Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival

I don't know about you, but I had a fantastic time at the Gypsy Picnic this past Saturday. I was really impressed by the whole thing. It was a bit overwhelming at first trying to decide where to eat from. There were over forty vendors and each one looked delicious. Thank you Maggie, Sarah, Brittany, Kevin, Ryan, Chloe, Missy, Anna, Anthony and Curtis for coming out and representing Foodie Food Carts!
The festival was smartly organized. Each trailer offered certain items off of their regular menu and also offered at least on $3 "sample". Genius. I decided to start at Mmmpanadas because I have been meaning to eat there for a while now. I got one of each empanada they were selling, the Pumpkin, Argentinean and Spinach sample. My favorite was the Spinach, greatly due to the delicious aioli they offered as a garnish. Then I went over to Colibri Cuisine because I have also been meaning to go there and had a chicken fajita quesadilla sample. It too was wonderful! I went to the Prius tent for a while, made a shrinky dink, colored a t-shirt, won some pretty hip sun glasses and watched some people try to do a Prius packing contest/race. Later I went over the concert area and listened to Dale Watson. It was so nice out and felt so good being outside I ended up staying all afternoon. Before I left I stopped at Verts and had a Berlin inspired chicken kebap. Oh yeah! Also, as I was leaving, I met the lady who put this whole thing together, Tiffany Harelik. She's got a great blog and has put a cookbook together featuring recipes from local food cart chefs. Yup, I picked up a signed copy on my way out. I'm already dreaming about next year's Gypsy Picnic.

We're baaaaaack! Well, we've been back, but now the blog is back too. The last six months have been great and Foodie Food Carts has grown, taking in stray foodies, new Austinites and international vagabonds. We did take a hiatus over the summer due to unfathomable temperatures that make even the most devout foodie lose their appetite. But cooling weather reignited the group and in the past month or so we've been to G'raj Mahal (again, because Cazamance was closed), Luke's Inside Out, Ms. P's Electric Cock Fried Chicken, Correanos, and Regal Ravioli. Amazing. Delicious. I'm craving it all right now.

Highlights: "The Chicken" at Luke's Inside Out and knowing that you are eating food cooked by the same guy who has catered for EVERY amazing musician ever. The fact that Ms. P's Electric Cock exists, plus the unbelievable crispy and delicious batter of the fried chicken, and Ms. P herself. Kim Cheese Fries, because that combination should not be good but it is absolutely extraordinary. Butternut squash ravioli and five star dining courtesy of the amazing gentlemen of Regal Ravioli.

So here is what I am thinking concerning reviews. Instead of reviewing food carts here, let's bring our comments to them! That way the trailers benefit from our experiences. So go to these sites and tell 'em what you think of 'em!

g'raj mahal: http://www.yelp.com/biz/graj-mahal-austin

Luke's Inside Out: http://www.yelp.com/biz/lukes-inside-out-austin

Ms. P's Electric Cock: http://www.yelp.com/biz/ms-ps-electric-cock-austin

Correanos: http://www.yelp.com/biz/coreanos-austin

Regal Ravioli: http://www.yelp.com/biz/regal-ravioli-austin

Man Bites Dog

Hot Dogs
$
manbitesdogaustin.com
Bathrooms: Yes (and cleaner than yours)
Alcohol: BYOB
Seating: Yes (indoor and outdoor)
Parking: Yes
Cash Only: No

Awesome hot dogs. All beef, chicken, lamb and veggie dogs jazzed up in spectacular ways. Blue cheese and wing sauce, Greek style, pesto mayo, classic, bratwurst, pretzel bun, you name it! A full meal that will cost you 5 dollars, doesn't get much better than that!

The Jalopy Rotisserie and Press

Sandwiches
www.jalopyaustin.com
Parking: Street
Bathrooms: No
BYOB: Yes
Seating: Yes
Cash Only: No

The Jalopy serves amazing and unique sandwiches from a semi truck. They have several interesting sauces to accompany the sandwiches including mole, peanut sauce, parsley and basil pesto, and Asian bbq. Also, the freshly made veggie chips are fantastic! Jake was an amazing host and was very informative and friendly. The kicker of the Jalopy is the method they use to serve you your sandwich...a slide!

