several beer & wine selections were available to wash down the mouthwatering Q.  While Tadd worked the truck and general goings-on outside, Che played the very gracious host inside.  (Although I can't say which locale was warmer because inside the house was pretty freakin' chilly, despite a couple of small space heaters -- it is an old, vacant townhouse in Georgetown, afterall.  Insulation and caulk easily were more of an afterthought, back in the day...)

I suspect most of the festivities (or enjoyable havoc?) caused by the invitee-only guest list might have occurred after our departure as I saw a number of posts from other truckers come in throughout the evening, particularly if DCSlices was tending bar.  Here.  Here.  Here.  And here.  Plus I know others were there quietly showing some support as well:

I can't say how excited I am for BBQ Bus to be blazing the way for the next gen of pop-up dining experiences.  Even according to the invite, as far as anyone knows, this was the first such event in the country.  Who says DC doesn't have a serious food scene?  Bleh!