Not Your Average Ice Cream Truck

Gone are the childhood days of chasing down the signature ice cream truck tune (nope, I haven’t done this recently...)  But who’s to say we, as adults, can’t still enjoy ice cream trucks? Rather than the vintage white truck with pre-packaged ice creams and popsicles, DC’s ice cream fleet offers a wide variety of frozen treats. Here’s to squeezing in a review of DC’s ice cream trucks before summer comes to an end!

(in no particular order)

Dolci Gelati – Starting with the newest of the ice cream trucks, Dolci Gelati serves gelato and sorbet. I was told that all their creations are made by an Italian chef!  I’ve only tried their pistachio gelato, which had real pistachio pieces, and passion fruit sorbet so far. I wanted to love their gelato but I really wasn’t  blown away by it. Their passion fruit sorbet on the other hand…amazing!! One sample bite and I was sold. I also sampled their cilantro lime sorbet, which was surprisingly tasty and refreshing. They offer their treats in a cone or cup.  The first time I stopped by, they had cones stuffed with cake in the middle…how I turned down that option I honestly don’t know. Perhaps I’ll try these cones on my next visit :)

Pistachio Gelato

Orange Cow – I’ve tried Orange Cow on several occasions and it never disappoints. They serve homemade ice cream in several different flavors. I’ve tried the chocolate oreo and peanut butter cup so far. Both flavors are deliciously soft and creamy! A solid ice cream truck to try~

Street Cream – NEVER trying this truck. Why? They don’t even make their own ice cream. Why would I pay Street Cream to purchase ice cream from another vendor and then charge me for store-bought toppings?  ‘Nuff said.

Sinplicity – Hands down my favorite DC ice cream truck! Their ice cream flavors are unique and delicious; I highly recommend the Snickerdoodle with Cinnamon and Dark Rum, Raspberry and White Chocolate Truffle, and the Salty Caramel. They also serve amazing sorbets such as the Blackberry Cabernet and Mango with Dark Rum and Lime.  All their ice creams and sorbets are served with a small piece of biscotti too :) My all-time favorite, however, is Sinplicity’s ice cream ‘Sinwhiches’. These are no ordinary ice cream sandwiches, ladies and gentlemen. Their amazing ice cream is held together by 2 macaroons! Soft, pliable, crunchy on the outside maracoons! They offer 4 flavors, 2 of which I’ve tried and I haven’t been able to pry myself away from these 2: Cow Pie and Tipsy Strawberry. The Cow Pie is chocolate ice cream with kalua-soaked brownies between 2 cocoa macaroons, and the Tipsy Strawberry is strawberry ice cream with margarita curds held between 2 crimson macaroon. (I swear I’m not an alcoholic) This $6 treat is completely worth it! Don’t let summer pass you by without trying Sinplicity!

Tipsy Strawberry Sinwich

Pleasant Pops – Although not technically an ice cream truck, Pleasant Pops provides a refreshing
reprieve from the sweltering summer heat at about $3 a pop. Made from locally sourced ingredients,
Pleasant Pops’ quirky and unexpected popsicle flavors are rotated weekly. So far I’ve tried their Peach Hibiscus, Strawberry Banana, Cookies and Cream, and the Chongos, which is Mexican sweet cream and cinnamon, all of which I have loved. Pleasant Pops is able to turn unique, unusual flavors into popsicle deliciousness; you will be pleasantly surprised :P

Goodies Frozen Custard and Treats – I will confess I have tried almost everything on their menu :X Their custard is truly something else. It’s creamy, buttery, and just the right amount frozen. Brandon, the owner, comes up with tasty creations such as the many milk shakes and sundaes he offers. My favorites, however, are usually the specials written on the chalk board. Such specials include the red velvet donut ice cream sandwich, peach cobbler, and the blueberry donut ice cream sandwich. The only down side is that their tasty creations cost around $6 or more...indulge a little at your wallet’s expense!

