Category Archives: Food Trucks

Food Truck Finale

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November Food Truck Friday

I was both happy and sad to head to Food Truck Friday this month.  Happy because it was a beautiful clear fall evening after days of rain and sad because it was the last one of the year.  When I arrived I got to see a rare benefit of the time change and that was the darkness really settting off the decorations they put up around the park.

The Christmas tree felt a little early but it was nice to look at and people were digging it.

I had a plan in mind for the food truck I was going to hit since I’d seen the list of trucks and map of locations.  I swung by the brew tent on my way to the target.  I got a Lonerider Viggo which was a smooth Oktoberfest lager that paired well with the chilly evening.  Beverage secured I headed for the Carolina Seafood truck.  The designated slot was empty, just a lone cone with a space number designation.  My plans were dashed but the bulgogi quesadilla from a truck I passed on the way seemed like a reasonable back up plan and I turned around to retrace my steps.

I slowed down to glance at the menu board for the Comfort Food on Wheels truck and the barker decided to pull me in.  He stepped over and proceeded to tell me about the great things they had on the menu starting with mango jerk chicken wings and chicken and waffles and great big chicken tenders, etc, etc.  I stopped him and decided to get the mango jerk chicken and waffles.  Well I think what we did was make up something new because when he told them the order the two guys cooking in the truck just looked at him like they didn’t understand the language he was speaking.  He had to tell them twice how to make the order happen and they eventually got it and I got my meal.

 

Those were some jumbo wings and quite saucy.  I expected it to be spicy but it was all the jerk with none of the heat and that was ok but I’d have liked a bit of pepper.  The mango was so subtle as to be almost non-existent but that didn’t really matter as the jerk flavor was good and the wings were meaty.  The waffle was whole wheat and they provided cinnamon maple syrup to go with it.  The waffle had a spongy cakelike consistency that I took advantage of and just pulled into quarters and dipped the sections in the syrup.  I was a big fan of that cinnamon syrup I have to say.  After finishing up the meal and using every scrap of napkin I had clean my face and hands I headed to the other beer tent to secure an after dinner, listening to the band libation.

The lady working the tent asked what I wanted and I said I was checking out the selection and she said “Oh we have some interesting choices this time.”  Of course my response was “Tell me more about those interesting choices,” and she offered to let me taste for myself the most interesting of the lot in her opinion.  The beer was from Amor Artis Brewing Co in Fort Mill just up the road and was called Walk in the Woods.  So as I was bringing the cup up for a sip I got a whiff of the beer and wasn’t quite sure what I was getting until the beer hit my tongue.  Pine, it was pine I was tasting.  She looked at me and said “what do you taste?” and of course I mentioned the pine and she added that there was also some oak bark and other stuff.  I took another sip and decided to go ahead and get a full cup.  When I asked for it her reaction of “Really?!?” and the face she made was worth it.  I took the what I now know was a Belgian golden ale with locally gathered pine needles, sweetgum leaves, and white oak bark and grabbed a seat to listen to the band.

I got about half way through the Walk in the Woods and decided even though it had some nice citrus notes as well the overall experience was too much like a beer that had a pine tree air freshner dunked in it.  The trio line dancing to Play that Funky Music also pushed me towards the exit even though they were kind of pulling it off.  So until next spring I’ll have to go afield if I want food truck fare.

 

What a Jerk

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Caribbean Food Truck

The evening for the October Food Truck Friday in Rock Hill was just about as good as you could ask for.  The weather was clear and cool, 64 degrees or 18 for the Celsius crowd.  The attire varied from shorts and t-shirt like myself to people wearing honest to God coats and beanies, not jackets mind you but full on coats.  To each their own but I thought it was great.

As per usual I grabbed a beverage, in this case a NoDa Brewing Premium Roasted Breakfast Coffee stout.  It was smooth and like a lot of breakfast blends a hint of coffee flavor.  I walked the area enjoying the weather and band looking for something that called to me.  I thought about the vegan burrito food truck because this is about trying new things but these folks always get started late so I passed them by without a tear.

After strolling and perusing I chose to go with Marlie Q’s caribbean food truck.  They had some decent looking options and while the stewed ox tail was tempting the jerk chicken with some beans & rice sounded like the way to go.

I’ll say up front the sign clearly said this was spicy and they were not lying.  It had a great jerked spice flavor and it was.  The rice and beans were scalp tingling, nose running, brow sweat producing hot as well.  One thing though was you could taste the pepper flavor and not just the heat so it was well done.  The chicken breast was good sized and cooked tender enough it came off the bone easily.