Lucky J's Chicken and Waffles

Chicken and Waffles
$-$$
www.luckyjs.com
Parking: Yes
Bathrooms: No
Alcohol: BYOB
Seating: Yes
Cash Only: Yes

LOVE IT! Chicken and waffles served burrito style, wrapped in tin foil. Can't go wrong. Tasty fried chicken wrapped in a waffle, drizzle it with syrup and you're golden. Or get it with swiss cheese and bacon, or get bacon cooked in your waffle, or get an egg breakfast taco in your waffle, whoa! Will be back for more...

Clem's Hot Diggitty Dogs

Hot Dogs
$
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000358228629
Parking: Yes
Bathrooms: No
Alcohol: BYOB
Seating: Yes
Cash Only: Yes



Tried out Clem's Hot Diggitty Dogs on a whim because Me So Hungry was having frozen pipe problems! They drew us in with the free boiled peanuts (odd, yet addicting) and then won us over with the hot dogs. They use New England style hot dog buns, delicious and buttery and really make a great hot dog. Go there.

G'raj Mahal

Indian Food
$$$
Parking: No
Bathrooms: Yes
Alcohol: BYOB
Cash Only: No
Seating: Yes




G'raj Mahal was a whole new food trailer experience because it offers full service. It is beautifully set up with a patio with lights, decorative curtains and heat lamps. Also, it shares it's space with the Austin Bike Zoo which offers interesting decoration. Even though it was in the high thirties that night it was very busy. Because of the crowd the service was very slow, but if it hadn't been so cold it wouldn't have mattered. The food was amazing. Samosas, Naan and Curry, YUM! Also, they get points for live music. Go to G'raj Mahal!!!

East Side Drive-in

Trailer Food Park on E. 6th
eastsidedrivein.com
Parking: Yes
Bathrooms: Porta Pottys
Alcohol: BYOB
Cash Only: Yes, but there is an ATM on site
Seating: Yes


This week we spiced things up and did things a bit differently. We chose the location, but not the cart. East Side Drive-in is a really nicely set up and fairly new trailer food park on E. 6th. It has a really nice selection of food carts to choose from including Ugly Banjo's, Local Yolk, Pig Vicious, Bits and Druthers, Nineteen Bus, One Love Kitchen, Pueblo Viejo and the Vegan Yacht. We had our choice of Mexican food, home-cooking, local eggs, hamburgers/hot dogs/phillys, food involving bacon, vegan drinks and sandwiches, and more. It had a super nice feel with lots of tables and the seating was enclosed by the circle of food trucks so it felt distant from the road.

Austin Daily Press

Paninis
$$
Parking: No
Bathrooms: No
Alcohol: No (can bring in Club De Ville)
Cash Only: No
Seating: No

Happy New Year and delicious paninis!!!! Austin Daily Press was the perfect last meal of 2010. Warm, melty, crunchy and delicious. The cart has a lot of hype because it was on the Great Food Truck Race on the the food network http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-great-food-truck-race/index.html. I can't believe I didn't know that show existed! Anyways, the service was great but unlike other carts we've been to, this is street food dining, not trailer park dining meaning that there's no seating area or bathrooms or BYOB. But it's worth it and I'll be back.

Not Your Mama's Food Truck

Small Plates
$-$$
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Not-Your-Mamas-Food-Truck
Parking: Lot
Bathrooms: Porta Potty
Alcohol: BYOB
Cash Only: Yes
Seating: Yes


Although this truck doesn't look like much from the outside, the food that comes out of it is impressive. The menu was very limited, and nothing was vegetarian (sorry Clayton) but everything that was served was gourmet. Fried chicken (that did not lose it's crispiness ever!), sliders on steamed buns (amazing), and tongue (Aaron likes it!). However, the best part of the night was when we were served our sweet potatoes. It was placed in front of us and then a blowtorch was used to melt the marshmallows! Right there on the table! Amazingly great presentation.

