Food Carts Archives - Page 4 of 5

In Downtown

Mom’s Grilled Cheese Food Truck: Nom Nom Nom Omigosh!

October 25, 2011

Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck has been catching A LOT of buzz since it just opened a week or so ago! They specialize in GRILLED CHEESE! Nothing gets more delicious than that. Remember when you were a kid, grilled cheese was that ooey gooey snack that you craved so much?

When I arrived a little past noon, the line up was HUGE! It spread at least to that lamp post! Even it was a cold day, the people faced the cold to get grilled cheese! We actually waited 30 mins before we got our food. It was ok considering there were SO many people in front of us. Best to come with a friend to wait out the line. OR just go early or late to avoid the long line ups.

Then menu has a few specialities, build-it-yourself type of options, dessert, sides and drinks. Their desserts looks so good as well! The Fat Elvis has peanut butter and banana on grilled white bread. Even though the specialties are limited, you have endless combinations with the sandwich you want to build.

Sometimes they even have daily specials on their Facebook and twitter, so best to like and follow them.

Pop Shoppe Pop ($1.75) looks super retro, but I’ve heard it tastes amazing.

Roasted Tomato Soup (Cup $3.50) is the best tomato soup I have ever had. No joke about that! It’s worth it! I usually don’t like tomato soup, but this soup changed my whole perception of tomato soup. It is also topped with basil mascarpone, which is a yummy addition!

Karen’s Killer Chili ($5.50) is topped with cheddar, sour cream, and cilantro. My coworker had this as a “super deluxe add-on” to her sandwich, but I think they just gave her the full size. I don’t think she minded the mix up since she got way more than what she paid for.

As you wait for your sandwiches, you can sip on your hot soup or chili and watch “mom” hard at work grilling those sandwiches!

The Jackson 3 ($8.50) has triple cheese, triple decker grilled cheese…three pieces of sourdough surrounded by melted, Brie, Boursin and Gruyere! This was huge! When I was reading the menu, I missed the part where it said it was 3 pieces of bread. Look how big it is!

Look at that, isn’t that so pretty? The Brie, Boursin and Gruyere are melted inside so nicely with the nice crunchy sourdough bread. If you have a big stomach, totally get this!! Look how small my hand is compared to the sandwich!

If you like an extra kick to your sandwich, they have a bunch of hot sauces that you can add to your sandwich.

Your meal doesn’t just come with the sandwich! It comes with a wedge of pickle and chips! It’s was a nice surprise to see that since I originally thought I wouldn’t get full from just a sandwich. The chips were very good as well. I got super full and had foodcoma.

My other coworkers decided to build their own. Looks pretty good right? (P.s. does not come with iPhone 4s)

The sandwiches are very to vegans too! They have a special Daiya vegan cheese for an additional $.75!

Overall, I wasn’t disappointed in anything they made! It’s pretty popular right now, so you may end up waiting a bit in line.

Words of Wisdom:

Roasted Tomato Soup is a MUST!!!
Love the sourdough bread!
Under $10
Surprise addition of the chips and pickle!
Not something that you can have everyday…so cheesy and oily.

We Rate Mom’s Grilled Cheese Food Truck:
Address:
800 W Georgia St
Vancouver, BC
Website:
momsgrilledcheesetruck.com

Facebook:
facebook.com

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Vancouver

In Downtown

Slingers Mobile Food Truck: It’s Like Pasta Between Two Buns

August 17, 2011

I was walking near Burrard to find something interesting to sink my taste buds into during my lunch break. I really had no idea where I was going, until the Slingers Mobile Food Truck caught my eye. I always have such bad luck trying to catch them because they are at various locations and not always at the same spot. They are located on Burrard and Pender on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Their menu is quite simple and has an Italian flair to their menu. They serve up their signature parmesan sandwiches and pasta.

Seeing that I was hungry for lunch, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Combo ($11.75). It comes with the sandwich, fries and a can of pop.

I was looking through their pop and my eyes gazed upon Brio,italian style herbal drink. It tasted different of course, but it was not bad at all.

They give you a lot of home cut fries for the combo. They are made to order and some of the fries are soggy, some of them are crunchy. I guess it depends how long you leave it in the box too. They probably could have used a bit longer in the fryer.

There were really way too many fries to eat, so I ate a bit of it because I still had the sandwich to get through. I have a weird eating habit, I must eat the sides first and then the main item.

You can choose from chicken or veal for your sandwich, but I chose chicken. It is lightly breaded in a mixed herb batter and deep fried. It is also topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and served on a Calabrese bun. This really was like pasta between two slices of bread, but without the noodles. It tasted alright, but really nothing too special. They could have done more to it to make it more exciting, but it just seems kinda premade. I am probably wrong, but I didn’t see it as amazing.

Words of Wisdom:

Closest Skytrain: Burrard
Pricey for what you get

We Rate Slingers Mobile Food Truck:

Address:

W Pender St & Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.slingers.ca

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/SlingersMobileFood

Twitter: @slingersmobile

In Downtown

Fresh Local Wild: Awesome Sandwiches and Fish & Chips

August 9, 2011

Fresh Local Wild is a food truck brought to us by Chef Wolfe. The truck is located on Hastings and Burrard. They are open for weekday lunch serving up different types of fish and chips as well as sandwiches.

