Food Truck Lunch: Chinese Mirch

This is the second time I've been to Chinese Mirch. The first time I had chicken momos in szechuan broth and their duck sliders. This time I had chicken thukpa, which is noodle soup with their chicken momos.

You might be asking yourself, "What the hell is a chicken momo?". I sure did when I first saw it on the menu. It's Tibetan for fucking good. Not really but they are really good. Actually, they are dumplings and you have your choice of vegetable or chicken then you can get them with a dipping sauce or in Szechuan broth or you can upgrade to a rice bowl with manchurian sauce or you can upgrade to thukpa. You can get some dessert and some drinks but the only other lunch type item on their menu are their bao sliders. The first time I went the menu described them as duck sliders and they were chilled. This time around it just said protein, though there was another sign advertising their duck sliders. The duck sliders seem to be popular as there was a group of 3 ahead of me who inquired about them and then promptly walked off - I imagine in some level of disappointment. It also left me under the impression that they were out of duck sliders. I guess I'm just observant like that.

The truck gives you a lot of blurbs to read all over the truck. They tell you about momos, mirch, manchurian sauce and other things Some trucks have this and others don't. But I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that there is a theory out there that says give your customers something to do (i.e.- read) while they're waiting and it won't seem like they've been waiting all that long. Plus, it gives your truck a little personality and everybody loves a little personality.

First Trip:
Duck sliders and chicken momos in Szechuan broth. The Szechuan broth is amazing - this one item had me craving for more Chinese Mirch and it also had me telling everyone about it - and I mean everyone. My wife, my colleagues, the guy next to me on the train, my dog - you get the idea. The dumplings were good, too. Packed with chicken - I couldn't place the flavors but it was yummy. The duck sliders, on the other hand, we're mediocre. It's been a while since I've had duck and it's not that I don't like duck - the duck tasted fine. It was the fact that it was chilled that turned me off. Other than desserts that are supposed to be cold (ice cream, ice cream related products, nana's peanut butter pie), I don't like anything that is ice cold. I want everything to be room temperature or hotter. I even don't like my drinks to be cold with the exception of beer. The Szechuan broth was so good that it completely neutralized the mediocrity of the sliders and it also made me want to get the thukpa which I assumed was the Szechuan broth with noodles and momos.

Second visit:
Chicken thukpa. My god this was awesome - definitely one of the best things I have eaten. The broth was a lot thicker than I was expecting - closer to stew but it almost had a sauce like consistency. In addition to the momos and noodles there were also vegetables - the only ones I remember identifying were red peppers and some form of cabbage. The broth was spicy but not too spicy. It had a pleasant burn right at the top of my register which is right where I like it.

The only problem with Chinese Mirch is that it comes around on Mondays and another one of my favorite trucks is around on Mondays. It means I'll have to make a decision and I'm terrible at those. I think the only fair thing to do is alternate. All right, Çomme Çi Çomme Ça, it's your turn next week. If you're around. And I feel like cous cous.

Food Truck Lunch: The Bistro Truck

I've been to the Bistro Truck 3 times. I had (in order) the chicken tajine platter, merguez (lamb and veal) platter and the lamb burger with fries. All solid food. I liked the chicken tajine platter best but the lamb burger was a close second. The merguez platter was good but the lamb and veal were in sausage form which is not my favorite medium. The platters come with a small amount of fries and mixed greens.

The real reason I keep going back to the Bistro Truck is not for their food, it's not for their fries or their fresh tea. In fact, the fresh Moroccan mint was like drinking tooth paste (yech!). The real reason I go there is for their hot sauce. You heard me. The hot sauce that comes in the tiny plastic condiment container. It's salty. It's spicy. It's awesome. I'd eat it on cardboard. It's that good. I asked for extra the third time around because I can't get enough of it. I've used it like ketchup for my fries and I've mixed it with my rice (or couscous, I can't remember which) and it is equally fantastic on both. I want to know what it is so I can make it.

And then I found $5.

Celebes Kalassi

I purchased this coffee from a local shop in my area. I had them do a coarse grind on the beans because I am drinking this coffee at my house with my French press (as opposed to drinking it at work with my chemex). I bought my coffee grinder off of eBay but I think it is broken because I get the same grind no matter what setting I choose. The grinder came with good reviews and it is a burr grinder but it doesn't give me the grind I'm looking for which is why I have the coffee ground by a professional whenever possible.

The "barista" suggested the Kalassi after I told her all the other coffee's that I liked. This was a while ago but I remember she said it was peppery. That sounded interesting to me, so I went ahead a purchased a pound of it.

