Food Truck #4: Noble House Plated Lunch

I have been trying to get to Noble House Hawaiian Plate Lunch for over a month now. I just have a hectic schedule and work through the lunch hour, so I usually miss them by the time I'm off work. So today, I heard they were going to be at 21st and Fairlawn until 6, unless they ran out of food. So, I booked it over there when I got off work and ordered me some Hawaiian food.

I've seen the bright blue truck at the Topeka Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, but I'm not much for fried Spam and eggs, so I haven't ordered from there until today. My husband, however, has and he liked it when he got it. I'm sure you would, too if you like Spam and eggs.

Today I ordered the Chicken Katsu. Fried chunks of chicken on top of white rice smothered in a brown gravy sprinkled with sesame seeds. The gravy reminds me of typical brown beef gravy with a comforting flavor. I wouldn't say it tasted like beef gravy, though, I'm not really sure what it tasted like, but it was good to me. The rice was cooked well, nice and fluffy and I could eat just that with the gravy it was so good.  The chicken was fried crispy, with a Panko-style bread crumb, and still juicy inside. I liked the breading because it was so crispy, even smothered in gravy and after driving home. I was impressed with that because I don't like soggy fried foods, and I wasn't disappointed with this dish when I got it home.

Also, there was so much food, I shared it with my mom and her friend. We each got a good sized portion, and I was full when I finished. They both liked the food, too.

The meal came with some pasta salad, which I enjoyed because it was different. It appears to be typical creamy potato salad, but when it hits your tongue you know immediately there is something different. It's a sweet taste, but I can't place it. I don't have much experience with Hawaiian flavors, so next time, I really need to ask some questions. There will be a next time! There were chunks of carrots and black olives, but not many. It wasn't my favorite dish, but I liked it because it wasn't what I was expecting and the change was nice, so I ate all of it. (I didn't share the pasta salad, haha.)

I hope to get back to Noble House sometime soon so I can try something else on their menu. At the Farmers Market they have a different menu, but the one pictured here is the menu I've seen them use at most other events or on their regular days. Follow them on Facebook so you can get updates about where they will be on any given day and photos of their other food. They will even post if they aren't going to be out and about.

Chef Akamu, the owner, is friendly and told me he's only been moved here to Topeka officially, for about a year. The food truck started up in November 2014. I love that Topeka is embracing the food trucks including one with Hawaiian food. If you haven't yet, get out and try something different. Then, let me know what you think by commenting on my post.

Capital City Food Truck Festival -- Day 2

I returned for Day 2 and wasn't disappointed.

First, Visit Topeka fixed some of the initial problems by moving the food trucks apart and spacing

Pulled pork, Mr. Nice Guy's

everything out a bit more. There were also better markers indicating where the lines should go and end, so there was less confusion today. There were just as many people, though.

Topeka definitely turned out for this event, and organizers were not expecting the turnout. I heard over 4,000 people attended on Friday alone, and even more are coming out today, (Saturday). Some food trucks were running out of food, but that happens with food trucks. They only have a limited amount of space, so that happens.

Philly Cheesesteak, Mr. Nice Guy's

When Ryan and I first got there today, we jumped into Mr. Nice Guy's line, which didn't seem too long. We only waited about 30 minutes to order and a few more for our food which was acceptable. We got a pulled pork sandwich and a Philly cheesesteak. The pork sandwich was good, but nothing special. I think they roast the meat as opposed to smoking it, which is fine with me, it was still tender, juicy and good. My favorite barbecue sauce, Sweet Baby Ray's was available for smothering so that was a plus.

The Philly cheesesteak is what I'd write home about, though. I've heard people talk about how Mr. Nice Guy's, located in Oakland, has the best cheesesteak in town, and now I know they weren't lying. I don't even like green peppers but I could eat this sandwich without complaint. I tried a couple bites of Ryan's and couldn't get over the fact that the green peppers didn't bother me. The meat is tender, steaming hot and the melted cheese sauce makes it that much better. I would order it again, never mind the pulled pork.