Even though there are long lines, Chef Wolfe always finds a way to entertain the crowds.

Their menu is located on a chalkboard on the side of the truck. A lot of their items run out quickly, so be sure to not come too late. When I was there the Cod Fish and Chips was all sold out by 1pm.

Near the tires of the truck are utensils, napkins, ketchup and I think it’s balsamic vinegar. You can add this to your fries/ fish & chips / whatever you want.

Since the patio seating only fits 4, it’s always full. The few times I went, I spent it sitting on these stairs along with the many other strangers.

Albacore Tuna Melt ($8.50) comes on whole grain bread with cookied albacore tuna and smoked cheddar cheese. It was really good and it was like a well cooked grilled cheese with tuna. Ooey gooey yumminess!

The best part was the crispy cheese the oozes outside of the sandwich and gets grilled! The sandwich is toasted on the outside, so bits of it are dark and burnt. Nonetheless, it’s still very good.

Grain Fed Chicken Club ($8) it has grilled chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon on toasted whole grain bread. The smokiness of the bacon can be tasted throughout the sandwich and it makes it so delicious! The chicken isn’t too dry and the bacon blends so well with the chicken. The bread is toasted on the outside as well, so you get a nice crunch every time you sink your teeth into this.

This item is one of the most popular items at the truck. Highly recommended.

Sockeye Salmon Fish and Chip ($12 – 1 piece) comes with tartar sauce and a bed of rustic fries. The fries are one of the best fries I have ever eaten!! Really crispy and full of flavour. Some may not like it since it can taste burnt… but I lurve burnt crispy fries!

The salmon was good, you can really taste the natural flavour of the salmon and it is not over powered by the batter. The most popular fish was the Cod and the Halibut during the times that I was there.

Overall, pretty good selection of fresh items from Fresh Local Wild.

Words of Wisdom:

Best Fries!
Grain Fed Chicken Club is a must!
Small Patio seating

We Rate Fresh Local Wild:

Location:

Burrard St & W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:

http://www.freshlocalwild.com/

Twitter:

@freshlocalwild

In Downtown

Coma Food Truck: Korean-Mexican-American Fusion

August 5, 2011

Coma Food Truck finally makes their way to the Downtown core. They originally had their truck across the bridge on Broadway, but thats a bit hard to get to during my lunch break. They are now located outside the Vancouver Public Library. They sell delicious fusion food that combines Korean, Mexican and American cuisine.

They will probably put you in Food Coma afterwards, but Coma stands for Korean (Ko), Mexican (M), American (A).

I was just on Twitter and I saw that @DennisPang was getting a bunch of people together to grab lunch at here, so I decided to check it out. If you are wondering, yes, I paid for this meal from money from my pocket.

Their menu is located on a white board and features items such as Bibimbap, seaweed rolls, burritos, burgers, and quesadilla. They are infused with korean flavours, so these are not your regular items. Since everything looked super delicious, @kathygko and I split the Burrito, Bibimbap and the quesadilla.

They also have a few pictures too. If you have no idea what to order, you can see what it looks like. While looking at the menu, you can also stare at them making your meal!

I started off with the Yuzu Iced tea ($2.49). It sounded a bit different and sure it did taste different. Yuzu is a citrus fruit in asia that is similar to an orange. In Korean culture, it is used more for drinks.

The yuzu iced tea is very similar to normal iced tea, but the tones of the yuzu do shine through and give you a slightly tart taste. It was still good nonetheless.

The Kimchi Quesadilla ($5.99) comes with a chipotle quesadilla with vegetables, kimchi, and salsa. It is not very spicy at all and its a good fusion between korean and mexican. The flavours blend nicely together and it’s the type of comfort food you want to sink your teeth into. The quesadilla is crunchy on the outside. On the inside you get some oogey gooey cheese with savory ingredients. Yum!

@kathygko didn’t take a liking to this due to the lack of spice.

Kibimbap ($6.99) has rice with bean sprouts, mushrooms, daikon, zucchini, carrots and egg with Korean bbq beef, spicy sauce and hint of sesame oil.

To eat this, you just take your utensils and mix it up until it’s well so the sauce and vegetables are well combined. It’s a decent dish, but I felt like I needed more spicy sauce. If you have been to Korean Restaurants before, you have the option of having it in a stone bowl or just regular. I prefer my bibimbap in a stone bowl (I love the crunchy rice), but its really not possible from a food truck.

This also came with a Korean version of Miso soup, but M just calls it seaweed soup. I don’t have a picture of it because I took it home to drink. @kathygko and I were way too full to finish the other items that we ordered. The miso soup was really good!! It was a tad spicy with lots of enoki mushrooms, seaweed, tofu, and green onion. So good!

We also got the Spicy Pork Korean BBQ Burrito ($5.99) kimchi, vegetables, cheddar jack cheese, and spicy pork all housed in a wrapped up 12in tortilla. I took it home to eat too, so I shared it with M. He thought it was a mexican burrito, the first thing that came out of his mouth was “tastes strangely Korean”. I forgot to tell him the part where it’s a Korean-Mexican fusion fish. This was so good and had that nice kick of the korean spicy sauce.

Overall, Coma Food Truck has some good offerings from their truck! I didn’t get a chance to check out their american fusion items, but I’ll be back!

Words of Wisdom:

Burrito and Quesadilla are recommended!
Good prices
It’s hard to figure out where they are, so best to stalk them on twitter

We Rate Coma Food Truck:

Website:

www.comafoodtruck.com

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coma-Food-Truck/126803084055777

Twitter:

@ComaFoodTruck

In Downtown

Nu Greek Street: Amazing Grilled Souvlaki Pita

August 2, 2011

Nu Greek Street is a Street Cart spin off of Nu Restaurant. It is on the corner of Granville and Georgia. They specialize in a few traditional Greek items. When I walked up to the cart, one of the guys operating the cart looked familiar. So, to not embarrass myself, I just ordered, but then he gave me a strange look and it seems like the Ip brothers are back at it again! First it was the PanDa Fresh Bakery, then the Lullys Sandwich Bar, and now Nu Greek Street.

The cart serves up souvlaki and sides such as Greek Salad, tzatziki and hummus.

I ordered the Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Pita ($6.50). The pita is so delicious! Lightly grilled and crispy with a nice buttery salt taste. It is loaded up with onions, tomatoes, a skewer of chicken and a generous helping of tzatziki.

This was surprisingly not messy at all! The chicken was charred on the outside, but it gave it such an amazing flavour! It really made me want some more, but I really had to control myself. You must get this!!!

Next I had the Greek Salad ($4). It’s the traditional greek salad you would see with peppers, cucumbers, onions, olives, tomatoes, feta cheese and a nice light sauce. This tasted pretty average, but I really did not like the large chunks of onions, it made me feel like I had super bad breath during lunch. I think if they had smaller pieces of onions, it would be better.

Overall, pretty solid main item – Grilled Souvlaki Pita. Quick, fast and super delicious!

Words of Wisdom:

Grilled Souvlaki Pita is the way to go!!
Decently priced
Not messy when eating on the go
Closest Skytrain: Granville or City Centre

We Rate Nu Greek Street:

Address:

Granville St & W Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

Twitter: @NuGreekStreet

In Downtown

TacoFino Cantina Food Truck: Taco, Taco, Taco

July 29, 2011

Tacofino is another new food truck hitting the streets of Downtown Vancouver. Located on Howe Street and Robson Street. Tacofino originated from Tofino, BC thus their name Taco”fino”. They have spent the past 2 years operating on the island, but has finally made their way here.

When you are strolling around the Vancouver Art Gallery, try spotting this large orange truck. There will also be a huge line up during at lunch, so you really can’t miss it.

Tacofino specializes in fresh fish baja-style tacos. All you need to do is go up to the window to order. They also have daily specials as well, which as located near the cashier.

Their usual menu features the Fish Taco, Tuna Ta Taco, Pork Gringa/Bean Gringa, Black Bean Taco, Chocolate Diablo Cookie and their Lime Mint Freshie. All for under $10.

They also have a cooler filled with water and different varieties of Jarritos Mexican Soda. These are some really really good oh so addicting sodas.

I stick with my usual Pineapple Jarritos. It has an amazing flavour that no other soda company can capture. I find it funny how the bottle says “Naturally/ Artificially Flavoured Soda”, so what is it really? or is it a combination of both?

If you are also wondering how you are going to open the cap of the drink, they have a bottle opener to the left of the cashier.

Tuna Ta Taco ($6.50 each) is my FAVORITE taco from the truck. Be warned, this is a messy messy taco to eat. If you are wearing white, beware!!

This taco has seared sesame albacore tuna with a subtle wasabi ginger mayo, cabbage, mango, salsa and seaweed salad on top. The ingredients are very flavourful and the tuna is just so fresh! All the elements blend together nicely to create the ultimate taco.

I do find this taco a bit pricey, but once you take a bite, its so addictive!

The Pork Gringa ($4.50 each) is another treat as well! It has spicy braised pork, sour cream and salsa in a quesadilla tortilla. Depending how crisp they can get the quesadilla, it can also get quite messy. Remember, white shirts be scared!!

Their pork is very flavourful and not too spicy. I would definitely order this again!

On another lunch here, I ordered the Fish Taco ($4.50 each). It has tempura cover ling cod with chipotle mayo, cabbage, and salsa. I personally did not take a liking to this taco since the pieces of fish had too much tempura batter. It was very hard to fully enjoy the flavour of the fish. Everything overpowered the fish and the main ingredient did not shine through.

Overall, I really love this food truck for their taco offerings! Such amazing quality and it’s something you need to try!

