Truck-Pho returns to DC

Despite the (feels like) long ago announcements of more pho trucks coming to Washington (What the Pho? and PhoWheels,) a third truck quietly made it to market first.  Pho Junkies kicked things off a little less than a week ago in an elaborate zombie-theme wrapped truck.  Presumably the link between the two is because the rice noodles kind of look brain-like and zombies purportedly eat brains... but I'm just guessing on that one, based on the slogan "Better than BRAINS!"

You may remember Phonomenon, a short-lived truck last summer.  I had the opportunity to eat there twice and was enormously disappointed with the pre-cooked, very tough meat, but recall finding depth in the broth.  Pho Junkies offers essentially the opposite: for my Pho Tai (steak pho) they properly used thinly sliced raw eye round beef and poured broth over top, in function, cooking the meat.  The broth is homemade, however it is pretty simple in flavor on its own.  Typically, the accoutrements (herbs, light veggies, citrus, spice, etc) would pump things up, but in both my bowl and in my friend's, the quantities were pretty meager except for the basil.  

When served, you will receive a covered bowl which will contain the noodles, protein(s), bean sprouts, onion, basil, cilantro, and broth, along with two cups on the side, one containing a couple thin slices of jalapeno plus a large wedge of lime and the other of hoisin with a small dollop of sriracha.  My single biggest objection to the whole order was that second cup, particularly because the cup was only 1/2 full and because they didn't have supplementary bottles on the side.  I can surmise why they do the cups, but people have their own tastes and part of the enjoyment of pho is being able to doctor your bowl as you please ... an attribute under tight restriction at Pho Junkies.  I used every drop I could get from my sauce cup, and it didn't come close to seasoning my soup in the way I would have liked.  The fresh steak and noodles adequately fulfilled their purpose though.  Frankly, I'd like a whole lot more than the 5-6 leaves of cilantro I received, and would have preferred to tear my fresh basil rather than having whole pieces, but I can get over those things.

On the up-side, I also enjoyed an order of spring rolls with a mildly sweet dipping sauce.  They were light, perfectly crispy, and well balanced in filling to wrapper.  Next time I plan to definitely follow-up by trying the shrimp rolls.

The people seemed very nice and have a certain attention to detail, just maybe not all the right details.  I will offer props for offering a relatively large variety of protein options, which is substantially more than their predecessor and, so far appears to be more than what What the Pho? has planned.  3.5 honks, but only because the high level of satisfaction from the spring rolls raised my feelings about this truck from what would have otherwise been a 3 honk rating.  Even at 3 honks, minor improvements could easily elevate the score of the pho on its own to 3.5.

In cart news, I was a very early follower of District Taco when he first opened in Rosslyn back when I worked on Lynn Street in 2009.  Even though he's had a brick and mortar location on Route 29 in Arlington for a while now, Osiris has gone prime-time by completing his downtown DC location, set to open later this week.  He posted some photos telling of his excitement this morning.  Congrats, Osiris!!!

And, looking forward to the next truck event after this past weekend's Curbside Cookoff...?  Well you're in luck because you don't need to wait long!  Truckeroo returns this Friday at The Fairgrounds.  (Same location.  New name.)  See my Eat Street blog post for more details.

Lots of Revists

As I think about the last couple of weeks, I realized I've been hitting a lot of folks I've passed over for relatively long periods of time in favor of sampling some of the newer trucks as they've been popping up.  It's not that I stayed away for specific reasons, but I also try to keep the blog fresh and current.  I've made returns to Pi, Hula, Sauca, Halal Gyro Plus, Goode's Mobile Kitchen, and more, and am pleased to say I was really happy with everything.  Even fine dining restaurants unfortunately can become complacent and suffer a decline in quality, so I think the measure of long-term consistency among most of the food truck operators warrants a big gold star.

After grabbing my kick-ass picnic blanket sack from Scoops2U (see above), I returned to two more for lunch today.  A couple of weeks ago I had pizza for the first time in a long while from DC Slices (although I'd been going for the sweet potato tots along the way) and commented on how much more I enjoyed it with thin crust rather than the thicker crust I recollected.  Tweet-master Tom indicated, yes it was thinner but because they thought the scale might have been off.  Of course I "suggested" they stick with the broken scale because it made the pizza so much less "heavy feeling".  Without any expectation my thoughts on the matter had anything to do with it, when I chowed down on my buffalo chicken with blue cheese slice today, there was still a really nice thin, crispy crust!!  YAY!  DC Slices is moving to 4 honks and will definitely be part of my regular rotation (for what there is of a 'rotation.')

My next stop was to Rolls on Rolls where I took issue with dry chicken in my last review.  Today's Kathi roll was anything but dry.  I ordered mine spicy, and in addition to being moist with expressive flavors, they weren't kidding when they kick up the heat -- there's some fire in there!  Since my primary complaint was with the un-juicy chicken, Rolls on Rolls is moving up as well, to 3.5 honks.

The final stop was to Scoops2U, not just to return the blanket, but to get a delicious chipwich.  As I pretty much expected to happen at some point, the prices of the sandwiches went up by $1 to $4, but given my comments in my last review I think the bump is totally warranted.  Today I put together a taste sensation of peanut butter cookies with salted caramel crunch ice cream.  Sinplicity needs to watch out for the (slightly) new(er) kid on the block!

I hope everyone has a great time at Curbside Cookoff tomorrow, operators and patrons!  Here's to hoping the rain stays away....

The folks of the Scoops2U truck are GENIUSES!

This totally needed a blog post.  There is a bit of unused real estate on the Scoops2U truck, and the operators have come up with an awesome idea to use it.  A tweet a few moments ago:

Hello chipheads!! Stop by our truck before your lunch and borrow a picnic blanket. Just leave us a drivers license.

LOVE IT!!!!!  Thoughtful and practical.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  See you in about 90 minutes.

How can you go wrong with Teriyaki?

...Marinate some meat in some teriyaki sauce, cook said meat, then hit it with some more sauce.  No argument here!

Last time I was at the Hula Girl truck, someone on line told me she was there because her friend told her the chicken was awesome. It occurred to me I'd never tried it, so today that changed.  Typically I have such a hard time deciding which 'format' to order my meal in, but I've always ever ordered steak.  After that it's always a question of picking between my loves: do I want spicy mayo, pickled veg, and loads of cilantro, or am I more in the mood for sticky rice and creamy mac salad.  The answer usually results in a sandwich order, but sometimes I'll switch it up a bit and go for some of those addicting carbs.  (How did Hawaiian's come to love carbs so much, anyway?)  I'd suggest eating the grilled chicken from the bottom-up so the pieces are steadily glazed with the tangy sauce which pools at the bottom.  Delish!

I also had an opportunity to taste the Kalua pork today, and as a result I offer this PSA to the handful of folks who have either commented on this blog or told me in person the pork is salty:  You should go try it again!  Not salty, just succulent noshing.  I may actually order it on purpose again next time!  

As always, thanks Mikala!  See you very soon.

My affection for tomatoes

...or my lack of.  My background is Italian, so I'm bred to love pasta & sauce, etc, but somehow the love for actual raw tomatoes skipped a generation.  I just don't like the texture.  Chop them up and cook them and I'm ok, but the slime-factor has historically been a deterrent.  After today, I may have to re-think....

When Chef Driven first launched his truck, in one early conversation about his intention to frequently change the menu, I suggested "I'd be first in line when you put soft-shell crabs on."  And today I followed through with my exact promise/threat -- first in line & first day.  A single crab lightly breaded and sauteed is served on a bed of arugula greens with, wait for it: tomatoes.  But not just any tomatoes.  Grape tomatoes, which were roasted until they just popped with a gentle marinade.  So good!  You can't see them really in the photo but amongst the peppery arugula, a nice pile of them could be found under the delicate, sweet, and slightly salty (in a good way) soft-shell.  Thanks, Jerry!  Another amazing salad.

The only thing I can say about this dish that would be unfavorable is it wasn't very filling as it only had the one crab.  I called Bayou Bros out a couple of weeks ago for their soft-shell offering, although I did fail to say it was actually 2 crabs when comparing it to Sabor'a Street, whose portion also came with 2 crabs:

"At $14, the sub (+Lays chips) is the same price as the last time DCers had soft-shells being served from a truck, but the earlier one was executed substantially better and came with a high-end side."

Bottom line, yet still considering the quality Chef Driven puts out, it's my opinion $14 is pretty expensive for this with only one crab, but would happily pay $16ish for two crabs.

Still hungry, I also grazed on another new menu item, which, lucky for me, had more of those luscious tomatoes.

What you see above are two cornmeal-crusted fried oyster tacos, stuffed with a mixed veg slaw, chopped lettuce greens, and a tarragon green goddess dressing.  The slaw had thin, beautiful slices of green onion, offering a mild onion flavor as well, without being over powering.  Biting in to one of the 5 plump oysters earned a pleasant pop of juiciness.  That, coupled with the crunch of everything else, made for yet another new, impressive twist on a taco.

Just go.  Really.  I can't say that enough!

Yet Another Gyro (and such) Truck

Based on tweets, it seems New York Gyro & Kabob has been out a while, but has been focused at Metro Center for about a month.  With its (possible?) inaugural visit to Farragut, I ordered my regular chicken over rice to compare apples with apples.  Maybe they do things different in New York than they do with halal here, but this platter definitely did not work for me.  Dry chicken.  A red sauce which was more tomato-y than anything else, and not particularly spicy as I'd otherwise be expecting.  White sauce had an aggressive Greek yogurt flavor.  (While I understand it is one of the ingredients, other trucks are far more successful at mellowing the taste.)  The channa was very mushy but the rice was decent.  I also didn't understand the chunks of green bell peppers.  1.5 honks.  BTW -- I don't think the propane tank is up to code....?  (Granted, I have no idea what code, but this looks really dangerous.)

Meanwhile, I also hit Sauca for the first time in about a year for a Mexicali Fish Taco.  Another one I don't know for sure why I stayed away so long ... OK, I do know and it's because I've been spending so much time trying to sample all the new trucks, but still...

The VA in the DC!

