Bad Rooster Food Truck

Bad Rooster truck was at a brewery near our place. They were one of the few trucks out and about this past summer. I think they are still out and about actually. They seem to have a good following and draw decent crowds.

I believe I had the Mother Clucker sandwich. Crispy hand-breaded chicken tossed in honey hot sauce, topped w/ B&B slaw on a buttery brioche bun. I think I had the medium sauce. It is a sizable sandwich but I found it super messy to eat and the sauce was spicy but quite sweet. The fries were OK as they were waffle fries, but I did not love the breading and seasoning on them. 

John had the chicken tenders with cluck sauce. The breading is quite thin. 

Overall, the food was OK, but I'm not sure we'd seek it out again. The prices are on par with a full service restaurant. The sandwich basket was $16 and the tenders with no side was $12. 

Bad Rooster Food Truck

https://www.badrooster.com

https://twitter.com/badroostertruck

MSP Pretzel Food Truck

Note: I visited the establishment and wrote this post before the virus shut down everything. I've decided to go ahead and continue posting as it was a snapshot in time. Many places are still open for carryout. Be sure to visit your favorite places during this crazy time. Support what you love. Now is the time!

I ran across the MSP Pretzel food truck when we were at 56 Brewery awhile ago. The pretzel was so good I was glad I took a photo. The pretzel was warmed up in an oven before serving and included some German mustard on the side. The pretzel was warm, soft and just perfect in every way. If you see this food truck, give it a try!

MSP Pretzel
No website or Twitter that I could find

Peeps Hot Box

We stopped at Lake Monster with Maya recently and saw the Peeps Hot Box truck was there. I could not resist giving it a try.

John had the loaded french fries. I’m not even sure what these were all topped with, but the fries tasted hand cut and were super crispy and fresh. The sauces were all deleicous too.

I’ve heard a lot about their cream cheese wontons since this truck hit the streets a couple years ago. They lived up to the hype. The wontons were very crispy with lots of cream cheese inside and some pretty adornments also. These are worth finding this truck!

We loved both items and it made a great mid-afternoon snack while at the brewery.



Peeps Hot Box
Twitter: @PeepsHotBox
https://www.peepshotboxusa.com

Gohan Sushi Truck

I had noticed new food truck on the streets and I checked it out for lunch recently. Gohan sushi certainly has a memorable looking trailer.

I had the 7 spiced yellowtail sushi bowl with scallions, cilantro, garlic, ginger, house-pickled daikon, jalapeño, citrus soy. The fish was very fresh tasting and the rice had great flavor as well. It was not cheap at $15, but for fresh fish, I think it was worth the price. 

For a fresh, light lunch, I highly recommend checking out Gohan sushi food truck. 

Gohan Sushi
Twitter: @gohan
https://gohansushimpls.com

Hibachi Daruma

I think I have posted about the Hibachi Daruma food truck before, and I am happy to report they have opened a brick and mortar location in Downtown Minneapolis that is accessible via the skyways.

The location is a bit tricky to find if you are not familiar with the building. Essentially, you go through the building that houses Panera Bread, take a left at Panera, toward the Medical arts building, instead of going toward Medical Arts, take another left, as if you are going toward Hell’s Kitchen. Immediately after the shoe repair shop, take a right and go through the single glass door on the left side. Follow the long hallway and you will find yourself inside Hibachi Daruma. Or use your phone's GPS because those directions are terrible!

I had the Hibachi teriyaki chicken bowl. The food is exactly the same as it was on the food truck. I thought everything was very good. The chicken was tender and not dry at all. Of course, the yum yum sauce helps improve everything.

While the location is a bit hard to find, I think this is a great addition to the skyways! I'm looking forward to visiting regularly.



Hibachi Daruma
820 S Marquette Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: (612) 354-2250
http://hibachidarumamn.com/

Hibachi Daruma food truck

Hibachi Daruma is a food truck that has been around for quite some time, but I had never gotten around to trying it. I’ve never really noticed any press on it, but it always has a long line, so I figured it was time to give it a try.

I ordered the hibachi chicken with vegetable fried rice. A side of yum yum sauce is also included. The fried rice is delicious and comes with finely chopped vegetables as well. The fried rice tastes just like Benihana’s and that is perfect if you ask me! You can get your Benihana craving fix and the portion is a more reasonable amount for lunch time. The chicken was good quality and cooked perfectly.

Other menu items include lo mein, hibachi shrimp, hibachi beef and pork gyoza. I tried the hibachi shrimp on another visit and found it to be just as good as the hibachi chicken.

