K Burgers Food Truck

We were at a recent First Wednesday Wine-Art event in downtown Lake Mary. One of the food trucks there was K Burgers Food Truck and so i decided to give them a try. They sure make a decent, delicious sandwich. I had the Black Russian Special.  It was thinly sliced pastrami served on black russian rye bread. The pastrami was piled high, topped with a chipotle slaw and swiss cheese, and then grilled to perfection. It was served with some homemade pickles on the side. And "how was it" you may ask? It was absolutely delicious. The presentation (inside a waxed carry-out box) was pretty good as well. The black russian rye was hearty and delicious, all that a good black russian rye should be. The pastrami was excellent, and the crunch of the coleslaw added great texture, along with the creaminess of the swiss cheese. Would I order it again? Yes, in a heartbeat!

City Eats Food Truck

When we saw the Whiskey Pulled Pork Sliders on the City Eats Food Truck menu at the Lake Mary Food Truck Crave, I just knew we had to try them. We were not at all disappointed, they were very good. First off, the bun was right for these little gems, an egg enriched, nice and soft bun. Next there was the pulled pork--it was nice and tender and had a great pork flavor. And then there was the slaw that was a part of this: pickled cabbage, carrots, onions, and peppers--all added to the tremendous flavor. The only thing I didn't like was when I finished the last bite--I wanted more. I can't wait to try some of their other menu items another time--I'll be back to City Eats Food Truck in the future, for sure! 

Mi Casita on Wheels

We tried Mi Casita on Wheels Food Truck at the Lake Mary Food Truck Crave recently. We'd already had quite a bit of food elsewhere, but I just had to try one of their Chicken Empanadas.  I was rewarded--it was very good. The empanada was nicely baked--the crust was exceptional, washed with a bit of egg wash, and crisp yet tender. The chicken inside was tasty, with a bit of chili spice flavor. For $2, it was a great few bites. Next time I see this truck at an event, you know I'll be sure to try something else. Nice first bite!

Louie's Bistro Food Truck

We discovered Louie's Bistro Food Truck at the Lake Mary Food Truck Crave recently, and I liked what I had... the California Chicken Tacos, basically chicken tacos with a chipotle lime crema, but with a twist--olives! Yep, olives. These were very good. What stated out as a normal, nicely flavored chicken taco with some lettuce and a chipotle lime crema (itselve very nice) was taken up a notch by the chopped olives that added a nice note to the tacos. Add a bit more lime juice and these were very quite good. My only complaint was the wait time, but maybe they were a victim of their own success--it took a full 15 minutes to get my chicken tacos. Were they worth the wait? Well, because I'd already eaten at other places, I'd say "yes." But for future reference, if you're extremely hungry, you may want to find faster service. Still, overall, these were very good and certainly worth waiting for, since I was already quite full!

Kona Dog

Kona Dog Food Truck offers just what you'd think they do: Hot Dogs with a Hawaiian Flair. And you know what? It works!  We were at  the Lake Mary Food Truck Crave and my friend Tommy--a huge hot dog fan--just had to have one of their hot dogs. It was all that a good hot dog should be. The "bun" was what you'd think of as a Hawaiian roll or bun-- a nice, sweet, egg-rich bun. The hot dog itself was top of the line, a very good dog, certainly no "ocar mayer" run of the mill dog. Add to that the "normal" accoutrements of mustard, onions, and pickle relish and you have a home run--and this was certainly a home run. I don't eat hot dogs all that much, but the next time I do, this will be the standard I measure by--it was that good!

Silver Bistro Food Truck

We went to our first Lake Mary Food Truck Crave today, and the first thing we tried was the Miami Sould from Silver Bistro Food Truck. It was good! They describe it as "...two worlds collide in this sandwich with slow roasted mojo seasoned pork, sweet ham, melted smoked gruyere cheese and kimchee, pressed inside toasty crusty bread and served with a side of key lime aioli for dipping." Basically, it was a Cuban Sandwich, but with a twist, and I liked the twist. I could have used jsut a bit more of teh key lime ailoi, but all in all, this was a great sandwich. It had the tastes of a cuban minus the pickle and yellow mustard, but with the kimchee which brought a nice tang as well as the texture of a pickle. All in all, a very nice sandwich! I'm looking forward to trying some of their other offerings at a later date.