Red Velvet Donut Sandwich

Look out for these ice cream trucks at the upcoming Truckeroo and around DC! Hope this helps you decide which trucks to try :)

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Food Truck Review - Feelin' Crabby

Feelin’ Crabby specializes in, as you can guess, crab (and lobster) creations. I ordered their crab sandwich along with a soup combo they were promoting. The sandwich was $11, which is about right for a decent crab sandwich, and $5 for cream of crab soup and chips of your choice. 

Open Face Crab Sandwich

The crab sandwich, not to be confused with a crab roll or a crab cake sandwich, comes on a thick Kaiser roll. They give a very generous lump of crab meat on their sandwich, mixed with small, diced pieces of red bell pepper and topped with old bay seasoning. The crab meat tastes almost like a crab salad with a little bit of mayo mixed in. The crab meat sits on top of a tomato slice and a thin layer of lettuce; the sandwich itself is served open-faced. The crab meat is super fresh and its seasoning leaves a slight spicy after-taste. If I had to be picky, I would say the seasoning was a bit on the salty side. Also, the Kaiser roll was unnecessarily thick; I left the top of the roll off and ate the sandwich with only the bottom bun. I did find myself picking at the bread as I was eating the sandwich though to diffuse the saltiness of the crab salad, so that may be why they decided to go with such a thick bread base. Overall, the sandwich was delicious and satisfied my crab craving :)

Fresh Lump Crab Meat

Unlike the crab sandwich, I have very few positives to say about the cream of crab soup. First of all, where is the crab meat? There was maybe a handful of pieces in my bowl. The base was overly creamy, overly oily, and lacked salt. If you didn’t tell me that it was a cream of crab soup I would’ve never guess what it was; all I could taste was the cream. For $5, it was definitely not worth my money. For $1, it would not be worth my money or my calories lol Bottom line: don’t try this cream of crab nonsense. 

Feelin' Crabby Food Truck

Overall, the sandwich was very delicious and fresh; its large portion satisfied this crab lover’s craving. The cream of crab soup on the other hand is a different story. Next time I plan on trying the ‘crabster’ sandwich: crab and lobster mixed together! 

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Food Truck Reviews - The Salsa Room Empanadas & Sang On Wheels

Get ready for a 2 in 1 special...2 food trucks in 1 review :P 

I was first lured into trying The Salsa Room Empanadas by their blurb on foodtruckfiesta.com: “the most authentic best freshest handmade baked empanadas.” So I thought to myself…I must try these and see what they are raving about. I ordered a cheese and jalapeño empanada and my cube-mate ordered 2 other flavors, which I don’t remember now. As always, I will be (brutally) honest in my review. 

To make a long story short, their cheese and jalapeño empanada was terrible, absolutely disgusting. I’ve had empanadas many times before and I know this is not how empanadas are supposed to taste. There was barely any filling inside; a thin layer of cheese coated the bottom of the otherwise empty empanada shell. The cheese wasn’t even melted, it was a hard layer with pieces of jalapeño mixed in. When I say pieces, I mean a handful of tiny, diced jalapeño. The empanada shell was flaky and hard. I’m not sure why they called it a cheese and jalapeño empanada because there was neither any cheese nor jalapeño in their sad rendition that they claim is an empanada. 

What is this sad thing they dare call an "empanada"? >:O 

My cube-mate had a similar experience with her empanadas as well. Needless to say, I will NOT be trying anything from this truck again and recommend that you steer clear from their “authentic” empanadas despite any story or blurb they try to sell you. They have a fancy-looking truck with a fancy-sounding name but they sure as heck do not have fancy-tasting empanadas.  

While I’m in the bad-food-review mood, I’ll also share my pad thai experience from Sang On Wheels. Sang On Wheels is the only Laotian food truck that I know of in the area. They also sell some Thai food but specialize in Laotian cuisine. I wanted to try their papaya salad but they didn’t have any at the time, so I went with their chicken pad thai. 

Is this Pad Thai?

First of all, the noodles were clear vermicelli-like noodles, which really boggled my mind even before I tasted it. Pad thai is usually made with slightly thicker noodles. There was barely any seasoning and although the noodles had a very red tint, they were not the least bit spicy or salty; if anything, the pad thai was sweet. The chicken was overly dry and chunky. I’m not sure where they got their pad thai recipe from but I ate a few bites and didn’t want anymore. The only thing stopping me from saying avoid this truck at all costs is that they do, however, have very good mangoes with sticky rice! Hopefully when I try their papaya salad, I’ll have better things to say about this truck. For now, I would advise "sticking" with the mangoes and sticky rice :P 

Mango with Sticky Rice

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Food Truck Highlight - Pho Wheels' Vietnamese Tacos

I’m back from hiatus! I’ve been sorta lazy taking time off to be a fatty and try new food trucks so that I have reviews to share ;) I know I’ve already written a review for Pho Wheels so I just wanted to highlight another delicious item on their menu. I recently tried their Vietnamese tacos on Malaysian flatbread (roti canai). I honestly didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never had a Vietnamese taco, but let me tell you, if they’re all made this well then it is easily one of my favorite Asian dishes. Pho Wheels has 3 meat choices: soy garlic chicken, 5 spice maple glazed porkbelly, and mushroom-onion tofu; I decided to order the first two.

Vietnamese Tacos

The soy garlic chicken had big chunks of seasoned chicken; the seasoning tasted like a dry
marinade and was sprinkled with pepper, which added a good finishing taste. The taco was filled with
fresh carrots, onions, cucumber slices, and daikon radishes that gave the meat a refreshing contrast. The roti bread itself was crisp and airy. The taco was topped with cilantro, adding the perfect finishing touch I’m impressed that the shell was able to hold everything in place and actually stay intact until the last bite.

As much as I liked the soy garlic chicken, the 5 spice maple glazed porkbelly was my favorite; it tasted as good as it sounds. The porkbelly slices were thick and tender. Pho Wheels definitely does not skimp on their meat. Unlike some restaurants where porkbelly tastes heavy and greasy, Pho Wheels cooks and seasons theirs in a way that it tastes light and nonfattening. Although I couldn’t pin point the spices, they do blend together well. I think the porkbelly could’ve used a bit more spiciness (perhaps I'll be adding some siracha next time?) but other than that the tacos were simply amazing.

Fresh vegetables, bursting with flavor

For $9 you get 2 large and very filling tacos. I was full after the first taco but they were so good I couldn’t help but finish both in one sitting, which is very rare for me! I absolutely recommend trying Pho Wheels’ Vietnamese tacos. Whether it’s their pho or tacos, Pho Wheels is on point! Follow them on Instagram @phowheelsdc for daily mouth-watering photos! ;)

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Food Truck Review - Phillies Phamous Cheesesteaks

To start off, I don’t usually eat cheesesteaks but my cube-mate absolutely loooooves this truck. She’s always raving about it (and she's tried a few other cheesesteak trucks) and every time they stop at our area she always gets their sandwich. I originally wasn’t going to try it because I don’t like beef very much but the guy taking orders cornered me when he said they had chicken subs as well. So I decided to try the 6'' chicken cheesesteak and I’m happy to say that I’m glad I did :)

Phillies Phamous Cheesesteak Truck

The chicken is very tender, finely minced, and heavily seasoned. One of my biggest complaints about cheesesteak sandwiches is that they’re either usually too dry or too greasy. Granted I’ve never tried a real cheesesteak from Philly, only the DC/VA area; Phillies Famous was neither too dry nor too greasy :) I ordered mine with lettuce, tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, mushrooms and cheese. Customers have the choice of adding more meat and cheese but the sandwich was so stuffed with filling I can't imagine really needing to add either of those. Personally, I feel like it would’ve tasted better with some jalepenos or some other sort of spice, but it is still delicious as is! The sandwich bread is slightly toasted so that the edges are crispy but the center is still soft. Amazing!

Chicken Cheesesteak

For $9 you can get a combo that comes with french fries and a soda, which is a pretty good deal
considering the sandwich itself is already humungous! I understand that this is predominantly a philly cheesesteak truck BUT their fries need some work lol; an awesome sandwich deserves equally awesome fries to be paired with right? Their fries honestly reminded me of the frozen Ore Ida fries you find in the freezer aisle at the grocery store. They look the same and they taste the same. Please step it up on the fries! Waffles fries or seasoned fries…anything! Had I known they would’ve tasted this terribly, I would’ve paid $8 and gotten the combo with chips instead.

One BIG Sandwich!

Aside from their soggy, tasteless fries their cheesesteak sandwiches are delicious! Surprisingly, I would absolutely order from Philies Phamous again (and skip the fries :P)

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Food Truck Review - El Fuego

El Fuego is a Peruvian truck in DC that is painted and designed like a fire truck! I’ve actually tried 2
different dishes: the shrimp saltado bowl and the salchipapa platter. The saltado bowl is similar to a
stir fry and comes with a side of French fries, which I swapped out for yucca fries :) The shrimp saltado
bowl was simply amazing; the shrimp and veggies were very tender and fresh, and the onions are not
overwhelming like some stir fries can be. Also, the red bell peppers just melt in your mouth, I don’t
understand how they did this! I’m not a huge fan of red peppers to begin with but El Fuego made them
incredibly tasty. I’m not sure what sauce they use but it’s very flavorful with a slightly spicy kick. My only complaint is that it was a bit salty.

El Fuego Food Truck

Considering I’m Asian, I had high expectations for the rice lol I would say the rice is too dry and on the crumbly side. It’s possible that I’m just more accustomed to stickier, moist rice but regardless, I wish they made their rice better. The yucca fries were decent; they’re your standard yucca fries – cut thick and lightly fried. I don’t think they’re any better or worse than other yucca fries I’ve tried from various restaurants, just average. The fries would’ve been better if they had that special yucca sauce that Guapos has. El Fuego provide 3 different side sauces: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. They are labeled by spiciness level, Level 3 being the spiciest. I only tried the Level 2 sauce, which wasn’t that spicy to me (I love spicy so not sure if I would recommend it for those of you who prefer milder spices?) I definitely plan on trying the Level 3 one next time.

Shrimp Saltado Bowl

Fresh Shrimp & Veggies

The saltado bowl is packaged in a completely decomposable container, so I give them props for helping our environment :) The downside is that I felt like it was starting the decomposition process 20 minutes after I started eating since I couldn’t get the lid to cap properly no matter how how I tried. The lid kinda softened/melted or something o_O

The second dish I tried was the salchipapa platter, which is French fries topped with sliced hot dogs
and their El Fuego sauces. This dish was alright…I’m not really sure why I got it to be honest lol because its just fries topped with hot dogs, but I was intrigued because it sounded good at the time. For $5 you do get a generous portion and it is a pretty good appetizer (although the size could’ve made it an entree). I personally don’t think there is anything special about it; it’s not bad but it is what you would expect if you chopped up hot dogs and threw them on top of fries. It would be pretty good bar food in my opinion :P Give it a try if you’re curious but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-try.

Salchipapa Platter

Aside from the rice, I absolutely loved the shrimp saltado bowl. Order it and you won’t be disappointed!

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Food Truck Review - Stix

Let me start by saying Stix is one of my favorite DC food trucks. I’ve ordered from them many times and have never been disappointed :) All of their items are grilled on skewers. I always get the Surf N Turf since it’s the best bang for your buck. For $12 you get your choice of 2 meats (steak, shrimp, or chicken) and a side. The chicken is usually sold out when I get there but I’m very content with my steak and shrimp :D Unfortunately the steak isn't made to order, but I’m sure it’s for the better in terms of health and safety reasons; it’s usually around a medium, so the steak is very tender and not overly chewy. The colossal shrimps are very fresh and glazed with a delicious lemon butter that isn’t too heavy.

Steak, Shrimp & Baby Red Potatoes

Out of the sides I’ve only tried the baby red potatoes with aioli sauce, and I can’t get enough of it! They are crave-worthy! Lightly salted and grilled to perfection, the skin is slightly crispy and toasted while the middle is soft and almost creamy. And the aioli sauce it comes with tastes good with everything! (I eat that sauce container clean C: lol) Other sides they sell include grilled pineapples, marinated mushrooms, and corn on the cob.

Most of the time I get Stix, there is a small line but their process is efficient; I’ve never had to wait too
long for my food to come out. When you get your order, everything is neatly wrapped together in a
cone shape with thick construction paper, making it very portable and easy to carry around (see below). Also, the food stays warm a decent amount of time after you order since each skewer is individually wrapped with aluminum foil (the potatoes aren't wrapped with foil in the photo below since this was during the warmer autumn days).

Neatly Wrapped Surf n Turf Combo

This truck is absolutely awesome, and I HIGHLY recommend trying Stix. :)

Stix Food Truck

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Food Truck Review - Crepes Parfait

I think it's about time for some sugary goodness C: Crepes Parfait is a fairly new (and super cute) food truck, maybe a month old if I remember correctly? The name was a bit misleading to me because yes, they sell crepes, but no they do not sell parfaits! I was expecting some sort of amazing yogurt/fruit/granola concoction =/ At the same time apparently 'parfait' means ‘perfect’ in French so maybe that's what they were going for. Anyways, this truck serves both sweet and savory crepes. For some reason, in my mind, crepes should be sweet lol so I decided to try the sweet crepe special of the day: spiced apples and maple syrup cream with toasted almonds.

Spiced Apples and Maple Syrup with Toasted Almonds Crepe

The pancake shell was the perfect thinness, not too thick or bready. (If the pancake is too thick or starchy, it takes away from the filling flavor!) The filling was absolutely delicious and the maple syrup cream complimented the spiced apples really well; the cream was very light and whipped. Some crepe fillings tend to be too jam or jelly-like and others are too runny but this one was just right. They also give you an ample amount of warm apple filling without overwhelming your taste buds with sugar.

Crepes Parfait does a really good job with the packaging. The crepes are held in a cardboard holder with perforated lines where you tear as you eat your crepe; similar to tearing off the ice cream cone wrapper. Regardless, it makes eating the crepe a lot easier than having to keep pushing your crepe up towards the top of the holder opening (see picture below :P ) They have 3 cooking tops in their truck, so the line moves at a decent pace. Also, my crepe amazingly stayed warm for about 45 minutes after I had ordered it!

Handy, Perforated Crepe Holder 

To sum things up, my Crepes Parfait experience was pretty good :] (I definitely recommend it over
Crepes DC, which long story short, felt like I was eating spoonfuls of blueberry jam straight for the jar; I didn’t even finish my crepe :O ) Next time, I’d like to try a savory crepe to see if those are just as tasty!

Crepes Parfait Food Truck

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Battle of the Pho Trucks: Pho Junkies vs Pho Wheels

In honor of the freezing weather how about a pho truck battle? There are a handful of pho trucks in the DC area but I’ve only tried 2 so far. I tried Pho Wheels for the first time last summer at Taste of DC and it was pretty amazing…I would say it’s on par if not better than some actual brick and mortar pho restaurants. That being said, Pho Junkies had high expectations to live up to when I tried it last month. I ordered the meatball pho at Pho Wheels and chicken pho at Pho Junkies. Both trucks provided siracha and hoison sauce as well as the usual onions, cilantro, and limes.

