This Week in Food Trucks

So this week I was able to go to 3 different trucks (potentially 4 if there are any in the area tomorrow).

Tuesday: Lil Green Cyclo (@lilgreencyclo on twitter). Vietnamese food and definitely a truck I was interested in trying. They sometimes come to Edgewood Eats (local Monday food truck gathering in Palo Alto) and seem to come once a week to Brisbane which is just north of my work. I love me some Vietnamese food thus my excitement. So here's what I ordered: chicken bahn mi (sandwich), sweet potato tater tots, and salted lemonade. My review is pretty short and pretty sweet: mediocre. The tater tots were good but not great (came with a 'spicy mango ketchup' that tasted like heinz). The bahn mi was bready and not that much filling. Lastly, the salted lemonade oh the lemonade. I felt like Kurtz from Apocalypse Now: "The HOOOORRRROR." Both me and the person I was lunching with ordered it, took one sip and threw it away. Maybe it is an acquired taste but it was TERRIBLE. Wow it was bad. The noodle/meat dish my friend got was good but this is certainly not a truck I am going to run out to try again.

Wednesday: IZ IT Fresh Grill (@IZITfreshgrill on Twitter) Another truck I was excited to try and glad I did. Hawaiian food plain and simple and that's a good thing. I got a combo which was a piece of fried chicken, a kicker (taco) and a SPAM musubi (basically a SPAM sushi type dish). The chicken was crispy and ultra moist, not a TON of flavor but that was mitigated by some siracha. The taco (aka a kicker) was good but not great. I have found that trying to put 'ethnic' food in a taco can be pretty hit or miss and this was somewhere in the middle. The SPAM musubi was unique and really good actually. This is definitely a truck I'd drive out of my way (10+ miles) to go visit again, and again.

Thursday: The Rib Whip (@TheRibWhip on Twitter). What? Again? Yes! More like YES! Today I got the ribs (1/3 rack=4 decent sized ribs). Yum. Came off the bone clean and well sauced. Good smoke ring. My friend got the spinach salad with pulled pork and he seemed satisfied with it. Today for sides I got Mac n' Cheese and baked beans. The MnC was really good, creamy which I normally don't like but this had some nice flavor. The beans were good (I actually prefer my baked bbq baked beans). This is still my favorite truck and becoming a bit of an obsession. Talked with the guy that runs the truck today which was great, kind of personalizes it a bit. Love that they respond to tweet questions about the menu. Also LOVE that they use Square cardcase. Something nerdy but nice to be able to pay without doing much of anything. Kudos to the truck.

Today's Lunch - The Rib Whip and dessert from 3SumEats

Yes the obsession continues. Today I ventured from work and drove 10 miles into SF for a food truck stalking. Both of the trucks I ate from today were trucks that I had enjoyed before and (SPOILER ALERT) both utterly wow'd me again. Let's start with lunch:

The Rib Whip (Midwest BBQ) - I had eaten at this truck before but missed out on their actual bbq (theguy that puts the meat on overnight forgot, or something). The first time I went I had the Whip Burger which was really good just not the BBQ I wanted and was looking for. You can see from the menu they have some yummy stuff on the list. The wings and pork are definitely things I will try the next time I stalk this truck.

So today I had the brisket. It is pricey but holy smokes (get it smokes?) it was amazing. I make my own smoke

d brisket, and am smoking one tomorrow actually, and I am humbled by their craftsmenship. The

sandwich was a pretty simple thing in design: lots of brisket, lots of sauce, and a soft french roll. Super complex flavors and smokey goodness. Quite messy but wow, have I said wow as to how good this was?

Dessert time - Parked right next to them (there were 6 trucks at Off The Grid lunch at the UN Plaza) was 3SumEats. I had a great BLT and some philly cheesesteak potstickers the first time I was at this truck but since I had already eaten a sandwich the desserts caught my eye. They had a moon pie filled with peanut butter mousse (no pic). For those that don't know a moon pie is a treat usually made with 2 graham cracker cookies and marshmallow in the middle. This one was made of 2 chocolate cake cookies (delicate and delicious) and the aforementioned peanut butter mousse. It was really really good, REALLY! Once again 3Sum pleased my palate and I am looking forward to the next time I run them down.

The different lunch gatherings for trucks in SF is a phenomenal way to get to more than 1 truck at a time and taste some good good stuff.

Food Truck Rankings Part 2

So this is now the 2nd time I have done the rankings and I have a few new trucks to add to the list. Now there are 15 trucks on the list and look at one that creeped up one spot.

1. @3sumeats - (updated 6/2/11) Holy crap I had a peanut butter mousse moon pie from them today at OTG at the UN center for lunch. WOW is all I can say about this treat, wow. The moon pie completely solidified them as my #1. (previous notes) This is a truck run by a former Top Chef contestant. I had some philly cheesesteak potstickers and possibly the best BLT I have ever eaten (rosemary encrusted bacon). Really, REALLY good stuff.
2. @TheRibWhip - (updated 6/2/11) I said I wanted to go back and try some real BBQ and I got there just in time for some brisket. This vaulted them to #2. (previous post) Ventured up to SF for lunch to try this place out. Unfortunately I caught them on a day where they had no brisket or pulled pork. Still a GREAT burger. They will more than likely slide up the list once I try some actual bbq.
3. @Brassknucklesf - Had a sandwich that was pork and ham served with a rosemary waffle (named Notorious P.I.G.). Kitchy names and a really bad ass sandwich.
4. @BttrScotchOnGo (up 1) - Ventured over to this truck to pick up desserts for the house. Easily the best butterscotch pudding I have EVER eaten. Butterscotch sugar cookies were a treat and a tort that was rich and really delicious. On the first visit I had a butterscotch brownie (more like a blondie) which was great and then a rice krispy treat that was a bit unspectacular. They also have salads and sandwiches but yet to try them.
5. @eatmobowl - Ate from this truck 2x in 1 day if that says something. Had a 5 spice pulled pork bowl and then a tofu (umami) bowl. Both with fried eggs on top. Simple and perfect!
6. @OaxacanKitchen - Ate me some great tacos that were some of the best taco truck tacos I could imagine (and most know I love me some taco trucks). This truck took the place of a restaurant that they shuttered to focus on catering and the mobile food biz.
7. @BBQKalbi - Another Edgewood Eats enjoyment. Really tasty kimchi fried rice burrito. Good and enjoyable to say the least.
8. @ChairmanTruck - went and wanted a steamed bun and a baked bun but no baked buns the day that I went. I enjoyed the steamed buns a lot but this is a bit lower on the rankings as the value to the $$ is pretty low actually. Good food, really good!
9. @LIBAfalafel - Really good falafel and a crazy condiment bar.
10. @CurryUpNow - Liked it a lot just nothing spectacular. Easily a recommend but just Indian food wrapped in some naan. The plates look yummy though.
11. @TikkaBytesTruck - Another Indian truck. Daughter loved the samosa but again not impressed with a limited fusion menu.
12. @SFWHISK - So I just had a dessert from them and it was really good strawberry pana cotta. Some yummy looking sandwiches and salads on the menu.
13. @SouthrnSandwich - Another BBQ truck but I was really unimpressed by it. The pork had no real smoke flavor and the brisket was a touch dry. Big fan of BBQ and will try it again to see if it shifts up.
14. @treatbot - This is an ice cream AND karaoke truck!?!?!?!? The ice cream was good not great they were out of cones so I got a sandwich on a cookie and the cookie was a bit unspectacular.
15. @MoGoBBQ - got 2 things from them 1 really good and one meh but really yummy short rib sliders.