As this was not a meal that lent itself mobile dining I shared a table with a couple dining on something from another truck.  I didn’t pay much attention until the lady said, “Wow you left me a lot of mac & cheese” and the guy said “that’s because I’m a great boyfriend”.  I chuckled and they both took notice and the guy said, “I have to get points where I can since I’m usually called an a-hole” and the lady straight faced said “It’s true”.  We all laughed and I finished up before they wanted to be friends.

I swung by the beverage tent and since everyone else was doing it I got a Dogfish Head Punkin Ale to enjoy while I listened to the band.  Pumpkin ales I’ve tried in the past have been hit or miss and often cloying with the amount of pumpkin spice.  This one did it well.  There was enough pumpkin and pumpkin spice to make you reminiscent for that last slice of pumpkin pie you had rather than hitting you in the face with the pie.

The band was quite good, Chunky Daddy played a varied set list that included, rock, soul, country and ranged from 70s to more recent stuff like Wagon Wheel.  I also saw a guy who I think was unintentionally cosplaying David Tennant’s Dr Who.  Dude looked just like him from clothes to haircut to glasses.

Overall it was a good second to the last FTF of the year and the fountain was looking great in the evening light.

 

Fork in the Road

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Food Truck Friday

September’s entry continued the win streak for good food and good music even if it was hot and humid.  This month I didn’t do any pre-planning as to which truck I wanted to hit so I knew I’d be strolling the streets looking for something that struck my fancy.  Since street strolling is thirsty business I stopped by the beverage tent to secure something to enjoy as I roamed.  I wasn’t sure if it would be too heavy in the heat but I decided to take a chance on the Warlock Imperial Stout.

As you can see it was a dark like a stout should be but fortunately it wasn’t as heavy as some stouts and had a nice smooth taste and a cinnamony spiciness.  Subsequently I learned it has pumpkin and pumpkin spice in it.  You can’t escape that stuff this time of year.  As I took the first sip I got an interesting view.

Looked like the moon was rising like a bubble from the clouds.  Anyway from there I moved through the passel of food trucks arrayed around the park until I spotted the Roaming Fork food truck and that seemed like the perfect option since I was roaming too.

The menu board had some interesting looking items and from them I chose the Truffled Mushroom Swiss burger and for my side I decided to stick with the theme and get the Parmesan Truffle Fries.

As the picture shows it was a decent size burger with a generous helping of toppings.  The burger was a thick preformed patty that was served on a quality bun and a bed of lettuce and topped with bacon, swiss cheese, mushrooms, an aoli and crispy onions.  If it sounds good that’s because it was.  The fries were ok.  They had a crunchy coating and some truffle oil and grated Parmesan cheese.  The serving size was generous enough I didn’t finish them all.

I grabbed a spot to eat that had a good view of the band, Radiojacks, and the fountain.

I also had a dead on view of I what I decided to call disappointment corner.  When I sat down there was a lady standing there scanning the crowd and pacing and every minute or so checking her phone.  This went on through Superstition and two more songs before she walked away looking unhappy.  She wasn’t gone more than a minute before another lady showed up and basically repeated the process through All About that Bass and two more songs then walked away with a determined look.  Finally as I wrapped up the burger a guy stopped in the same spot and started checking his phone and looking around.  I didn’t stick around to find out if he left disappointed as well because I was dry and needed another drink.

The after dinner drink was a local brew, Whistleblower Watermelon Wheat, from Legal Remedy.  It was another chancy move as I figured it could only be really good or really crap.  Fortunately it was pretty good.  Nice refreshing wheat beer with a definite watermelon flavor.  The way the carbonation acted it was more bubbly throughout the full glass than most beers.  I wouldn’t want it to be my go to beer but it was a fine accompaniment to listening to a talented band and people watching on a hot humid evening.

Only two more Food Truck Fridays this year and I hope the trend of good meals continues.

 

Another Friday at the Fountain

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FTF August 2018

I love all the Fridays but Food Truck Friday is my favorite and this last one did nothing to change that.  This month’s had a Toto cover band, Bless the Rains and on the way over I heard Hold the Line and when I got out of the car I could hear them playing Hold the Line and they sounded good which was a promising start to the evening.

