Truck Stop

Every Friday through the end of August the Chef's Center in Pasadena is hosting a Food Fair with different food trucks and local food artisans selling their wares. Giving foodies a chance to sample a few different cuisines at one cozy venue. Last week was my second time and the Border Grill truck was defiantly plenty popular. No surprise since it is owned by two master chefs, Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feniger. They feature an inovative take on Mexican street food, like these two cones pictured above, one featuring a green corn tamale mixture (so good) and the other a Peruvian ceviche. 

While the Flying Pig offered up some yummy asian fusion. I tried the pork belly bun above, a soft steamed bao bun with pickled onions, a crisp slice of cucumber and pork belly with a spicy "special" sauce. Delicious.  

At my first event, it was pretty hot and a little overwhelming. I think I changed lines about 4 times before I actually ordered. I went with straight American fare, opting for these loaded fries from the Meet n' Potatoes truck. Really tasty, hand cut fries topped with pastrami, lettuce, tomatoes and a special sauce. 

There is a nice camaraderie among foodies at these events and complete strangers are nice enough to let me photograph their meals. Which is a good thing since the loaded fries left no room for anything else. I heard good things from those that sampled the India Jones Truck, pictured above a chicken curry and garlic naan bread. 

My friend Karen Knauer gave a thumbs up to this smoked chicken taco from the Flying Pig. Topped with a mango salsa, green curry aioli and honey roasted peanuts. 

We also tried some mini samosas filed with spinach and paneer from the No Tomatoes truck. Surprisingly light, with a nice flaky crust and a good amount of heat.  In this one trip I sampled, Indian, Asian and Mexican with a total cost of about $17. 

Every Friday, through the end of August, new trucks will roll up to this great little spot serving food from 6-9. They also usually invite a dessert truck and  there are tables set up selling tasty looking, locally made baked goods. There are picnic tables for diners and street parking was plentiful. To make it extra easy you can follow the Chef's Center on Facebook or on Twitter.  

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Sweet Southern Heat Wave

What to do on an extra hot almost-summer day? Create your own shade perhaps. 

Now lets take this show on the road and find something tasty!

Waiting in long lines for lunch from a truck? What one must suffer for art...

Wait! A truck filled with cupcakes! This road trip has just taken a sweet turn.

A big thumbs up for Yum Yum's  Ruby red velvet from JuJu. While Ai & I found the Kennedy Key Lime crazy good.

 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Digging Shindig's

 Atlanta, unlike some other cities, is not yet a mecca for the growing food truck trend. Mainly due to some funky laws that date back to near the Civil War. Still, a few like Yumbi have been successful at finding ways to work around the laws. You can also find a few that have set up shop in one shared location and created loyal followings. Like Shindig's BBQ truck located in the Texaco parking lot on Glenwood, just off the I-20. A spin off their main location on Campbellton Road. 

 Preston Jones, (pictured above) dishes up some mighty fine brisket, along with ribs, chicken and pulled pork. The sauce is nice and rich with a nice mix of spicy & sweet, I liked the beans too and the prices are not bad. There is even a little covered seating area to the side. 

The main location is on Campbellington Road and offer catering as well. No website but you can email them at shindigsbbq@yahoo.com.

I could not resist this brand new book by Heather Shouse on the mobile munching phenomon. Not only does she guide you to some of the best trucks across the country, there is also info on how to find them and even recipes! Great photos too by San Fran based photog Leo Gong make it as fun to look at as it is to read. If you're at all like me you might think a food truck would be fun to try, then you might want to read these tips from Readymade.

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Road Warriors

Korean ✻ Mexican ✻ Southern. This is what Yumbii has printed on the side of their truck and that is pretty much what you get. Tacos, burritos, quesadillas and sliders with a fusion of cultures. As mentioned in this post, food trucks are finding there way around metro Atlanta even with the tricky restrictions that can make it tough. Many have united together via the Atlanta Street Food Coalition and Yumbii is one of the mavericks.

You can track down the truck and it's friendly staff via twitter or Facebook. Or if you prefer a resturant that stays put visit their brick & mortar location, Hankook Taqueria. It was there that Chef Tomas Lee developed the crave worthy menu that Yumbii pulls from. 

Above is one of the super tasty pulled pork sliders which are topped with cucumber Kimchi, jack cheese & a sesame salad. The prices are tasty too, just $4 for two sliders. Tacos, which range from a short rib beef to stir fried tofu, are $2 each. I also like that a bottle of water or sodas are just $1. There are also daily specials.

These sesame fries are so worth the splurge, you can add some chipotle ketchup but they were pretty good as is.

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Westside Creamery

Gourmet food trucks are a fast growing trend across the country but because of laws in Georgia, we are a tad behind. Trucks are only allowed to operate on private property. This has not deterred a few gutsy mavericks to give it a go and together they have formed the Atlanta Street Food Coalition. They often plan meet ups where several trucks park and patrons can choose and sample from a variety of vendors.

I will be featuring a few of these rolling eateries as part of a new series on Pie: Off the Radar. First up is the luscious Westside Creamery. I sampled the salted butter caramel, their most popular according K.C., the very nice girl dishing it out. Sweet and rich with just a hint of salt that was not overwhelming. I can see why it is a best seller.

A simple menu with locally sourced handmade ice creams and sorbets. They include a vegan selection, ice cream sandwiches and floats.

Above is the apple pie flavor chosen and modeled by GA Tech student Nicki. You can follow many of the trucks including this one on twitter to find out where they will be or check out the ASFC on Facebook.

 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol