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!

Annie's Place

I felt like some good pie so I went to Annie's Place for lunch.  I know I've been before, but for some reason I never wrote a review for my blog. I did, however, write one for the Washburn Review in 2011, and you can read it HERE.

When I walked inside it was nice and cool and the hostess sat me immediately. It wasn't very busy so my waitress was right over.

I ordered iced tea to drink. I must say, it's some good stuff. The waitress said it's brewed daily, and it's strong, too. I don't usually add sugar to weak tea, but this stuff was strong enough to hold up to some sweetness, so I added a pink one. I even got a to-go cup to take it with me because I didn't want to waste it.

The menu offers a nice variety of items including, salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers, dinner entrees and specialty items. Can't forget the bakery that churns out various pies, brownies and desserts. There's also a breakfast menu, which I've never tried. I hope to try it sometime soon.

I went for the Guacamole Burger and asked to add lettuce, tomato and pickle. I got chips because I didn't feel like fries. The chips were just crinkle-cut potato chips that are probably from a bag. The burger was good, but after putting my "salad" on my burger I took a huge bite and got a bad surprise. The pickle chips were not dill pickle chips, they were sweet pickle chips. Bleh. Not what I was expecting on a guacamole burger. It was pretty awful, (which one can argue would still be awful with dill pickles). I pulled the rest of them off of the burger and continued.

The guacamole was creamy, with no real chunks of avocado in it. It wasn't spicy and I kind of wish it had just a little more jalapeño flavor to it. Spiciness aside, I like guac on my burger and I would order it again. Although, next time I may eat it a little differently starting out. No pickles and I should try to plan out how I'm going to eat it so it's less messy. I ended up with guacamole all over me, the table and my plate. The guac shot out both sides of the burger the first time I sank my teeth in, covering my cheeks in avocado and dripping all over the plate and table. Awesome. I was lucky it wasn't busy and nobody saw me.

The bun was one item that stood out to me, mostly because they are made in-house. It was fluffy, a little dry (as opposed to chewy), but in a good way, and it held up to my messy burger. The guacamole just slid all over the place and would have caused most buns to become soggy or rip. This one did neither and I was able to eat my burger sans fork all the way to the end. Plus, the bun tasted good and that's what really matters. It durability was an added bonus.

I wasn't done with lunch, I wanted dessert.

This time, I ordered the Mile-High Apple Pie, which is essentially apple pie a'la mode. Oh yum. In
my last article I only ordered the apple pie but this time I added ice cream. The crust was my favorite part, because it's sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar it seems crunchy, but in a good way. At first I thought the ice cream was made in-house, but after asking I found out it wasn't. The scoop they give is a pretty generous one, and I like lots of ice cream on my pie. The apples were tender and sweet, with just enough cinnamon for me. I felt like there was a good texture combination in this dish -- soft apples, crunchy crust, doughy bottom crust, creamy ice cream and rough sugar-crust. Yum.

I think my only complaint for the menu would be the pricing. I spent $18 on my meal, dessert and a drink. For lunch, that seems a little pricey. I did get the pie a'la mode, but that was $6 of my meal. Subtract that completely and I'm still paying around $12 for lunch. I think they have the same prices for dinner, so there's that. I don't mind spending a little bit more money for good food, which it was, and most of it's made right there, in the restaurant every day -- such as the homemade hamburger buns. I would recommend trying Annie's Place for lunch some time or just dessert. (They even sell whole pies.)

A Taste of Texas: Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q

This past Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I went to San Antonio. As a couple who grew up near Kansas City, we were interested in trying some authentic Texas barbecue. We had some car problems, so we asked the guy who worked at the mechanic shop we went to. He said to go to Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q because it was the best and most authentic in the area. There were a couple others around but he said not to go to those, go to Rudy's. So, that's what we did.

Chopped meat

Pulling up, it looked like a gas station, but once I got closer I noticed it was a restaurant with a gas station attached. There's an area to come in and wait in line for your to-go order, an outside, covered dining area and an inside dining area. First, we stood in line to order our food. Behind the counter, and right where you can see them, people are chopping meat to order. After telling the cashier what I wanted, he yelled out to the butchers what he needed, then built my order and I paid. Of course, Ryan and I got a little bit of everything.

The food is served on a tray with parchment paper that acts kind of like a plate. Although, there are no plates -- just meat on parchment. It works. I also bought a drink cup and the proceeds went to veterans in need. With Lackland AFB in San Antonio, there are all kinds of armed services benefits around, lucky for my sister and cousin who were with us, they got military discounts pretty much everywhere we went.

Fatty brisket. 

I wanted to try the chopped meat, which was a mixture of chicken, brisket and pork. It came in a sauce and chopped in small pieces, not pulled like I'm used to back home. I think I would have liked it more if I liked their sauce more. The sauce is made with a lot of black pepper and I couldn't get over that, I'm not a fan of a lot of black pepper. It was a thick sauce, just too much pepper. The meat was good, and I liked that they served their meats with thin-sliced white bread because I made a sandwich with the meat. It was good that way. They also give out little bags of sliced dill pickles and raw onions, so I added pickles to mine.

The brisket was my favorite. My only complaint is that I got fatty, chewy brisket that could hardly be eaten, but my mother got a better order of the lean meat, (not pictured), more of what you'd expect of brisket. It was smoked, juicy and tender. I didn't even use sauce because I didn't think it needed it. Same with the turkey and the half-chicken. My sister got the half-chicken and let me try a bite. It was juicy, smoky and tender. No sauce needed, which was good because as I said before, I wasn't a fan of the sauce. I like mine sweeter, maybe even with more vinegar.

Cream corn.

The sides were just as good as the meats.

I loved the cream corn. It's not your canned crap that's like mush. This was whole-kernel corn in a creamy, delectable sauce. The kernels are firm, but tender and the sauce is creamy. While waiting in line, I saw a huge sign about how it's a secret family recipe that many people have tried to figure out over the years. The cashiers hand out samples to guests in line, and I bet most people order the cream corn after sampling it. It's so good. If you don't like cream corn I would recommend trying this anyway, I think you'll like it.


The potato salad and cole slaw were both good. The coleslaw was pretty typical, and reminded me of coleslaw you can get most places like Long John Silver's or KFC. I loved the potato salad. It was creamy, mostly mayonnaise based with some mustard, but not too much. There were a few peppers and some onions, but not too many as to be overwhelming. I would order this potato salad again.

I enjoyed the food at Rudy's. If I come across one again, I would return. You can find their restaurants in Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. There are a lot more locations in Texas than anywhere else, of course, and I remember seeing quite a few of them on the drive home on I-35. For all of their locations, click HERE. I did like the food, I just wasn't a fan of the sauce. It was too peppery for me and not sweet enough for my tastebuds, yet I would return. The meat was smoked just right and everything was good. I'd recommend it to any barbecue fan, especially someone who wants to check out Texas-style.

I'm still a Kansas girl at heart and enjoy Kansas City barbecue the best. I like the Kansas City sauce better. It's thick, sweet and sometimes spicy. Plus, there's pulled pork, my favorite, and there was just none to be found at Rudy's. Texas did good, but KC wins this round.

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.