My plan was to get something from one of the trucks selling tacos after grabbing my starter adult beverage.  That starter was a Blossom Eater hard cider from Blake’s.  It had a nice apple taste but was really sweet and had a faint hint of something else I couldn’t identify. After looking it up it turns out there is jasmine and bergamot in it.  The jasmine was the taste I couldn’t identify and I didn’t get any hint of the bergamot.

With cider in hand I strolled the streets in search of the right truck.  That sounds like the start of a Criminal Minds episode.  Anyway after an exhaustive examination of all the menus of the taco selling trucks I went back to the first one I checked out, Taco Green-Go. This truck has been around for a while and I never really paid them much attention before, my loss.

I like their menu board and the way you can combine the elements to have 60 different combinations in three steps.  I went with the special protein which was the carnitas slow roasted pork and instead of the tacos like I was originally planning on I decided to go with the incred-a-bowl base.  The bowl included jasmine rice and seasoned black beans.  Finally for the last step I chose the Island style which added mango salsa, pepper jack cheese, cilantro & pineapple guava aioli.  I felt like that was a good choice when the young woman taking the order just nodded her head and said “Yeah” enthusiastically.

This really was a great meal.  It doesn’t look like a lot of food but it was piled up nicely in the paper bowl and between the beans and rice was very filling.  The flavors all went together in a pleasing way and no one flavor overpowered the others.  There was enough of everything to get some of the taste like with the mango salsa but never too much of anything like cilantro which can drown out other flavors.  The aioli provided a creamy component that just melded the entire thing together.  I will say I didn’t taste the pineapple but there were enough other flavors to go around.

After enjoying the meal I grabbed a beer to enjoy while I finished listening to the first set of the band.  They had a beer so weird I had to try it.  Funky Buddha Key Lime Pie Tart was that ale and it was in fact weird.  On first sip the key lime taste was very evident then it faded to what almost tasted like a hint of graham cracker crust but then that was overtaken by an odd finish that I’m not even sure how to describe except it was kind of chemical and flat.  So every sip was a taste roller coaster, whee followed by ohhh yeah.  On the plus side the music was good and my views to the left and right were pleasant as I worked through the tart.

I was going to hit one of the dessert trucks but the universe was watching out for me and decided the overweight buy with diabetes didn’t need more sweets and pile up the lines at any of the trucks I was interested in.  That was for the best so despite a minor disappointment it was another fine food truck Friday.

 

 

Feasting at the Fountain

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Food Truck Friday

Yestereve was my first Food Truck Friday of the year and aside from being 91 degrees at 6:00pm it was a good evening for dining al fresco next to the fountain.

I’d previously scoped out the lineup of food trucks and knew which one I was going to hit so I didn’t have to spend a lot of time roaming and reading menus.  But first things first I had to acquire a beverage from the adult beverage selection.  Being so hot I decided a cider would be better than a beer although the lady in front of me was singing the praises of the shandy she got.  In this case I got a Blake’s Hard Cider El Chavo.  Now to be honest I didn’t really pay attention to the graphics on the sign that showed one of the letters on fire and when the guy nodded smiled and said “It has little kick to it” I thought he meant the alcohol content.  Nope.  He meant the habaneros in this clearly labeled (and totally ignored by me) cider infused with habaneros & mangos.  He was correct it did have a little kick.  I didn’t taste any mango there was however some heat from the habaneros but it was a light sweet cider so I didn’t break down whining about a mouth on fire.

Now that I had my drink I went in search of the Chennai Curries food truck to see what Indian dishes they would be serving up on their first FTF.

I was fairly early and almost none of the trucks had much of a line but these folks had no one in line or waiting on food so that was not a great first impression.  I had geared myself up for Indian though so I was at least going to check them out.  One couple got their just ahead of me and the man told the young Indian lady running the window he had never had Indian before and wanted to try something new and she was very welcoming and answered his questions and made suggestions.  She also said “The owners are cooking the food so of course it is delicious”.  I’m not sure if she thought ownership conveyed cooking skill or she meant since they were in the truck and couldn’t get away they had to be good but either way her confidence was inspiring.

When my turn came she treated me the same way except I knew what I wanted from the get go so she didn’t have to make recommendations.  They had a couple of vegetarian options and three non-veg options and unsurprisingly I chose a non-veg option, going with the chicken biryani.