Izzoz Tacos

Tacos

$-$$

www.izzoztacos.com

Parking: Yes

Bathrooms: Porta Potty

Alcohol: BYOB

Cash Only: No

Seating: Yes

Probably my favorite food cart so far, Izzoz Tacos is a place I will continue to go back to. First off, the owner was so incredibly hospitable. He came over and chatted with us, delivered our food, gave us magazines, and even told us other places to find great tacos around Austin. The location, a little trailer food park on S. 1st, was very comfortable with lots of picnic tables and lit by some Christmas lights. I think a group favorite was the fried avocado taco. OMG it was perfect. This food cart has been covered over and over again in different publications, and it's no wonder why, because it's amazing. Go There! http://www.izzoztacos.com/index.php

Iggi's Texatarian

Southern Vegan Cuisine

$$

www.iggistexatarian.com

Parking: Yes

Bathroom: Yes in Cheer Up Charlies

Alcohol: Cheer Up Charlies

Cash Only: Yes

Seating: Yes

I was really excited about Iggy's Texatarian because the thought of vegan food that wasn't all "healthy" was really appealing and uncommon. The ladies who started the trailer really have a unique concept. As they write, they blend "traditional Texas culture with progressive dietary choices," and they do just that. However, it's just not as good as the real thing. It was a great night though and I think we all appreciated trying something new. Also, the little food trailer park it was in on E 6th gave us ideas for future meet-ups.

Sushi-a-Go-Go

Sushi-A-Go-Go

$$

www.sushi-a-go-go-austin.com

Parking: Yes

Bathrooms: Porta Potty

Alcohol: BYOB

Cash Only: Yes

Seating: Yes

Well, we faced nature and ate delicious sushi all in one night. We had a special, out of town guest, Brittany! She came all the way from San Francisco just to partake in Foodie Foodcarts! Come back again soon Brittany!
Although our night (of eating) was cut short due to rain, I think we all got a chance to eat some of the food from Sushi-a-Go-Go and man, it was delicious! My personal favorite was the Summer Time Roll and the shumai shrimp dumplings. Also, although I didn't try them, I believe the octopus balls were a group favorite. Even though the rain cut my dinner short (reason to go back!), I was not at all bummed that the night transferred into a foodie house party :) 

Pick Up Stixx (now Trey's Cuisine)

Kebabs and More

$$
www.treyscuisine.com
Parking: Yes
Bathrooms: Yes
BYOB: Yes
Cash Only:
Seating: Yes

Thanks to everyone who came to this week's FFC meetup and welcome to two new members Lexy and Madison! This week was a little different than the last two weeks because for the first time we weren't floored by the food. This is good because we want some sort of balance or scale to rate things on, right? Pick up Stixx offered good, solid kebabs, just nothing mind blowing. Lots and lots of options to choose from if you like variety. Four different kebab options with probably 15 sauce options, think of all the possibilities! However, the other items on the menu, the sliders and pierogies, were very delicious. I highly recomment the pierogi with prociutto (only $1.50!). At the end of the night we all left stuffed and not too broke so I say you get your bang for your buck (yup I love that saying). I don't give this cart a thumbs down, but I don't give it two thumbs up either and all in all, the "more" outweighed the "kebabs." 

Odd Duck Farm To Trailer (and Gourdough's preview)

"Farm to Table" Small Plates

$$
www.oddduckfarmtotrailer.com

Parking: Lot

Alcohol: BYOB

Bathrooms: YES

Cash Only: No (amex not accepted)

Seating: YES 

The second meetup for foodie food carts was another success. The food that we ate at odd duck was definitely different and adventurous but I think we all can say it was delicious. Before that night would I have though a soft boiled egg on grits would be good? NO! I wouldn't have been able to get past the soft boiled egg..... but it had us all going back for seconds and thirds. Also, quail! I am always intimidated by animals that I haven't eaten before but a lady in line said her baby ate it so I had to do it, and it tasted delish.
We also had a mini Gourdoughs preview which was exciting. We tried a few of the meat/donut options such as mother clucker (fried chicken on a donut) and also one that had bacon and pepper jelly on it (surprisingly good!). I can't wait until we hit it up full force later on!

Lucky's Puccias

Wood Fired Italian Sandwiches

$$

www.facebook.com/LuckysPuccias

Parking: No

Bathrooms: Yes

Alcohol: Yes

Cash Only: No
Seating: YES

Our inaugural Friday Foodie Foodcart (F3) meetup was a complete success. Thank you Ashley, Clayton, Ray, Maggie, Sarah, Christina and Curtis for coming! We dined at Lucky's Puccias (pronounced poo-chas) on 5th Street next to The Tiniest Bar in Texas and together came up with a rating system that we will use to critique and discuss the food that we will eat. Also, the name of the group is a work in progress, but I think I like the "F" theme. I was thinking Foodie Food Cart because we are being "foodies", but also the Friday is helpful in that it designates when we meet up. However, it is a mouthful....