Chocolate avocado smoothie,
photo courtesy of Bailey Mushok

Next, we tried the Purple Carrot Co-Op, where you can find vegan cuisine. Their line wasn't long but they always seemed to have one. We had to try one of their avocado chocolate smoothies because we kept hearing good things from other people. The smoothie was  definitely different, but still good. It was bright green with chunks of dark chocolate floating around in it. At first I wasn't sure about it, but after a few swigs I quickly realized I really liked it. I The chocolate chunks melted in your mouth and blended well with the strong avocado flavor and I thought the two flavors worked together.

As we were waiting for our shake, X-Marks the Spot showed up so I jumped in line to wait for them to open. We waited for about an hour because they were being inspected, (Blue Moose had the same thing before they could open), but then only waited about 10 minutes for our food to be cooked. I got a grilled chicken wrap and Ryan got the Wrigley Dog, which seemed like a Chicago dog just with a different name. It was a little different, but pretty much a Chicago dog.

I appreciated the chicken wrap because it featured salad greens instead of iceberg lettuce, which most

Grilled chicken wrap, X-Marks the Spot

places use. The chicken was juicy and hot, the mustard didn't overwhelm me and I liked the tomato bacon jam. It was sweet and smokey thanks to the bacon. The tortilla didn't rip and everything stayed together until the very end. I would order this wrap again, but I may try the veggie wrap next time.

X-Marks the Spot was not serving their pickle fries, (my favorite) but with good reason. The pickles were messing up the fryer and causing longer wait times I'm sure, because when you batter and fry things, much of the batter separates off and leaves little floating pieces of overcooked batter which sticks to other fried items, wreaking havoc on your fryer. I don't blame them for taking the pickles off the menu. Hopefully that is only for the festival and the pickle fries will be back on their regular, daily menu. I didn't ask.

The Wrigley Dog, X-Marks the Spot

The Wrigley Dog looked pretty amazing, probably about like an authentic Chicago dog. The only thing that stood out to me as way different was the bun. It seemed like they weren't as soft and yeasty as the buns I remember in Chicago, they were a little more dense, but that's not to say it was bad. It's not from Chicago, so of course it will be a little different.

Overall, I feel like the Capital City Food Truck Festival was a hit. New events always have kinks to be worked out, and as long as the event coordinators are open to suggestions, things will be better next year. Even this year I thought was a great turnout, good, tasty food and Topekans showed up to support the event.

Capital City Food Truck Festival -- Day 1

The hubs and I checked out the Capital City Food Truck Festival tonight. There were so many people, it was awesome! Now, if only the weather will be as beautiful tomorrow as it was tonight.

Before I headed out to the crowd, I checked the Facebook event page to see what people were saying. Some were complaining about the length of the food lines and others were complaining about finding the end of the line. I have to say, I didn't have an issue with either of those complaints.

First of all, it's dinner time and Topeka is hungry for food trucks, you're going to wait in line. Secondly, there were markers at the end of each line -- a piece of paper with "END OF LINE" then the food truck's name printed on it, indicated the end of each line. I thought it was a pretty clever idea. I just started at the beginning of the line and followed it to the end where I would find that lovely piece of paper. Here's an article by KSNT about how the organizers of the event are already planning improvements for tomorrow, Day 2.

The first truck we picked was called Big Boyz Gourmet out of St. Marys, Kansas.  There were a bunch of different tacos on the menu, so of course Ryan was down for that. Plus, the line wasn't as long as some of the others. We waited 25 minutes to order our food, and probably another 15-20 minutes for our order. (I actually ran over to CoffeeCake KC and got some coffee cake real quick because their line wasn't long). I ordered the chicken feta taco but only because they were out of all the rest of their tacos except the salmon, and I didn't want salmon. Ryan got one and he liked it a lot, I'm just not sure about smoked salmon tacos. I went for the chicken.

Chicken Feta taco

It was warm, fresh and tasty. The grilled flour tortilla was topped with chopped chicken, feta,
cabbage, pico de gallo, chimichurri sauce and basil cream. The feta was a great contrast with the chimichurri and basil cream, but the pico seemed lost to me. I could have used a little more pico for my taste, but overall it was really good. Hopefully, tomorrow they will have their steak tacos back, and I just might try that. I liked their food and plan to check them out again in the future.

Each taco cost $5. They seemed a little small for $5, but there was a lot of meat and filling, so I got pretty full off of just one.

Coffee cake

CoffeeCake KC ran out of cookies and cupcakes, so I tried their coffee cake and a blended mocha drink. The coffee cake was sweet, moist and dense, just like I like it. I don't, however, like white icing, so I removed all of that, which there wasn't much. After that, it was delightful. The only thing I would like to have in addition is some kind of crumb-like topping. That's one of my favorite parts of coffee cake, but this was still good without it.

Each piece of coffee cake was $3. I thought the price was right for the size of piece that was served. The mocha was $4, about what you'd pay at any coffee shop.

 The blended mocha was creamy and chocolatey and ice cold. It would be great on a hot day, and it was still great tonight even though it was a cool 73 degrees. It reminded me of chocolate milk, only frozen. Yum.

I'm looking forward to returning tomorrow and trying a few more trucks. The festival is open from 11 am until 9 p.m. so, we are planning to go for lunch and dinner. There were lots of people tonight, and the lines were long, but I feel like it's a great event for Topeka. It was the first night and Visit Topeka, the organizers of the event, is already planning improvements for tomorrow, Day 2. It can only get better next year, and I plan to be there then, too. Hope to see ya there!

Food Truck #3: X-Marks The Spot

I was fortunate enough to make it to X-Marks the Spot, a food truck in downtown Topeka. It's usually
at the south west 10th and Topeka Blvd. from 11 a.m. until about 2 p.m.

I got to the truck around 12:15 p.m. on a Monday and there were a few people in front of me, and two or three who showed up after me. The wait was only about 8-10 minutes, which wasn't bad, considering I ordered a Black Angus cheeseburger, and they're a pretty good size. So, if you're in downtown Topeka for lunch, it doesn't take long to grab a bite to eat and make it back in time for that after-lunch meeting.

I ordered the regular cheeseburger and I asked them to add lettuce and tomato. It comes with thick-sliced Swiss cheese and garlic herb mayo on a pretzel bun. If you don't like pretzel buns they also have plain ol' regular ones, too. I liked the pretzel bun because it was soft, but it held up well to the burger and didn't mush up and tear apart like most buns. It looks like it would be hard, but it's just firm, but still fluffy inside. I asked for a medium-well cooked burger and that's what I got. If you don't specify, they will cook it to medium, so make sure you say if you want it otherwise.

The burger was juicy, thick and flavorful. It was cooked medium-well just like I like it, and just like I requested it. The garlic herb mayo was definitely garlicky, so be careful if you don't want garlic breath. It was creamy and good, and definitely worth it. I was glad I asked for tomato and lettuce because it added that texture I wanted.

Instead of getting French fries, I ordered the Fried Pickle Fries. I had never had them this way -- thin

sliced, julienne style -- and I enjoyed them. The pickle fries were thin and crispy, but there was enough of the pickle inside to know you were eating pickles. The batter reminded me of a tempura or beer batter, and it held up well to the pickles, so they didn't slide out of the fried case, like sometimes happens with the spears. I was scared the pickle taste would be lost in the fried batter, but the ratio was pleasing to the palate and they were salted well, too. The pickle fries were paired with what I think was chipotle-mango ranch sauce. It was sweet with a kick, and much better than just regular old ranch. I would recommend getting this and sharing it between a couple friends because there are a lot in this order.

I look forward to trying out some other menu items, such as one of the hotdogs, some onion rings and maybe another burger.

X-Marks the Spot is another food truck in Topeka I'd recommend checking out.

The Kansas Food Truck Festival

This past weekend, I attended the Second Annual Kansas Food Truck Festival in Lawrence, Kansas. I went with a few friends and my husband and we had a pretty good time.

