A Foodie Crawl of 13 Trucks at TLofts Food Truck Benefit for Haiti

When I got both an email from a PR rep for TLofts as well saw a posting on LA Taco about the TLofts Food Truck Benefit for Haiti where 21 food trucks would be in attendance, I knew I had to be there. Even more so, since some of the proceeds of the sales were going towards helping the victims of the Haiti Earthquake. Since I knew it was going to be pretty crowded towards the latter part of the day, I recruited 3 of my best eating buddies for an early arrival time.

I actually got there around 10:30 am before my friends and immediately, I felt a little overwhelmed. There wasn't a whole lot of people milling around but there was still a quiet buzz of excitement in the air. Seeing so many moveable restaurants parked in one place and not having to check their tweets to see where they were or having to chase them around all over town felt a little strange, but cool at the same time.

Out of the 21 there, I've only been to two of the trucks, so I was really looking forward to trying out as many as possible. For a scenario like this, it really worked out perfectly going with friends because we shared everything, which meant small bites of more items versus eating full size orders and trying less items.

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Our first stop of our foodie crawl was the Grilled Cheese Truck where we shared two sandwiches. The first sandwich was the Cheese Mac Melt (macaroni and cheese with sharp cheddar, BBQ pork and caramelized onions) and the second was the Harvest Melt (roasted butternut squash, gryuere, agave and fresh thyme and balsamic reduction). That Cheese Mac Melt was outstanding. I wasn't too sure about mac and cheese in a sandwich form, but I'm a believer now. The Harvest Melt was just okay. It just didn't really work for me. I would have preferred it if the butternut had a softer texture and was sweeter. It also didn't help that there wasn't enough cheese. One thing great about both sandwiches was how nicely browned the bread was.

Done with all that cheesy goodness, we wandered off to the Flying Pig Truck for a Smoked Chicken Taco (green curry and napa slaw), a Slider (beef and pork, daikon sprouts and banana mustard) and Pork Belly Bun (pork belly, red onion escabeche and sesame cucumber). I liked the Chicken Taco, although I thought chicken was a little dry. The Slider was an absolute winner. The beef and pork mixed patty was moist and full of flavor and I liked the slight sour notes that came from the daikon sprouts and the banana mustard. As for the Pork Belly Bun, the pork belly itself was delicious and paired well with those onions; however, they were having technical difficulties with their steamer, so the bao bun was soggy and stuck to the paper tray.

Behind the Flying Pig Truck was the Dosa Truck which logically was our next stop. Their food is South Indian-based and we opted for the Slum Dog Dosa (Indian pesto rubbed inside dosa with paneer, fresh spinach and masa dosa potatoes). That dosa was huge and really could be a meal in itself. I liked that the crepe was light and warm in my hands when it was handed to me. Overall, I thought the filling was on the bland side. The spicing needed to be stronger or perhaps, the addition of some chili would have kicked it up a notch.

From India to Vietnam, because next on the agenda was the Nom Nom Truck for banh mi sandwiches. A couple of us heard that the Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi was the one to order and we did just that. The bread wasn't crusty enough, but I thought the chicken was juicy with the light lemony notes from its lemongrass marinade. A little sour from the daikon and a hit of heat from the japalenos also made this banh mi a pretty good sandwich to eat, although it'll never be as good as the banh mi from Cho Cu Bakery.

Back to India and this time, we visited the India Jones Truck for a Frankie and a Paratha. While the Frankie comes standard with cilantro-tamarind chutney, chopped onion and an egg, you have 6 different choices for your fourth ingredient and we went for the Paneer Cheese. There was a little bit of sweetness in the sauce, but also something peppery and even a little spicy. Overall, a good flavor combination. For the Paratha, we opted for the cauliflower filling. Unfortunately, I didn't care for the Paratha. It was described as spicy, but really wasn't and plus the filling was on the dry side. It really needed the Raita sauce to add flavor and moisture.

It's almost as if we're travelling around the world because after India Jones, we checked out Louks to Go with its Greek menu. What surprised me about Louks was how much I liked their Honey and Feta French Fries. Feta I could see as topping for French Fries. The honey was unexpected; however, I really enjoyed that the flavors were a combination of sweet, salty and a little pungent. We also ordered their Loukomades or Louks for short. Louks are basically mini donut balls and we chose a nutella topping. The louks were wonderfully light, crispy and non-greasy. What we ordered were definitely main courses, but they were so good, it left me wondering what the rest of their menu would be like. Louks to Go is definitely a food truck I want to get to know better.

