Alright before you freak out and look for a In-N-Out food truck nearest you, I have to say that they’re for special events only and need to be booked for $1250 or more. Now that’s out of the way, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!?! I will totally plan some sort of beer event with other San Diegans where we all chip in to have them cater the event. What’s better after a couple (4+) IPAs than greasy, delicious Double-Double’s? Seriously.

If anyone is interested in helping me plan such an event or has ideas, let me know in the comments or at shawn@foodrevu.com.

Here’s a link to more information from In-N-Out’s website:
http://www.in-n-out.com/cookout_trailer.asp

That’s right, every Sunday in front of the Tavern in Pacific Beach you can get good pork or brisket right from a food truck called Mr. Pig’s BBQ. Operating out of a conventional truck named The Pig Mobile, brothers Bill and Pete work a two-man business that seems to be doing well with fans. The menu is smaller with only 2 sandwiches and 3 sides to choose from but when I visited there was a healthy showing of happy customers.

I decided to order the Brisket sandwich which had been dry-rubbed and smoked for a full 24 hours using oak and hickory. Seeing that they had pork as a side too, I also went with the PorkyFries which was smothered with their traditional barbecue sauce and green onions. Both tasted pretty good and I thought the fries had a great flavor from the sauce. I was happy they decided to not load the fries with cheese or anything else since BBQ should really focus on the meat. As for the brisket sandwich it also packed a great smoky taste, but the owners cut the brisket a little too much in my opinion. I like my brisket to be in more of a slice shape than cubed but regardless it was still good (I’m getting too picky!).

After eating I chatted with the owners a bit and they really seem like sincere guys who want people to enjoy good food on the street. Coming from North Carolina and also living in Texas, they have a fun combination of styles to their food and it’s most apparent in their sauces. Sticking with their original plan, they decided to make both a Carolina style sauce which is vinegar based and a thicker sauce found more often in the South. Bill told me the sauces alone took hours to make and top that with smoking your meat for a day and you have a hard schedule to run a business off of… but that was all part of the appeal for me. Since food trucks often have to guess the demand they’ll have, they sometimes run out of part of their menu and when you have to prepare everything days ahead of time it becomes more difficult. It’s this reason that you typically don’t see BBQ food trucks but with a small menu these guys have it figured out.

I’m happy to see Mr. Pig’s BBQ doing well and I’ll definitely be headed back one of these Sundays. Next time I’m trying the Pulled Pork sandwich and getting my hands on their Apple Pie.

Tip: You can follow The Pig Mobile on Twitter to find where they’ll be next @thepigmobile.

Mr. Pig’s BBQ
760-214-7336

A food blogger has to be up on their local scene. There’s no way around it. If they want to know about the latest openings or the most talked about burger, at one point they’ll have to join Twitter or some other social site to be in the know. If they don’t want to join, then they’ll not only be left out of the discussion but they’ll probably miss out on connecting with hundreds of other people who are potential readers to their blog as well. So for you readers of this blog who aren’t selling your soul to Twitter, you can thank me later for doing the dirty work and telling you about Food Truck Friday at Phoenix Public Market in downtown Phoenix (or #FoodTruckFriday @PHXPublicMarket as they say!).

So what’s the deal? Well every Friday from 11am to 1:30pm, a few local food trucks show up to the parking lot in front of Phoenix Public Market to throw a different type of lunch. They circle up and form a wall around some shaded benches and parking spaces. Now since food trucks have been gaining popularity lately on the news and channels like Food Network, the turnout is getting pretty big and is still growing.  This is great news of course to the vendors who show but it also means the lines can get a little long.  As a consolation though, you do have live music to listen to and you can wait in the shade for the most part. The list of food trucks is getting pretty long too (visit Phoenix Street Food Members to learn more) which is good to hear because it means more options.

This time the lineup was looking pretty good because there was a nice mix of options including Mexican, Cajun, BBQ and dessert. Here was who attended:

• Torched Goodness (Creme Brulee)
• Riteway Catering (Grill and BBQ)
• Jamburritos (Cajun and Mexican)
• Sweet Republic (Ice Cream and Sorbet)
• Short Leash Hot Dogs (Gourmet Hot Dogs)
• Paradise Melts (Grilled Sandwiches)
• Sunshine & Spice (Burritos, Tacos and Other Dishes)

Now since there were 7 trucks this time and each had fairly good size menus, I was able to basically eat like I was at 3 different restaurants at one time. The only bad thing was having to decide where I’d spend my money. I felt like a kid in Chuck E Cheese’s with only a handful of tokens, trying to figure out which games would give me the longest amount of playing time. I had to make a move though because the lines were getting long, so I decided to start with Short Leash Hot Dogs.