This was the fastest food truck I’ve ever purchased from aside from a cupcake van.  I’d no sooner finished giving my order than they were passing the guy in front of me his order.  Most fast food places aren’t as quick as these folks were.  That certainly explained why there was no line.   I got my plate and wandered over to sit on the wall by the fountain hoping for some wind born mist as I dined.

I’ll start by saying this was not the same as Hyderabadi biryani I had in India but it was tasty.  The chicken leg was fall off the bone tender and had been simmered in a mildly spicy curry.  The chicken gravy was spicy and so was the rice so between all the spiciness in the food plus my pepper laced cider my tongue was fully woke and able to taste and feel every single atom passing across it.  As I mentioned earlier it was 90 degrees out and I was sitting on concrete eating spicy food so there’s a chance I was sweating.  It was delicious and the thin yogurt sauce you got with it provided some cooling action so I poured that on half the rice and had the spicy gravy on the other half.  I could go back and forth so I didn’t melt right away.  One thing that seemed to be missing was some naan or roti to complete the Indian experience but there was plenty of feed as it was and there are no complaints about portions from me.

After the meal I needed a beverage that was not spiked with capsicum and selected a Windy Hill Orchard  Gala Peach cider which was a known quantity for me.  Nice cider with a hint of peach and just the thing to while away the time while waiting for the Chairmen of the Board to start playing.

By the time they started I had finished the peach cider and I was sitting across from the Italian ice booth and kept seeing all these people walking by with the cool refreshing treats so I broke down and got some pineapple Italian ice.

It was indeed cool and refreshing and just the thing to occupy oneself with while people watching and listening to a pretty good rendition of Superstition.  The funniest thing I saw was a guy walking past the fountain with his hand covering the top of his beer.  I thought, that’s weird is he afraid a stray drop of water is going to get in his beer and dilute it past drinkability or what?  No that would just be crazy.  Turns out that was apparently it because as soon as he got past the fountain he removed his hand from the top of the beer.  People are weird.

Anyway another great night of Food Truck Friday.  Next month it’s on the 20th.  Come on down.

Say Cheese!

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Pimento Cheese Festival

This weekend I happened to be near my sister who lives in Cary, NC and the town of Cary was hosting the Pimento Cheese Festival with lots of food trucks, local brews & music so how could I not go.  My sister joined me and we spent a warm spring afternoon perusing the offerings and sweating a little bit.

They had two or three blocks of a street cordoned off with food & beverage trucks and tents lining one side and seating interspersed as well as a couple of “beer gardens” that were clusters of tables near the alcohol sources.  Our plan coming in was to walk the length and see what was available and then pick a favorite.  Each of the food vendors was supposed to have at least one selection for the event that included pimento cheese.  Not a surprising requirement.

Almost immediately we upon arrival we heard some rumbling about the trucks being out of the pimento cheese options and we saw that confirmed with more than one erased / scratched out / covered up menu entry as we strolled the truck line.  There were a number of good sounding choices and while we didn’t choose either of these I snapped pics because one was a cool little Airstream looking trailer that was a bakery / cafe vendor and the other because, well BACON!  If the line for that truck hadn’t been so long it would have been a lock.

When we got to the end we decided a beverage would make line standing and waiting more palatable.  Our choice was really local being a Cary business, Fortnight Brewing and I like supporting local businesses even when it’s not my locality.  They’d sold out of their amber ale and I was in no mood for yet another IPA.  The one with kambucha sounded just too weird so the Off With Her Red, raspberry sour ale got the nod.

It was a good choice for the warm day being light, berry flavored and smooth in spite of the sour moniker.  We got to see the band warming up and met several dogs and their humans as we waited in line.

After securing the beverages we walked back to the truck of choice which was Baguettaboutit.  A truck that served locally sourced sausages in fresh baked baguettes.   The pimento cheese plan to a hit right from the outset as they came out and covered up two selections just as we got in line and of course one was the requisite PC option.  We decided to stay anyway in part because it reminded us of the hot dogs we got at school in Switzerland that were served in a baguette.  Nostalgia can be a powerful motivator.

One thing I thought was a nice touch and different from all the other trucks I’ve visited over the last few years is that instead of getting your name and yelling it out when your selection was ready they handed out playing cards with some advertising, a card number and suit and that’s what they called out when your food was ready.  I thought it was clever.