Here is what coffeereview.com has to say about Celebes Kalassi:

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi, formerly Celebes, spreads like a huge four-fingered hand in the middle of the Malay Archipelago. The Sulawesi coffee most likely to be found in specialty stores today comes from a mountainous region near the base of the southwestern finger of the island, north of the port of Ujung Padang. The region and the coffee, Toraja, are named after the colorful indigenous people of the region. The coffee is also called Kalossi, after a regional market town.
Whether we call it Sulawesi Toraja or Celebes Kalossi, coffee from this region can range from a plantation grown, wet-processed coffee with a smooth, vibrant but relatively low-acid, medium-bodied profile to small-grower coffees that resemble the Mandheling coffees of Sumatra both in virtues (when they are good they are deep, resonant, and pungently complex in the lower registers) and in vices (off-tastes range from earth through musty hardness to an odd stagnant water or pondy taste).

They also say this about Kalassi:

Kalossi. A growing region in the southeastern highlands of Sulawesi. At best, distinguished by full body, expansive flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. At worst, many display unpleasant hard or musty defects. Some display an earthiness which many coffee lovers enjoy and others avoid.

I guess I don't have much of a palate because I can't taste anything but earth or mud. It isn't terrible (it beats a cup of dunkin donuts or Starbucks by far) but I think I might be one of those coffee lovers who avoid the earthiness of this kind of bean.

And then I found $5.

Food Truck Lunch: Nameless Halal Truck

I am not the wicked witch so, rain does not usually scare me. But, after 30 steps into my usual route, the rain was so fierce that I hightailed it back to cover. Which just so happened to be right in front of a halal truck.

My options were not great. I basically had the halal truck or my building's cafeteria. Not wanting to pay ~10 dollars for really crappy food, I decided to take my chances with the halal cart because I could pay half that for really crappy food.

I can't say I was disappointed. It was your standard fare for that type of food. I've been to a few different halal trucks and I can't really tell the difference between them. Though, I would have to imagine that some are better than others.

I ordered the chicken kebab and gyro rice platter because why have one meat when you can have two, right? As an added bonus, I got to choose between yellow rice and yellow rice and beans. I, of course, went for the yellow rice and beans.

You can't go to a halal truck and not get white sauce and hot sauce which was slathered liberally across everything in the platter. I don't know what the hell white sauce actually is but it is quite tasty. It's probably something I should ask google.

Now, where is that pepto bismol...

Food Truck Lunch: Seoul Food

It is probably not a good idea to eat Korean BBQ for lunch when you have had an upset stomach for two days but I am a glutton for food and punishment and not generally known for showing any kind of restraint. But I was secure in the thought that pepto bismol would get me through the dark times ahead and I ventured forth to try a new food truck in FiDi. Well, I don't actually think it's a new truck but it's new to me and I haven't seen it in the area before.

Anyway, I had the bibimbap which is their version of a rice bowl or at least it sounded like it. Though they did have a rice platter on the menu. The rice platter was meat, kimchi and rice while bibimbap has other vegetables in it. At that point, I think it's just a matter of semantics but who am I to question the almighty gods of the Seoul Food menu creators.

It was a pretty standard formula. Choose your meat (short rib, rib eye, pork, chicken and portabello mushrooms), choose your rice (white or brown) and choose your vegetables (kimchi, lettuce, mushrooms, cilantro lime onions, bean sprouts, carrots, chili paste and sriracha sauce). Don't ask me why chili paste and sriracha sauce are listed under vegetables.

I chose the rib eye, brown rice and every vegetable option except mushrooms (I hate mushrooms) and what I got was rib eye, white rice and every vegetable except mushrooms (yay!) and siracha sauce (boo!).

It was not starting off great but I was pleasantly surprised. I mixed everything together with the chili paste. It had a pleasant burn to it which I enjoyed immensely.

Of all the Korean BBQ places that I've tried (Korilla BBQ and Kortaco), Seoul Food has been the best so far.

I would definitely eat there again but my food wasn't so good that I'd get the same thing.

Coffee todo list

My coffee to do list: Nombre de dios - kuma coffe (online) - chemex Guatemalan ixil - wood fire roasted coffee (online) - chemex Celessi something or other - bean (store) - French press Guatemalan shb - bean and bean (store ny) - chemex Blue Bali - bean and bean - chemex Tanzanian pea berry - mara's (store) - chemex Malawi mpanga estate Brazilian santos - French press Sumatra mandehling Kenya aa?

Lunchee to do list

I'm reminding myself that I need to go back and write posts about the following food trucks that I've been to over the last few months. Korilla BBQ Souvlaki Gr Comme ci, comme ca San Luis taco truck Veronica's kitchen Bian dang Fun bun Big d's grub or bobjo something or other Bongo brothers Mike & willies Janneiro pizza truck Rickshaw dumpling truck Sophie's (not a food truck, but awesome) Waffles & Dinges The milk truck Chinese mirch Mexicue The coffee truck