Thursday, March 29, 2012

Stick It Food Truck

Did y'all know what there's a food holiday every single day of the year? For example, today is "National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day" and tomorrow is "National Turkey Neck Soup Day". I think I'd rather celebrate cake than turkey necks. 

Yesterday, was "Something on a Stick Day" and what better way to have a belated celebration of this day than stopping by Stick It Food Truck! 

Stick It Food Truck specializes in, you guessed it, food on sticks! 


Today, Stick It set up shop at Soundwaves on Montrose. My GPS took me down very sketchy backstreets and alleys. I thought I was about to get carjacked but all of a sudden the streets opened up and there was the truck! 

There wasn't a line because it is a pretty rainy, gray day here in Houston but no line means faster food for me! I walked up to the food truck and as soon a read the menu I had a huge dilemma- I wanted to order everything. 

You see my dilemma? Skirt steak, teriyaki chicken, pork belly...how is a girl to choose? I decided on the marinated skirt steak with southwest couscous salad with chimichurri and avocado. It only took about 6 minutes for my food to be ready. That's the beauty of grilling food on a stick, it's fast! 


The skirt steak went so well with the chimichurri sauce. I have a deep love for chimichurri. I remember the first time I had it I was at Churassco's with plantain chips and I could not get enough of it. I think that's part of the reason why I chose to order this. I cannot begin to tell you how good this skirt steak is. I could eat 10 sticks of this with chimichurri. Spicy, garlicky, tangy-This skirt steak had a lot going on and it was delicious. 


If you order the skirt steak these are my instructions- Dip, devour, repeat. I didn't finish the chimichurri but trust me, it's in my fridge right now and I will find an excuse to eat it for dinner tonight. 

The side dish for the skirt steak was a wonderful couscous salad. I've only had regular  couscous so being able to try Israeli couscous was a treat! 


The couscous salad had roasted corn, avocado and roasted red peppers. *SIGH* Red peppers. Readers I have a confession, I HATE bell peppers. Actually "hate" is an understatement. I absolutely detest bell peppers. I don't care if it's green, yellow, orange or red. I'd rather sit through a 24 hour Hannah Montana marathon than eat a dish with red peppers. 

With that being said I am completely biased with this salad. I loved everything else about it. The sweet corn, creamy avocado and nutty couscous were perfect minus the red pepper. If you like roasted peppers than you will love this salad. I liked it despite the red peppers. 

Food on sticks is not only fun but it's convenient. How great is it to be able to walk about and be eating at the same time? That my friends is multi-tasking at it's best. Stick It Food Truck has an eclectic menu that has something for everyone. Go try Stick It Food Truck and show them some food truck love. 


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Good Dog Hot Dog

You know what's better than a birthday cake? A birthday hot dog! 

Today is Good Dog Hot Dogs 1st birthday-a HUGE accomplishment for any food establishment. Good Dog Hot Dogs provides the tastiest hot dogs all around Houston. All condiments are made from scratch - the hot dogs are Texas made and they are all served in their local artisan buns. How good does that sound? 

I made my way to Buchanan's Native Plants in the Heights where Good Dog Hot Dogs sets up almost every Sunday afternoon. It was a mad house in the parking lot when I arrived. You'd think the plant shop was giving away money trees. After I battled it out in the parking lot, I made my way to the little blue bus inside the nursery. 


I had already decided what I was going to order before I even arrived. I knew I wanted the chillin' dog with chorizo chili, onion and jalapenos. I cannot have a hot dog without chili. The Texan in me won't allow it. 



The homemade condiments have a little something for everyone.  Everything from Sriracha Ketchup and Roasted Garlic Aioli to Short Bus Mustard and Jalapeno Relish. I wish that they served fries just so I can dip them in the Roasted Garlic Aioli, Belgian style.  You can make your own "Good Dog" or you can pick one of the specialty hotdogs already made like the "Guac-a-dog" with avocado, tomato and jalapeno or the "Chi-town Dog" which has everything but the kitchen sink on it.  After placing the order, I walked to a seat with some of the other customers waiting for their food. It was a beautiful location. 