Across from Louks to Go was the Kabob Express Truck, which features what they refer to as Mex-terranean Cuisine. We kept it simple and ordered their Chicken Kabob Plate. I don't know what they were thinking about in regards to the chicken itself. They were the size of golf balls plus the meat was really dry, which doesn't say much if you call yourself a Kabob Truck and the kabob meat isn't very good. I'm not that anxious to pay this particular food truck a repeat visit just based on that one item.

Next up was the Asian Soul Kitchen Truck where we tried a couple of items. Their Yakisoba-Japanese Noodle Dish wasn't very exciting. The only flavor really came from the pickled ginger. We also ordered their Spicy Macaroni and Cheese. It was definitely spicy, which I liked, but it wasn't cheesy enough. In fact, it was almost like it was coated with mayonnaise? Although I wasn't too impressed with either of these dishes, their overall menu looked interesting enough that I'd be willing to give them another try.

Across the street was the Bool BBQ Truck and that was our next stop. Like Kogi and Calbi BBQ, they're known for their Korean-Mexican fusion food, so we ordered a Beef Taco and a Pork Taco. Unfortunately, I didn't care much for either of them. Both meats were a little too chewy. Also, the beef really had no flavor and the sauce for the pork taco tasted very one note.

Viva Italy because now it's time to visit the Vesuvio Food Truck to try their Arancini (Italian Rice Balls) made up of white rice mixed with Italian salami, Parmesan cheese, egg and flat leaf parsley stuffed with a smoked mozzarella core and then deep fried. What a lovely appetizer. Light, airy, crispy and deep-fried without being greasy. I'd definitely order this again.

3 more trucks to go and next up was the Buttermilk Truck for Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bites with Cream Cheese. I've been hearing raves about these pancakes for awhile now and they definitely are worth all the kudos. Light in texture and not too sweet, I wouldn't mnd having a larger stack of these for breakfast or anytime.

To end this food truck safari, we hit two dessert trucks. First was the Sweets Truck. The Sweets Truck is different in that they don't make their own desserts. Instead, they have partnered with bakeries, professional pastry chefs, etc., to sell their products on their truck. We ordered three items which included Lemon Shooters (lemon cake with layers of frosting), Chocolate Crack and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. The desserts were just okay, but one thing that did stand out, but not in a good way was the lemon dessert. It simply did not taste lemony.

Last, but not least, the Get Shaved Truck was the finale of this 13 Food Trucks Crawl and what a wonderful way to end it. The Root Beer Dream (root beer shaved ice, vanilla ice cream and sweet cream topping) was perfect. I also have to give kudos to the actual shaved ice itself, which had a wonderful silky texture to it. It was like eating fresh snow.

In the end, I hope that through all this eating, a nice chunk of change was raised to donate towards the Haiti Earthquake. It was generous of TLofts to help put this all together, so a big thanks is owed to them. If you'd like to lend more support, please join bloggers, Mattatouille, Gourmet Pigs and Rum Dood for the February 6th Haitian Libations Charity Event at the Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena, where they developed a special cocktail menu and will be mixing and pouring them behind the bar. 50% of proceeds will be going towards the Haiti Earthquake Relief.

When it comes to the actual event, it was definitely a lot of fun. Usually, if you want to dine at any of these trucks, you literally do have to chase them around town. It was a nice change of pace for so many of them to be so accessible and all at the same time. Also, with 5000+ participants, $7000 was raised for Haiti Earthquake Relief. The whole experience has definitely whet my whistle for the LA Street Food Festival scheduled for February 13th. More details like the location will hopefully soon follow. Until then, here are some other final photos of Saturday's Food Truck Benefit.

One funny thing to note is that as I was going home from this Food Truck Benefit, I actually trailed the Border Grill Truck on the 10 freeway for quite a while. There was just no escaping them. :)

Click here to see all 99 photos of the Food Truck Benefit!

Read more blog postings about this event below from:

Daniel Eats

Journey of an Epicurean Cutie
Laist

Check below for all the Food Trucks in Attendance:

Asian Soul Kitchen
Twitter: @ItsBentoBaby

Barbie's Q
Twitter: @BarbiesQ

Bool BBQ
Twitter: @boolbbq

Buttermilk Truck
Twitter: @grlldcheesetruk

Calbi BBQ
Twitter: @CalbiBBQ

Dainty Cakes LA
Twitter: @daintycakesla

Del's Frozen Lemonade
Twitter: @DelsLemonade

Don Chow Tacos
Twitter: @Donchowtacos

Dosa Truck
Twitter: @dosatruck

Eat Phamish
Twitter @eatphamish

Fishlips Sushi
Twitter: @Fishlips_Sushi

Flying Pig
Twitter: @flyingpigtruck

Get Shaved
Twitter: @getshaved

Grilled Cheese Truck
Twitter: @GrlldCheeseTruk

India Jones
Twitter: @IndiaJonesCT

King Kone
Twitter: @kingkonela

LA FuXion
Twitter: @La_FuXion

Louks to Go
Twitter: @loukstogo

Nom Nom
Twitter: @Nomnomtruck

Slice Truck
Twitter: @slicetruck

South Philly Experience
Twitter: @SouthPhillyExp

Sweets Truck
Twitter: @theSweetsTruck

Vesuvio
Twitter: @VesuvioLA

Willoughby Road
Twitter: @willoughbyroad

Yum Yum Bowls
Twitter: @yumyumbowls

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“Wine 101: Introduction to Wine ” Tasting and Food Pairing at San Antonio Winery

This Sunday, January 24th, 2010, San Antonio Winery would like to invite all wine lovers to join them at the Wine 101: Introduction to Wine Tasting and Food Pairing. Among the wines to be sampled include:

• Louis Perdrier Rose Champagne
• Windbreak Chardonnay 2006, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey
• Maddalena Vineyard Reisling 2008, Monterey
• San Felice “Il Grigio” Chianti Classico Riserva 2005, Tuscany
• San Antonio “Heritage” Rhone Blend 2006, Paso Robles
• San Simeon Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Paso Robles
• Maddalena Vineyard Muscat Canelli 2008, Paso Robles

These fine wines will be served with an array of delicious foods like puma goat cheese, broiled Miso Alaskan black cod on a potato and chive pancake with Miso glaze and Island mango mousse with candied macadamia nuts and toasted coconut shavings. This will definitely be a fun learning event that will include great wine and food. So hopefully, you won't pass it up.

For more information or reservations, please call (323) 330- 8771. The cost of the event is $55.00 per person.

Wine 101: Introduction to Wine Tasting and Food Pairing
Sunday, January 24, 2010 from 1-4 pm
San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031

Be sure to visit www.sanantoniowinery.com for information on upcoming 2010 wine events:

“Champagne and Sparkling Wine” Boutique Wine Tasting – February 7, 2010

“Wine 102: Exploring California’s Grape Growing Regions” Wine Seminar Luncheon - February 21, 2010

“Understanding Bordeaux Varieties” Wine Seminar Luncheon – March 20, 2010

Samuel Adams Beer and Food Pairing at Animal and the Launch of the 2009 Utopias Beer

Last November, I was invited by Tina Clabbers, who is from Devries Public Relations to attend a media dinner that consisted of a Samuel Adams Beer and Food Pairing at Animal Restaurant to launch the 2009 Sam Adams Limited Edition Utopias Beer. I'll go more into the Utopias Beer towards the end of this post, but for now, let's talk food and beer pairings.

Initially, we had a cocktail hour where we were served a total of 5 appetizers that included a Bean Bruschetta, Goat Cheese with Fennel Marmalade Bruschetta, Chicken Liver Pate, Squash Arancini and Fried Codfish Balls. Our choice of beers included the Winter Lager and the Fezziwig Ale. All the appetizers were pretty tasty and if this was going to the indication of the meal, I foresaw a delicious dinner as well.

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Soon we sat down to dinner, which was going to consist of 4 courses of 1 to 3 dishes and each paired with a Sam Adams Beer. At the beginning of each course, Sam Adams Master Brewer, Bert Boyce and Chef John Shook would come out to discuss the beer and the food respectively.

The beer paired with our first course dishes was the Coastal Wheat Beer. It's a wheat beer that is brewed with Eureka and Lisbon varieties of lemons that come from three growing regions in California. The lemon notes from the beer paired well with the tart citrus flavors that were in the first three dishes of our meal.

First to arrive was the Crispy Hominy with Lime. The hominy could have been a little crispier, but I liked the fact that it wasn't oily and the squeeze of lime juice squirted on it gave it a little zing.

The Crispy Hominy was followed by a salad that had lettuce, beets, avocado, pita, feta and topped with a sumac dressing. For those of you unfamiliar with sumac, it's a berry that grows wild throughout the Middle East and in parts of Italy and has a tart, sour and lemon taste to it. This was my first experience with sumac and when eaten with the feta cheese, the salad had lovely tart and slightly pungent flavors that were appealing.

Our first course dishes ended with a fluke dish which had a grape and yuzu granita, apples, oranges, serrano chiles and fresh mint. This was a wonderfully delicate dish that was also refreshing and the addition of the serrano chiles added just nice little hit of heat.

On to our second course dishes, which were paired with the Cranberry Lambic. The Cranberry Lambic is a fruit beer that has been fermented with a special wild yeast strain and is brewed with cranberries. Since this was a stronger beer, it needed to be matched with stronger foods.

The first of our second course dishes was the Melted Petit Basque (cheese made from sheep's milk), Chorizo and Grilled Bread. You can never go wrong with melted cheese and chorizo and this dish was no exception.

Next was the Poutine, Cheddar and Oxtail Gravy dish. The heaping pile of oxtail was definitely a generous serving, but it along with the cheddar cheese overpowered the more delicate poutine (cheese curds). You almost forget the poutine was even an ingredient of this dish. If the intent was to showcase the poutine, this dish didn't do that; yet, I still enjoyed digging into it.

The last of the second course dishes was my favorite of the night, Pork Belly Sliders with Slaw. Oh my! Can I say that again? Oh my! The pork was juicy and flavorful and the coleslaw had a wonderful crunch to it. I'd order this again in a heart beat.

Our third course was paired with the Boston Lager, which is dry hopped and brewed using only four ingredients, which includes two row barley as well as German Noble aroma hops. While Chef Shook had more leeway in regards to choosing the menu, he was instructed to prepare a roast meat for this course because it's considered the best kind of pairing for this particular beer.

There was only one dish for our third course and it was definitely a substantial Ribeye Roast topped with Escargot Butter with Mashed Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts. That meat was juicy and so tender that I didn't even need a knife to cut into it.

For our fourth and final set of courses, they were matched with the Holiday Porter. A total of five varieties of malted barley were used in the brewing process for this beer including a German malt called Carafa®. The Holiday Porter was referred to as the equivalent to a red wine, which means it's very tannic.

This Holiday Porter was served with a trio of desserts starting with the Panna Cotta with Saba (sweet grape syrup), which was delicate and a slight creamy texture to it.

Our second dessert was the Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar. I liked the smokiness of the bacon, but found the chocolate bar too much on the dry side, almost a tad chalky. I was prepared to really like this dessert, but it's not something I'd order again.

Last, but not least, was Joe's Doughnuts with Cinnamon Sugar and Caramel. This was the perfect dessert to end the meal and was actually quite a treat since it's only offered in the fall and winter. The doughnuts were airy inside and appropriately crisp on the outside and eating it with the caramel was a wonderful treat.

It was definitely quite a meal, but we weren't done yet. After dinner, we got to sample a couple of offerings from their Extreme Beer Line, starting with the Triple Boch. The Triple Boch was brewed in 1993, released in 1994 and is actually no longer in production. It represents Samuel Adams' journey into extreme beer brewing, because it's a beer with 17.5% percent alcohol by volume. With its heavy woodsy and earthy flavor notes, it can be compared to a port, sherry or cognac.

The finale of the evening was the introduction 2009 Sam Adams Limited Edition Utopias Beer, also a part of Sam Adams Extreme Beer Line. Utopias is the current Guinness World Record Holder for world's strongest beer at 27% Alcohol by Volume. In fact, the alcohol content is so strong that 13 states prohibit its sale because the alcohol content exceeds the legal limit for beer.

The alcohol content is so strong because Utopias goes through a 15 year aging process. It's aged and finished in a variety of wooden barrels. The barrels themselves were previously used for different kinds of alcohol, from port to sherry to whisky and more. The variety of barrels used contribute to the flavors of the Utopias, which means it's never quite tastes the same with every new release. The Utopias comes in a ceramic-and-copper bottle that resembles a tiny brew kettle.

The long production cycle is what limits its availability to once every two years. For the 2009 holiday season, only 10,000 bottles with the suggested retail price of $150 a piece were released. Compared to the Triple Boch, the Utopias is also similar to a vintage port, sherry or cognac, but it's lighter on the palate and is more refined. Another thing to note is that the Utopias has even received 96 to 100 points from the Wine Enthusiast Magazine in November, 2003.

Overall, this was a really educational event. When I think of beer and food, I automatically think beer and pizza. It was really eye opening to see how versatile beer really is, especially with desserts. Beer and panna cotta would not be the first thing I would think to put together; yet, it worked. It just goes to show you that when it comes to food, you need to keep an open mind. You just never know what will please your palate unless you're willing to try something new.

Click here to visit the Samuel Adams Website!

Animal Restaurant
435 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 782-9225




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