Loco for Lobster

I love lobster. Always have. I love it served as a full Maine meal steamed with drawn butter, corn on the cob, potatoes, and ice cream. I also love it in bisque. And yes, lobster rolls. The fresher the roll tastes, (less mayonnaise) the better but I'd walk uphill in the snow both ways even for a slightly oversauced lobster roll. But today, I had a PERFECT lobster roll: from a food truck! I'd heard great things about Red Hook Lobster Pound but hadn't tried it because the long line always scared me away. Yet, almost serendipitously, I happened to walk past while the truck was on campus today and it had no line! It was fate!

For lobster rolls, guests have the choice of Connecticut style which apparently means a little butter or Maine style which is a lemon mayo dressing. I obviously chose the Maine style and was blown away! I expected the roll to be good but a little saucy; I mean we're in DC not New England and it's not even summer yet. The roll was straightforward and no frills: a buttery toasted bun, a little lettuce, a few scallions, huge pieces of lightly dressed lobster and paprika. It. Was. Perfect. The lobster, which I initially needed to eat with a fork because the roll was overflowing, was perfectly cooked! Each bite gave a slight light flavor of lemon from the dressing and then tasted like simple, fresh lobster. It was also ideally cooked and tender, not at all chewy or tough (symptoms of overlooking). The toast was buttery with a slight crunch on the edges and soft in the middle. It was easily one of the best lobster rolls I've ever had, including the many I've tried in Maine.

I'm sort of an iced tea nut. And also very particular about my iced tea. In my opinion, the South and New England are the only places to get really good iced tea. Despite being bordered by the South and the Eastern Seaboard, DC has terrible iced tea so I've been brewing my own sun tea. Which isn't bad, I just wish more places sold good iced tea. Well, Red Hook does! I ordered an Arnold Palmer and it was ideal! It was just the right balance between lemonade and iced tea. It was initially sweet but not overly so, followed by a slight tartness. If only other places sold such well-balanced Arnold Palmers...

This post is quiet effusive I know but I really cannot say enough how great this meal was! I would go again in a heartbeat even with a line! Although sadly, the steep price may keep me away for a few weeks.

Far East Euphoria

This week, I finally had another great meal in my food truck challenge! After the weekend in New Orleans, my favorite city, celebrating Mardi Gras, I expected to come back to DC and write a blog about all the fried oysters, po boys, and hurricanes I had but instead, my Tuesday lunch blew them all out of the water. (That is not to play down how amazingly well I ate in New Orleans it just proves how incredible my food truck lunch was.) I decided to eat at Far East Taco Grille. Best. Decision. Ever. Ok maybe I'm being a little dramatic but hey, I'm allowed it's almost my birthday!
The truck is not particularly bright and colorful but for some reason it piqued my interest. The menu affords the diner many choices and extreme personalization of their far east soft taco experience. First, you choose whether you'd like flour or corn tortillas. Guests then choose from Powerful Steak, Bang Tang Chicken, Spicy Flying Pig (pork), and Sweet Sexy Tofu. I ordered three different meats but we'll get to my choices after I explain the whole menu. After settling on a meat, a sauce must be decided upon: spicy Salsa Roja, milder spicy mayo, #15 Sauce, the house specialty, and Spicy Pineapple. As if the choices weren't enough already, you then have to choose your slaw. These choices are kimchi-lime, spicy yellow corn, sweet chili romaine and grilled bean sprouts. Finally, each patron must chose a "finisher:" onion-lime relish or cheese-crema. With over 100 possible creation combinations, I did not take deciding what to order lightly. Also, I'm terribly indecisive so it was even more of a challenge but I managed and am very pleased with my decisions.