I ordered the Aiko, which comes with choice of weiner (I chose Spicy Brat), mango chutney, jalapenos, red onions, cilantro and mayo. After I ordered, I immediately went over to Jamburritos and ordered the chicken tacos served on corn tortillas with black beans, shredded lettuce, jack cheese and onions. I brought my friend and photographer Jeff with me and he looked at me with a puzzled look like “Did you just order a hot dog AND tacos? This is why your fat.” (Note: I’m not actually fat, but if I continue eating this way I’m sure to be a biggun’).  It proved to be a good decision though because the tacos took about 15 minutes to get and the hot dog only 5, so it felt like a waiter was bringing me my second course as I finished the Aiko.

The hot dog was decent I’d say. Maybe it was because I didn’t want mayo in 90 degree heat, but the hot dog was too dry and altogether it was a bit boring really. Jeff got the Moki, essentially a Mexican hot dog, with green chilies, onions, tomatoes, pinto beans, cheddar and mayo and he loved it. So I guess it’s hit or miss.

The tacos were good too but the exact opposite of dry and I was mopping up the leftovers that fell out with the naan from the hot dog. I think I saw people to my left looking at me probably thinking “Is he really mopping up his second item with his first item?” (again, not fat!).

After finishing my ‘combo’, I was jonesin’ for some ice cream and Sweet Republic was staring right at me with it’s bright orange truck. How do you say no to Sweet Basil sorbet or Blueberry Pomegranate Yogurt when it’s 90+ degrees outside!? Answer: you don’t. So I walked on over and ordered some Real Mint Chip ice cream. Oh my god I love Sweet Republic. Honestly, where were they 15 years ago when I was stuck getting Marble Slab Creamery because they were the only ones in town? They have some seriously good flavors that you frankly can’t go wrong with.

Anyways, overall the whole lunch was a success and I loved the whole feel to it. Everyone is outside enjoying themselves and having a good time eating . That’s what it’s all about and I’m continually looking for occasions like these.  Check Food Truck Friday out one of these times.

Tip: Get there before noon to beat the lines since people leave their offices nearby for lunch around then.

#FoodTruckFriday

721 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Finally I have found a food truck in Scottsdale!  Ok, so they’re not really a secret these days (featured in New Times, various blogs and Arizona Republic) but they are worthy of one more bit of press.  The food and service is fantastic, which isn’t something usually used to describe a food truck.  But Chef Eric does a great job making his unique flavors of creme brulee in a fun environment where you can sit around and talk to him while enjoying it.  Today my choice was lemon but pictured below is his cappuccino flavor, a solid choice if you visit.

You can find the Torched Goodness truck at the North Scottsdale Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings, located by 94th St and Shea Blvd.   The market has been growing bigger each week it seems and today I not only bought the creme brulee, but also some Apple Maple jelly from some little girl who was scary good at selling.  The purpose of this trip however was the food truck and walking up to him you can tell it was the purpose of a few others as well.

The good thing is though that he only takes about a minute to finish each one since he has them prepared beforehand.  Don’t let that fool you though, because once he torches the sugar on top it comes out looking delicious.  As soon as I took it I dug in because its a nice cool temperature which helps with the outdoor heat.  When you bite in you get this soft, cool cream that tastes great followed by the crunch of the top.  It’s almost like candy and dessert at the same time.  How good does that sound?

Another good thing is the fact that these only cost $4.  For $4 you can choose from flavors such as cappuccino, lemon, chocolate, vanilla, s’mores and even peanut butter and jelly.  He is continually adding and removing flavors from the menu but it’s fun to see what he’ll have each week.

To top off the whole experience, Chef Eric is really friendly and will talk to you about what he does and why he does it.  At the moment he seems to be the only one in the valley doing creme brulee from a truck (hell, maybe even in the US), but he makes these with so much care that he looks like he wants to be the best creme brulee guy out there.  Hats off to Torched Goodness for the unique idea and great flavors.  Hopefully the valley will see a rise in the street food scene soon.