Fifteen food trucks, cold beer, music and good company, we had a great time hanging out in lines and grubbin' down on some street food. Each food truck had about a 20-30 minute wait, but that's nothing compared to last year. Last year, there were only five trucks and the wait was more like an hour to an hour and a half. This year was better, at least, I thought so.

I'll start with my least favorite.

Mac and Cheese

The mac and cheese at Deco Street Eats was probably my least favorite dish, (even though they did have one of my favorite items, continue reading below). It's tied pretty close with the buffalo tots, but I know I don't like buffalo sauce, so that wasn't really a surprise. I was excited about some creamy, cheesy mac and cheese, but that's not what I got. What I got was a mushy mess, with hardly any cheese and far less than al dente pasta. There were parts that had cheese in it, but not enough for my taste. I like free-flowing mac and cheese -- cheesy and thick. This was neither. I think I was so disappointed because my hopes were so high. I saw "mac and cheese" and I jumped for joy. There were kids in line who were doing the same when I told them the hope-inspiring menu featured mac and cheese. I wonder if the kids were as disappointed as me?

Anyway, I mentioned buffalo tots. I got these at the Street Wings food truck. Basically, tater tots with

Buffalo tots

bacon, sour cream, blue cheese crumbles and buffalo sauce. I thought I'd give them a try, (the hubs ordered them, I'm not a fan of buffalo sauce, as stated earlier). I wasn't a big fan. Maybe if there had been less of that nasty buffalo sauce, like, if it had been more of an accent flavor instead of smothered thickly all over everything. That was all I tasted, so I only took a few bites. I suppose if you're a huge buffalo wings fan and like tater tots, this dish would have been for you. It did seem to me like the tots were a little mushy and couldn't been fried a little longer so they'd stand up to the smothering of sauce. Eh, I'm not a good judge of this dish, but my husband really liked it.

On to better items.

Pork street tacos

I got street tacos at Deco Street Eats, a bright red truck, 2 for $3, so the hubby ate one and I had the other. We wanted to try as many items as we could. Shredded pork topped with cabbage, fresh lime and cilantro stuffed into a flour tortilla, this was my second favorite menu item at the entire festival. If I were to return and get a meal from any of these food trucks tomorrow, I'd get a few of these tacos to fill me up. The taco was fresh, especially with the addition of the fresh-squeezed lime, the meat was tender and flavorful and the cilantro added a flavor that can't be replicated. The only thing that could have made it better would've been some fresh guacamole or just plain avocado.

I found some surprisingly amazing Swedish meatballs, at the same truck. The sauce was creamy, the meat was highly seasoned, but good, and the noodles were done just right. I don't understand why, but there were two different types of noodles in this dish, but, either way, it was good.

Look at all the nasty mustard!

I made a big mistake and ended up hating the last item I ordered at this year's food truck fest. I should have paid more attention to what I was ordering. I ordered a chili dog from Brock Hops Food Truck. I knew to tell them no raw onions, but did I say no mustard? Heck no. I totally forgot, or didn't notice, or something. When I got it, my heart immediately sank. I didn't want to return it, so I took one bite, all's I tasted was mustard, and then I let my hubs eat it. He likes that nasty yellow mustard crap. I don't mind dark mustard, grain mustard and stuff like that, but not yellow mustard. Yuck. So, that one was a bust.

Creme brulee

My favorite item of the night was the creme brulee. Torched Goodness was one of the trucks that featured only sweets, creme brulee, actually. Of course they had the regular, vanilla flavor, but they also featured specialty flavors such as cookies n' cream, S'mores, a coconut one and a couple others. I ordered the vanilla custard and my hubs ordered the S'mores ones. The top was hard, caramelized sugar, the inside was creamy, sweet, cold custard. It was worth the 30 minute wait. I only wish I'd have ordered the cookies n' cream one. The S'mores one was chocolate custard inside, with toasted marshmallows and Golden Grahams cereal on top of the "torched goodness". That one was to die for. The custard was a little less thick and creamy on this one, but it still sated that sweet tooth I have.