A private parking lot at National Geographic allowed a couple of Virginia trucks to venture in to the District today: Lemongrass Truck and Doug the Food Dude.  Lucky for me, NatGeo is close enough to my office so I could grab a bite from both.  First up was Doug for a Caribbean Pork over Cabana rice:

Three things struck me right off the bat with is this truck:

1. there doesn't appear to be a window which physically opens to know whether or not they're serving, (no biggie)
2. the length far surpasses what's allowed in DC, so I'm not expecting to see them around much except for private events/locations, (too bad) and
3. the smell coming from the door was insane.

My order was served almost immediately, with an initial reaction of "holy crap that's a lot of rice!"  Beneath the rice I found a thin layer of chopped lettuce and on top there was a mound of finely shredded pork.  I was totally prepared to say this dish needs substantially more pork, particularly at $9, but I did find two pretty good sized pieces a little buried in the rice -- still a wildly disproportionate small quantity compared to the rice, but not nearly as overpriced as I thought it might be.  Having said that, I'd love more of pineapple-mango sauce; I know in the photo it looks like a lot, but once you dig-in, it diminishes quickly.  

So what about the food?  The pork was tender with a gentle spice while the fluffy rice kicked up the heat a tad.  Both complemented the amazing sauce perfectly.  I didn't love the lettuce on the bottom, however, as most of the tender pieces just cooked under all the steaming rice, making for brown, unappetizing leaves.  I'd go back without hesitation and ask for no greens.  3.5 honks.

When Lemongrass was first announced, Food Truck Fiesta suggested this would be a VA & DC truck, and I've been anxiously waiting for a regular DC schedule.  Except for the 2nd Uncurbed, I believe today was the first regular service this side of the Potomac.

Lemongrass' menu offers three proteins with accoutrements in one of 4 forms: in a baguette as a banh mi, in flour tortillas for tacos, on top of thin rice noodles, or on top of greens as a salad.  I flirted with the vermicelli but decided on the salad instead as I gazed at the more than-enough-rice-product I has already been served from Doug.

While the chicken looked flaccid (see pic,) the bigger surprise when I actually began to eat was that it was cold.  I wouldn't have imagined both hot & cold versions of the same item on a truck for different formats, but ok, maybe Lemongrass does exactly that; I will say, if I were to have ordered the tacos and this is what arrived, I would have been terribly disappointed. 

Getting over the look and temperature of the meat, the lemongrass flavor the chicken embodied was acceptable, and the portion of meat was certainly generous at $8 for the large salad.  Other actors in this plate were about what you'd expect: picked veg, cucumber, and green leaf lettuce, plus cilantro.  (Personally I'd love more of the herb, but I may be in the minority on that one.)  With a little sweet, a little tart, and a little tang, the best part was definitely the homemade lemongrass dressing -- I'd pay good money for a bottle of that!!  3 honks, but I'll revisit when DC becomes a regular stop, if for no other reason but that dressing.

UPDATE:  Lemongrass reports the chicken should have been warm.  Many thanks for the clarification, the super-fast response, and the awesome customer service!  I'll be making a prompt visit next time they're back in Washington.

More than just pizza at Pi

The folks over at Pi have been serving wings for a while now, but I had completely forgotten so when I returned earlier after a (too) long while, I was excited to give them a try.  Plump and juicy, these wings aren't served doused in sauce.  They're baked with a distinct, flavorful, not too spicy dry-rub (and, I'm guessing, olive oil to make a marinade.)  While ranch or blue cheese dressings were both offered, I opted for the later, which was obviously housemade and delicious, although not chunky like one might think of traditionally.  $10 for 10, or $5 for 5 with a pizza.  

With Austin Grill's truck ka-put, it's my best recollection is the only other truck serving wings these days is Tasty Fried; I'll take these over Tasty's any time. 

Eat Street Blog

The woman who coordinates the blog for Eat Street, the program dedicated to US & Canadian food trucks on the Cooking Channel, suggested a theme this week of "What's the best thing you ever ate from a truck?"  When you love as many trucks as I do (and think so highly of so many owners,) it really is a daunting task to limit it to only one thing.  And, while I called out Chef Driven in my contributing post, I wanted to make it a point to name a few other honorable mentions in it as well.

One of the suggested items comes from a truck that was off the road making repairs for nearly four months, but alas has come back to me!  The adorable boys from Goode's Mobile Kitchen graced the West End today, allowing for a long-craved jerk chicken cheesesteak.

My love for this sandwich is well documented, but I wanted to welcome them back in to the fold after hiatus.  Thanks for my sub, gentlemen.

Check out the Eat Street blog post for a few more, but by no means all, of my favorites.

Fatter & now wetter in the rain, but still Happy

Another (sorta) marathon day, or at least it feels like it.  So far, I have only tackled two trucks, although Stella's PopKern is still on my radar for a bit later for what has become my regular Wednesday large basil & Thai ginger popcorn.  (It will last through Friday...)  For a couple of reasons, I made the extended hike back over to Franklin Square today for the (expected) new menu's from Chef Driven and Cirque Cuisine.  I've said it twice already, and now with multiple visits to both, I continued to be delighted with the lively and frequently changing offerings from Chefs Jerry and Jessica.

