Keep On Trucking

I went to the second Food Truck Eats on Saturday. Unlike the first time, the food trucks were lined up along the main walkway at the Distillery district. The restaurants and caterers had their tables set up in an adjoining area. To benefit Second Harvest, people who wanted to sample the food before the 11 am start had to buy a $10 wristband. This was a good idea except for two problems. First, the "advanced screening" from 10-11 wasn't sufficiently long so people who came at 10:30 or later simply decided to wait until 11. So at most 100-150 people paid. Second, most of the vendors did not enforce the wristband policy and sold their food to everyone. Next time, the organizers should make it an all-day policy and drop the price to $2-3. Since the estimated crowd was 2000-3000, they would have raised more money.
El Gastronomo had the best dishes that I sampled that day. The Bangkok Dangerous Taco ($3.50): beef short ribs, green curry coconut cream, pickled lotus root, and fried shallot was rich and textured. But it doesn't quite beat the tacos I eat at the Mexican places in my neighbourhood. The Corn Star Fritter ($3.50): chili corn fritters, cucumber, thai basil, and hot & sour sauce was deep-fried goodness. This was the best dish overall. The chopped cucumber and basil combination tasted very much like the Vietnamese beef salad (goi bo).

Bangkok Dangerous Taco

Corn Star Fritter

Next up were two good dishes brought down by mediocre, store-bought buns. The Olliffe Grill Vespa Truck served up The 50/50 ($3): a nicely flavoured pork and beef sausage with homemade sauerkraut and mustard. But the bun was strictly wonder bread. Similarly, The Big Grill's sauteed peameal bacon sandwich with caramelized onions ($5) was undone by the bland bun.

The 50/50

Peameal Bacon Sandwich

The pizza slice ($5) from Bonfire Pizza, a pizza oven in a truck, was the greasiest thing outside of Pizza Hut. However, unlike Hut slices, this was much better. However, the flavours never blended: it was a mouthful of chewy arugula, followed by a bite of Fior d'Latte cheese (with Garlic and Red Sauce), and now and then a salty hit of prosciutto. For the price, you'll get more at Pizzaiolo.

I ended my brunch with some chicken and pork skewers from Hawaiian BBQ. I liked the faint sweetness of the sauce, different from typical BBQ sauces. Although there were numerous other tables and trucks, I wasn't too keen to try more. Some I had sampled at the last meet, and some didn't appeal (burgers, chicken wings, poutine). The last Food Truck Eats will take place some time in the fall.

Fior d'Latte, Prosciutto, and Arugula

Chicken and Pork Skewers