Category Archives: Food Trucks

Ooo Wee

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Food Truck Friday

This weekend was the last Friday this year for the Food Truck Friday at Fountain Park in Rock Hill and I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity.  It actually turned out to be quite a cool windy evening so a stop at one of the beer trucks seemed like a good place to start as I strolled and perused the menus.  I went with Legal Remedy’s The Executioner Imperial Pumpkin Stout.

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It is 10% alcohol and quite the hearty beer.  The pumpkin taste wasn’t that prevalent which was ok with me but that alcohol content was pretty noticeable.  As I was strolling around listening to the opening act belt out Wagon Wheel I sort of had my choice made for me when I got to the Ooo Wee BBQ truck.

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If you click on the picture with the menu board you can see they have an item called a BBQ Sundae that is a layered concoction similar to the Pig in a Jar my sister saw earlier this week at the NC State fair that I said I would absolutely try.  Well here was a chance to try something very similar so I had to keep my word.  Warning to those who can’t stand for their food to touch, scroll fast past the picture or you’re liable to get woozy.

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I’d say this was superior to the one from the NC fair because in addition to the baked beans, meat, sauce and slaw there was a scoop of smoked mac & cheese.  While I wouldn’t choose to have all my meals served this way it was not bad at all.  The top layer is a just a bit of slaw, more like a token, followed by a bit of meat (you had the could select from any meats available you weren’t limited to just the pork) then the smoked mac & cheese and finally the baked beans as the foundation.  Every bit of it was good but I wouldn’t have minded trying some of the mac & cheese just by itself.  The stout paired well with the sundae and both were finished in quick succession.  I needed something else to occupy a hand as I walked around and at the other beer truck I found a Naked Apple Blackberry Gold hard cider to fit the bill.

My plan had been to hit one of the dessert trucks for something sweet then grab a spot to listen to the next band for a bit.  With the cider I decided that was dessert enough so all I had to do was grab some bench and enjoy Chicago Reloaded.  Overall it was a good way to spend a Friday night and it was also nice to see how food brought out a diverse cross section of the community to mingle and enjoy the evening together.  I hope they continue this event in 2017.

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Feeling Cheeky

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Taqueria Celeste

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Today was just about as perfect a day as you could ask for to dine outdoors.  That being the case and continuing the segue to food trucks being added to the international restaurant theme of the blog I decided to hit up the food truck closest to me.  The Taqueria Celeste is just about a mile from my house and within walking distance if I wanted to risk my life crossing Celanese Rd.

It’s located in the back corner of a gas station parking lot and is a semi-permanent fixture.  They drive the truck up to a covered area with some picnic tables, fire up the generator, hang the signs and they are good to go.

They specialize in tacos (duh), tortas and burittos among other things.  Here are a couple of the menu boards in case you were wondering what kind they have.  In case you didn’t know, and I’ll admit I didn’t until a couple of years ago, a torta is a sandwich.

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After deciding on a cabeza burrito and a campechano taco I placed my order with the elementary school kid working the window who was quite polite and helpful.

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After a short wait enjoying the wonderfully cool fall weather (finally) my food was up.

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The tacos here come standard with onions, cilantro and radish on a soft tortilla.  The ground steak taco had plenty of meat and was ok but nothing to make you go out of you way for.  The beef cheek burrito comes with the titular beef cheek and Mexican rice wrapped up to make the burrito.  This was my first beef cheek and it was not bad if a little fatty.  It wasn’t spicy at all and the rice had decent flavor so it also wasn’t special other than the fact I got to use it in my title.  The mango drink was probably the most interesting item I had.  Although not Mexican it did have an international component being made in Korea.  I was surprised on my first sip to find it had bits of mango floating in it kind of like pulp in orange juice and there was some in every sip.

Overall if I hadn’t been here before and tried one of their sandwiches and a different taco only their proximity might get me to come back but I know the chorizo torta with the load of jalapenos they use is muy bueno.

 

Food Truck Friday

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New Direction

When I started this blog the focus was, as the title indicates traveling to other countries via my taste buds and sharing the experiences with any who chose to read it.  Well I am just about out of unique country / restaurant combos and the couple I have left are so much better with groups that I’ll have to do some actual planning to make it happen.  At this point I assessed my choices to be; stop doing the blog, only blog if I come across a new restaurant representing a country I hadn’t done, repeat countries with new restaurants or change the focus of the blog.  I don’t want to stop the blog so that left the others and after evaluating them I decided to serve up a combo.  If I find new restaurant /country combos they get added along with a Tell Me More page.  Visiting new restaurants representing old countries will help fill in some weeks and offer a comparison to the already visited restaurants so that will fill in some weeks.  The new part is an additional focus rather than a complete change and as the title didn’t have spoiler tags you probably figured it out.  I’m going to chase down food trucks and check out what they have to offer so I’ll be looking for meals on wheels, roach coaches, street meat, whatever you want to call them and I’ll let you know what I think.

I couldn’t think of a better way to kick it off than Food Truck Friday in downtown Rock Hill.  I only wish I’d started coming out earlier because there’s only one more Friday left and I will be there.  I got to the area just after 6:00 and parking was pretty easy to find within short walking distance.  There was already a nice group of people there and the live music was going.  Yep, dinner and a show.  They cordon off a couple of blocks around Fountain Park and the food trucks park along the streets.

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My first stop was the Beer ID & ticket tent because you can’t walk around trying to make decisions on which mobile kitchen is going to be your source of sustenance without a proper drink.  They beer trucks have some local microbrews and some wee little bottles of wine.  My first try was a Beneford Brewery Irish Honey which was quite tasty and kept me going as I walked up and down in a first pass to see what options I was presented with.

After walking the area I decided to start with a couple of Jamaican Me Crazy Sliders from Street Spice.  I got the pictures of the truck but ate the sliders before I remembered to snap a shot.

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This particular mini burger came with ghost pepper cheese and was on a bed of pineapple slaw and was quite good.  I also got some mac and cheese bites which were the best version of those I’ve ever had.  The outside was a thin crust and inside the cheese was gooey and the noodles were still soft and al dente.  The few other times I’ve tried fried mac and cheese they had been fried so long the noodles were hard and chewy or harder rocklike.

A stop at the beer tent to pick up a truly local Legal Remedy Double IPA and I was walking and enjoying the music and looking for a truck with just a little something to sample and not a full meal.  Hiya did it for me with their fried dumpling special.

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I got 4 kimchi dumplings and 4 fried chicken baby dumplings (I don’t think they were made with baby chickens).  Both were delicious but the kimchi dumplings paired well with the double IPA.  Overall this was a nice experience and I would certainly encourage any of you who can to think about going to October’s Food Truck Friday, I know I’ll be there.