The truck can often be found in downtown Minneapolis or at assorted breweries around town on the weekends. They have even been out recently in mid-November for downtown lunches.



Hibachi Daruma
http://hibachidarumamn.com/truck-location/
Twitter: @HibachiDaruma

El Taco Riendo food truck

So I guess I’ve been on a bit of an el pastor taco kick. I recently had the el pastor tacos from el Taco Riendo food truck, while we were visiting Insight Brewing. Food trucks are breweries are awesome and magical. I love this trend so much, even several years after Minneapolis first allowed food trucks.

These el pastor tacos were much better than the last batch I’d had. The pork was juicy and tender and generously filled the tacos. The grilled pineapple added a nice hint of citrus as well.  The tacos were topped with onions and cilantro, just as el pastor tacos should be. The truck offers many combinations of fillings, toppings and tortillas as well as tortas, burritos and tacos. Highly recommend.


El Taco Riendo food truck and restaurant
2412 Central Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55418
Phone: (612) 781-3000
http://www.eltaco-riendo.com/

Habanero Tacos food truck

I am happy to say that food truck season is back up and running for the summer! There have been a few nice days here and there, but I didn't have time to get out there yet. This erratic weather is my nemesis.

I tried the Habanero Tacos truck last week. I saw they had tacos el pastor and I could not resist. The tacos were pretty good, but the pork was a bit on the dry side. They were pretty authentic though with good amounts of grilled pineapple inside and onion, cilantro and lime on the side. They also serve salsas and chips. The pork did not have a ton of flavor so the salsa helped spice things up a little bit, but none of the salsas were spicy. A hot salsa would be nice, though the tomatillo had a nice bright, freshly made flavor.

Though these were not as good as the best el pastor tacos I've had in Puerto Vallarta, they were not bad. The Habanero Tacos truck has some other meat options as well as burritos, quesadillas and something called alambres, which will bring me back to try it again.


Habanero Tacos
Twitter: @HabaneroTacos

Vito Lucco food truck

We came across a new (to us anyway) food truck at Indeed brewery recently, called Vito Lucco. They specialize in wood fired pizza and also offer a hot dog and chips.

John ordered the Don Vito pizza, which was topped with andouille sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, onion and green peppers.

I had a build your own pizza topped with green olives and pepperoni. The crust was pretty thick and doughy and the toppings were generously applied. I did not get much flavor from the wood fired oven unfortunately. The pizza did hit the spot with the beer from Indeed Brewery and I would probably order from Vito Lucco again. It is not as good as Punch pizza, but not bad for a food truck.

 menu

There was a 20-25 minute wait for the pizzas, but they just took down your cell number and texted you when the order was ready, so that was handy.

Vito Lucco Food Truck
Vitolucco.com
Twitter: @vitolucco
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vito-Lucco-Pizza-co-845109742241236/

Market BBQ food truck

Market BBQ restaurant is a mainstay in Minneapolis for BBQ fanatics. Earlier this year they rolled out a food truck to join the food truck trend. That works for me, as there are not tons of great BBQ options for lunch in downtown Minneapolis.

I tried the pulled pork sandwich and asked if I could substitute a cookie for the potato chips, which the order taker quickly agreed to. The sandwich was large with a generous portion of pork inside. The bun was fresh and soft. The regular BBQ sauce was a bit bland, but I liked their hot sauce quite a bit. The pork was juicy and had good flavor. The cole slaw was quite good with lots of dressing. The cookie was commercially made, but locally and it was a good snack later in the afternoon, but nothing I’d seek out.

Overall, the Market BBQ food truck is a solid option. There was no line, the service was quick and the food was ready quickly as well.


Market BBQ Food Truck
Twitter: @marketbbq

Bibuta Food Truck

The Bibuta food truck was intriguing to me from the first time I spotted it in Downtown Minneapolis. I read the menu and skipped it, but once I heard it was operated by the Sushi Fix owner, I decided I had better give it a whirl.

The menu consists of two main items, sushi burritos and sushi rice bowls. I was a little apprehensive of the sushi burrito,  but I see it is not wrapped in a tortilla but in soy paper, for a light and flexible exterior. I may have to try that next.

On both of my visits I went with the sushi rice bowls. The first rice bowl was the Sushi Bowl for $12, which contains tuna, salmon, ginger, pickled eggplant, avocado, cucumber and sushi rice. The sushi rice is very good and plentiful too. I liked the mix of the cold fish with the warm rice too, nice contrasts. The fish tasted and looked very fresh as well.

