Friday Night Food Truck Feast

Friday night, my husband and I drove up to Webster's to check out the Fancy Friday Food Truck adventure.  I have to admit, the last time I ate off a truck was a grimy sandwich lunch truck behind Robertson almost ten years ago.  I'm not sure about this whole frenzy that's happening with them, but, I was game.  And we were hungry! 

When we arrived, it looked like a festival was going on.  Having spent ten years in Boston, I got used to the festivals in the North End popping up every saint's Feast day.  Fried dough, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, cotton candy... you get the idea.  Here, the trucks were lined up in a semi-circle, with folding chairs and tables in the middle of them.  There were families, friends, coworkers, a few dogs and a lot of noise (mostly from the truck's generators).

We were game and bellied up to our first truck - OG Tempura.  It was busy and bustling and people waited out front with their numbers in hand, getting confused when "79" was called before "45" until we all realized that the order had nothing to do with your number.  The proprietor warned us it might be a little while before our food.  No matter - we ordered the "Spider's Web" - soft-shell crab with angel hair pasta and bacon, dipped in tempura and deep-fried.  We also ordered the flank steak, which came wrapped in bacon with the tempura coating.  Those two items, plus a can of ice tea and a coke, came to $18.  My husband handed him a $20 and donated the $2 to the tip can. 

We stood around for about 20 minutes, and were getting hungrier by the minute.  Sean decided to go to the Border Grill truck and get in line.  We thought that by the time he ordered there, our tempura would be up and at least we could eat something while waiting for the next.  No such luck.  He ordered our fish taco and carne asada quesadilla - both of which were ready before the tempura. 

Those two items, cumin fries and some water came to $16.  The quesadilla was tasty, with a blue cheese sort of dressing inside, and juicy, tender meat.  The fish taco was also good, dressed with the customary toppings - cilantro, cabbage, salsa.  Both were the size of a small appetizer, which was fine - it gave us the opportunity to try several offerings from different trucks.  The cumin fries were disappointing - I thought they would be tastier somehow, but it was just a couple of shakes of dried cumin, which tends to leave a slightly odd taste when just put on top of something instead of being incorporated through a dish. 

About 5 minutes after we finished our Border Grill fare, the tempura was ready (so a total of 40 minutes wait).  My husband thoroughly enjoyed his - it was two large pieces and all the flavors went together really well.  I did not like mine as much - the flank steak seemed a bit stringy, while the bacon was crisp in some parts and merely warm and fatty in others.  Both came with sauce - blue cheese for the flank steak, and sweet 'n sour/ponzu for the soft-shell crab.  The whole OG Tempura experience came across as disorganized.

There was not a lot of room to sit down.  Several people gave up hoping for a seat in the middle and fanned out to the retaining walls around the parking lot.  We managed to grab a chair at a large table filled with people so we could eat, but it seemed like people were more intent on "saving" seats for others and hanging out after eating. 

I thought the allure of food trucks were for no fuss, no muss, sit down, have some great food and go?  A lot of the chairs were unavailable because they were being "saved" - one woman even took to folding hers up and carrying it around with her from truck to truck!

Our decision to try one more truck before calling it a night was a good one.  Greenz on Wheelz offered grilled sandwiches and tasty-looking salads.  It was busy but looked really good, so we saddled up and got in line.  My husband had the pulled pork sandwich, with black forest ham, pepperjack cheese, grilled green peppers and bbq sauce on the side.  I chose the grilled cheddar and bacon, without the grilled peppers or tomatoes that it came with.  Both were served on fantastic cheesy, garlicky sourdough bread and grilled till everything was gooey. 

Two sandwiches and another two drinks were $16.  This, hands-down, was the winner of the night.  We should have tried it first - after a few bites we were absolutely stuffed!  We put it together on one plate and covered it with the other, and had it for breakfast the next day.  It was just as good.  On the way out of the parking lot, we decided to try the Tango Mango Ice truck for a little dessert.  I had the pineapple and creamy coconut combo and the hubby had chocolate chip.  It was really delicious gelato - light, creamy, and you could really taste the fruit.  Two heaping 4 oz. cups - $8.

All in all, it was a great night - I saw some people I knew from work and they looked like they were having a good time too.  Kids were screaming and jumping and running, all with big smiles, and the feeling of community and shared experience even made me outgoing enough to engage in conversation with people I didn't know. 

I think Webster's had a hand in putting the tables and chairs out, and even had plastic tablecloths and some nice LED candlelight out as well.  It was definitely a great Friday night, and as we left the parking lot it went back to being the quiet, neighborly Altadena we've come to know in our first year here.  Half of that was getting away from the generators, but that's OK!  I couldn't help but think that if we'd gone to El Patron like we intended, we would have eaten like Kings for that amount of money, and been able to have a bottle of suds in addition.  But, then I wouldn't have met all of you, and that's what it's all about, right?