Overall, I'd say the Food Truck Festival was a success. The hubs and I returned home full, tired and ready for next year.

Critical notes: I do think there should have been more music. It seems like we spent most our time on the strip that went North-South, so we weren't close to the music, which was on the far, North side. There were speakers set up, but it seems like music only played sometimes, and it was intermittent.  I also wish there had been more art. Maybe I was missing something, but the one place I tried to enter to look at art, I was told it was a private event, so I had to leave. I thought I remembered last year when the warehouses were open to the public and we were allowed to walk though and enjoy art in between food trucks. I probably would have stayed longer if there was something like that to fill time in between trucks, then I would probably have spent more money on food.

Food Truck #2: Pacha's By The Pound

For my second food truck, I chose Pacha's By The Pound, currently found on 32nd and Topeka Blvd. I would follow their Facebook page, though, in case they move, which food trucks are known to do.

Pacha's can be found in the Gordmans' parking lot, and yes, there is plenty of parking. They do not, however, have any seating available. Plan to get your food to go, and don't forget to grab some napkins.

Featuring smoked meats, homemade pickles and sauce and some of the best candied bacon I've ever had, Pacha's By The Pound is some of the best bbq I've had in Topeka. Of course, I've only had the pulled pork so far, so I should say they have the best pulled pork I've had in town. I can't vouch for the other meats and items they have available.

I ordered the Piggly Wiggly, which I heard about from friends and my husband who've all said it's an amazing sandwich. A thick piece of toast topped with a large portion of tender, smoked pulled pork and crispy, sweet candied bacon -- you don't even need sauce. I still got some to try, but I'm not sure it really needed it. It was tender, sweet and juicy. The candied bacon tasted like cinnamon, sugar and maybe some brown sugar, oh and bacon goodness. The crispy-chewy sweet candied bacon was a great idea, I just wish there had been more. It paired well with the sauce, too, even though some may not think it would... oh but it does.

The Piggly Wiggly

On the counter, at the pick-up/order window, there are a variety of barbecue sauces. (You can also tip to help support the sauce.) I sampled the regular pork sauce and the all-purpose sauce. I especially enjoyed the pork barbecue sauce. It had a flavor of apples, vinegar and a slight spice to it, but nothing crazy, just enough so it's there but it's not actually hot. It's a nice blend and it pairs well with the pork -- almost like it's made to go with it! (note the sarcasm). The all-purpose sauce is named accordingly. It was a nice, thick sauce, with a sweet, smoky flavor. It was good, but the pork sauce was much better, at least with my dish.

I ordered some coleslaw and I thought it was a nice side item to accompany the Piggly Wiggly. It was apple-cidery, tangy and fresh with a slight kick. I thought it seemed to have a bit of a spice to it. It was a shredded-cabbage style coleslaw with a thin, mayo-based sauce. It seemed to be made fresh because the cabbage was still nice and crunchy.

Coleslaw. (I spilled it everywhere)

I also got some of their fresh-made chips. This was the only thing I didn't like. They tasted like they were fried in old grease, they were too think and most of them were chewy instead of crispy, like maybe the oil wasn't hot enough. The chips are sprinkled with what seems to be a Cajun or other spicy type of seasoning mix, which is good, I just wasn't happy with the the chips themselves. Skip those, go with the coleslaw or something else.

Make sure you go early because Pacha's is only open from 10 a.m. until they run out of food -- and that could be early, especially if you're thinking of a dinner date. I would go for lunch.

I payed $11 for the sandwich, the coleslaw and the chips. The sandwich was $8, coleslaw $2 and chips were $1. It seems to be a bit pricey for lunch, but the portion is huge and I couldn't eat all of what I got. You almost don't even need a side, but I like to try a few things when I go. I would say get one side if you have to have one, and maybe share with another person.

I'm excited to return and try other items on their menu and make sure they have the best barbecue in town.

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.