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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A Diversion from the Typical Food Truck Review

Rather than my usual food truck review post, I want to bring everyone’s attention to a hot topic issue affecting DC’s food truck industry. Some of you may have already heard or are currently following the newly proposed food truck regulations by Washington DC’s Mayor Vincent Gray.  They are holding a public hearing at this moment to vote on the new regulations. The mayor is proposing to limit trucks to only park in about 2 dozen designated areas in pre-determined parts of DC. Trucks would enter a monthly raffle drawing where 2-5 trucks are picked to park in these designated areas. Upon winning the raffle, the trucks would also have to pay a fee to park there. Additionally, any truck that wants to park outside of the designated spots would have to be parked at least 500 feet away. Furthermore, trucks would be required to park in spots with at least 10 feet of unobstructed sidewalk.

Some proponents of the new regulations claim that the space food trucks take up should be regulated and shared amongst bicyclists ie: opening up new bike lanes. Others argue limiting where food trucks can park would better the street parking situation in DC. Additionally, many brick and mortar restaurant owners, who supposedly compete against food trucks for customers, support the proposed changes because they are subjected to more and stricter regulations and laws than food truck owners.  

Save DC Food Trucks!

Now here is my take: These new regulations, that would affect the 100+ food trucks in DC, hinder the growth of the DC food truck industry.  I’m neutral on the whole bike lanes argument. However, I don’t think it’s a strong enough reason to limit food truck parking in the city. Additionally, in my experience, street parking becomes a problem more so at night time when commuters are traveling into the city for dinner and/or happy hours. Opening up parking spaces during lunch time, when the food trucks make their stops, impacts a much smaller number of drivers. If the mayor is concerned with transportation and parking in the city, he should start by improving the DC Metro system. If we had an operational and more developed metro system there would be fewer drivers in DC struggling to look for parking (that’s  a whole other can of worms).

When I hear about restaurant owners fighting to pass these regulations because they think food trucks are stealing away customers…restaurants and food trucks belong to completely different niches. Yes, they both serve food but patrons go to each for very different reasons. Food trucks are convenient at lunch time for DC workers who need to pick up food quickly. Some of us do not have over 30 minutes to walk into a restaurant, order our food, and take it back to our offices. Also, from my experience, a lot of DC restaurants are picky where they deliver to; thus limiting a lot of lunch options and making food trucks a very appealing choice. Although prices vary widely between trucks, one can easily grab a quick and tasty lunch for under $10, which is a more difficult feat at a DC restaurant. Food trucks also almost solely serve during lunch time, so restaurants should not be affected during dinner hours. In other words, food trucks are not really taking away business from restaurants. Instead, I view it as friendly competition; both restaurants and food trucks can push each other to come up with fresh, unique eats.

Besides the obvious negative economic implications, these regulations are impeding the growth of a new food truck phenomenon that has recently been catching on in DC; many other prominent cities, such as LA, SF, NYC, have established food trucks for quite some time now. Implementing a lottery-based parking system for food trucks is a prime example of why DC is stigmatized as being up-tight, straight-laced, and ridden by politics (and what happens to the trucks that are unlucky and never win the lottery?). People wonder why young, working Washingtonians are so fascinated and easily enticed by the laid-back, entrepreneurial culture of LA, SF, NYC…Why must politicians feel the need to regulate everything?  I understand that their primary concern is not how their city is perceived or stereotyped but this is precisely why creative start-ups, underground musicians and artists alike all move to other cities to start their careers/business. Additionally, food trucks bring culinary diversity to the nation's capital. They allow us to easily access new and unique dishes that we otherwise may not be exposed to or ever think about tasting, so why take that away?

We are shooting ourselves in the foot if we pass these regulations. Let food trucks prosper in DC. Join the movement to save DC food trucks by signing the petition: http://savedcfoodtrucks.org/video/ 

Thanks for reading and let's hope the council makes the right choice! 

#savedcfoodtrucks

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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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