The second time I visited, I tried the Hawaiian poke rice bowl. This is a home run for me, with tuna, salmon and avocado with a light sesame sauce. The fish was very good and the avocado throughout just kicks it up another notch.

I enjoyed both sushi rice bowls and would recommend them to anyone. They are a great way to sample sushi without having sushi.

The truck can often be found in downtown Minneapolis and at Minnesota United FC games. I would recommend following them on twitter for the latest information.

Bibuta Food Truck
Twitter: @eatbibuta

Butcher Salt food truck

I visited the Butcher Salt food truck last summer when it was fairly new. I went back recently to try their topped hash browns. I think I need to continue to work my way through their menu as everything is really very good.

The topped hash browns include hash browns, bacon, pepper jack cheese, rosemary, sautéed peppers, onions,  tomatoes and an over easy egg. There is a lot of stuff going on here but it all works great together. The hash browns were a nice mix of crispy and less well done and the toppings were cooked well, not over done at all. I was not sure I’d be filled up after eating just this, but I was. It is a great selection if you want to share or are not that hungry. It would have been way too much with a slider or something else.

Here’s a link to my previous post, it still pertains as the menu is essentially the same:
http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2014/08/butcher-salt.html


Butcher Salt truck
Twitter: @ButcherSalt
http://www.butchersalt.com/

World Street Kitchen food truck - new menu item

The World Street Kitchen food truck is still hitting the streets and putting out great food. I stopped by last week to try a new menu item. Don't worry, they still have all of your favorites like the Yum Yum Rice Bowl and burritos. They just rotate the menu daily.

I had the shrimp ceviche tostadas. The shrimp was marinates in citrus with onions and tomatoes and had great flavor. It was topped with corn, avocado, cilantro, guacamole and lime crema fresca. It was a nice light lunch for a hot summer day.  This was very flavorful and I hope they have it on the menu again soon.

Here's a link to a previous post on the food truck:
http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2012/06/world-street-kitchen-food-truck-yum-yum.html

World Street Kitchen
www.eatwsk.com
Twitter: @eatwsk1

Harriet Brewing Food Truck Rally

Harriet Brewing had a food truck rally last Saturday. We stopped by for a late lunch and to sample a few beverages.

The trucks were in a parking lot next to the brewery and while the area was not that large, there was plenty of room to mill about and tables scattered around. The lines for the trucks were not bad, most were quite short and the food was ready quickly.

I tried the Oktoberfest beer and the Wodan Weizen. The Wodan Weizen was interesting as it had a pretty serious banana flavor, but it was light and easy to drink. John had the Oktoberfest, Rauchfest and a West Side. All of the beers were quite good, which we were happy to discover as we had not been to Harriet Brewing before.

 Moral Omnivore's bacon brat corn dog

 Twins truck Kramarczuk's brat and sauerkraut

AZ Canteen pork belly sandwich

Harriet Brewing
3036 Minnehaha Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55406
(612) 315-4633
http://www.harrietbrewing.com

Stanley's on Wheels

Sadly, food truck season seems to be coming to a close, but I wanted to get one last post done on Stanley’s food truck. Stanley’s on wheels is affiliated with the bar/restaurant Stanley’s in Northeast Minneapolis and brings some of the best items from their menu to lunch downtown.

On this visit I tried the brisket nachos, which are tortilla chips topped with Stanley’s cheese sauce, beef brisket, salsa, sour cream and guacamole. The nachos were much, much better than I expected and tasted better than they looked. The cheese sauce is very rich and flavorful and the brisket had good flavor and there was a lot of it. The guacamole was quite good as well; it tasted fresh and delicious. $8.

The service was very quick and the food was ready quickly as well. No long lines or long waits with this truck.  I think I need to try the beef brisket sandwich next time around.


Stanley’s on wheels
www.stanleysonwheels.com
Twitter: @stanleyswheels

AZ Canteen food truck

We made it out to Canterbury a couple weeks ago for the final food ruck fair of the season, held during the races on a Saturday evening. It was a bit rainy when we arrived, but the weather eventually cleared up and we went down to purse the food truck selections. John and I both decided to try the AZ Canteen truck for the first time.

I had the pork belly sandwich with vinegar slaw. The pork belly was very tender and the slaw and pickled onions added just the right amount of acidity and bite. This was excellent and I need to watch for this to be on the menu again!

John had the pork sandwich with vinegar slaw and it was a large portion, but he said there were dry bits of meat in the sandwich that he did not care for very much.