Words of Wisdom:

Tuna Ta Taco + Pork Gringa + Jarritos = Best meal!!
Really busy during lunch
Can get messy
If you get 2 tacos, you will be paying close to $10
Closest Skytrain: Granville Skytrain

We Rate Tacofino Cantina:

Website:

www.tacofino.com

Twitter: @TacoFinoCantina

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TacoFino-Vancouver/157314964322202

Vancouver

In Downtown

Bun Me Baguette Food Cart: Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwiches

July 27, 2011

Bun Me Baguette is one of the newer Food Carts in Vancouver. They serve up Vietnamese style baguettes. Who doesn’t love grabbing a quick baguette rather than the usual hotdog? This really reminded me of the NomNom Food Truck in the states…but with just Banh Mi.

It took me a long long time to figure out why this cart is called “Bun Me” Baguette. It sounds similar to “Banh Mi”, which is the Vietnamese word of these baguettes.

The prices are quite affordable for $4.25 each. It’s actually a pretty good price compared to the other food carts Downtown. You have a vegetarian option too if you aren’t into chicken.

To keep quenched from the non-existant Summer weather, Coke ($1.25) and Black Soy Milk ($0.75) seemed like a good idea. I have always had regular Soy Milk, but black soy milk was new to me. It tastes more grittier texture since it’s made of black beans and its a bit thicker. It’s supposedly healthier too. I actually just prefer the normal sweetened soy milk than the black soy milk.

I ordered the BBQ Lemon Chicken Baguette ($4.25), it is a classic Banh Mi stuffed with lemongrass chicken, mayo, cucumber, cilantro, and pickled vegetables. It was quite large and I felt kinda powerful carrying this down Robson Street. If someone robbed you, you could take this and hit them over the head with it…but then at the same time you might ruin your lunch.

I really like their bread since its tough on the outside and soft on the inside, the taste of the bread was pretty good as well. I found that the flavours were well put together, but I couldn’t help noticing the amount of meat. There really could have been more since it would have made the baguette more enjoyable.

Overall, it’s decent, but there just needs to have more meat. Maybe they should just have an option to double the meat for a dollar or something…that would be nice.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $5
Vegetarian Friendly
Closest Skytrain: Burrard or Granville

We Rate Bun Me Baguette Food Cart:

Address:

Robson St and Hornby St
Vancouver, BC

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bun-Me-Baguette/154294347972371

In Downtown

NaanWraps Food Truck: Is It a Tree? Is It Green Lantern?…Nope, it’s Indian Food

July 23, 2011

I was randomly looking for a new Food Cart to eat at during my lunch break. I stumbled upon NaanWraps on Burrard. They operate on limited days, so you can’t always find them downtown.

Just look out for the large green truck and you know you have arrived here.

As the name of their truck suggests, they specialize in Tandoori Naanwraps. Their menu is quite limited and they tend to sell out of a few items.

Mango Lassi ($3.49) has yogurt, mango, and 2% milk. It’s a good refreshing drink for a hot afternoon. I love mangoes! They make them ahead of time, so you don’t need to wait for your drink.

Tanoori NaanWrap ($6.48) has tandoori chicken, bell peppers, onions, rice and mint sauce wrapped in Naan.

The wrap was larger than I expected and was definitely worth the money! The chicken was moist and the mint sauce was subtle and not too overpowering. All the ingredients worked well with each other and I had no complaints. I was super stuffed and walked back to the office happy.

Overall, good value for what you get!

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Credit, Debt, Cash
Tandoori NaanWrap is a must!
Closest Skytrain: Burrard Stn

We Rate NaanWrap:

Address:

400 Burrard st
Vancouver, BC

Twitter: @naanwraps

In Downtown

Re-Up BBQ Foodcart 1 + 2: Same Sandwich, Different Meat

July 4, 2011

M finally decided to come Downtown to eat lunch with me. Since it was a nice sunny day, a stroll for some good street food came to mind. M loves meat, so it just seemed fitting to take him to Re-up BBQ 1 and 2.

Yes, they finally expanded into 2 carts selling different things!

Lets start off with the original cart – Re-Up (Addictive) BBQ AKA Re-Up 1. They sell Pulled Pork Sandwiches ($7) and 3 different sodas.

The pulled pork sandwich has a mound of very very tender pork doused in an amazing smokey BBQ sauce with some coleslaw to add an extra crunch to the sandwich. All of this is housed in a Portuguese style bun. It is very fluffy and works well with the pulled pork.

M just fell in love with it as he walked down the street.

I did come here last year and there are a few changes. The sandwich is much easier to eat, probably since it’s not as packed full of meat as before. The price increased for $1, but it’s probably due to increasing costs of keeping the cart running.

Pretty spot on pulled pork sandwich. Definitely!

The next stop was Re-up BBQ 2, which is located less than a block away near the large protest stairs of the Art Gallery.

They specialize in Beef Brisket Sandwiches ($9) and they sell the same drinks as Re-Up BBQ 1.

M was surprised by the amount of meat in the sandwich. The make this by grabbing a slab of beef brisket and slicing it up nice and thinly. The coleslaw and bun are all the same as the pulled pork sandwich. The sauce was a little bit different, but I really could not put my finger on what it was. It tasted really really good.

It is quite a treat for lunch and you can’t really go wrong by going to either Re-Up BBQ 1 or 2. The only difference is the meat, so you just gotta figure out if you like beef or pork.

Both of these were super good! If you have the stomach, you could probably eat 2 sandwiches for lunch. hahaha.

Words of Wisdom:

Bring cash!
A bit of a wait during lunch hour
Grab your sandwich with also a Southern Sweet tea!

We Rate Re-Up BBQ Foodcart 1 & 2:

Website:

http://www.reupbbq.com/

Twitter:

@reupbbq

Vancouver

In Food Carts

When Japadog goes to SFU

June 25, 2011

Japadog comes up to the SFU Burnaby Campus once in a while to help support student clubs or charities. It’s really great that they support students and their causes.

The last time they were at SFU, they helped out with the Japanese relief and this time, the Stepping Bridge Organization (not sure what they do). The student club I use to be a part of researched into getting Japadog to SFU as well, and they make about $0.50 per Japadog sold. It was a few years ago, so I’m not sure if it’s still the same case.

As you can tell, the prices are $1.50 higher than in Downtown.

Nonetheless, people still line up 30 mins to get a bite of the awesome Japadogs. I got lucky and arrived prior to 12pm before the lunch time crowd arrived. I probably spent 5 mins in line.

CandiedZen and Fabo both had the Okonomi Japadog ($7.75). It has a pork sausage, cabbage, mayo, okonomi sauce and dried bonito.

They both said it tasted fine, but it was a bit on the small side.

I ordered the EbiChili Japadog ($7.75). It is made with a shrimp sausage, chili mayo, dried shrimp, red pepper and fried onion.

This is by far my favorite Japadog! When you bite into the shrimp sausage, it s not just shrimp paste, it’s bits of shrimp put together. The addition of the fried onions was very very good!! Everything worked very well together surprisingly. The dried shrimp on top initially turned off my friends, but I really didn’t mind.

Something didn’t seem right about the Japadogs. Its either the bun was bigger or the sausages were smaller. If you look at the images, you can really hardly see the sausages.

In the future, it’s probably best to head Downtown to get your fill of Japadogs for their regular size. If you do want to support your fellow students for a good cause, totally get one on campus! I really didn’t mind spending a little bit more to help a fellow student organization out to raise funds. Raising money is not as easy as it seems.

In Food Carts

Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels: Skewers, Skewers, Skewers

May 13, 2011

Hello Internet! Roman J. We checked out one of the new food trucks called Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels on 49^th and Cambie. It is literally right outside Langara’s Canada Line station. This food truck serves skewers, asian subs, and rice bowls.

It was like a mini night market, but you don’t have to travel to Richmond to get a taste of delectable street food.

Abbytizer, BactadThingUp, and I went to try out this food truck. We ordered a few skewers such as the fish ball skewer, curry skewer, beef skewer, lamb skewer, and the teriyaki chicken sub.

The Fish Ball Skewers (3 for $5) are extremely good and well priced. We had sauté skewers and curry fish balls. When we received our fish ball skewers they were fresh out of the pot, and very hot. The fish balls were soft and juicy when you bite into them. They just melt in your mouth!

The 2 Beef Skewers were tender and seasoned with sesame seeds. The lamb skewer was also tender. Abbytizer, BactadThingUp and I agree that the skewers were delicious.

Teriyaki Chicken Sub ($4.50) was ok. The bread was really thick, making it hard to taste the flavor of the lettuce, purple onions, and the chicken teriyaki. If the bread was less thick, I believe the sub would have tasted better.

Fast Track Fusion Meals on Wheels, is an excellent place to get Fish ball and skewers on the go. Plus, this is a meal that will not break the bank! Great for students, great for cheap people, great for anyone. I highly recommend getting any of the Skewers.

Words of Wisdom:

Best deal are the skewers, 3 for $5
Near Canada Line Station
Cheap and quick

We rate Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels:

Address:

6450 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Arturo’s Mexico To Go Food Truck: Awkward Experience

April 23, 2011

Another stroll near Waterfront and I wanted to check out Arturo’s Mexico To Go. I’ve never heard of a Mexican Themed Food Truck, so I look my lunch break to head on over.

They actually have a pretty HUGE food truck. They basically tower over you and you kinda feel like a midget.

Their menu has 5 items – Burrito, Burrito Salad Bowl, Quesadilla, Tacotino, and Tortilla Soup.

I ordered the Burrito Salad Bowl and the Tortilla Soup. The whole time I was waiting for the food, it was super awkward and it seemed like the staff lacked coordination. As one of the staff prepared my meal, this other person was just standing around and you really didn’t know if he accepted the money or was just there cause he wouldn’t look at you or say anything. Super awkward.

When I got my order, they forgot I ordered the tortilla soup, so I had to remind them that I ordered the soup. All he said was “oh” and made it. He said nothing more and I got confused. I shrugged it off and headed up to some outdoor tables near Price Waterhouse Coopers. (Great view of the Inlet!)

The Tortilla Soup ($3) was alright. I expected a bit more from this soup. The cheese was not fully melted and the tortilla was all limp and soggy. The soup itself was a bit spicy and had a really rich tomato taste. Very good depth of flavour.

Next, I had the Burrito Salad Bowl ($7). This is basically the normal burrito but laid out in a box like a platter. To be honest, the name of this item threw me off. I expected more salad since it is called a “salad bowl”. They should probably rename this to be called “Burrito Platter”.

You can choose between their different types of meat – pork, beef or chicken.

I ordered the chicken and it was really tender and flavourful. I was not 100% satisfied because I was expecting everything on top of lettuce. The taste overall was alright.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Great flavour in meats
Decent portions
Close to Waterfront Skytrain
Awkward Service

We Rate Arturo’s Mexico To Go:

Address:

775 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.arturos2go.com

In Chinese

Dim Sum Express Food Truck

April 22, 2011

All the way near Waterfront Station lies a street cart specializing in Dim Sum. No need to wait for a table and fight with others to get the last egg tart or buns. Have Dim Sum anytime, in your office, or on the street…..

Walking to the cart, I was approached by someone asking for change but I quickly dodged them and ran to the street cart.

Looking at the menu, there was really one clear choice! Dim Sum Combo ($6.99). Since it is a Dim Sum cart, it should be their specialty.

As I paid for the food, the same person approached me asking for change so I quickly shoved the money back into my pocket but I was so nervous that I dropped all the coins on the floor. FML. I wasn’t that pretty looking either…just Converse, a T-shirt and jeans. I had no sympathy for that man since he kept changing his story of why he needed money. Plus, I’m still a student and I spend all my pay checks eating out.

Once I got my order, I quickly walked away to find a seat somewhere to sit and enjoy this dim sum meal. I chose to use chopsticks but if you aren’t so good using them, you can get a fork instead.

This Dim Sum Combo ($6.99) has a pork bun, gai lan, 2 pan fried dumplings, 2 shrimp dumplings, and 2 sui mai.

Everything came out right away from the bamboo steamers except for the Gai Lan. It was made on the spot. The Gai Lan was sauteed with garlic and topped with sesame seeds. Very simple and probably the best part of this meal.

Everything else was pretty bland and nothing compared to the Chinese restaurants. It seems like everything was frozen and just steamed up. I think I can find better frozen Dim Sum from T&T. I think I just have high standards for Dim Sum because I’m Asian and thats what we do on Saturday mornings.

Even though, this lunch totally sucked, it was ok for $6.99 considering its a food truck in Downtown.

They also give you a fortune cookie with your combo! I was actually really excited because I was craving the sweet taste. I opened the packaging and was about the crack it open to reveal my fortune BUT the cookie was flexible and it wouldn’t crack open.

WORST FORTUNE COOKIE EVER. It was so flexible, you could bend it back into a flat circle. This is not Dim Sum Express’s fault, but they should be aware of the quality of fortune cookies they purchase.

My fortune said “Try a new system or a different approach“. Try a new system? Should I switch to Linux? Should I try an XBOX 360? I would say this advice would be more suitable for Dim Sum Express. Please order better fortune cookies and make better Dim Sum.

Word of Advice:

Very bland Dim Sum
Under $10
Many items to order
Close to Waterfront Skytrain
Fortune Cookie let down

We Rate Dim Sum Express:

Located:

200 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Big Dogs Street Hots Food Truck

April 19, 2011

My goal is to try as my food carts as possible while the weather is just fantastic. Next on my list was Big Dogs Street Hots, I have to admit, I walked past it the first time. I thought it was just another Hot Dog stand, so I took a large detour to head to the Comic Book Store (I’m a nerd when it comes to super heroes). Since they did not have the figurine I wanted, I headed back to get a closer look for this food cart. Going up Granville, I passed by many Hot Dog stands, but I knew it had to look more like a food truck… sure enough it was the original Hot Dog stand that I passed by.

I came back and I was a bit worried it would just be the regular Hot Dogs…but no, I was 10349540 times wrong. They have several kinds – the usual stuff which you would think a Hot Dog stand would have… and then BAM all the other cool sounding Hot Dogs. I know, I keep using the word Hot Dogs, but these are not the ones you find at the grocery store!

These are more like sausage. But better because they are organic! They pride themselves as having Sausages with no nitrates, lactose, preservatives, fillers or growth hormones.

When you actually read their menu, they have some pretty sexy types – “Hella Good Halibut”, “Hawaii 5-0”, “Slammin Salmon”, “Blueberry Bison” and “Chicken Apple Maple”. These rang musical bells in my head, maybe not literally but yes I did hear music from my headphones (LAME).

After thinking to myself, I ordered the “BIG Fat Greek Dog” ($7). If Americans met the Greeks to make an amazing creation it would be this Hot Dog! Lamb smokie with green peppers, cucumbers, red onions and tzatziki sauce on a whole wheat bun. They also asked if I wanted cooked onions on my Hot Dog, so I added those on too.

What struck me at first was the bun, this did look like a whole wheat bun and not just brown. The juicy sausage and the tzatziki sauce melded very well together surprisingly! The vegetable give the Hot Dog an extra crunch in texture. Even the addition of the cooked onions made it that much more amazing.

