Another week coming to an end

And while I'm looking forward to hitting Farragut Friday in a couple of hours, on Wednesday I met my prior record of 5 trucks in a single day again: Sate Indonesian Food, Souvlaki Stop, Stella's, Captain Cookie, and Sinplicity.  I won't go in to Stella's or Sinplicity as I've discussed both many times, and will start with my first stop, Sate.  

Two options for sate, chicken or beef (or combo) served with rice and vegetables and Mie Ayam which is described as egg noodles, sesame sauce, chicken, oyster mushrooms, bok choy, and crispy wontons.  Realizing I would be also ordering a beef-something from Souvlaki Stop, I opted to go with the chicken sate.  While preparing the order, one of the two gentlemen on the truck asked if I liked spicy.  When I replied affirmatively, they filled my container with "spicy rice" instead of white rice.  Four skewers of reasonably grilled chicken topped the rice, along with a really tempting, moderately peanut-ty sauce.  On the other hand, the vegetables are described as a stew and they really meant it.  Really mushy carrots, onions, and string beans were also cooked with potatoes (or maybe turnips/rutabagas) but the starch component had broken down to the point it dissolved, making it indistinguishable.  $8.  3.5 honks.  No Twitter yet, but more than some of the other vendors who say they will get on Twitter, I kind of believe these guys.

Rather than going for the platter as I normally would if it were the only lunch I planned to enjoy, I went for a Greek salad from Souvlaki Stop, with beef souvlaki.  Even though I ended up bringing the salad home and ate it for dinner, I did sample the components as served.  It's interesting... I actually preferred everything at dinner far more than the lunchtime sampling.  During the day when I tried the beef, while the meat was heavily seasoned, I found it quite dry.  Later that evening, the (at that point) chilled beef worked nicely against the feta and other components.  The menu has both a green salad ($4) and a Greek ($6) listed, and both are available with a protein for $2 more.  Looking forward to the feta along with the typical herb-heavy oil and vinegar dressing, I asked for the Greek salad, but was disappointed to find a creamy Italian-ish blended dressing.  So, when I ate the salad, I instead dolloped the provided yogurt-based tzatziki sauce, which worked nicely other than being way too thick for that purpose.  I'll go for 3.5 honks on them too.

Later in the afternoon, Captain Cookie and the Milkman truck made its way to Farragut for the later part of lunch service, so I made a quick trip between meetings and ordered two cookies with milk ($4) from the varied options including made-to-order ice cream sandwiches, not too dissimilar from what Scoops2U offers.  Both cookies were soft and the ginger molasses fit the bill perfectly, but between my friend and I we could find only 3 chocolate chips in my entire chocolate chip cookie (maybe 3-3.5" in diameter, for perspective,) and frankly that cookie needed more of that creaminess running through it.  (If you click the photo to the right to blow it up and see the bottom of the lower cookie, you can see no chocolate.)  On a separate note, the size of the milk jug was unexpected to a benefit of 4 ounces.  Well priced menu and owners who are anxious to please.  A trifecta for 3.5 honks.

BTW -- Can I just mention how, at this point, it is nearly a daily occurrence I walk up to Farragut Square where there is another new truck?  Even when I look at the map, if there's nothing that I'm necessarily in the mood for, I am confident I can go and find either a new truck, or at least one from the Shame List.

Off to Farragut Friday soon... 

Chinese Food

Since last week when the members of my carpool called ahead on the way home for Chinese take-out last week, I've been in the mood, but was just not hungry that afternoon.  (I'm sure I probably must have hit 2-3 trucks for lunch, and since I'm not a big dinner take-out gal anyway...)  As luck would have it, a Chinese food truck premiered Wednesday at Farragut Square, although I'm not sure they've given themselves any sort of name -- the truck only says "Chinese Cuisine."

There were three items on the menu, and you could get whatever you wanted (including combo) with white rice or lo mein noodles for $8.  The proprietor did say he plans on changing the food options once every 2-3 days, so time will tell how often that may turn out to be.

I opted to try the two chicken options with rice.  Neither were spicy at all, and not a single peanut could be found in the kung pao.  Instead, there were copious chunks of some sort of squash, or maybe it was zucchini; it was hard to tell given the one-note color and texture.  Then for the orange chicken ... do you know how you can sometimes tell if the oil is "new" or "old" when you order french fries at certain places?  Well, besides being fried ahead of service, it would be my guess the chicken was fried in "old oil."  This made the chunks more chewy than crispy, although I give a modicom of credit for saucing each order, so it wasn't soggy too.  Chinese Cuisine fits appropriately with the company slotted at 2.5 honks.  If he actually changes the menu regularly as stated, I might go again and try something else.  No chopsticks, and no Twitter.

Still so busy....

I'm clearly very far behind with all the latest menu item "sampling" (plus a handful of re-visits) I've been able to do over the last couple of weeks, so I'm going to try to get a quick n' dirty summary done here to catch up:

Vietnamese Pork Lettuce Wraps from Cirque Cuisine: I swear Chef Jessica is on a mission to get me to eat more vegetables, and frankly, she's winning.  Two large leaves of butter lettuce stuffed with savory, slow-cooked pork and each topped with a giant mint leaf.  It was served with a light slaw of bok choy, cabbage, and fennel(?) plus a dipping (or pouring) sauce.  Fresh herbs make everything better...

Balinese Beef Satay from Cirque Cuisine: This was the same day, so these 4 tender skewers of beef were served with the same crunchy bok choy & cabbage salad as the pork wraps along with coconut sticky rice.  The surprisingly delicate peanut-ty sauce wasn't particularly spicy, but a thick(-ish) hot sauce is available to kick-up anything you want.  Cirque Cuisine continues to be a favorite, and I'm hoping to find time for another Eat Street article to profile them soon.

Funnel Cake from Reba's Funnel Cakes: Think about eating air that is gently sweet and perfectly crispy and you'll know what this funnel cake it about.  IMHO a bit pricey at $7 with just powdered sugar or $8 with fresh fruit.  Gets 4 honks anyway.

Kobideh & Beef Combo from Fresh Afghan Meals: I'd call it a close cousin of many of the other kabob trucks with different variations on the seasonings.  The kobideh (ground meat hand formed on a stick to resemble a sausage but without casing) was juicy and well cooked in polar opposite to the beef kabob which was pretty tough and overcooked.  They were both served over a different rice than I've had from the other kabob trucks, containing raisins and a spice-blend I'm going to guess as baharat (or some other blend that for sure contains cinnamon.)  Other differences included a more tomato-y chickpea side than others, plus the white sauce more strongly maintained its greek yogurt flavor -- none in a bad way, just different.  I probably won't go for the beef kabob again, but would definitely return for everything else.  3.5 honks.

Oyster PoBoy from Cajunators: Plump, cornmeal crusted oysters stuffed in a much-improved hoagie roll from the last time I engaged with one of their sandwiches (August 2011 Truckeroo.)  Plus, these guys KNOW how to make remoulade.  Everytime I hit this truck, I like it more and more.

Gumbo from Chef Driven: Talking about plump oysters, they are just one of the bits of goodness you will find in the zesty gumbo Chef Jerry is putting out. The effort he put in the roux is plainly evident.  As I've said several times, just go and order anything.

Chicken Pimenton, Pork Andaluz, and Corn Fritter tapas from Tapas Truck: Better than both my first and second visits as I truly enjoyed all three tapas this go-round.  I'm hoping the creamy corn fritters stick around a while, although I continue to appreciate changing menus.

I've been deliquent!

Between Thursday and today, I haven't had a chance to write about lots of new food:

Vietnamese Pork Lettuce Wraps from Cirque Cuisine

Balinese Beef Satay from Cirque Cuisine

Funnel Cake from Reba's (will come out at 4 honks)

Kobideh & Beef Combo from Fresh Afghan Meals (will come out at 3.5 honks)

Arroz con Pollo y Habichuela's from Borinquen Lunch Box

I swear I will get to it, although it was all good.  (Particularly Cirque Cuisine and Reba's...)  This post will act as a placeholder for the moment.  I also haven't updated last week's posts in the overall rank Page.  Hopefully it can all happen soon.  Busy week...

To Wiz or not to Wiz?

No, that's not the name of a Michael Jackson musical based on the Wizard of Oz; it is an ingredient quietly being offered from a new truck.  The rain stayed away and I made my inaugural trip to Phillies Phamous Cheesesteaks, (not that the rain would have stopped me.)  6" or 12" subs with chicken or beef with all the fixings you'd want for $7 & $13, respectively, or a special with chips & a soda for a couple bucks more.  For the first time (I'm aware of) from a DC food truck, these guys are trying something new by handing you an order sheet with a pen when you walk up so you don't have to try to explain your order to someone else ... just circle what you want, or otherwise make a note.

This morning tweets indicated "by popular demand, you can now ask for Wiz."  Typically I order my cheesesteaks with some sort of cheese that comes by the slice, but since I know Philadelphians(?) order it "with Wiz," I figured I go that route on my beef six-inch.  No offense to the noted Philadelphites(?) but, "You're doing it wrong."  (Jk.)  In all seriousness, I think I'm just more used to the way everyone else does it outside of the City of Brotherly Love and prefer the creaminess, texture, and general binding effect the melted slices of cheese provide to a cheesesteak.  So, I hardly noticed the Wiz, but that allowed me to take in all of the flavor of finely chopped, well seasoned beef and perfectly prepped onions stuffed in a pillowy-soft sub roll.  I'll go back to sliced cheese when I make my fast return to Phillies Phamous which may tip the balance to 4 honks.  3.5 honks 'til then.  Oh, and thanks for the mint I found at the bottom of my bag...

Meanwhile, I'm guessing it was not planned, but both popcorn trucks found themselves on opposite edges of Farragut today as well; it is Stella's PopKern's normal Wednesday spot, (although I was really happy she got there substantially earlier than her usual second-half of lunch arrival,) and Popped! Republic was involved in some DC101 promotional event.  I have been a fan and frequent customer of Stella's since she launched about 2.5 months ago, often spending $10-$12 a week on my habit, particularly when basil & Thai ginger is on the board.  Then you have Popped! Republic who launched on Saturday at Curbside Cookoff.  The differences "on the surface" between the two trucks:

Stella's PopKern: More flavors, including sweet, traditional, and more savory options.
Popped! Republic: Kettle Korn and otherwise traditional flavors like movie theater, caramel, cheddar.  Better packaging, mostly because it can be properly closed easily.  More options in portion size with 4 instead of Stella's 2.  Loyalty cards are a nice feature as well. 

For the 8 or 9 flavors I've tried between the two, I prefer the caramel at Stella's due to its milky-er quality.  On the other side, the kettle korn from Republic was an excellent blend of salty and sweet, save the large chunks of coating I caught while I absentmindedly shoveled from the bag to my mouth.  (See pic -- that's wide margin looseleaf.)  Other than the single time I received a bag of way too salty buttered popcorn from Stella, one recurring problem I've had is the flaky part of the kernel's hulls have a high tendency to get stuck in teeth.  It may sound petty to mention it, but I've never seen popcorn containing so much of it, and I can only guess it is the type of popcorn being popped.  I'm still quite content to return to Stella's and will be equally obliged to go back to Popped! Republic.  As such, 3.5 honks for P!R as well.

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.