Fork in the Road Food Truck

I went back to the Sanford Food Truck Bazaar in search of dessert, and came away with an excellent BBQ Pulled Spring Roll from the Fork in the Road Food Truck. We'd eaten earlier and took a break, but then decided to go back for dessert. I found somethign better, and this was it. This was very, very good. It was slow smoked and pulled Kurobuta (Berhshire) pork shoulder with a chipotle BBQ sauce and pickled red onions, rolled in a spring roll wrapper, deep fried, and served with a smoked blue cheese sauce. It came out fresh and hot and each bite was wonderful. I could taste the pork, first and foremost. The pickled onions added not only flavor, but texture. The crisp wrapper was just that, crisp. And finally the smoked blue cheese sauce gave the spiciness of the chipotle a very nice offset. It was a great dessert!

Gastro-Truck

I wanted to find some really outstanding Macaroni N Cheese at the Sanford Food Truck Bazaar the other night, and so I tried the offering from the Gastro-Truck. It was ooey and gooey as a good mac 'n cheese should be, rich and creamy with a nice cheese flavor. It was good, but it was not the gourmet "great" that I was looking for. For down-home comfort food, this was good. The macaroni itself was a bit overcooked, I'd have preferred a bit more bite to it. The cheese sauce was creamy and rich. But the texture was pretty much all the same throughout the dis. It could have stood to have some texture contrast--maybe a bit more "burned" or caramelizes, maybe a few bread crumb, possible some onion or bacon or...well, just something. So, while I found it good and comforting (and we ate the whole full-sized portion), I did not think it to be "gourmet." Good, yes. Great, not this time.

Melissa's Chicken & Waffles

We were at the Sanford Food Truck Bazaar and my friend Tommy had the the Chicken and Waffles from Melissa's Chicken & Waffles Food Truck. While the waffle itself was a bit wimpy, the chicken itself was outstanding, a bit of heat, very fresh and nicely deep fried. The sausage gravy and the waffle and syrup complimented the crisp heat (literal and spice) of the chicken and it made for a very nice meal. Super Yummy! Tommy says he'd eat this again. The few bites I had confirmed that it was indeed delish!

SwedeDISH Food Truck

The first thing I had to eat at the Sanford Food Truck Bazaar the other night was the Slider from the SwedeDISH Food Truck, and I loved it! It was described as an all-beef patty, Swedish style! The burger was tender and juicy with a slight hint of beet and topped with some capers. It was expertly cooked and not at all dry, but very juicy. It was accompanied by a bit of fresh red and green cabbage salad. The salad itself was great and I could have eaten a whole bowl of it--I detected some balsamic but it was not overpowering, just wonderful and delicious. There were other things on their menu that looked very good, and I'm sure I'll try some of those on a future visit. Nice job! 

Lake Mary's Food Truck Crave

OK, i just found out about this event. But on the last Sunday of the month, there is a Food Truck event in Lake Mary, the Lake Mary Food Truck Crave! It runs from 1-4 PM at Central Park, by the Lake Mary City Hall. Now that I know about this event, you know that I'll be there for the next one, on Sunday, February 26th. Won't you join me?

Bistro Babe's Cafe

There were so many great sounding menu items at the various food trucks at the Sanford Food Truck Bazaar, organized by The Daily City, that it was hard to decide what to eat, and what to eat next. But when we saw the Jamaican Me Jerk Shrimp at the Bistro Babes Cafe Food Truck, we could not resist--and it was a good choice! And so we ordered and rather quickly received our two skewers, each with three jumbo shrimp. They were very good. The shrimp had been marinated in a bit of a jerk sauce, and were served with a bit of Island-style salsa, pineapple, papaya, onion, and who-knows-what-else. All i know for sure is that it was pretty darned good and a lot of fun--and easy to eat, a must when you gotta eat standing up!  Nice job by the Babes!

