Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

Food trucks are a global phenomenon. I managed to catch Spice Boat on the DTU campus just as it closed. The owners were very accommodating and kept the oil going for a few more minutes. My samosas were hot and aromatic. One this hot shows off the essential pleasure of the samosa: a very crunchy outside containing a soft, comforting center. Many foods around the world aim at this goal. I think that a good samosa comes as close to the bullseye as any of them.

Food trucks have been a boon to the Georgia Tech campus for several years. So what happened to them this semester? I have looked all over campus for food trucks and can't find them anywhere. Georgia Tech Catering hasn't even updated its food truck page for fall semester. Let's hope they come back soon.

I passed by Northlake Mall last night (Thursday night, that is) and noticed a fleet of food trucks in the parking lot serving food. I don't know how often these trucks plan to come but they are a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

The EPFL campus is modernist and open with lots of gathering spaces. Food trucks seem to gather at several places, including this spot at the center of campus. The collection is impressive: fresh fruit, freshly baked bread, and a cheese truck. This shows the difference in food cultures between the US and Switzerland. We are excited when a burrito truck rolls into the neighborhood; the Swiss consider a truck filled with artisnal cheeses to be a birthright. Here is my sample. I ate the middle cheese and the bread for lunch, saving the top cheese for a mid-afternoon snack. Both were relatively soft cheeses. The lunchtime cheese was salty in a very good way. The bread turned out to be eggy with a yellow crumb and a great complement to the cheese.

Cattywampus is a newish addition to the Georgia Tech food truck parade. They serve a variety of hearty foods. I tried their grilled cheese sandwich, which made a very satisfying lunch. The two types of cheese make it. In addition to a nice cheddar, they add a good helping of goat cheese. It's the soft treat of the sandwich.

Cape Pies is another one of the new food trucks on the Georgia Tech rotation. They serve a variety of savory meat pies. As you can see, they have posted directions on how to eat the pie like a sandwich. They're right, by the way, The pie looks like a traditional two-crust meat pie, but since it is served outside of the pie tin, it's easy to pick up and eat. This is my spinach and feta pie, which was very satisfying. The filling had plenty of taste and wasn't too drippy, critical given the two-fisted style of eating. The crust was excellent: buttery and flaky.

The French Truck is a new entry to the Georgia Tech food truck cavalcade. The owner tells me that this is his second year of operating the truck. Crepes are the main feature of their offerings. This menu concentrates on sweet items, although peanut butter is kinda savory. They also have a separate menu of savory crepes; today's menu included salmon as well as other proteins. I couldn't resist the peanut butter, Nutella, and banana crepe. Peanut butter is something I wouldn't expect to see on a crepe in France, but it certainly works well. The combination of toppings was delicious, particularly with the whipped cream. The crepe was right off the griddle, warm and tender.

I was at Tallulah Gorge State Park on a sunny Saturday, desperate for a cup of coffee, when this oasis appeared before me in the shape of an Airstream trailer. It turned out to be The Flying Cloud Café. The owner explained that this is the first food truck in a Georgia State Park; they've been there on weekends since the beginning of summer. She also showed me the inside of their beautiful trailer, which sported a hardwood floor. Their menu features both breakfast items and lunch sandwiches, including both hot and cold varieties. They don't open until 11 AM, so don't expect to pick up breakfast at the crack of dawn. The trailer seemed to attract a steady stream of customers while I was there. Food trucks in state parks fill a real need and The Flying Cloud is a welcome addition.

I needed a quick, light lunch, so I headed to El Taco de Oro. It's a food truck that I found on El Camino just north of Wolfe Road. They seem to keep extensive hours. The menu covers the basics: tacos, burritos, enchiladas, soft drinks and water. Here are my beef and pork super tacos. They came double-wrapped in small tortillas, meat covered in a layer of cheese. The carrots and green pepper were lightly pickled, a very nice touch. This was exactly the comfort food I had hoped for.

The Incrediball Falafel food truck came to my neighborhood. The owner explained to me that he has been on the road for about three years. His truck is equipped with a falafel machine (who knew?) and the falafel comes out fast and fresh. My falafel and a cucumber and tomato salad was wrapped in a very tender, pillowy pita. The falafel was, indeed, outstanding. The salad was a great complement, moist and tasty but not goopy or overwhelming. The owner gave me a mint lemonade to try---the mint was a great addition to the lemonade. I think that neighborhood food truck visits are a great idea. There's no reason why only a few parts of town should have a monopoly on fresh, interesting, relatively inexpensive food. Let's hope that the food trucks continue to come to both my neighborhood and yours.