I grabbed AZ Canteen one day for lunch recently, since I liked it so much at Canterbury. They did not have the pork belly on the menu so I tried the pork sandwich. It was very solid, and a large portion, though there were again a lot of dry bits of meat. I'm just not sure I'd get this sandwich again. I also got a free cookie as it was customer appreciation day. The white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie was soft and fresh.

I also tried the fresh squeezed lemonade. I think sometimes they have different flavors, but this was standard lemonade though, very good. It had just the right amount of added sugar.

Overall, the selections from the Z Canteen food truck tend to be very solid, granted some items are better than others. The specials change often and are often very creative and delicious. This is a truck to watch as they are doing a great job on a regular basis.


AZ Canteen food truck
Twitter: @azcanteen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-Zimmerns-Canteen/419353244766708

Tru Pizza truck

One of the newer players on the food truck scene this season is the Tru Pizza truck. The owner previously worked at Pizza Man in Chaska and has now ventured out on his own, with traditional and adventurous menu options to choose from.

truck

menu

I ordered the light pizza and it had prosciutto, fresh garlic, fresh arugula, goat cheese and mozzarella on it. The overall flavor of this pizza was very fresh and a bit spicy, I suppose due to the garlic. The crust was a bit thicker and had a hint of sourdough flavor with some nice crispy lightly salted edges. The lightly blackened crust is so good!

The pizzas take awhile to make, but the wait is very much worth your time. The pizza really is cooked in a wood-fired oven built into the truck at 800-1000 degrees. This is probably the best pizza available downtown right now. It definitely reminded me of the pizza at Punch, but since there is no Punch location downtown, this is a great option. It is also with noting that many of the ingredients are locally sourced whenever possible.

I’m looking forward to trying some of their other menu selection soon! I hope they stay out on the street well into the fall.

Tru pizza truck

www.trupizzatruck.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TRUPIZZATRUCK

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trupizza

Cajun to Geaux truck

The Cajun to Geaux truck has been coming to Minneapolis pretty regularly this summer, but I kept forgetting to try it, or wasn't really interested, until I noticed they have a shrimp po’boy on the menu. Suddenly this became an urgent issue!

The shrimp po’boy has lightly breaded shrimp on French bread and topped with roumallade sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions. There were a lot of shrimp in this sandwich and it was certainly very filling. I should have added some extra hot sauce to it as well to give it some extra spice as the sauce on it was only a tiny bit spicy. The bread was soft on the inside and a bit crunchy on the outside and strong enough to hold everything inside and not get soggy. The sandwich was so well wrapped I did not want to open it up on the street though. The sandwich costs $10.  It was a great sandwich and I need to go back and try a few more items on the menu.



Cajun to Geaux 
Twitter: Cajun2Geaux

Butcher Salt

I finally got around to visiting a newer food truck called Butcher Salt. I had the Butcher Salt sliders and they were really delicious. They use Thousand Hills Cattle Co. grass fed beef and the sliders are topped with cheese, bacon, pickles and fried onion on a toasted bun. The beef was really juicy and flavorful, which is great because sliders tend to get dried out since the quantity of meat is so small. The onions could have been fried a little longer for my taste, but the toppings were good and added to the sandwich. The cost is $9.50. While a bit steep, I suppose the price is due to the high quality beef they are using, so I think it is worth it.

Other items on the menu include hash browns plain or with a variety of toppings, hot dogs and even some dessert items like caramels and macarons. I think I need to go back and try a few more items on the menu, but so far I am definitely impressed.

Butcher Salt truck

Twitter: @ButcherSalt

http://www.butchersalt.com/

Motely Crews Heavy Metal Grill

We visited a few breweries recently and tried the Motley Crews food truck when it was parked at Indeed brewing. We were starving, so it really hit the spot.

I had the Motley-Q, which had slow roasted shaved ribeye with grilled onions, provolone and mozzarella cheese and a rich, sassy, full body BBQ sauce. The bread was very fresh and yet strong enough to hold all of the contents without coming apart.

John ordered the Harley, which had slow roasted shaved ribeye with grilled onions, provolone and mozzarella blend of cheese and their own A1 type steak sauce.

Michele had the Italian chick sandwich, with slow cooked chicken with provolone and mozzarella cheese and a thick hearty marinara sauce. All of the sandwiches were very large and very filling.

The sandwiches were great and I love the trend of food trucks at all of our new local breweries. I only wished I had waited to eat as the Anchor Fish and Chips truck was at our next stop and I bet that would have been as good as the restaurant. Regardless, Motley Crews was good and I think we would all order it again,


Motely Crews Heavy Metal Grill
Twitter: @MotleyCrews