Preston's Food Truck

The Columbus Commons weekly food truck festival includes quite a few great tastes from the Columbus food scene, with a rotating roster of trucks. 

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​Today I gave Preston's a try, and am glad I did. I ordered a Preston double with salt and vinegar fries.

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The fries were perfectly double fried giving them a great crisp. The vinegar was a bit heavy, but they were good. The highlight though was the burger. Well seasoned, with perfect temp and a great crunch. It was traditionally dressed with shredded lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mayo.

This was probably the best burger I've had in Columbus, and it won't be the last time I grab one from them this summer.​

Athenian Grill: Greek Bistro & Market by Ilias Pappas — Kickstarter

 When we were in Kentucky, I wrote about the Ambassador Day at Makers Mark on day two of our visit.  One of the great things about that day was the amazing greek food we had from Athenian Grill in Lexington and their booth on the food court there.  Now Athenian Grill is working to open a permanent location in Lexington, and has turned to Kickstarter for funding.  While most of the awards for backers are only going to be valuable to people in the Lexington area, the $50 reward includes shipping of their scratch-made pastries anywhere in the U.S.

If you are in Lexington, or really anywhere in Eastern Kentucky, I encourage you to consider supporting Illias in getting this restaurant built, you will love his food and his passion.​

Source: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atheni...

Food cart Review: Retrolicious

The Retrolicious Cart

I love good food, and love comfort food even more.  So when the guys told me that there was a new cart in the parking lot of my my old employer at Triangle Pointe in Tigard, I decided to visit them for lunch and see it for myself.

Featuring "Scratch Made Classics", Retrolicious is comfort food done right.  Their signature sandwhich seems to be a creation they call "The Jethro".  Roasted pork, bacon, BBQ sauce, coleslaw, and cheese on a toasted roll is an amazing sandwich.  Served with potato chips for $7, it is also a great value for the time put into the preperation that goes into this thing.  The pork is slow roasted, the bacon crispy, and the slaw a perfect contrast.  If there weren't so many other great items on the menu I would eat this happily every week.  Fortunately for all of us, there are plenty of other great items on the menu.

"The Jethro" is worth tracking this cart downFrom meatloaf sandwichs and dinners to fried chicken with mashed potatoes, pimento mac and cheese to homemade soups the hits keep on coming from this wonderful cart.  I'm just hoping to catch the chicken and waffles next time....I hear it's the best in town.

the Meatloaf Dinner

Fried Chicken Dinner

My lunch: The Jethro with a side of Pimento Mac and Cheese

Retrolicious can be found around town throughout the week.  Check out this piece of FatBoy Heaven....you won't be sorry.

Kickstarter Food! - The Pie Spot

I was at the Feast Oregon Grand Tasting yesterday (and will post more later on that topic and the great things I tasted), and met the Ladies responsible for The Pie Spot.  They have a KickStarter campaign that is about to run out, and I'd love if my readers could help them meet their funding goals.

Their story is on their KickStarter page, so I won't tell it here, but I can tell you that I was impressed by their offerings at The Grand Tasting.  They brought a Marion Berry pie, and the amazing Chocolate Hazelnut.  The Chocolate Hazelnut was messy but delicious, with chocolate chipts that were distinct enough to stay suspended in the brown-sugar and corn syrup filling without melting together and becoming a gooey mess.  Think a pecan-pie, with hazelnuts and chocolate chips rather than pecans.  Easily the best desert of the day, even considering the presence of Salt & Straw at the event.

Lets see if we can help these folks out with getting their store-front open!  

Oregon Brews and BBQs: Slick's Big Time BBQ

First on the list today was Slick's Big Time BBQ out if Newberg. We tried the Chef's Special, which included 2 Ribs, a Pulled Pork sandwich and 2 sides for $12.00

The ribs were juicy and tender, with a very nice bark.  They were cooked the way I would do them in the back yard, cut thick and falling off the bone.  In a competition they would be overcooked with the way the whole piece of meat came off when I tried to take a bite.  The pulled pork was tender, but I didn't care for the heavy sauce they paired with this one. It was supposed to be sweet and spicy, but the spice overwhelmed the sweet here.  The baked beans were more of a chili than a baked bean, and the slaw was good but not great.

Overall it was decent but not great BBQ, but well above average for a fair-type setting.

Kickstarter Food! - Cheese & Crack

One of the things that is an exciting trend in Portland food is the Food Cart, and I've decided to start highlighting new cart ideas that have taken to KickStarter for final funding to get off the ground.  Crowd sourcing technology has been an ever present fact of life, but crowd sourced local food is an idea I love.

The latest idea is Cheese & Crack, a gourmet cheese and cracker box featuring hand-made crackers with local cheese and meat.  A great concept, and one I can't wait to try this summer.  You can find out how to help here, and check out the video for more information.