The area around the bus has plenty of chairs and benches to enjoy the food. It was a perfect location for a beautiful Houston summer. As my partner in crime and I were waiting for our food, I was telling him about the food truck and that they made homemade chips. HOMEMADE CHIPS!  Why didn't we order those is a mystery to me. I ran up to the counter and asked to add them to my order and I had perfect timing. He was just about to call my order. 

He handed me the bag of salt and pepper chips, the chillin' dog and the corny dog on a red tray and I made my way to the table. I love the presentation of the hot dogs in the white boxes. Everything looks better against a white background and pictures are so much easier to take against it. Good job Good Dog Hot Dog! 


In my opinion, it's really hard to make a good homemade potato chip. You have to get the thickness just right. Not too thin so they don't burn and not too thick so they're not soft in the middle. Goldilocks would be proud of these chips, they were just right. Seasoned with salt and pepper, these chips are simplicity at its best. 


The corny dog is one of the biggest corn dogs I've ever seen in my life. You get your $5's worth. It is served with Short bus mustard and Sriracha ketchup. The ratio of batter to hot dog was just right and the mustard and ketchup were amazing. The mustard was slightly spicy and tangy. The ketchup was sweet and spicy. I think I'm going to have to steal this idea and keep a bottle of this in my house. :) 

My chillin dog was served with beef and chorizo chili, pickled jalapenos, diced onion and short bus mustard. As soon as I saw that this chili had chorizo in it I was sold. Here in Texas chili is a religion. Oh and don't even THINK about putting beans in Texas chili. That will get you shipped out to somewhere terrible up north.  It's our state dish so if you do it you better do it right or don't do it at all.  Good Dog Hot Dog does it right. Oh and the bun...ahhh the artisan bun. The bun was buttered and toasted so it gave you a little but of crunch when you bit into the hot dog. That bun and the Texas made hot dog are what really separate this hot dog from plain old grocery store hot dogs.  I'll never be able to eat Oscar Meyer again. 

The sign of a good meal is the aftermath left behind.  A messy chili dog is the only way it's suppose to be.  My mouth and fingers were covered in chili and I had no shame.  I don't think anyone was watching me lick my fingers but if they did they could tell I enjoyed myself. 

The next time you're craving a hotdog don't go to your fridge and pull out the processed hot dogs.  Check out Good Dog Hot dog for the freshest, tastiest selection of hot dogs in Houston.  You'll be glad you did. 


Don't forget to check out my twitter,follow me and comment!


Friday, March 16, 2012

Food Truck List

Hey everyone! 


I decided I need some sort of list to keep myself organized as to what food trucks I'm going to try and which ones I've already gone to so I made a list. If there's a food truck I missed or they are no longer in service please comment and let me know! 


Bernie's Burger Bus
Melange Creperie
The Waffle Bus
Firehouse Tacos
Frosted Betty
Bare Bowls Kitchen
NOLA's Creole 2Geaux
BangMi Truck
Sirena Seafood Truck
Wicked Whisk
Stick It Truck
The Burger Guys
Ladybird 
St. John's Fire
Zeapod Cakery
Happy Endings
Kurbside Eats
The Rice Box
Off The Hook Fish
Flaming Patties
The Modular Truck
The Goodie Box
PiPizza Truck
MMM Cupcake Truck
Slyder Truck
Juice Girl
MAM's Ice House
No Border's Truck
It's a Wrap
Zilla Street Eats
3 Cajun Pigs
Phamily Bites
Oh My! Pocket Pies
Oh My Gogi! BBQ
Good Dog Hot Dogs
Eatsie Boys
H-Town stEATS
Coreanos Food Truck
Sweet Ride Houston
Tacos Tierra Caliente

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Haters

I really wish I didn't have to take time out of my day to write this but it has come to my attention that the Internet is full of haters. 


