Food Truck Paradise at SxSW
Food trucks!! Food trucks everywhere!! SxSW continued to roll on with music from the 16-20th but lets not forgot about all the delectable goodness parked on four wheels. This is my first time to SxSW and Austin and I was just as excited to check out the next big band as to fulfill my foodie desires with the barrage of BBQ, fusion, traditional, sweet and salty foods. Having too many choices is never a bad thing, and with food truck prices relatively low, there is room for a lot sampling. Food trucking in Austin has been established for quite some time, quite different from just the warm cookie truck occasionally meandering around in Ann Arbor. Both being college towns however…it makes sense. Low overhead, small start-up cost compared to a restaurant resulting in cheaper prices to the consumer, which usually is many hungry cash-strapped college kids. Combine this with the onslaught of of social apps such as facebook, foursquare and twitter to spread the word and you have a powerful mobile force to produce some serious coin. But what makes a food truck so unique? Are they not suppose to serve mediocre cheap food all because there are too few good restaurants that are all packed at the moment and you couldn’t wait to eat anywhere else desirable. Aren’t they really associated with the podunk mobile circus that rolls into town and parks in strip mall parking lots . Nope! not in Austin…these trucks are a different breed altogether finding their own niche of customers by serving up esoteric culinary creations.
With my taste buds salivating, I’ve never been good a making decisions when it comes to food and being hungry. You would be mistaken if you thought stumbling upon one lonely food truck to satisfy your hunger- not in Austin. The norm seems to be at least half dozen varieties at any given location. First stop…short bus subs. A blatantly obvious bright yellow bus with its name in colorful writing serving up nothing short of amazingly tasty baked subs. Different is what you get, and different is good! Sandwich names reminiscent of grade school like the “Class Clown” sub with Genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone cheese, parmesan, mushrooms, pepperoncini, and a lil bit of crushed red pepper. I was hot for teacher myself trying the “Teacher’s Pet” with smoked turkey, cream cheese, avocado, bacon, onions, lettuce, tomato, and salsa. I’ll be naughty and she can put me in the corner any time to sneak a bite of this sub!!. A mobile Quiznos, you might say?? From from it, in my opinion, the company prides itself on being locally sustainable by making their own sub buns, sourcing from local suppliers and even running the bus on bio-diesel. Short Bus Subs
Day2 heading to the FIAT Fader fort event tent we made a detour back to a food truck area from the previous day. An area displaying a cornucopia of mobile goodness in one lot. Traditional southern BBQ, kogi BBQ, artisan pizzas, homemade ice (for after..or before, whatever) but the one we came back for….chicken and waffles. Lucky J’s chicken and waffles in fact, apparently a staple in Austin. Perfectly cooked crispy fried chicken tenderloins encased in a sweet soft delicious waffle. Not making too many trips to the area, I’ve never had this southern treat before and would have to say that trying it from one of Austins most famous food truck spots is definitely a must. I slathered some Valintinas over the crispy chicken to give it that extra kick. Lucky J’s will be opening up a restaurant soon in downtown Austin, but for the time being, I will be headed to the east side location for my fix of chicken and waffles. Chicken for strength and waffles for speed!…so goes the saying. Lucky J’s
That Friday in Sx was a pretty epic day, a lot of big acts, fader fort was packed as Matt and Kim where playing at 7:30. We were just vagabonding around, going with the flow, we got there late only to be turned away since fader was a capacity…free booze would have to wait. Staying on the east side around 6th we found a place called Shangri-La…this set us up to discover from a local apparently one of the best food trucks in Austin. The signature item that everyone bragged about…fried Brussels Sprout salad. Yes, in a land all things beef, one of the best food trucking items served up is a vegetable that most people won’t come within 5ft from. Ridiculously good $3 Sailor Jerrys spiced rum and ginger ale drinks were going down like water we wanted to stay at Shangri-La, but because the belly rules the mind, we set off to find East Side King. Tucked back on the patio of Liberty Bar the joint was rockin with a pretty good band. Another great surprise, having a couple of craft brews from the Left Hand Beer tent. The smell coming from the tiny food truck was intoxicating. Chattin up the girl at the window I was able to finagle my way around to the side and snap a couple of pics of freshly made pork belly buns. Our order: Fried Brussels Sprout salad, Thai Chicken Karaage and Beet Home Fries. First off, Thai Chicken Karaage. The taste was amazing as the chicken was cooked to perfection and was smothered in probably a house secret sweet and spicy sauce. Add in the crunch of onions, jalapenos, a hint of cilantro and just as you thought your taste buds couldn’t be any happier the mint finishes creating kaleidoscope of flavors in your mouth. It was phenomenal, simple ingredients yet so much flavor…and have yet to try the “signature dish”. Brussels sprout salad-replace the crispy chicken as a veggie option. I’ve always like brussels sprouts and the slightly soft outside texture matched perfectly with the crunchiness of the Asian inspired cabbage. Last, but certainly not least, Beet home fries…I mean, why not!? Personally, I love beets but again a vegetable that you would expect at food truck…I think not. This dish is so unique that I googled beet home fries and google quickly wanted to correct me with “best home fries”. A unique dish indeed. My taste buds determined The Beet Home Fries ousted the Brussels sprout salad as second best item on the menu. So tender and flavorful as East Side King looked to its Japanese roots by using shichimi – a seven flavored chili spice coat the tender beets. I use shichimi routinely dousing my rice to give it that extra kick. East Side King was so good that we decided to go their the next day for round no.2. No change from the Thai chicken or Brussels sprout salad but replace the Beet Home Fries with some more meat…Beef Tongue buns! Sticking with sweet and spicy, a homemade peanut butter curry is added to thick cut beef tongue, which was the most tender I have ever tried. In my short visit, East Side King is a must visit when coming to Austin. No reservations needed! East Side King
Our last day was approaching and searching for the next best meal was super seeding my desire for a good sleep. Another place called Chilantro a Korean/Mexican fusion joint serving up unique Kimchi fries with your choice of bulgogi…I would recommend the beef. We saved a couple of other occasions to visit places like Stubbs and Chuy’s..far and away both excellent choices but the week was all about the food truck. SxSW has quickly skyrocketed to the top for me as one of the best music festivals I will probably ever attend. I have yet to make my way to Coachella and Glastonbury, certainly worthy of that recognition but I felt Sx still had the underground feel to it, even though the number of attendees grows every year. Its the combination of the laid back people of Austin, the chance to discover the next big name, and of course…the parallel combination of unique food to match the unique music.
More pics of SxSW here!
This entry was posted on Friday, April 8th, 2011 at 8:02 pm and is filed under Food, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
