D.C. has a good assortment of food trucks. Most Fridays I instigated a food truck outing with my coworkers. Most wouldn't go; I'd usually get one or two people. We either went to Franklin Square Park or Metro Center, both had pods of food trucks and each were only about three blocks away. Sometimes we ate outside, sometimes on the roof of our building, and sometimes inside by our work area. Sometimes on non-food-truck days, we also took our plates of food from lunch up to the roof. I vividly remember that on one (of the many) unseasonably warm days in the winter--February 1st--we ate outside on the roof in the sun.
I also went to food trucks solo, on days when I happened to be on my own for lunch. Some days I ate on the grass in the park.
The quality of the food trucks vary. Some are rather mediocre. Others are great. My favorite food trucks of those I visited more than once are Fojol Brothers (any version), Rolls on Rolls, and Basil Thyme. They're bolded below. Note that there are some great trucks that I only happened to visit one; they're not bolded.
Here's everything I tried in chronological order:
- Capitol Greenz (sandwiches, salads, and soups).
They served me a panini exactly the quality I can make for myself without thinking. Also, the black bean soup I tried was kind of like gruel in texture and with nothing besides black beans in it to liven it up. - Fojol Brothers (Indian and Ethiopian and Thai).
- From the Merlindian truck, the chicken curry, made from chicken thighs, was good. The curried chickpeas were decent but still respectable. The spicing could've been better in my opinion. Basic average Indian fare.
- From the Benethiopian truck, the Ethiopian shiro was a quite good, thick, buttery, red sauce. The dish of mostly carrots with some green beans was also good. Definitely this place is better than some sit-down Ethiopian places I tried in the city. The injera was also good and respectable. Another day I returned to the Benethiopian truck, having the carrots and green beans again and also a dish of red lentils that pleased me as well. Yet another day I returned, having decent collard greens and great beef berbere, wonderfully soft beef in a thick curry sauce with a slight twang of spiciness.
- From the Volathai truck, I tried two delicious dishes: drunken noodles (a.k.a. pad kee mao) with beef and duck red curry. Both had a nice kick. I was happy with the balance in the drunken noodles of rice noodles, broccoli, tomato, onion, and beef (though the latter was a bit tough). Likewise, the balance of jasmine rice, curry, duck, pineapple, potato, basil, and maybe other stuff was right in the other dish. The duck itself was perfectly done, with not much skin to remove (and still tasted just as good with the skin removed). I would order these again in a heartbeat.
- Rolling Ficelle (sandwiches).
They serve sandwiches on baguettes with a soft crust. I got the special of the month: "eggplant, roasted red pepper, tomato compote with mozzarella and roasted garlic aioli." It was very good. It reminded me of a meatball sub (with an appropriate sauce) but with small chunks of eggplant and peppers inside the sandwich instead of meatballs. Incidentally, I was amused to see the sign "boss blocked twitter? Find us on foodtruckfiesta.com" (a site that aggregates and republishes twitter feeds for D.C.-area food trucks).
- Rolls on Rolls (Indian).
They serve kathi rolls. My chicken masala roll, served with cabbage in a spicy sauce in a naan-like roll, was good. Note: I asked for it spicy and it indeed was mighty spicy. I had to eat yogurt to cool down my mouth. Months later, after I forgot I ate here before, I tried a kathi rolls with chickpeas. I was a bit nervous about eating something with only chickpeas, but there was enough stuff going on with the cabbage and blend of tastes. I ordered it medium and it had the right kick. Maybe I just like kathi rolls. Indeed, I do: I enjoyed the mixed vegetable roll (medium spicy) I had a few months later. It contained peas, corn, green beans, lima beans, and cabbage. Next time I think I might order something else, as I felt it lacked solid substance. And next time I did order something else, returning twice back to the chickpea roll. - Chupacabra (tacos, both traditional and unusual).
I tried the pumpkin taco, with pumpkin chunks, refried beans, pumpkin seeds, onions, and maybe some other stuff. I definitely liked it. Refried beans apparently go with pumpkin. My only complaint was occasional bursts of saltiness. - 1st Yellow Vendor (Korean).
I had the spicy chicken bibimbop, containing chicken, kimchi, a fried egg, shredded carrots, greens, and mung beans over rice. It was pretty typical (except that the egg was fully cooked) and quite good. - Tasty Kabob (Middle Eastern).
I wanted something small so I skipped the namesake kabob plates and simply got a side of chickpeas. It was good, served in a tomato stew with a bit of sweetness but also the tanginess of tomatoes. The chickpeas, though full-cooked, still had a nice bite to them.
- The Big Cheese (grilled cheese sandwiches).
I ordered the Mt Fuji, a sandwich of brie, fuji apples, and honey on seeded multigrain bread. It was okay; I discovered I don't really like warm brie. The apples were sliced thinly and so didn't contribute much. I also had the tomato soup, which was decent/standard but also not something I'd get again. - Cajunator (cajun, mostly po boys).
I had the shrimp po boy with tomato, lettuce, pickle, and remoulade sauce. Served on a long (ten inch maybe), crumbly roll and filled with deep-fried shrimp, it was fairly good and filling, though I wish it had stronger flavors. Later, I tried it again but thought it was merely okay/decent. It didn't have much kick or flavor and I wished it was better mixed: the shrimp were on top of the other ingredients. - Sauca (eclectic, one dish each from most major cuisines, all served on/in flatbread).
I had the Mexicali Fish Taco, a bunch of shredded fish with lots of pico de gallo and some hot sauce. It was good, a medley of flavor that were hard to individually identify. I admit I found it odd to eat a taco-like-thing wrapped in thick, kind-of-bouncy bread--think naan--but it worked fine. - Basil Thyme (lasagna). (I hate how misnamed this truck is.)
I ate the "lisetta", a good square of lasagna that was nicely light, flavored with pork and spinach in a lively tomato sauce (supposedly vodka sauce). It came with an ample side salad containing lettuce, olives, roasted peppers, grated parmesan, and cucumbers and adorned with a pleasing vinaigrette. All in all, definitely a good combination and not as heavy as I think lasagna meals tend to be. Another time I tried the catena, a lasagne with chicken, spinach, and a bechamel wine sauce. This was might tasty, though a bit rich (I wouldn't want to have it every day). The side salad was nice, but I didn't notice much dressing. - PORC: Purveyors Of Rolling Cuisine (Barbecue).
I had a pulled pork sandwich alongside baked beans and coleslaw. The pulled pork was good but not great; the hot bbq sauce gave it some nice character. I'm glad I ordered it hot--a friend advised me that the medium bbq sauce was kind of boring. Spongy bread soaked up the grease. The baked beans were great; the bacon in them gave them a luscious fattiness. The coleslaw, which lacked zest, was julienned cabbage in a vinegar dressing. - Kimchi BBQ Taco (Korean Tacos).
Okay. I had three tacos, each with spicy chicken but different Korean toppings on each: white cabbage kimchi, red cabbage kimchi (spicy), and sweet-and-spicy radish kimchi. I kind of like the flavor profile of the radish; the red cabbage was okay but boring; I liked the coolness of the white cabbage but found it too was plain. Regardless, there wasn't much other topping; mostly the tacos had chopped lettuce and a squeeze from a mayo bottle. Also, I was disappointed the tortillas were flour, not corn. - DC Empanadas (Empanadas).
Good. I tried three empanadas: one with shredded chipotle chicken, green onions, black beans, and corn (quite good; the best of the bunch), one with crumbled chorizo, roasted red peppers, onions and more (okay; somehow managed to be plain in spite of its ingredients), and an Indian-spiced one with potatoes, onions, peas, and more (decent/good, much like a regular samosa). All the empanadas were fried, yet they didn't have the greasy, fried feel. The frying just made the crust nice and crispy. - BBQ Bus (Barbecue).