On my latest review of "Melange Creperie", I had an anonymous commenter write:
"you're trying too hard with your writing. You're not a writer or a professional blogger so the whole food description attempts like "smokey ham" and "salty cheddar" are not working for you. If anything, they're making this blog more of a joke." 


They also pointed out that I need to "find something decent to write about". 


I didn't know that there were people out there that had such strong hate towards adjectives and food trucks. 


I have never said on this blog or my Twitter that I am a professional. I do not plan on becoming a professional food critic or blogger. This is simply something fun that I decided to do because I am a foodie and I love seeing the food truck business blossom in Houston. I respect that everyone has an opinion and I welcome constructive criticism. I believe it will help me become a better writer and make my blog more enjoyable to read. 


What I do not welcome is cruel comments that are meant to hurt. If you don't like my blog then don't read it. I'm pretty sure there's not a person holding a gun to your back controlling what you read on the Internet. 


I realize that by writing and putting a blog up I open myself up to comments but that gives no one the right to tear people down. If I'm not personally attacking you then why do you feel the need to tear me down? Do you really have nothing else better to do?


I would love for people to comment and let me know what they think but let's all be respective of each other. I don't know you and you don't know me so that's all the more reason to respect one another. I'm pretty sure that in real life you don't walk up to people and rip them apart. If you do, I suggest you go see a therapist. 


Let's all get along here please. Thank you. 



Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Melange Creperie

Bonjour Food Truck fans! 

The 1st time I had a crepe was about 5 years ago when I traveled to Paris, France.   Ever since then I've been searching for a crepe that lived up to those fond memories of crispy, thin goodness filled with everything from nutella to chicken to spinach to cheese. 


Melange Creperie serves French style crepes and they have 2 crepe carts roaming the streets of Houston. In addition to classics such as nutella with banana and ham, egg and cheese, they feature a weekly rotating menu. 


Today, Melange Creperie set up shop at City Hall's Urban Harvest Market. I feel like a bad Houstonian because I've lived here all my life and this is the 1st time I've ever heard of Urban Harvest Market.  Every Wednesday from 11am - 1:30pm dozens of local farmers, restaurants and bakers set up shop to feed the hungry downtown crowd.  They even had a live band and something so cute I just had to take a picture...


A baby goat! This has nothing to do with crepes but I'm sure your day was just made a little brighter by this cute little guy. 

I walked past dozens of stands filled with local produce, vegan baked goods and of course food trucks.  I found my way to Melange Creperie not by the smell of crepes nor by the sign announcing their name.  I found my way there because of a very entertaining guy calling people over to the stand.  I could literally hear him 4 stalls away but it got my attention as well as about 10 other people.  This guy was made for sales. 


They had their daily menu written out and it as brunch time for me so the ham, egg, cheese crepe was calling my name.  I had my little brother with me and he wanted the nutella & banana crepe. This entertaining man took my order and I stood in line to wait for my crepe to be made. The great thing about crepes is that it literally takes 2 minutes to cook them, you can fill it with whatever you want and it's the perfect street food. 

My brother, zoned in on his PSP, looked up at me and asked "How does he remember everyone's order?" I hadn't even thought about it but he didn't write my order down. He didn't write anyone's order down in the 12 person line but he remembered ever single order. I can't even remember what I did yesterday. That guy has a great memory. 


The 2 specials for the week were gourmet all the way: Roasted turnips, beets & goat cheese and Mangos & Mayhaw sour cream. The specials last for an entire week which I love because you have multiple opportunities to try it unlike a "daily special".  As you can see on the menu my crepe was $6 plus $1 because I added spinach and my brothers crepe was $5. These crepes are big enough for an entire meal so this is a great value.   

I took about 15 minutes for our crepes to be made. I love being able to watch my food being made and it does not get fresher than this. It's like watching your Subway sandwich being made but WAY better. 