First stop was to Chef Driven for steak frites and a side of Panang curry stew.  For $13, I received a huge portion of juicy, cooked-to-order skirt steak, offered with a choice of chimichurri or au poivre sauces, a generous serving of fresh cut truffle fries, plus a micro-green and bibb lettuce salad.  My steak was perfectly cooked medium-rare and paired perfectly with the garlic in the sauce and the earthiness of the potatoes.  Luckily, Jerry picked up on my cues from last week and now has knives and uses containers with lids ... particularly welcome today in the spit of the rain. 

The stew ($6) was more st-oup-y than stew-y for me, with a thin (soup-like), slightly tart coconut broth, made in to stew with jasmine rice, bamboo shoots, roasted grape tomatoes, and baby corn.  It was topped with the "signature tendrils" of carrots and beets, plus fresh tender stalks of green onion.  Personally, I wouldn't be scared off by a little more "Panang heat," but the comfort-factor was well suited for the chill and dampness in the air today.  Three visits in just over a week, and haven't had the same thing twice, so with food this good, it's tough to go wrong with Chef Driven; go order anything.

My other new favorite truck also happened to be visiting Franklin today with their latest menu of open-faced sandwiches, a tart, and 3 salads. 

Wanting to try something else new from them too, I landed on the croque monsieur highlighted by prosciutto in lieu of ham.  When I asked for more protein than just the finely sliced goodness of Italian meat, Chef Jessica offered a side of the quinoa salad.  Love that idea!

While a traditional croque monsieur is a basically hot ham and cheese, the change in pork and general configuration, as well as the additions of apples, creamy onions and greens, kicked this crunchy stack of deliciousness to another category.  If it was the only thing I ate for lunch (which it clearly isn't) I might still be hungry as it was pretty light, but I wouldn't be disappointed.  So what would I recommend as an accompaniment?  It did come with (obviously house-made) radish chips, but I liked Jessica's suggestion better: the hearty yet still delicate quinoa salad.  It had nice bright flavor complemented by the coconut-lime dressing, mustard seeds, pine nuts, and green onions.  It wasn't quite Tapas Truck quinoa salad, but this one is a very close second and is probably healthier for me.  She even put a pretty little edible flower in the box, but somehow I was having brain-farts when I took the photo because that's the only corner that's cut off.

To round out my tasting at Cirque Cuisine, I tried the latest flavor of aqua fresca, and this one was right up my alley.  Pineapple, lime, and mint.  "Fresca!"  I might have to order a gallon for my next party to pair with some rum.

In a separate note, I hit DC Slices again yesterday and grabbed a slice of pizza.  I am very happy to say it seems to me the crust is thinner and therefore somewhat crispier than the last several times I had it.  Granted, it has been a while, but part of the reason the pizza was lower on my radar is because I remembered it being thicker, and thus heavier.  I enjoyed yesterday far more than other visits, and will be back again soon.

Another winner!

With a delicious sounding menu promised from Chef Driven today via Twitter, I took advantage of the nice day and made the extra walk down to Franklin Square to try out a couple main courses.  Two soups were available, including the one I reviewed previously, along with the lemongrass beef salad from last week's menu and a risotto.  Being unable to decide between the salad and the rice, I went with both.  (Totally unlike me, right??  Two meals?  Heh.)

Starting with the salad, it was a bright blend of bibb lettuce, cellophane noodles, fresh herbs, cucumbers, lime wedges, and scallions topped with 2 cooked-to-order skewers of steak and Jerry's "signature" carrot & beet spaghetti.  (I don't know if that's really his signature thing, but I've had three things and I've had pretty tendrils three times.)  It all paired perfectly with the light flavored, slightly tart dressing.  I particularly enjoyed the whole pieces of mint which added a clean pop of zing when I caught one on my fork, without being overpowering.  There are a few salads I'd be happy to have just about any time, and this can easily be added to that list.

When it came to the risotto, it looked like shrimp and grits (of the polenta variety) which I've often found to be on the sweet side of things.  Alas this was surely risotto and the sweetest things in the blend were the plentiful shrimp.  Other than that it was quite a savory dish with creamy and rich arborio, obviously a lot of saffron given the color, briny black olives, and lardons of bacon.  It was delicious, but I'm not sure I'd order it on a day much warmer than today (~65*?) as it might be a little heavy.  While I quite enjoyed it, I could stand for a tad less salt given the seasoning olives and bacon provide.

I (am hoping and) expect the menu to change pretty frequently, which will equate to a frequent customer in me.  So far I'm really impressed.  Hopefully the couple of glitches in occasional slowness will quickly improve as the team gets the hang of things.  4 honks.  A few constructive thoughts:

1. You need knives.
2. A lot of people who eat from trucks, myself included, often take their meals back to the office, so I'd highly recommend packaging which allows the food to be covered.  I know you were using saran wrap to cover things, but that can be cumbersome and definitely slowed things down at the window.  Early on Fojol had open containers with a box of aluminum foil available on the side if you wanted to cover it, but they learned and changed to use something that closes.
3. My friend and I agreed we would be happy to spend an extra couple of bucks for another skewer of beef -- maybe give an option...?