Pho Junkies Truck

Broth: The Pho Wheels broth was more flavorful (this could’ve been because of the beef flavoring instead of the chicken I ordered from Pho Junkies?) Pho Wheels > Pho Junkies but only by a little.

Meat: I didn’t eat any meatballs from Pho Wheels so I can’t really critique it lol but the chicken from Pho Junkies was average; Draw.

Noodles: Both had decent noodles; they weren’t over/under cooked. My only complaint was that Pho Junkies had smaller, broken up noodles, which made it hard to eat. It could’ve been because I got the end of a batch or something, but regardless it made the noodles really hard to eat. Pho Wheels > Pho Junkies.

Price: Pho Wheels costs $9 for a meat of your choice (steak, meatballs, or chicken); Pho Junkies costs $10 for chicken and $12 for all the meats. Pho Wheels > Pho Junkies depending on what meat you get.

Packaging: Now this seems like a pretty random category but it makes a big difference in the food truck industry. Pho Wheels actually packages the pho in a bowl-like container, which makes it very easy to eat. They also give you a heavy duty fork-chopstick contraption (see photo below) that is very useful and pretty nifty haha Pho Junkies, on the other hand, needs to work on their packaging. Their pho comes in a tall cylindrical container that makes it incredibly hard to eat. It’s really awkward trying to fish out the noodles and drink the soup with a spoon from a container that tall. Pho Junkies needs to change their container ASAP. Pho Wheels > Pho Junkies.

Pho Wheels - Meatball Pho; I couldn't capture a good photo of the Pho Junkies dish 

(poor picture quality = my pre-iPhone days :P)

And the winner is…PHO WHEELS! Pho Junkies is by no means a bad pho truck; it’s very tasty and I would buy from them again but against Pho Wheels, I would pick Pho Wheels. All this pho talk is making me crave! Pho anyone? :P

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Food Truck Review - Chef Driven DC

Ok, so I know I've been slacking in my posts since the holidays started :X My goal for the new year is a new post every week *crosses fingers* I know last post I said I’d be sharing a cupcake recipe I baked throughout the holidays but I think given that the holidays are pretty much over I’d rather share some food truck reviews : )

Owned by Jerry Trice, who has apparently been in the DC restaurant business for 15 years, Chef Driven DC is absolutely delicious! I believe Jerry himself was taking orders? If so, he’s a really friendly, personable guy! I’ve only tried one item so far – steak frites with truffle fries – but I definitely want to try other items on the menu. I don’t usually like steak or red meat at all but the way he described it I just couldn’t resist lol The steak was cooked to the perfect medium rare, not too bloody and not overly cooked. And the truffle fries...omg just thinking about them is making me hungry! You get a generous serving of crispy, lightly salted fries that come with some sort of chimichurri sauce; not sure what exactly is in there but it's amazing and addicting (maybe there's crack in it?)

Steak Frites with Truffle Fries 

I didn't have to wait too long for the food either; it’s steak so naturally it's going to take a little longer to cook. Also, supposedly the menu changes weekly so I can’t wait to try it again :) I 100% recommend trying Chef Driven DC; two thumbs up!!

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Post #1

Welcome to my food blog! Originally my blog was supposed to be dedicated to cupcakes only but I decided that since I try a lot of food trucks and other eateries it’ll encompass all foods. I’ve never really maintained a blog so bear with my while I figure out the ins and outs of blogging >< 

Recently, I tried Basil Thyme after seeing Yelp reviewers rave about this place. They’re known for their lasagnas and recently opened a new truck, Basil Thyme Two. I got their Catena, chicken lasagna with white wine and spinach. It didn’t photograph too well, but it was delicious! 

Here’s a photo of their truck:  

And for dessert I tried Captain Cookie & the Milkman, aka Captain Cookie DC. Weekly special: pumpkin muffaroon, ginger molasses cookie, and snickerdoodle cookie. 

 And the cookies come in a cute little bag! milk n cookies!

• • And here ends post #1! haha 

    
    

  
  

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