Food truck Thursday

This Food truck Thursday I decided to give Fetty's Street Food a try. Specializing in asian and Indian cuisine they are a permanent fixture on the commons during the Thursday food truck roundup this summer. 

I decided to try the "Bunny Chow", African butter chicken curry with chickpeas in a bread bowl.  It was amazing, with good flavor and a great blend of spices without the spice of other currys. The dollop of dill infused greek yogurt helped cut what little spice crept in.

It was a great quick meal that I could eat every week if there weren't so many other great choices.

Wake up with the Commons: Buckeye Donuts

Wanted breakfast this morning so I headed down to the Wake Up With The Commons event on Columbus Commons to see what the vendors had available. Crimson Cup was serving coffee off of their truck, but I had coffee waiting for me in the apartment. I walked over to Buckeye Donuts' truck after finding that Nate's Steamed Bagels didn't sell just bagels with cream cheese.

Buckeye Donuts was offering a beautiful sandwich they call "The Buckeye Royale", bacon, egg, and cheddar served between two deep fried glazed donuts. Where has this been all my life?!? 

The sweet of the donut glaze contrasts perfectly with the savory of the bacon, egg, and cheddar to make an amazing sandwich that will be my go-to on Tuesday mornings this summer.

If you are looking for one another day you can find details on their website

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. 

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

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.​

It's Tuesday, so of course I found brunch on a downtown food truck in Columbus, OH

In the category of "it's a small world" we have today's lunch.I was out for a walk exploring downtown Columbus, Ohio and spotted a food truck in a parking lot down a side street.You know how I love food trucks, so I had to at least see what they had to offer.

Turns out the truck is owned and run by a Portland native who graduated from Western Culinary back in the last of the classes before it was sold to Le Cordon Blue.  He calls his truck "Broke Johnny's" and he just bought it a few weeks ago, but if he keeps serving breakfast like this he's going to have to change the name because he won't be broke for long.

I had a chance to try two items from his menu today his breakfast sandwich and what he tells me has become his signature dish, the Ham and Cheese waffle.

The breakfast sandwich from Broke Johnny's

​The breakfast sandwich is simple perfection. Thin sliced ham is thrown onto the flattop to heat up and get some caramelization. It's thrown onto toasted sourdough or marble rye, with a nice medium egg and American cheese. The beauty is in the quality of the ham and a perfectly cooked egg that is just a little runny making mayonnaise unnecessary.

Broke Johnny's Ham & Cheese Waffle  

The master stroke though was the Ham & Cheese Waffle.  A perfectly crisped waffle is spread with whipped butter then topped with cheese, chunks of fried ham, and then smothered in Johnny's bacon-bourbon sauce with big chunks of bacon.  The combination is truly amazing.  If I hadn't already had the breakfast sandwich he tells me that it's even better when you have a nice egg over the top of it (and what brunch isn't).

If you're in Columbus, track him down and give his brunch truck a try.   

Food Cart Review: Bro Dogs

Bro Dogs came out to cater my 20 year high-school reunion, and they did not disappoint.  I had The Dude - a Hand made sausage topped with cream-cheese, onions, mushrooms, bacon, cheddar, and jalapeño peppers on a custom made roll that holds up well to the toppings.

Strangely, it was the cream cheese smeared on the bun that really pulls this dog together.  The creaminess blends with the onions and peppers to provide a saucy feel to the dog.

The cart has a wider menu than he brought out on site to our event, and I will be looking them up next time I'm downtown to give them a try.  This is Fat Boy Heaven on a bun folks.

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!  

Food Cart Review: Cultured Caveman

The Cultured Caveman food cart at NE 15th and Alberta

The Cultured Caveman food cart in the Alberta 15 foodcart pod (Located just off 15th and Alberta) started as a Kickstarter project. That is where I first learned of their idea, and I am proud to say I was a backer of this unique cart. Since I live on the west side and don't have much cause to be in NE Portland, this was my first chance to visit Joe and Heather and taste their food.

Rainbow Rosemary Fries and Paleo Chicken Tenders....awesome meal!I went with the Paleo Chicken Tenders and a side of Rainbow Rosemary Fries. The first thing to know about food from this cart is that anything fried is fried in Organic, Grass-fed beef tallow. This imparts a flavor all it's own to any food, but also has a lower smoke point, leaving food a little soggier than some would prefer. Remember that the paleo diet is more about a lack of grains and dairy than it is about being low-fat.
The Rainbow fries were great, if a little soggy. A trade off I will take any time for this flavor profile. Served with their own homemade ketchup, the combination is amazing.

Paleo chicken tenders were as good as any I have had with wheat flour. A nice crispy coating while maintaining a nice tender and moist chicken. Cultured Caveman uses organic raised chickens from Draper Valley Farms, "breaded" in a dredge of coconut flour, garlic, white pepper, and salt. Again, the flavor was amazing, and dipped in their southwestern aioli was a delight.

In all the combination of a crowd-sourced startup plan and amazing food make Cultured Caveman a healthy and tasty piece of Fat Boy Heaven. I'll be back to try their other menu items soon.

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.

Food Cart Review: Altengartz German Brand Bratwurst

I met a buddy in downtown Portland for lunch today, and since it wasn't raining we decided to hit the food carts at Portland's oldest food cart pod, on Alder Street.  For those outside Portland the concept may be foreign, but here food carts gather like teens at the mall on a Saturday afternoon.  Large groups can be found at several locations around town, but Alder Street is the oldest and largest to be found.

We made the loop of the full city block that is the Alder Street pod getting samples of foods that looked interesting to us.  I spotted a Green Bay helmet magnet through the window of a little Brat cart, and sampled one of the best Bratwurst I have ever tasted.  My mind was made up.

Since wheat and gluten were out, all I needed to do was get my brat with kraut sans bun and I was set.  George Wittkopp, the owner of Altengartz was quick to accommodate my request, and soon the smell of a brat frying with kraut filled the air.

The flavor was amazing.  A nice deep brown on the ends showed a well seasoned grill had been used, and the blend of spices was perfect.  George told me that Carlton Farms was making his sausages for him from his own recipe, and that old-world flavor shone through perfectly.  The sign of a good Brat is the lack of need to use condiments, and this one sure fit the bill.  I ate it as served and was not at all disappointed.

If you want more information on Altengartz Bratwurst, their website can be found at www.germanbratwurst.com

Definately a little piece of Fat Boy Heaven.