I really am very excited at the fresh new prospects in this truck, and Cirque Cuisine.  Go Jerry & Jessica!!

Bayou Bros

Earlier today I made my inaugural visit to Bayou Brothers after a missed attempt last week. Their initial menu is made up of several po-boy sandwiches (including soft-shell crab and alligator) and jambalaya. Last week, during an uncharacteristically late lunch for me, I went and checked out the menu for the first time and was unexcited to see the po-boy subs only were stacked with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayo, whereas I otherwise was expecting something more kicked up in the dressing department. I would have gotten a soft-shell crab sandwich, but plain old mayo really turned me off, and the jambalaya was sold out. Another time .... Later that day I tweeted suggesting the need for a more interesting condiment.

Less than a week later, I was pleasantly surprised to see mayo was gone and remoulade was in! I'll take that soft-shell crab po-boy now, please! The good: the bread was fresh, light, and well suited for the sandwich, and the sliced pickles added nice crunch. The not-so-good: the batter used on the crabs wasn't very interesting, and I would hardly call the remoulade anything more than a lightly seasoned mayo...!  Gimme that with some whole grain mustard, more herbs and spices, something tart, and some heat.

At $14, the sub (+Lays chips) is the same price as the last time DCers had soft-shells being served from a truck, but the earlier one was executed substantially better and came with a high-end side. The folks running around in a sweet update to the retired Eat Wonky truck are still quite new, but don't (yet?) compare to Cajunators. 3 honks at the moment, but I'll check it out again in a month or two.

In a follow-up to Friday's post, over the weekend I was finally un-full enough (after that marathon eat-fest at Farragut Friday) to heat up and enjoy the Brazilian tomato soup from newcomer Chef Driven.  It was creamy, rich, and light all at the same time.  Totally delightful and I can't wait to try a full meal from this sweetheart trio of gentlemen.  A little birdy told me the destination and menu for Tuesday, and I think I may actually have to make the extra hike to go grab some saffron scented shrimp risotto with roasted tomatoes, bacon, and olives.  Whoa!  Rating will come when I am able to catch up with them again.

Finally, I don't think I mentioned it previously, but hopefully folks caught my premiere blog post as a contributing blogger for the Cooking Channel's Eat Street program, which airs in the US and Canada.  Next post in progress....  Stay tuned.

Fat n' Happy

I hit a personal record 5 food trucks today around Farragut Square today, and needless to say, "I'm STUFFED!"  First up was to see my friend Alex at Far East Taco grill, because he was open early and I hadn't caught up with him in a while, so I grabbed a couple of tacos to eat while I waited in several other lines.  No need to review his food because I say all the time how much I love it.  Then I my first visit to the new-ish truck Cirque Cuisine. While the menu changes all the time, today's offerings really reminded me of Jorge Pimentel's retired truck Sabor'a Street which truly used to be one of my very favorite trucks, mostly because the menu changed all the time and it was always high quality and very fresh.

So now Cirque Cuisine is making a go for some similar traits in the frequency of menu changes.  However, based on a few of the menus I've seen posted from them, I don't think they are limiting themselves to Latin flavors, despite what today's menu looked like.  I went for the banana leaf wrapped fish and almost felt like Chef Jessica was embodying Chef Jorge.  The fish was perfectly moist topped with an incredible pineapple (and more) tropical salsa, and served over fluffy coconut rice.  And, while the fish was awesome, the sweet but slightly salted plantains were just insane.  They melted in my mouth.  Cirque Cuisine can be found under 4 honks.

Next.  Yesterday Borinquen Lunch Box tweeted to "Chef Driven" something to the effect of "nice to meet you today and good luck" so I asked, "Who's Chef Driven?"  (More on that later, but) during the brief Twitter discussion, Enrique informed me they would have crab empanadas on the menu for today.  Of course that meant I had to therefore make a stop at his truck today.  I found them to be light and crispy with an appropriate blend of flavorful crab meat and red peppers. 

After a quick stop to grab some sweet potato tots from DC Slices for afternoon noshing, (woot ... they're back...!) I started heading back to my office and stumbled upon, none other than, Chef Driven!  He was parked off the Square and looked pretty lonely compared to all the activity only a couple hundred feet away.

After a gander at the menu and a quick chat with the owners to explain I actually knew who they were because of my random Twitter conversation yesterday, I further explained I had already stuffed myself silly.

Totally appreciating my dilemma (although having zero idea I would be blogging about them later,) they offered a sample.  OMG!  Look what I was handed a minute later:

It's beautiful!  And ridiculously good.  Typically I don't care for tomato soup unless something else is going on with it (like beans, pasta, etc,) and this Brazilian variety totally satisfied.  I've only had a couple of spoonfuls so far, but will totally devour the tomato-coconut-rice concoction later.  With only a taste, I don't feel right awarding a rating, but I'm feeling like this will be a 4 honker.  I anxiously await the next visit to anywhere in a 4-block radius of 19th & I so I can chow down on a whole meal.  (HINT, HINT!)

Earlier this week, I made a return to Flavors of India where my biggest complaint after my first visit was with the naan; it was much improved this time, and I continue to be happy with what is being served off the white bus.  I also caught Pepe for a second try, and while I of course HAD to get the Ibérico again, I figured I should try something else too.  The Butifarra "Burger" would earn 3.5 honks on its own (but average 4 & 3.5, you still get 4) for the combination of aioli and "brava" sauce -- A party!  And a nice complement to the juicy, uncased, flat sausage.

Happy Easter everyone!

Mojo wins with Tapas

To date I still haven't been to the Mojo truck as the 'Chivitos' don't appeal to me personally, but last Friday the same team of people officially launched a second truck, this time with a tapas concept.  At the moment, they offer 4 savory options (2 for $8 or 3 for $9,) plus flan for dessert ($3.)  All tapas plates are served with potatoes provencal, a.k.a. seasoned french fries.  The result is $9 will get you a ton of food.

Starting at 12-o'clock, we have spicy, garlic sauteed shrimp over a piece of french bread.  Of the three tapas today, this was by far my favorite as a whole, and to me was the most appropriate tapa "size".  It is just as it sounds, but the juice from the saute pan get soaked up deliciously by the bread when the small shrimp are poured over for serving.  

Next I had the sausage shown on the left which, billed as chorizo, didn't come off that way.  I was expecting some good heat but this was quite mild.  As far as format is concerned, I had Jaleo's chorizo tapas in my head, which has 5 little sausages, about the size and shape of Vienna Sausages (not taste or texture, obviously.)  Thus, my (unfair) expectation was different than what I received, yet I personally wouldn't call a single, large link like this a tapa.  Having said all that, the quinoa salad it was served on with dried cranberries, lentils, herbs and more was the single best thing on the plate -- I'd order a bowl of that on it's own.

Finally, the potato croquette, stuffed with (a little) bacon and provolone cheese...  Despite being creamy, well flavored, and perfectly fried, it was dry.  I found myself trying to rub each bite in the well of the container which held the shrimp for a little moisture.  It would be well suited to be served with some sort of sauce.

Tapas Truck is serving something different than what other trucks presently offer, and notwithstanding the fact it is served in a styrofoam container, there is a pleasant, slightly more "refined" feel to the plate.  3.5 honks.

Revisiting Kraving Kabob

Lunchtime today presented an opportunity for another visit to try Kraving Kabob again.  The last time there were issues with my order for no apparent reason, but when I tweeted the blog post, they did reply to offer a freebie on my next visit.  And with this visit (sans freebie) it was clear they genuinely want to try and please their customers.  I ordered something off-menu knowing the ingredients were on-board, although not at all to test them.  Kraving Kabob offers a couple of chicken options and also a steak & cheese, so I asked if they could do a chicken-steak and cheese.  "No problem, we want you to be happy" was the cheerful reply.  While I ended up taking all the filling and eating it on 1/2 the sub roll, I think this may be a sandwich they should consider adding to the menu.  I was grateful it came with the same flavorful green sauce without having to ask, as I had forgotten about it from last time.  It was otherwise about what you'd expect: chopped chicken kabob and cheese on a long roll.

Since my November visit, they've changed the brand they use for french fries, plus they are now served loosely wrapped in aluminum foil which wasn't completely closed so the steaming problem has gone away ... major improvements for both points.  I'd like to see some sauces available to the customers on the counter for adding to sandwiches or for fry dipping, but when I asked for white sauce for my fries, it didn't seem to be too big a deal other than it took attention away from the person trying to order from the same guy.

One no-no that I called Goode's out on back in October is the surcharge on credit cards, but was more egregious at Kraving Kabob.  My order was $8 and I handed over my credit card.  In this case I was told about the $.50 surcharge after the card was scanned, to which I replied "I would have paid cash then, had I known."  Apparently Kraving Kabob makes two trucks (that I know of) which charge to take credit, to my point related to Goode's Mobile Kitchen:

"...although I did find the $.50 charge to use credit off-putting.  No other truck charges for credit, or they take cash only.  Especially when the charge from Square (for example) is $.22-.27 on Goode's average order, how come $.50? ... so I'd reconsider the substantial up-charge on the credit payments."

At least Goode's told me up-front and didn't swipe my card before advising of the charge.

Now for some math

If 1/2 the Indian trucks serve kabobs, and if 1/2 the kabob trucks serve halal, and then if 1/2 the halal trucks serve gyros, and moreover if 1/2 the gyro trucks serve shawarmas, that equals how many of such trucks are out in DC right now?  17!  With that rough count, it's nearly 20% of trucks, not including carts.  Now I know they're not all the same, but I think you can see my thought process in this case, and now it's time to add one more!  Mayur Kabob House Curry & Kabobs.

 

According to the owner, they've been out for about a week, but another one without Twitter, so it's hard to know when and where.  (He did say he was hoping to be @TandooriTime by tomorrow ... we'll see.)  This is also the next in the growing line of brick-and-mortar shops to go mobile.  While I have an Indian friend who swears by the restaurant, I have another Indian friend who would prefer the food from the truck be more spicy.  (I tried to explain the truck is probably stuck trying to appeal to a broader audience by not kicking up the heat too much.)  3 honks with good potential to move up:

Mayur Kabob House (No Twitter yet, but hoping to become @TandooriTime) -- I was all set to slot the newest addition to the Indian food truckers (and friends, etc) in at 3.5 honks but thought better of it when I looked at what other trucks are in at 3 & 3.5 respectively.  However, this one has distinct possibilities to move up because I loved the flavors of everything.  The issues I had were with execution of 3 of the 6 items I ate.  First of all, I really enjoyed both the dal and the channa ... no concerns with either.  The naan was also better than Flavors of India in that it wasn't as dense.  But when I got to both the Seekh kabob and the buttered chicken, despite the pleasing tastes, the dry meat couldn't be overcome in either case.  Then the last challenge was with the rice.  While it was light and properly cooked, it was quite watery.  (No joke; I was shocked.)  I'll for sure try them again to see if the problems relate to opening-week jitters.  

Ice Cream Treat Season Has Begun!

After a mild winter, the cold treat trucks are beginning to come back out of the woodwork, starting with Scoops2U who's joined in the food truck party quite a bit as of late.  At the end of last season they were just starting out and you could occasionally find them randomly offering free 1/2 chipwiches at DCs usual truck locations.  With the recent warm weather, you can now regularly get whole sandwiches and cones (including in "specialty" flavors like pretzel and chocolate chip cookie cones) are available for $3.  That makes Scoops one of the best deals in DC.  

Look at it this way -- can you walk out of a 7-Eleven and get a mass-produced, probably freezer-burned chipwich for less than $2?  Unlikely.  For a buck more than that, this one is made on the spot with fresh baked cookies (or brownies, etc) and homemade ice cream.  Go early in the day rather than later because the cookies are softer, making the whole package substantially easier to eat.  Trust me on that one... I had one last week late in the day, and while delicious, the slightly harder cookie made taking a bite quite difficult as much of the ice cream just got squeezed out the back.

It also sounds like Sinplicity will come out to play again pretty soon, starting with weekend farmers markets and hopefully the truck soon after.  (CAN'T WAIT!!!)  I haven't heard anything from the Orange Cow or Pleasant Pops, but I have no doubt they both are making plans for 2012 launches.  Plus Goodies will be launching soon, which I am very much looking forward to.

As it turned out, this became a week of catching up with a couple old friends after hitting up Hula Girl, and today Far East Taco Grill.  I hadn't seen either Mikala or Alex in quite a while as I continually try to keep up with the new trucks and spread the love (...a near impossible task...) but it's always nice to return to old standbys that always deliver.  Thanks M & A, as always.  Happy weekend!

More Indian Food

Well, it was my first stumble across the latest Indian food truck to hit DC's streets earlier today, but the owners of Kebatik said they've been out and around for a couple of weeks.  The nondescript red truck with no name has 4 menu items:

 

Standing outside the window, you can see the chicken shawarma roasting on it's spit, and it looked awesome, though I opted to try the chicken biryani instead.  While the rice was well cooked and nicely flavored as rice, there were some really large pieces of several spices which were unpleasant to bite in to ... chunks of hard cinnamon and whole, pretty aggressive caraway seeds.  Right or wrong from traditional biryani, I was also expecting "chunks" of chicken running through the rice, more cubed or shredded, but this was two roasted chicken legs with the rice piled on top.  A well of "gravy" was served in one of the smaller pockets of the takeout container, which, when coupled with the mint and hot sauces also served on the side, summed up everything to make a pretty decent dish.  (The gravy had a stray shrimp, presumably from the curry; let's just say I am unlikely to be ordering that in the future.)

The simple salad on the side left a lot to be desired, however.  I think the greens were washed and then sat heavy for quite a while as they had a texture and taste that really failed.

Next time I'll probably ask if I can have the shawarma chicken in biryani rice, and I think that will be a real winner.  Nice, engaging folks, but only 3 honks for my first time. 

I also gave Fojol Brothers of Volathai another try, ordering a dingo bite of Beef Massaman.  It's a coconut-based curry, a little similar to Panang, with beef and potatoes.  While I wasn't in love with my first visit, I'm much more optimistic after this experience.  The massaman will be my Thai "BB Gun" -- with the Fojols, that's a double buttered chicken from Merlindia, a double beef berbere from Benethopia, and now will be a double beef massaman from Volathai.  (While I can actually order that way at the first two, we'll have to see if the same will work at here...)

Sang has returned west of 14th Street

It seems like forever since Sang has been on this side of 14th Street NW, particularly considering at one point GWU was visited at least two days a week.  But today she popped her Farragut cherry for the first time... on a day that almost felt like a Farragut Friday given the volume of mobile eateries lining the square.  For me personally, it's been probably a year since I've had the chance to have some BBQ meatballs with noodles.  In that time, the prices seem to have remained about the same, yet you can see from the photos on the Ratings page 1/2 as many meatballs are being served with the combo.  Instead, since there are huge pieces of tofu and vegetables mixed in with the Drunken Noodles, so if those are your sort of thing, no problem because plenty of both comes with the noted side.  I will say however, the lamb meatballs were the best I've had from Sang with great flavor and juicy goodness.  (...just wish there were more than 2...)