5 Gastronomy Food Truck

We had a great time at the first Sanford Food Truck Bazaar, organized by The Daily City, last week in downtown Sanford. One of the things we tried was the 5-cheese Mac N Cheese from the 5 Gastronomy Food Truck.  It was OK, but just OK, not my favorite thing that I ate. There was no macaroni in it, but instead they used a curly egg noodle, like something you'd find served under some cheap beef stroganoff, or in a soup. Though the sauce was tasty, it was a bit thin and did not stick to the noodles well. I'll certainly give 5gastronomy another chance, as there were other enticing things on their menu, but for a Mac N Cheese, I'd probably go elsewhere next time. Still, because it had some good flavor but only lacked a bit in execution, I'll give them a provisional "thumbs up" vote on Urbanspoon. But as always, I reserve the right to change my mind and challenge you to try their food for yourself and tell me what you think about it.    

Café Rouge Express Food Truck

We attended the first at The Daily City Food Truck Bazaar at Sanford last week, and came away impressed--and full! One of the delights we had was the Chicken Tikka Masala Flatbread from the Café Rouge Express Food Truck. All I can say is, wow! I'd had a Chicken Tikka Masala at Cafe Rouge, the restaurant, in the past, and it was awesome, so I had to try their flatbread at their new food truck--I was not disappointed. They were kind enough to divide the huge portion into two for my friend Tommy and I--and the portions were huge, though maybe because I know the chef? But at any rate, this was first class. I was told in the past that they make their own garam masala, and it shows. Anyhow, the food was fantastic, awesome. I'll be back, I'm sure. And if I discover Chicken Tikka on the restaurant menu again, you know where'll I'll be headed!

Twisted Cuban Food Truck

I had a quick bite at the Twisted Cuban Food Truck at The Daily City Food Truck Bazaar at Sanford last week, and came away very impressed. My friend Tommy and I attended and tried a number of dishes at the Food Truchk Bazaar, and one of our top favorites was the Pork Taco at Twisted Cuban. It was awesome. There was a huge amount of tender pork in a soft flour tortilla. It was topped with a delicious and crunchy cabbage slaw and a dressing that had a bit of a tang. My only complaint--or rather suggestion--would be to have a bit less pork and a bit more of the slaw--but both were outstanding. I'll have these again one day, I am sure of it. And, by the way, the picture cannot do justice to these. They were truly outstanding, flavorful, just a hint of spice, tender meat, juicy, and ridiculous!

The Food Truck Bazaar

I attended my first Food Truck Bazaar organized by The Daily City recently, and came away very impressed. First off, I am a big fan of downtown Sanford--they host a ton of fun events, and I do mean Fun with a capital "F!" We often hang out in Sanford, usually at our favorite watering hole, The Palette, located inside Art Affair Gallery on First Street in historic downtown Sanford. So when we heard that there was going to be a Food Truck Bazaar nearby, we were all ears. We headed to The Palette to enjoy the happy hour, but then eventually walked the scant block or two away to see what this "food truck bazaar" was all about. I was impressed. About 12-18 food trucks had gathered in a parking lot near the Courthouse building near downtown and there were a ton of people there. The selection was fantastic. Want a cupcake? They got 'em. Want a taco--what kind, many to choose from. Like seafood? Take your pick. Mac 'n Cheese tempting you? The hard part is deciding.

The Daily City organizes quite a few "food truck roundups" during the course of the month, and they are generally repeating events, happening every month on the same weekday (first Saturday was Sanford's, but there are more).

I will write later about the various places we ate, because we had great food and one helluva lot of fun. We even got to meet the organizer and CE) of The Daily City, Mark Baratelli. Hey Mark, a great event--see you there next month, for sure! Not only did we meet him at the gathering, we ran into him later at The Palette. What a great and fun night that was.