Mac the Cheese satisfied me with comfort food that was about as far from the boxed variety as you can get. It has become one of the regular food trucks at Georgia Tech. This is my veggie mac and cheese. The cheese was soft, creamy, and very tasty. The base seems to have had some ricotta in it as well as other cheeses; some parmesan graced the top. The artichokes were a great complement to the cheese, an interesting variation on the traditional butter for artichokes.

Today I had the chance to try Nana G's. Their truck features a super sized portrait of a rather stern-looking Nana G. I would be afraid for my personal safety if I complained about my dinner to her. But according to the Web site, the truck is run by Nana G.'s grandson, who appears to have come out not only unscathed but with a talent for cooking. The inside of the truck features a battery of flippable waffle irons---think Courtyard Inn on steroids. This is my bacon-infused waffle; I decided to hold off on the chicken for today. The waffle was right off the griddle, piping hot and crisp. The critical question is that "bacon-infused" part, of course. It really did have a bacon flavor. I'm not sure exactly what they infused (the milk?) but whatever their technique, it worked. It appears that most of the GT food trucks run out of food early---a lot of the food trucks told people in line that they were out of certain items. A lot of students come out of cl...

Georgia Tech seems to have committed to having food trucks on campus regularly. Today, I tried Fry Guy, which was parked near the Clough building. Nothing like a little fried food to perk you up after a long lecture. This truck has a very pure mission---it's all french fries. The variety comes in the coatings and toppings. I went for a classic paper cone of fries and asked for extra spicy. The coating included both salt and red pepper flakes, giving a nice tweak without being overwhelming. I am conservative on my toppings and I couldn't bring myself to try the mayonnaise. My ketchup sauce was wonderful. It had a healthy amount of vinegar, making it more pungent than the Heinz stuff. The heat in the ketchup was pleasant and tickled my tongue.

We had a mini food truck conclave today at Georgia Tech with two food trucks in front of the College of Computing. I used this as my chance to try Viet-nomie. This is my tofu bahn-mie. Even before I started, the smell of vinegar coming off the sandwich was intoxicating. The bread was fresh out of the toaster. The combination of the warm, crunchy bread with fresh, uncooked vegetables is an amazing combination of sensations. The tofu was great. The sauce was spicy in a sneaky way. I didn't notice it immediately, but my mouth gave off a pleasant buzz for several minutes after I finished.

Tuesday was food truck day at Georgia Tech. It's a great idea and one that I hope the adminstration keeps up. As you can see, the event hosted a lot of food trucks and attracted a lot of students. I ordered my lunch from Yumii. I was hungry but I toughed it out in the long line. Their food is Asian/Mexican/Southern fusion. That means burritos with Asian hot sauce and pork (although I ordered the tofu version). Quite tasty…

My Fridays are pretty well booked, but I took advantage of an opportunity today to try Food Truck Fridays. It's at the storage center at 14th and I-85. Saibal and I drove over to check it out. As you can see, about a half dozen food trucks showed up. The storage center provided plenty of shady seating and live music. The crowd skewed heavily toward tech types. I loved my lettuce wrap from Village Kitchen. The filling was chicken, mango, onion and some pepper, all served cool. The combination of savory, sweet, and spicy really hit the spot, particularly on a hot day like today. For dessert, I tried the Ricky Bobby taco from Taco Buggy. That was really good too, particularly the sauce. Saibal tried the Cuban sandwich from the Latin food truck. He said he liked it and was too stuffed to try anything else.

I was walking down the street in Tech Square today and what do I see but a heretofore unknown food truck.  I love food trucks.   They usually have very good food, are pretty cheap, they offer the fun of discovery, and in many cases you can talk with the owner.  The kind lady who masterminds the Yum Yum cupcake truck told me that she has had a bakery for six years, started a cart last year, and opened up the truck this year. But let's get down to business---the cupcake.  I ordered a strawberry.  It was light in texture, very moist and cakey.  The large dollop of strawberry icing was rich but not overly so.  I know that I've railed against cupcakes before, but here's why I like this one: it's rich but not overly sweet; and I simply think the truck adds an element of fun.  In fact, I think that cupcake trucks fit nicely with my mom's tradition of feeding the neighborhood kids with her cookies and cupcakes. This is a nice addition to the citysc...