For the first time, I also ordered an egg roll with my combo, and I was pleasantly surprised by the pork & veg crispy treat, made even better with the sauce which is ladled on just as you are passed your order.  $10 for the 2 meatballs, noodles, and an egg roll.

A bit after lunch, I was finally able to catch up with Stella's PopKern for an afternoon snack.  Having seen the menu a couple of times, it seems like the usual suspects are a large variety of cheese and/or caramel flavored popcorns, along with a french chocolate and salt mixed blend.  And then a couple options for olive oil & some-other-seasoning blend which seem to change regularly.  For example, last week one could have ordered basil olive oil with Thai ginger salt or Tuscan herb olive oil with rosemary sea salt.  Then yesterday the choices were lemon olive oil with salt & cracked pepper or roasted chili olive oil with lime fresco sea salt.  I went for the second option and found it to be light, both in flavor and in that it didn't "weigh me down".  It might be nice for a bit more seasoning, but will say my enjoyment increased the further I made it through the bag.  Prices range from $2.75-5 for a small (think small brown lunch bag sized) and $5.25-9.50 for a large.

No Heart Attack for Me!

Because that greasy but heavenly fat on the most expensive single thing you can presently buy from a DC food truck is apparently (maybe) good for you!!!  Let me 'splain....

I arrived early to visit the new Pepe truck from James Beard award winning chef, José Andrés, just as they were pulling up.  Since all the flautas (sandwiches) seem to be "pre-stacked" it only took them about 5 minutes to get ready and begin serving.  Up to the window and I ordered "the gold standard" figuring the order taker would know what I meant given the small fortune for the (already) most famous item on the menu.  After he chuckled at my lame joke, I went on to indicate I had heard it was "that good" and gently asked his opinion.  He said it totally was and that people "just didn't understand what Ibérico pork really (is.)"  Gee, I guess I didn't really either, so I took it upon myself to immediately be educated while I chowed down on my stacked pork, Serrano ham, caramelized onions, roasted green peppers, and alioli on a thin fresh baked (kind of) torpedo-style bread.  This is known as the Pepito de Ibérico.

When I first opened the neatly wrapped package, my first reaction was "I'm going to drop dead of a heart attack the second I'm done eating this insane-smelling concoction" as I saw pork fat oozing out the sides.  Then I begin reading... You've gotta love any yummy-like-butter description which reads:

"...A good ibérico ham has regular flecks of intramuscular fat (marbling). Because of the pig's diet of acorns, much of the fat is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol..."

Healthy, right?  Sure!  That's all I needed to devour my lunch without hesitation and, man was it good.  AND totally worth every penny of the $20, particularly now I've actually done the research to learn how fine the primary product is.  I don't even usually care for green peppers, but the aggregate really made for an unexpectedly smooth but rich, delicious bite (after bite, after bite.)

Ya think I'm gonna give this 4 honks?  Well, DUH!  Don't let the price or the marble scare you off.

Decisions, Decisions.

Based on the known options available from tweets For lunch today, I intended to enjoy a Kogi from Kimchi BBQ Taco.  As I arrived to Farragut Square today for my ritual truck lunch, I also saw a couple of the anti-Twitter usual suspects of House of Falafel and Lasagna Plus, but what would become more interesting was the white school bus parked near the NW corner.  I passed it off as a field trip or shuttle bus as I trekked across the Square for my spicy pork box.  Then while waiting for my food I realized that little school bus had coolers out front and was serving food. Time for a brief field trip for myself!!

There's no menu to speak of, but the side of the bus has several items listed.  

I asked the friendly gentleman standing in the bus' stairwell what was available and how is it ordered.  He said they at least have two vegetables every day, along with buttered chicken and some other chicken every day.  Today they had chicken kabobs.  Still no prices or further details, so I said I'd like to try both chicken options with some rice and naan.  He clarified if that meant two orders or one and I asked if it was available as a single order.  No problem.  Apparently that order was $8.  What I received must have been a sample of just about everything they were serving because I got a huge order including all kinds of stuff.

In addition to the chicken I ordered, I also received a large portion of channa masala and a smaller portion of mixed vegetables (vegetable korma?), both of which were enjoyable as simple side dishes.  (Channa under the naan in the photo.)  The buttered chicken had more of a tang than what the Fojols serve, and definitely had less heat; I wasn't sure I loved it with my first bite, but shortly realized I was quite happy with the sauce which was perfect to dip in to with the somewhat "heavy" naan.  (A bit dense, as opposed to light and lovely they was naan should be.)  Past that, the kabob chicken was juicy with an easy tandoori flavor.  I will definitely go back and award Flavors of India 3.5 honks.  No known Twitter yet though.

Meanwhile, as I'm leaving the Square to head back to my office, I walked directly past Lasagna Plus to learn they've added a number of menu items since my first visit: they now serve platters (eggplant/chicken parmesan and meatball) and sandwiches of the same.  I nearly stopped to grab some meatballs, but at this point I was already carrying two lunches.  Next time.