I now have the first Saturday of every month on my calendar and you know where I'll be--at The Food Truck Bazaar in downtown Sanford. It was a blast!

Tree House Food Truck

We stopped by Tree House Food Truck  the other night and liked what I had. We were at the Apopka Food Truck Roundup, a fairly new event held the first Thursday of every month at Kit Land Nelson park in Apopka. There were about 14 various food trucks in attendance. We'd already eaten, but were looking for dessert, and I was drawn to the Tree House Food Truck by one very particular thing...bad spelling and grammar. Now, as a proud Polak (person of Polish-American heritage), I could not let their advertisement for pierogi pass for two reasons: (1) I love pierogi and am an expert, and (2) I am the Polish spelling police, and they had a violation. So when I saw pierogi on the menu, I knew I had to try them, and when I saw the word grossly misspelled, I had to comment

A pierog (single, one) is a little dumpling that is filled with a filing and usually boiled, then fried, and served with some accompaniments. In Polish, "pierog" refers to one, singular, and "pierogi" refers to more than one, plural. So, the word "pierogi" is already a plural word and adding an "es" to it is not correct. Worse yet, the forgot the first "i"... it's Pierogi, not perogi--that is not a Polish word with any meaning.

But, on to the pierogi (there were three of them, so plural, and now spelled correctly). The actual pierogi themselves were just OK, but the way they were served deserves comment and accolade. The pierogi appeared to be very average, maybe even the "Mrs. T's" store brand (hint, guys, buy them at the Europol store on Aloma and 436--they are much better there). They were boiled and then fried, very traditional. But then they were topped with a very delicious sour creme sauce and sprinkled with some fried bacon. I'd guess the sour creme sauce had some yogurt in it as well as chives and dill, but it was sure delicious and really made up for the pierogi's somewhat bland filling. I'd probably eat these again, but if they really use quality pierogi--and I could show them how to make some excellent pierogi--they'd have a real hit on their hands.

And then the dessert. The picture here does not does it justice. This cookie was at least 6 inches across and nicely cooked, nice and moist and tender. It was a Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookie, and at $2, it as a steal! Moist, tender, with a hint of salt and some nice chunks of chocolate, this was a very good cookie and we both enjoyed it. 

We really enjoyed our time at the Apopka Food Truck Roundup, and that was in part due to the good food (bad spelling notwithstanding) at the Treehouse Truck. If you want to know where they'll be next, you can friend and follow them on Facebook.    

C&S Brisket Bus

We ate some decent sandwiches at the C&S Brisket Bus at the Apopka Food truck Roundup on the first Thursday of October. The event started recently and is held every first Thursday in at Kit Land Nelson Park in Apopka. After looking over the various offereings of the 14 trucks in attendance, we decided to give C&S Brisket Bus's food a try. It was good. 

I had the Texas Brisket, smoked sliced brisket covered with a sweet and sour barbecue sauce and served sandwich style on Texas Toast. At $9 for a whole and $6 for a half, the choice was a no-brainer. I had the whole and then split it with my friend Tommy. The brisket was nicely smoke and the barbecue sauce did somewhat remind me of Texas BBQ, though maybe from far east Texas, as close to Tennessee and the Carolias as you can get, due to the bit of tang from the vinegar. Yet, it was very good. The Texas toast was the perfect vehicle for this hearty sandwich.

My friend Tommy had the Carolina Pulled Brisket Sandwich, grilled smoked brisket that was mixed with an eastern North Carolina type vinegar based barbecue sauce and served on grilled white bread. It was the same price, so again, a no-brainer, we each ended up with half. This was a very good sandwich and I'd say I liked it marginally better than the Texas sandwich. Still, they were both very good. If anything could be said for either sandwich as a criticism, I'd say just a tad more sauce would be in order, to really highlight the BBQ flavor. But overall, a nice job, we liked this. Now to try some of their other items another time. And I will be back, for sure.

If you'd like to know where this Food Truck is, friend them on Facebook!