Decent/good. I got the sampler platter: pulled pork (respectable; long strings), brisket (good, though should've been trimmed better), spicy chicken (good, my favorite of the bunch), coleslaw (vinegar-based) (respectable), baked beans (good; sweet and spicy, with a number of strings of onions), and cornbread (quite good, rather mellow flavor with a buttery finish). - Pepe (Spanish). The food truck started by the famous local chef Jose Andres.
Good I suppose, but could have been so much more! I had the pollo frito, a narrow baguette (flauta) filled with a breaded and fried chicken breast, iceberg lettuce, aioli, and brava sauce. It supposedly also had peppers (piparra), which is why I ordered it, but I didn't see any :-(. The ingredients were each done well yet the sandwich as a whole didn't feel special. - Cirque Cuisine (eclectic--menu changes weekly). Note this truck is more expensive than most.
- One week I tried the "sun-dried tomato wrap with chicken, smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and chipotle aioli." It was quite good. A bit too large a bacon to chicken ratio but each of those parts were good so who am I to complain? I liked the kick from the aioli. The wrap came with delicious home-made sweet potato chips, probably the best home-made chips I've tasted. (I found most places that advertise home-made chips are not to my liking.)
- Another week I managed to find them again--they're not often in my area--and ordered the baked cod. This plate was like something one would find in an upscale restaurant: cod baked with roasted cherry tomatoes, slivered summer squash, thyme, and lemon in parchment paper, served with a green salad and a corn dish. The cod was respectable, with the thyme and lemon doing good things, though I admit I don't like roasted tomatoes. The mixed green salad with watermelon radishes, a few nectarine slices, and a lemon vinaigrette was of similar quality. I most enjoyed the roasted corn salad (yes, some was charred); it was cool and refreshing, served with bits of okra (they were in small pieces so as to be hard to identify, but that's what the menu said), cherry tomatoes (uncooked), and perhaps a few more pieces of chopped summer squash.
- DC Ballers (falafel and fries).
I ate a terrific falafel sandwich. The falafel was top-notch. It was mixed perfectly with tabouli, cucumber, pickled cabbage, and tahini--I got pretty much everything in the right amount in each bite. Furthermore, the hefty pita bread was well sealed on all sides, making it an easy and clean thing to eat. My only complaint is the wait time: it took twenty minutes after ordering for me to get my food. - Tapas Truck (tapas, duh!).
All the small dishes I tried were decent, and I think they probably hit the flavors the chefs wanted, but I wasn't enthralled with any of them. I tried all three small dishes available that daya:- chicken pimenton (chicken, somewhat shredded, "in a smoked paprika sauce with piquillo peppers"). My favorite.
- pork andaluz (crispy pork cubes in a sweet-and-spicy sauce). Too sweet for me; reminded me of Americanized Chinese food.
- shrimp pil-pil (shrimp "in a spicy garlic and sherry sauce" served atop a fried thing, maybe a corn or potato fritter).
- garlic fries. The usual, though a bit better than average.
- saffron rice. Fairly good, fluffy rice. Went best with the chicken and its thick, piquant sauce.
- Wassub (Asian subs).
I tried the chicken teriyaki sub: chicken beast with teriyaki sauce, melted provolone, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and onions on a traditional sub roll. Fairly pleasing. I thought the melted cheese wouldn't go but I was wrong--the teriyaki sauce, sweet and soy-y--was there in enough quantity that the other items were minor, not-disharmonious notes.
By the way, these guys have a great sign enumerating why their subs are better than sex. I can't (surprisingly) find a picture of it online. I planned to photograph it the next time I saw the truck but I never remembered to. - Sate (Indonesian).
I tried the "mie ayam", a dish of thin egg noodles, diced chicken thigh, oyster mushrooms, and bok choy. It was alright: rather plain even though the individual ingredients were fairly good. Served with fried wontons which were also nothing special. Perhaps I should've ordered the chicken sate (or its combo plate); the truck's business was nearly exclusively those.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment