Food Truck #1: Taco El Guitarron

My husband took me to a taco truck on the east side of town, and I can't believe I hadn't gone before that. This one, called Tacos El Guitarron, is located on the corner of 20th and California Avenue, near the highway 75 exit.

The prices weren't bad, either, especially for being authentic, Mexican cuisine. It's also locally owned, which is a major plus for me.

Quesadilla

The truck is, of course, outside, so the eating area is outside, too. This particular truck has a dining area set up to the side of the ordering area. There were about five or six tables and chairs set up for those wishing to "dine in". The day we went, it was beautiful out and there was just a light breeze. I'm all for sitting outside as long as it's nice like that, but if the wind was any stronger, our experience wouldn't have been quite so pleasant. On a windy or rainy day I would recommend ordering your food to go.

I ordered some steak quesadillas and the hubby ordered pork tacos. The tacos were only $1.25 each, and they come with a lot of meat. The quesadilla cost a little bit more, but it was also stuffed with meat and lots of veggies on the side -- lettuce, tomato, avocado, radishes, etc.

The tacos were my favorite part. White corn tortillas topped with chopped up meat -- choice of chicken, steak or pork -- onions, cilantro, avocado, radish and lime. The meat was cooked well, not hard and overcooked like some chopped taco meat. The meat was spicy but not so hot you couldn't eat it, spicy like flavorful. The fresh cilantro, raw onions and radish complimented the soft corn tortilla and tender pork. I usually don't like raw onions or radish, but this was a welcome change. I enjoyed these two ingredients on the tacos, they fit well. So, if you don't like raw onion or radish, just give it a try here, it's good.

Pork tacos

The quesadillas were pretty tasty, too -- you know, what I ordered. I actually enjoyed what Ryan ordered more than what I ordered for myself. The quesadillas were quesadillas -- grilled tortillas filled with cheese and meat with a side of veggies to stuff inside as you go along. I got pork in my quesadilla, too, and it was the same pork used on the tacos.

What I appreciated the most was the use of fresh produce, especially the avocados. I was surprised at how much of the fresh stuff was garnished, and as a veggie lover, it was welcome.

I will definitely be returning to this particular food truck, and soon. I want to try so much more. If you haven't checked it out, I recommend it.

Food trucks are finally showing up around Topeka, but there have been a few that've been around for awhile, especially on the east side of town. I want to check all those out in the near future, so follow my blog so you can check them out with me.

Pie Five Pizza Co.

A new pizza place on Wanamaker opened in December called Pie Five Pizza Company. I was finally able to check it out for an early dinner this afternoon.

 Don't get confused with the other restaurant down the way called Five Guys Burger and Fries, (I reviewed that one the other day). They both have the number "Five" in the name but they are nothing alike. They are completely different places, and I would say to try them both.

Pie Five is called such because they claim you'll get your pizza within five minutes of finishing your order.

How is that possible?

I was watching the crew build pizzas during my wait, which wasn't too bad on a Sunday at 5 p.m., and it seems as if there are cooks who pre-bake the personal sized crusts before others put the toppings on when you're ordering. There were three or four employees who seemed to only be there to make and bake crusts in advance. I did get my pizza within five minutes, along with the rest of my order.

The way it works is you pick your pizza crust -- Classic Pan, Artisan Thin, Whole Grain Thin, and Gluten Free ($2 up-charge for gluten free) -- then you pick your toppings, anything you want. It's set up Chipotle-style where you walk down the line and tell a cook what you want for your toppings. It's $6.99 for a pizza with whatever toppings you want. Ten dollars gets you the pizza, a salad and a drink.

Side garden salad

If you want a side salad I would say to go for the meal deal because it's $2.99 for a salad alone and I just don't think it's worth that much money. With the meal deal it's half that and maybe more worth it. Still, I wasn't impressed. The side salads come in a bread bowl, mine was stale and hard. Just trying to break off a piece of it, I could tell it was stale. The salad was small and unimpressive. The pieces of romaine lettuce were huge and hard to eat because they were so big. I did appreciate that the dressing was already tossed and everything was already coated because if it hadn't been I would have had an even more difficult time eating the salad.

I ordered the High Five with Classic Pan crust. It's basically a meat lovers with Canadian bacon, ham, beef, Italian sausage and pepperoni. I added tomatoes to mine because you can add whatever other toppings you want, no extra charge. I thought the pizza was good, the crust was fluffy and crunchy at the same time. I enjoyed the crust the most, the toppings were good but I didn't like the beef, it seemed a little crunchy and overcooked to me because they were small little pieces, compared to the other meats.

You can pick one of their signature creations and add to it like I did, or you can build your own pizza from the crust and sauce up. They offer a variety of sauces, olive oil, Tuscan marinara, Sriracha marinara, bbq, buffalo ranch and alfredo.  For a list of the toppings, visit their menu page.

I plan to return and try a pizza on thin crust. My husband Ryan ordered a pizza on the Artisan Thin crust and I tried some, so I know I'll like it. I enjoyed that the crust was thin, but it wasn't like eating a saltine cracker, either. It was soft and thin while still holding up to the toppings. The only thing I won't be ordering again is the side salad, it just wasn't worth the hassle or the extra money. The bigger salads looked more substantial, but to me they didn't look like they were worth $6.99. Maybe I'll try one sometime but so far I say stick to the pies at Pie Five.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries Comes to Topeka

Another restaurant opens on Wanamaker. This time it's a burger joint, popular all around the country that's made its way to Topeka, finally. I remember hearing about a Five Guys Burger and Fries in Lawrence for the past couple years, and I've always heard good things. Now that it's in Topeka, I went and checked it out. It seems, so did a lot of other people that day.

Bags of potatoes stacked around the restaurant.

When I got there, it was packed. All the tables were full and the line was all the way to the door. That being said, it really didn't take that long to order and maybe 10 minutes after that to get the food. Also, it's the first week that it's open and it's sure to slow down in the future -- at least a little.

While waiting in line, though, you can eat shell-in peanuts that are free for all. That way your wait isn't too unbearable if you're impatient like me.

The menu, at first glance, doesn't have much to it. Burgers, bacon cheeseburgers, fries, shakes and hot dogs. Simple. There's nothing special about the menu, either. What I mean, is usually when you go to a burger joint, there are burgers with special toppings and sauces, or a burger named after the place. Not at Five Guys. The menu was simple and straightforward.

There were more in the bag, too

Each burger comes with free toppings: lettuce, tomato, pickle, grilled onion, raw onion, grilled mushrooms, etc. The French fries are freshly cut on site, not those frozen, processed fries at typical fast food places -- there are even bags of fresh potatoes laying around like decorations.

When looking at the prices, keep in mind that the burgers are double cheeseburgers, which I didn't realize until I opened mine up. Also, the large French fry is definitely a large portion. I would recommend sharing with at least three people, or two extremely hungry ones. It comes in a large cup with even more on the bottom of the bag.

The fries were my favorite part. They reminded me of a place I worked when I lived in Arizona called Z's Chicago Dogs. There, we would cut our own fries from Russet potatoes, then fry them at a low temperature, like 275 F. Then, we'd cool them down, maybe even refrigerate them overnight. The next day, we'd fry them at a higher heat, like 350 F or 375 F. This ensures the fry is cooked thoroughly and that it's crispy and golden like fries should be. I'm not sure if that's exactly what they do at Five Guys, but they were close enough. I enjoyed the freshness, and they were still crispy, not limp. Yum.

The burger was juicy and tasty. Two patties topped with American cheese, a sesame seed bun and your choice of toppings. The burgers are put together nicely and seem to hold up well while eating. Sometimes when you get a burger it's smashed and messy, but this one seemed to stay together well and wasn't too messy. I guess that could depend what toppings you get on your burger. I ordered mine with tomato, pickle, ketchup, mayo and lettuce. There seemed to be too much cheese for me, (but I'm sure not everyone would agree) and I scraped some off of mine, but that's just personal preference.

I enjoyed Five Guys and will most likely return in the future, but I don't think I will drive across town just to eat it. Hopefully, next time it won't be so busy and my visit can be a little shorter, but, it is new to town. So if you're in a hurry, I'd wait until you have more time or it's newness has worn off a bit.

Kim's Vietnamese

Asian food is one of my all-time favorites. Sometimes, though, I can get a little tired of the same thing, and most Asian restaurants in Topeka offer a variety of the same dishes.  In 2010, Kim's Vietnamese opened on 10th Street and at the time I worked for the Washburn Review so, I wrote a review.  I gave it a good review because it was different, fresh and tasty.

Now, the restaurant has moved to 29th and Kansas but the food is still exceptional.

When I first decided to check it out, I thought it was interesting because it boasted Vietnamese food as opposed to Chinese or Japanese, which we see all over the place in T-town. Vietnamese was new for the area. I was intrigued. (It opened in November 2010.)

Scrumptious pork dumplings

The menu features noodle soups, stir-fries and spring rolls. The noodle soups were new to me so the first time I went that's what I tried. The soups come with different noodles and if you ask the waitstaff to help you decipher which noodle is which they are more than willing to help you out. I think they want to educate people so they know what they're ordering, like what they're offering and possibly they will order it again.  The noodles come in a hot broth -- choice of what kind of broth -- with vegetables and herbs. Check out my previous review (linked above) to find out more about the noodle soup.

If you don't want to mess with all that, Kim's also has stir-fries and other dishes you may be more comfortable with. Recently, I tried the chicken lo mein stir fry, crab Rangoon and pork dumplings.

The new location reminds me a lot of the their original location with tons of windows and lots of plants and foliage. I don't remember seeing any booths, but the tables were comfortable enough. Each table is loaded with silverware, napkins, sauces and anything you may need to eat your meal.

The pork dumplings were inspiring. Inspiring in a way that I wish I could make them myself they were so good. Fried dumplings filled with meat and spices I couldn't even begin to describe. Hot, fresh , crispy and juicy I would order them again and again. They were served with a sweet and sour sauce but they didn't really even need any sauce.

The stir fry was good, with a flavor that was a little different than what I'm used to. I love that. I couldn't quite put my finger on what was different but I could definitely tell they used soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and some kind of sweetener, maybe honey. The noodles weren't greasy and they were just saucy enough. The vegetables were cooked thoroughly and so was the chicken. There were carrots, broccoli, onions and cabbage.

My only complaint is I think it would be better if the dish had dark meat chicken. It had white meat and I feel in dishes like stir frys, the white meat chicken gets really dry. Just a personal opinion, I know a lot of people who prefer white meat. But to me, fat is flavor and dark meat always has more fat. I understand if you're watching your waistline, so get this dish, it's got white meat. (haha). But seriously, it was still a good entree I would order again sometime.

I also tried the crab Rangoon, mostly because I just love crab Rangoon. I was glad I gave it a chance. Crispy, fresh and creamy on the inside. Plus, there were chunks of crab that you could actually see inside, unlike how most of the time you're not even sure it's there. Yum.

Crab Rangoon

Our waitress brought us a plate of cold grapes to conclude our meal. She said they don't always give grapes but she was able to get some on sale. It was a nice ending to a fine meal.

I plan to return to Kim's Vietnamese and soon.  Their menu isn't typical of what can be found in Topeka so if you're looking for something different but not overwhelmingly so, check this place out. Like I said before, the staff is willing to help you choose something you will like, just ask questions.