The thin, delicate batter is spread over the piping hot crepe pan and spread around with what looks like a mini squeegee. They had 4 machines going at once and they needed it. The line was starting to build. I was glad I got there at the beginning of the market. I can't imagine what the lines would have looked like when lunch time hit in downtown. 


My crepe had a fresh egg cracked on top and spread around to be cooked. Then it was topped with cheddar cheese, ham and I asked for spinach to be added. When the ham hit the hot crepe you could smell it and I was getting hungrier by the second. 


My brothers crepe was spread with nutella, truly a gift from God. If you haven't tried Nutella get in your car right now and drive to your grocery store. It'll be right next to the peanut butter and jelly. You'll be finding excuses to put nutella on everything because honestly chocolate & hazelnut makes everything better. 






Our packages of goodness were handed to us golden brown and delicious. My little brother took a bite of his crepe and he said "This is good!". He's a pretty picky 9 year-old so if he said it's good, it really is good. 


Do you see all the banana in there? You get a whole banana inside your crepe! That cancels out the nutella and immediately makes this healthy.  The crepe was crispy, light and the perfect delivery package for the warm nutella and banana.  I could only get 2 bites of it because my brother kept telling me to give the crepe back to him but the 2 bites I got were heaven. 


My egg, cheese, ham & spinach crepe was the perfect meal to start my day off with. The crepe was filled to the brim with perfectly cooked egg, salty cheddar cheese, thick cut ham and fresh spinach. My favorite part of the crepe was the ham. I feel like whenever I eat ham in a restaurant it's the thin, deli style ham. This was REAL ham. The stuff that you gorge yourself on every Christmas.  Perfectly salty and smokey, I could eat a crepe filled with just the ham. The spinach gave it just the right amount of freshness to lighten the crepe up. 


If you've never tried crepes or are searching for the perfect French crepe like I was, then check out Melange Creperie. The staff is friendly & entertaining, the prices can't be beat and of course, the crepes are the best in town that I've had. Bon Appetit! 


Melange Creperie Website
Melange Creperie Twitter
Melange Creperie Facebook




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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Bernie's Burger Bus

The weather in Houston hasn't been great the last few days. Grey skies, rain, lightning and thunder makes you just wanna cuddle up in your covers, not go out to eat. It's certainly put a damper on Houston food trucks going out and delivering their goodies to hungry customers.  

Thankfully, Bernie's Burger Bus has a solution! 

Located on 3816 Link Valley Drive, Bernie's Prep Kitchen was serving up delicious burgers and fries on this dreary Sunday afternoon. 

On this food truck trip I had my partner in crime with me, aka boyfriend, tagging along for the ride. He got a little jealous that I went to the Waffle Bus without him so of course I had to take him with me to grab burgers and fries, total guy food. 

As we drove to the prep kitchen I'll admit, I was a little sketchy about the area but once again I did not eat breakfast and was starving. I was not about to let some sketchy apartments stand in my way of food, especially a big, juicy burger. 

We drove around the corner and we saw the bright yellow bus parked on the street. It's a classic yellow school bus and their menu carries from this theme. Doesn't this bus just make you happy?


Go ahead and insert short bus joke here if you want. I'm gonna be totally P.C. and go ahead and skip them but I know all of you out there have a joke or two. 

Their prep kitchen is in a small shopping strip and if you didn't know where you were going you probably would end up in the laundromat or Mexican grocery store next door. Nevertheless, we found our way inside their prep kitchen. After looking over the menu we decided to order our own burgers and fries. I got the Principal burger with Truffle Parmesan fries and boyfriend got the Homeroom burger with regular fries. 

It took about 10 minutes for our order to be made.They handed over a brown paper bag and when I looked inside I saw this....


When you see fries covered in cheese you know it's gonna be a good day. 

It was getting a bit crowded inside the store and there was only 3 tables so we decided to take our food elsewhere to devour. The smell coming out of this bag was so intoxicating I could not even wait to put on my seat belt to grab one of these fries.

My Principal burger is the classic American burger with all the fixing's- lettuce, mayo, mustard, onion, roasted tomatoes & homemade pickles & ketchup. 

Now this burger might look like a hot mess but trust me...it is GOOD. This is not a fancy pants burger that you order at a steakhouse and it's served on a silver platter. This is a down home, honest to goodness burger. A thick juicy patty with notes of sweetness from the roasted tomatoes and homemade ketchup. The homemade bread and butter pickles gave it a slight kick. And the bun...oh the homemade bun. Quite possibly, no wait... IT IS the best burger bun I've ever had. It is soft yet it stands up to the burger and holds all the juices and toppings. A small side note is that I thought the burger bun was too big for the patty. I had burger bun left at the end but no patty to put in the middle. 

Now on to my fries....Truffle Laced Hand-Cut Fries w/ Parmesan and Green Onions. If you put the word truffle in front of ANYTHING I would eat it. Truffle burger, Truffle goat cheese, Truffle pizza,Truffle chocolate brownie...OK the last one is a bit weird but I bet you it would be good just because it has truffle in it! 


Amazing right? If you don't think these fries look good than you should call your eye doctor and get checked out because these are the best fries I've ever had. The thick cut fries are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside with a crust of salty, nutty Parmesan cheese. The fresh green onions on top gave it just the right amount of onion flavor without overpowering them.

After about eating half of my fries I looked over and started eyeing my boyfriend's burger. I knew there was chipotle aioli in there and I'm all about chipotle right now. 

He ordered the Homeroom burger complete with apple wood bacon, cheddar cheese, "tipsy onions", chipotle aioli and a fried egg. That sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen but my  motto is "I'd rather die happy than hungry". 


Do you see that fried egg poking out of the bun on the right side? 
That right there my friends is where it's at. 

There are so many flavors going on in this burger I really don't know where to begin. It all starts with that signature juicy patty and it's covered in melted cheddar cheese and apple wood bacon. My problem with most bacon burgers is that all you taste is bacon and no beef but this apple wood smoked bacon was just right. The caramelized tipsy onions gave it a slight sweetness with that chipotle aioli coming up the back to deliver a smokey heat. Last but certainly not least was that fried egg. Eggie (is that a word?) goodness reminds you that this is exactly what you need in the morning after a long night. You know what kind of night I'm talking about. 


I also got a couple of bites of the crispy fries and they were light and fluffy and perfectly salted. What more could you want in a fry? A REAL french fry. Not those pre-cooked sodium drenched McDonald's fries. Even if you think McDonald's may have the best french fries, no one's ketchup comes close to Bernie's homemade ketchup. 


I've never actually had homemade ketchup before but Heinz ain't got nothing on Bernie. Sweet, slightly smokey & complex, this ketchup alone is worth the trip to Bernie's. I don't know if they sell this but if they did I would buy it. 

On a side note, if you're looking to test your manhood try the Detention burger-Two apple wood smoked bacon grill cheeses used as the bun, two signature beef patties topped with Texas cheddar, tipsy onions, and all the fixings. 

I'm pretty sure that this burger is a right of passage in some tribes. If you eat this burger and come out alive you are officially a man. In Bernie's world your name gets put on the detention list if you eat the whole thing. 

If you're craving a REAL burger than head over to Bernie's Burger Bus. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook or head over to their website to find where Bernie's is. With these burgers and fries on board this is one short bus that you would be happy to ride on. 




Please comment and share! Don't forget to follow my twitter as well! 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Waffle Bus


Ahhh.....waffles. The name invokes memories of sweet crispy goodness that pops out of your toaster. Let’s face it. The most exposure we have to waffles is climbing out of bed, hungover and in a daze, crawling to the freezer and popping in a couple of Eggo waffles to soak up the alcohol. A waffle makeover is in dire need. Queue The Waffle Bus.



I arrived around 1:30 at Bo Concept on Westheimer and the smell of fried, crispy goodness was wafting out of the bus. There was a line of about 15 people in front of me. I've never wanted to cut in line so badly. I could overhear people standing around me discussing what to get. I had taken a look at the menu online and I was torn between the Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Waffle and the Waffle Burger. After seeing someone walk past me with the Fried Chicken & Waffle my mind was made up. The menu has both sweet and savory waffle sandwich options and something really awesome called "Waffle Fryders". Think sliders but instead of the bun...it's waffle fries! These people are genius.

Waffle Bus Menu
It could not have been a more perfect day for a food truck outing. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, Westheimer drivers were honking and flipping each other off. Ahhhh...a perfect Houston Spring day. As I patiently waited for my turn, there was one thing that was bugging me...and I mean REALLY bugging me. The guy behind me kept bumping into me and hitting my purse. C'mon dude haven't you ever heard of a personal bubble? Get your own!

The girl that took my order was very friendly and she even complimented me on my nail polish. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I ordered the Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Waffle with the ancho honey. You can also get it with spicy mayo if you're not into the whole sweet & savory thing.


It was $7 for the sandwich plus a $1 charge for using a credit card. I understand the whole concept for charging for using a card for food trucks. Most of them probably have this policy. They don't do the high volume regular restaurants do to overcome the cost of running credit cards and it's easier for them to handle cash. So do yourself a favor and bring cash. You're not only making their lives easier but you're saving yourself a $1.


After I placed my order, I stood back to let other people come up to the bus and I see this...


As if my experience wasn't going well enough, I see this sign. I love a good sense of humor and the people at The Waffle Bus definitely have it. Haters gonna hate!

Kudos to them for distracting me with this hilarious sign and music videos being played on the TV. Nothing distracts you more from hunger like scary Nikki Minaj music videos. At this point I haven't eaten anything all day and I was close to gnawing on my own arm.

And then....that glorious moment happened! MY NAME WAS CALLED!





How amazing does that sandwich look? You wanna see another picture? Yea....you do


The waffle was perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The chicken, fried to perfection. Now the sauce is really where it's at. The ancho honey sauce is a balance of heat and sweet. At first bite the sweetness of the honey hits you and then the mild smokey heat from the ancho fills your mouth. Sweet & savory perfection.

The sandwich is delightfully messy. Everyone is sitting around on the floor and sidewalk savoring every bite. How can you not love this? No one judges you for being covered in honey and shoveling the sandwich in your mouth like your life depended on it. Needless to say I finished the whole thing.
No shame.

After 10 napkins, an entire bottle of water and a small pep talk to remind myself I can always work off the calories I was finished and on my way to work for another night of shuffling customers to their tables.

The next time you're craving a waffle check out The Waffle Bus. The menu has something for everyone PLUS they have specials. The special for today was "PB&J"-Biscoff Spread with strawberry preserves. If I didn't have any self control I would have ordered that too and finished it. Biscoff is right up there with Nutella.

This was my first visit and it certainly won't be my last. In the words of The Waffle Bus..."Everyday I'm Wafflin!"




Please comment and let me know what you think!

Greetings!

Hello out there in Internet land! 

Melissa is my name and food trucks are my game!


Ok that was really lame but you try coming up with something clever at 2am when your insomnia is in overdrive. 


ANYWAYS....


Food Trucks have a bad reputation in this country. Roach coach, grease trucks & barf buggies don't exactly entice your appetite. Over the last few years food trucks have been elevated to gourmet status. All over the country food trucks have been turning out fusion tacos, homemade ice cream, gourmet burgers, hot dogs and even crepes! 


My mission, should I choose to accept it (which I already did because I'm writing this blog), is to sample all of the gourmet Houston food trucks. 


I love everything about the concept of a food truck. Food trucks aren't allowed to be mediocre.  You know you have amazing food when people follow you on Twitter & Facebook just to find out where you are and then drive to you! Only loyal customers who are crazy about the food do this. 


I may not be a professional food critic or a journalist but I do love food. I hope you enjoy my blog and follow me on my food truck foodie journey. 


-Melissa