I chose to have all three of my tacos on flour tortillas because I prefer them over corn. For my first taco, I chanced it with the bang tang chicken, #15 sauce, spicy corn and cheese-crema. This first taco was hands-down my favorite. The chicken was juicy and packed a nice grilled flavor while the #15 sauce, which they describe  as sweet and mild, was unreal! It was a light juicy red colored sauce that was sweet almost like a sweet BBQ sauce but then had a big kick. The corn initially seemed like a balancing factor to the spice because of its texture but then had a strong adobe, chipotle flavor! The #15 sauce spice was sweet with a vinegary spiced flavor as an aftertaste while the corn had a more southwestern bite. The cheese sauce was the ultimate finish with its richer, mild texture, subtle sweetness of the cream, and tartness of the cheese. Wow. Next time I go, I'm definitely ordering three of these!
My second taco was my second favorite made up of steak, salsa roja, kimchi lime and onion-lime relish. The steak was also juicy and flavorful but what made this taco was the slaw and finish. The salsa had the spice and fresh flavor of a traditional red salsa. The kimchi lime slaw had an awesome crunch from the fresh cabbage and the lime flavor was so fresh it tasted like someone had picked limes from a tree that morning and marinated my kimchi in them. The onion-lime relish was a great accompaniment which paired ideally with the lime slaw. I loved this taco for its refreshing, sharp, flavors and how well they paired with the heavy steak protein.
For me, the third taco wasn't as much of a hit but with 100 other possible combinations, it won't deter me from returning to the food truck. My third taco was filled with the pork, spicy pineapple, sweet chili romaine and onion-lime relish. The chili romaine was good and added a nice crunch but the spicy pineapple consisted of almost no pineapple and the pork wasn't really to my liking.
Far East Taco Grille was a delicious lunch and for eight bucks, it can't be beat in terms of value! I definitely recoomend a visit to this food truck if you're in DC!

Food Truck Feast

Today for lunch I decided to mix it up and venture to one of the many food trucks that have become ever-present around DC and particularly, GWU's campus. In the spirit of trying new things, I settled on  Kimchi BBQ Taco: a brightly colored truck that enticed with its flavorful aroma. Despite the colorful and elaborately decorated outside, the operation is simple: a grill, two people preparing the food, and bomb-ass sauces.
For the tacos and burritos, the main draw, guests have the choice between bologi beef, spicy pork, spicy chicken, or tofu for their protein and a choice of six kimchis. I chose the bologi beef because it seemed the classic choice and sweet-and-sour kimchi because it intrigued me the most. I definitely chose well! I was served three large tortillas overflowing with beef, kimchi, corn, lettuce and then had the choice of homemade sauces to pour on top. In the adventurous spirit, without tasting the sauces, I poured Kimchi BBQ Taco's "spicier spicy mayonnaise" "sweetened sriracha" and a sweet hoison sauce over all three. The dish initially struck me because of the color. There were vibrant pinks from the mayonnaise, reddish-orange form the kimshi, light orange from the sweet sauce, green from the lettuce, yellow of the corn, and brown from the bologi all set against unassuming tortillas in a deceptively simple Styrofoam box. My first bite was a delicious explosion of flavors. The first was a the acidity and crunch of the kimchi (For those that don't know, kimchi is basically Korean pickled cabbage). The sweet-and-sour flavor of the kimchi was not overpowering because I first tasted the crunch and freshness of the cabbage, then the sweet flavor, and finally the kick. By time the kick of the kimchi settled in I was absorbing the calming tastes of lettuce and corn. The real wow factor was the bologi beef: prepared on a grill and doused in the hoisin sauce giving the meat a sweet and perfectly cooked flavor. The final bite was the tortilla which by this point had soaked up the sweet hoisin sauce, spicy mustard, the sweet-and-sour vinegar from the kimchi and the juice from the meat making even the tortilla awesome and full of flavor.
This was a truly great and unique lunch and I enjoyed every last bite of the dynamite tacos dripping down my chin. And it was all from a food truck! I'm definitely going to try more of these trucks, I'm thinking once a week? And obviously an accompanying blog entry to leave you all hungry!