I got the U Betcha, which was a bratwurst with coarse ground beer garden mustard shoved in that baguette and Lynn got the It’s Greek Tu Me which was a chicken spinach sausage with tzatziki sauce.  Interestingly both sausages had some unadvertised spiciness as well which was fine with me but my sister didn’t enjoy it quite as much and didn’t finish her sausage.  So I can tell you definitively that both were good since there were not going to be any abandoned sausages on my watch.  Oh and the baguettes were absolutely great.

So while all I saw of actual pimento cheese was one guy guarding a sandwich like it was his “precious” and a pimento cheese roll from the Filipino truck on the ground that someone either dropped or abandoned, overall it was a nice meal.  Like several recent meals, made better by the company of family.  I don’t know if this is a regular annual event but if it is I’d recommend it for a drive for a delicious diversion.

 

Almost Canadian

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Food Truck & Ciderworks

Today I decided I’d try to find a food truck as it had been a while since I had something from meals on wheels.  A bit of internet sleuthing turned up Almost Homecooking Food Truck and they were celebrating their 1 year anniversary parked at Good Road Ciderworks who was also celebrating their 1 year anniversary so that seemed like an excellent pairing.

Just a short run up the interstate and couple of left turns had me right in front of the Good Road and Almost Homecooking was parked right out front.

I got there fairly early and there weren’t many people so seating was plentiful, both inside and out.  I determined right off the bat I was dining outside at one of the picnic tables because it was such a glorious spring day.  I got a big smile and “Welcome” from the lady with the wristbands who directed me inside and told me to make sure I asked about the specials.  The had excellent classic rock pumping from the speakers outside and in so they got points for good taste.

I started by ordering my food since I know the trucks usually take a bit of time to get things in order.  They had some nice looking choices like pork belly tacos, beef sliders, lamb sliders, a cuban sandwich, truffle fries, and several other options all of which sounded good.  What caught my eye though was the Southern Poutine and that’s what I ordered.  While they worked up my poutine I went inside to pick my accompanying adult beverage.

The tasting room is good sized and two stories so there are plenty of places to sit and sip.  There are two bars, one seems to be the cider bar and the other the mead bar based on my experience but that may not be wholly accurate.  They have a number of different ciders and meads but I figured I’d start with one of the special releases and got the Rum Barrel Aged Cranberry Crossroads cider.

This is their normal cranberry & apple cider, you guessed it, aged in a rum barrel.  It was pretty good, definitely had the tartness of the cranberries and a hint of rum but not much and while they describe it as semi-dry it seemed straight up dry to me.  I nursed it while waiting on my poutine and about halfway through I got the call.

What pray tell is Southern Poutine you ask?  Well let me tell you it’s not quite the same as Canadian poutine.  It consists of a heaping helping of crinkle cut fries topped with some chunks of smoked pork shoulder, some light brown gravy and pimento cheese.  When I picked up the container I knew by weight I wasn’t going to finish all of it and when I popped it open and saw the mountain of food that just confirmed it.  Wow this was a tasty and truly filling meal.  The fries were cooked so they were crisp enough on the outside to aid structural integrity but still could soak up some gravy.  I was initially disappointed at what seemed like a paltry amount of the smoked pork but it was just spread out over and under the fries and hiding in the gravy.  The pork was diced into about half inch chunks and had a great smokey flavor.  The brown gravy was light and I’m not sure if it was the gravy or the pimento cheese but one of them had some spicy heat.  Not too much but you knew there were peppers involved.  The pimento cheese just melted into the rest to make a gloppy mess that was a pleasure to dredge fries through.  Just a few bites in and I needed a liquid refill so ran back inside to grab another of the specials.  This time the BBA Buckled Clover Mead.

This was outstanding.  The BBA stands for bourbon barrel aged and the buckled clover mead is a sweet clover & buckwheat honey mead.  The first thing you notice is the smell which you might think would be bourbon heavy but it was a deep honey smell with a faint whiff of the bourbon.  The taste is sweet as advertised and the first thing you notice followed rapidly by the bourbon taste without the alcohol burn and then it finishes with what I would have to call a bit of a floral cinnamony taste.  That stuff was good enough I bought a 1 liter growler I’ll be sipping on for good long time because a little does go a long way.  The mead did go better with the Southern Poutine than the cider.  The sweet and the heat played off one another nicely.

My interaction with the folks from Almost Homecooking was limited but they were very nice and one of them did come over and ask me how I liked the poutine and thanked me for giving them a try.  The Good Road people were also really friendly and helpful.  If they don’t know you they ask if this is your first time and give a quick explanation of the products and provide you with a menu that gives the characteristics of the various ciders and meads.  The one disappointment was that because they expected to be so busy they weren’t doing flights today and I really had hoped to try several different ciders.

I have a feeling I’ll be over in that neighborhood again.  From my seat out front at the picnic table at the ciderworks I could see two breweries and a distillery at least two of which had tasting rooms and possibly restaurants, I didn’t stop to check.  I also know there is at least one more cider place and a couple of other breweries within a couple mile radius of the area.

Overall a very successful outing on a fantastic spring day to dine al fresco.

Uptown Dog

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Street Food

This week I finally got to try something I’ve wanted to try for a few years now but due to schedules it didn’t work out until today.  Back before I started this blog I spent most of a years worth of Saturdays in search of the best hot dog in the area and while I found some good ones I wasn’t able to get what was reportedly the best chili dog in the Charlotte metro area, nay the whole of the the Carolina’s, Vic the Chili Man .

Vic sets up his hot dog stand on the corner of 4th & Tryon in uptown Charlotte on weekdays when the weather isn’t too bad.  Therein was my challenge trying one of his dogs, it was too far to drive during my lunch break and he wasn’t there on the weekends.  This week though I was taking some time from work and got the chance but even this wasn’t without bumps.  Thursday I decided would be the day to go and, as per usual when I go uptown, I’d park at the end of the light rail line, ride in and walk a couple of blocks.  When I arrived at the parking area the sign was quite explicit that the deck was full but being an optimist I decided to ride around a bit and see, along with half a dozen others folks who never found a spot either.  Curses, foiled by heavy usage of mass transit in a southern city, that was unexpected.  As I did a bit of cursing on the 20+ minute drive home I didn’t realize I’d been done a favor.  Later in the evening I checked the Facebook page to see if he’d be out tomorrow and I saw a note that he had been driven away before even setting up by a wicked wind from the west (actually I don’t know which way the wind was coming from I just liked the alliteration) and wouldn’t have been there if I’d made anyway.  Silver lining.

Friday was smooth sailing, all green lights, good music and 120 free spaces when I got to the light rail.  Pleasant ride in and a short jaunt later I was greeted by a line already at 11:05 but that’s why I came early.  Planning and setting expectations for the win.

Vic moves pretty fast but nobody was ordering one with just ketchup and mustard everyone was ordering multiple dogs (avg was 3 while I was there) and the buns are warmed so he’s constantly refilling the bun warmer.  Vic keeps up a conversation or is telling a story the whole time he’s making dogs so there’s an entertainment element while you wait that makes it not so bad.  He usually has a special dog of the week as well as some named dogs and build it yourself options.  Here is the standard menu.

I went with the special “Eh, Canada” and a Life Changer.  I was good and didn’t get chips and honestly I’d have added another dog before chips anyway.  After getting my chili dogs I just parked it on bench right next to the stand and started with the Life Changer.

One thing I noticed right away, Vic makes neat hot dog and by that I mean tidy.  A lot of places slop the toppings on and you wind up with crap falling all over the place as you try to eat it, not so much in this case.  It was also apparent from the jalapeno headliners I’d be glad I had water.  In addition to the peppers you can see a nice chili plus some red onions.  You can’t see the spicy Reaper Madness mustard or the grilled cheddar cheese underneath but they are there providing a bed for the all beef dog.  I don’t know that my life changed that much but it was a really good dog and woke up the taste buds for round two.

The “Eh, Canada” was topped first with the inspiration for the name, a homemade beer cheese and browned Canadian bacon fondue.  This tasty sauce was overlaid with Vic’s chili some french fry sticks and a sprinkle of green onions for color.  Compared to the first one this dog was mild but the beer cheese and Canadian bacon sauce was really good and the crunchy potato sticks added some great texture.  And just in case you’re wondering he didn’t use Canadian beer in the cheese as he didn’t want to go to Canada to get the good stuff because what he can get here is swill.  He might have used a different word but I don’t get a chance to use swill often.

I’m glad I finally made it to meet Vic the Chili Man and try his famous chili dogs.  If opportunity presents itself I’d suggest you try one or three yourself.

 

Nana & The Kids

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Oct Food Truck Friday

Well it was another Food Truck Friday in Old Town Rock Hill and out I went looking forward to another good time.  As usual I stopped by the beer tent to get a little something to walk around with.  They had a beer called Ghost Rider Spiced Ale from Palmetto Brewing Co.  I got it because of the name, Ghost Rider being a comic book character appealed to my nerd side.  I took my first sip and it was a bit of a surprise as I discovered where that name came from.  The initial impression “This is just another IP..Hey!”  The Ghost in the name comes from the ghost peppers they add to give it a little bit of a burn.  It was interesting but honestly I’m not a fan.  It did keep me going until I got around to deciding on which truck I was dining from.

This week Nana’s Porch struck my fancy as the place to pick up a comforting meal.  I mean what says homey like Nana’s porch except maybe her kitchen.

They had several things that sounded good but the Barnyard burger won out with a side of smoky mac & cheese just to keep the comfort coming.

It doesn’t look pretty but it tasted good.  The burger looked hand patted and it was a generous portion.  The burger was sitting on top of some grilled onions and topped with pulled pork and homemade pimento cheese all sandwiched in a grilled bun.  The burger was cooked more thoroughly than I normally prefer but it had a good flavor especially garnished as it was.  The mac & cheese got its smoky flavor from gouda cheese plus paprika sprinkled on top.  It was dense, cheesy, filling and tasty.

I enjoyed the meal to the musical stylings of Kids In America playing on the stage.  They played early 80’s music that made you feel like you were sitting in an MTV flashback.  You know, when they actually played music.  I kept expecting Downtown Julie Brown to stroll out and veejay the event.  It’s not easy to see in the picture but the band members were sporting headbands, leg warmers, lab coats, and other style choices straight out of the 80’s.

While I was enjoying an after dinner cider this guy decided he wanted to be friends and unfortunately you can’t get a sense of perspective from the picture but he was big enough and wolf like enough I was looking around for Starks.

Another good FTF with one more to go this year.

 

 

 

Crabby Patty

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Food Truck Friday

I am a big fan of Friday’s. Food Truck Friday’s are like superstar Friday’s and this week was an FTF.  I already had the truck I was going to hit picked out so all I needed was a parking place and a beer to nurse while I waited to order and then get my food.  Plenty of parking…check.  Live band pumping out Day Tripper, not on the list but…check.  Wristband acquisition…check.  Beer selection & purchase…check.

This month they had free tapered koozies to fit the beer cups which was very convenient and the folks who work the stations were still awesome.  If you’re not sure about a beer they will give you a sample so fast it’ll make your head spin.  I was intrigued by the Shiner Peach and had to try it out.  It’s a wheat ale made with peaches and it was a really nice beer for a warm evening waiting in line.  I got a great whiff of peach as I brought the cup up to sip and the peach flavor permeated every aspect of the beer from the first taste to the aftertaste.  So with beer secured it was time to stand in line at my chosen truck.

The Maryland Crab & Co truck is the first truck I pass each FTF and I’ve never stopped until this month.  The line was long but I already had my mind set on seeing what they could do with crab.  I got the crab cake sandwich with some Old Bay fries.  The crab cake was made with real crab and was overwhelmingly crab, in a good way.  A lot of crab cakes are mainly binder & filler but not this one.  There was so much crab it fell apart fairly easily but I wasn’t going to complain.  It was served on a toasted bun and you could get it with hot sauce or tartar sauce.  I chose to go with tartar and they give it to you in a cup so you can control how much to use.  I went light on it because I didn’t want to overpower the crab flavor.  It was a mild tartar sauce anyway so it was not a problem.  The sandwich was great.  The fries were basically just shoestring fries that had Old Bay seasoning sprinkled on them just before being served.

While I was dining at a table with some other random Rock Hill residents we were treated to the sounds of Liverpool, a Beatles cover band while the fountain did its thing.

I walked around a bit more and found myself with another beer.  This time a Stone Brewing Tangerine Express, and yes I’m counting both those beers as a serving of fruit.  This was an IPA and boy was it hoppy.  I know that’s a characteristic of IPAs but this was almost over the top.  Part of that was probably the citrus taste from the tangerine.  Initially I didn’t get much tangerine but as I drank it the flavor seemed to become more pronounced.  It was interesting but I wouldn’t have another. After a bit more walking and listening I figured a stop by the Art of Baking truck to procure a late night snack wouldn’t be out of line.

The chocolate salted caramel cupcake was the one that got the call.  The cake was a moist chocolate, the icing was a whipped topping that tasted a bit oily but it was also the salt delivery system and of course the caramel drizzle topped the whole thing marvelously.  It was a nice finish to a great day.  Only one month until the next FTF.