I know Downtown is saturated with so many Hot Dog/ Sausage stands but I hope this one stays. They pride themselves of their ingredients and do have unique Hot Dogs compared to other vendors.

They price maybe a bit steep at $5 – $9 for a large Hot Dog may be a bit steep but it is very satisfying!

We Rate Big Dogs Street Hots:

Location:

Granville Street between Dunsmuir & W Georgia

Twitter:

@BigDogsOrganics

In Downtown

La Brasserie Street Food Truck: Nom Nom

April 13, 2011

Since Ursu Food Truck was not open yet, I thought I would take a stroll down to La Brasserie Street (Food Truck, not an actual “street”. They are in the location where Kimono Koi Crepes use to be.

The cart is brought to you by none other than La Brasserie. The name says it all doesn’t it? I’ve actually never been to the restaurant before but I’ve heard good things. The picture of the sandwich does look amazing!

When you arrive, you are greeted by 2 friendly men. Wait a minute one of those guys look familiar (looks through old photos). Hey! He use to run the Kimono Koi Crepes truck! Interesting yes?

Their menu is super simple with one item – their Brass Chicken Sandwich ($6.25). You basically have no choice, which is not necessarily a bad thing! That means the quality should be good!

At first glace, I was disappointed by what I saw. Large bun, little meat and fried onion things. Seriously it does not look like the advertised picture.

Inside this Brass Chicken Sandwich is beer brined rotisserie chicken in gravy, with fried onions on a buttermilk bun. I didn’t have high hopes for this sandwich until I took the first bite out of the sandwich. Wow. This reminded me of thanksgiving dinner in a sandwich, without the cranberry and the stuffing.

Tender chicken meat doused in savory delicious gravy complemented with crispy sweet taste of the onions. Oh! I’m in love describing it again. The bun is quite soft and squishy, it was perfect with the delicate meat.

One thing to be aware of is that there is a bit of flour still on the top and bottom of the bun, so if you are wearing black clothes, check your chest if you left any crumbs there. ( You never know!). Also, remember to grab a napkin too because if you are just digging into the sandwich, you may get gravy on your face. (I did and it was delicious!).

Overall, great sandwich for $6.25. Definitely worth it in my opinion.

Words of wisdom:

Must go to Food Cart!
Cash Only
Under $10
Closest Skytain – City Centre (Canada Line) , Granville (Expo Line)

We Rate La Brasserie Street:

Located at

West Georgia St. and Granville St.

Facebook:

http://zh-cn.facebook.com/people/La-Brasserie-Street/100002228837049

Twitter:

@LaBrasserieSt

In Downtown

Ursu Food Truck: Korean Taco Food Truck

April 13, 2011

I go off tangent sometimes at work and play with the food apps on my phone. As you can tell I was really anticipating lunch. Since there are 19 new street carts in Vancouver, I have to eat though all of them =)

There is Ursu – a Korean Food Cart near my work and there was n0 information about them on any website. I assume they are fairly new and have not had a lot of time to start setting up their social media. They are Korean owned and serve up Korean Tacos (~$2) (Chicken, Bulgogi or tofu), Bulgogi Dogs (~$5), and Questadillas ($6.99) (Bulgogi, spicy chicken, and tofu). I tried taking a picture of the menu but my iphone lagged and it took a picture of the ground .

The Vancouver Street Food App indicated they open at 11am, but they were not set up and ready to go till noon. So, do be aware things may happen and Food Cart vendors aren’t there on time or delayed in setting up.

After walking around the block, it was open! You can tell they are quite new in the food cart business since they were a bit slow at getting the food out, and had very little or even no publicity. They are quite popular with the Korean crowd, lots of international students were going up to them and conversing in Korean. I like to ease drop, but I overheard they are going to start having a Facebook Fan page and Twitter in the near future.

I ordered the Spicy Chicken Quesadilla ($6.99). It has cheese, peppers, hot sauce, onions, tomatoes, chicken and lettuce.

I can kinda handle a medium level of spiciness and this was decently spicy but not painful, just subtle. With the addition of the tomatoes, it did make this quesadilla a bit runny, so the juice will leak out. It is very hard to to eat it in one hand on the go. You need a bit of a strategy to make sure it all does not spill out. Your best bet would be getting a fork and knife if you have difficulty eating cleanly.

The quesadilla was just average and was not spectacular. The chicken itself had a very nice flavour, you can tell they use a sweet sesame sauce to cook the chicken. They probably used sesame oil, which is common in korean food.

I’ll probably go back to try their Bulgogi soon and let you know if it’s any good.

Words of Wisdom:

Close to Granvill Skytrain
Cash Only
Open late for Canucks Game days
Usual hours 11am – 7pm

We Rate Ursa Food Cart:

Located at:

West Georgia St. and Richards Street

In Downtown

Lully’s Sandwich Bar

February 20, 2011

I posed a question on Twitter “Need suggestions for lunch in Downtown. Any good places that are not the “usual” places to eat at?”, I got a few replies back from the amazing followers! Since it was a nice sunny day in downtown Vancouver, I just had to try out Lully’s Sandwich Bar.

I actually pass by a few times a week and I always feel guilty that I don’t stop and say hi. Keep in mind, I am a very shy timid girl and at times socially awkward! This is why I will be that girl in networking events near the food tables just eating..and eating…and eating. It’s a bad habit, but I’m slowly working on my confidence.

Lully’s Sandwich bar is located outside Granville station. My first thought when I saw this cart was “I wonder who’s Lully, is there really a Lully?”. At this food cart, there are no people named Lully. 2 local entrepreneurs decided to bring Lully’s Sandwich Bar – a famous Victoria Restaurant, here to Vancouver!

Who are these entrepreneurs I am speaking of? They are the Ip brothers of PanDa Fresh Bakery! They have taken a hiatus from running the big yellow bus to start up their new idea of selling Montreal smoked meats in Vancouver. Since they are both from Montreal and hold a deep connection to where they were from, they jumped at the idea of opening a new cart.

No news on whether the PanDa Fresh Bakery will be back, but hopefully it will be back once summer comes around. The reason why they put PanDa Fresh Bakery on hold because of the location and the weather.

Now lets talk about their food. Looking at their menu, it was really hard to choose what I wanted since I was not super hungry. 2 different sizes of sandwich to choose from. So, I asked Michael Ip how big the jumbo and the regular sizes were. After looking at a few images, I really wanted to chow down on the Jumbo since i’ve never had such a massive sandwich.

The Jumbo Old Fashioned Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich ($10) was stacked with so much meat. I was watching him build this and he kept piling more and more meat on the sandwich. In total there was 12 oz of meat with mustard on a 2 slices of bread.

Once the sandwich was cut in half, you can see how large this sandwich really is!

I am not an expert when it comes to eating Montreal smoked meat sandwiches. All I know is that this sandwich is simple and good to honest just gives you a homey feeling. Not complicated and only has 3 ingredients – bread, mustard and meat.

Eating it needs a bit of a strategy since theres so much meat in this sandwich, what I did was to eat one half at a time and keep it in the wrapper so no precious meat falls on the floor. The meat was tender and easy to bite into. I enjoyed it because it was something new that I have never tried before.

Some may say this sandwich is too simple and not worth the $10. But everyone is entitled to their personal opinions.

We Rate Lullu’s Sandwich Bar:

Address:

650 Granville St.
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.lullyssandwichbar.com

In Food Carts

PanDa Fresh Bakery

October 23, 2010

PanDa Fresh Bakery, is one of the new street carts that have opened up downtown. What makes this street cart super unique is that it’s on a bus! They specialize in croissants. Who doesn’t love croissants?

One day, I was driving on Pacific Blvd. and spotted PanDa Fresh Bakery! I was so excited that I had to tell M to stop the car and make a very sharp turn to turn on the street where PanDa Fresh Bakery is located. I am sure I was so excited that it really scared him. I’ve spent months wanting to try PanDa Fresh Bakery, but never had the time to pass by. Today was the day where I would be able to try the croissants that people were raving about!

Looking at their menu, I have never ever seen such unique croissants! They have savory croissants, dessert croissants and ICE CREAM croissants! I wanted to try everything! I felt like a kid in a candy store, but in this case, I suppose it looked like 2 grown-ups staring at a bus.

This is the window where you can order your croissants. They even have a little panda there. Reminds me of a toy I got at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. Don’t forget to keep your stamps!

After looking at the menu, I got the LAST Mac & Cheese ($6) of the day! You would think these 2 combinations would not work out very well, but it was AMAZING! I would highly recommend this to everyone. M loved it so much that he ate about 60% of it. I was a bit bitter about it because I wanted more.

M had the Turkey Dinner ($6), which had cranberry sauce, slice of turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing. We were both not keen on the cranberry because even though it is a Thanksgiving tradition, it was a bit drippy and sour. I thought the stuffing was really good. I could just sit at a table all day and eat the mashed potatoes. I wonder what his secret is…

On to dessert! I had the Cheese Cake Croissant ($4). In the first picture, it does look like a stick of butter. I’m sure Paula Deen would LOVE a Croissant filled with butter. Anyways, the Cheesecake croissant has a slice of New York cheese cake and then a lady finger. At first it seemed weird how there was the lady finger in the croissant but it added a very nice crunchy texture to it. The cheese cake was not overly sweet.

M had the Banana Chocolate Croissant ($4), it had a banana cut in half and melted chocolate. He enjoyed it and I was happy he chose something that had fruit for once.

They also had a message board on their bus… so in my sneaky fashion, i stuck the business card on the board while his back was turned. Yeah! I’m a ninja.

Words of wisdom:

Arrive early to avoid disappointment
Keep track of new batches or flavours on their twitter
Mac and Cheese is a must!

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the meal. It was the perfect size so I was not hungry or super stuffed. What I admire most about this street cart is their unique idea and imagination when it comes to making the fillings for the croissants. They made me think that a croissant could be so much more than just a very oily piece of bread. Kudos to Panda Fresh Bakery!

We rate Panda Fresh Bakery: