Liv2Luv: Food

This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to check out the food truck event in Virginia Highlands. The city’s best street food vendors convene in an empty lot next to CVS making it easy for patrons to sample many food trucks at a time. I didn’t sample all of the food trucks because that would make me a glutton. But seriously, I didn’t have room in my tummy for all but I did get a sample of quite a few.

W.O.W. Food Truck   Twitter: @wowfoodtruck

The main attractions at the W.O.W. (Wonderlicious on Wheels) food truck are the arepas. However, something else caught our eye.

It was The Best Dang Veggie Burger (yes, that is what it is really called and yes, it was damn good). This homemade veggie patty is a blend of lentils, mushrooms, leeks, onions and walnuts. It was served on their freshly made kalamata olive bread with a smoked pablano aoli and cheddar cheese. I have to say this was probably the best DAMN veggie burger I’ve ever had. Definitely lives up to its name.

Slider U   Twitter: @slideruatl

Slider U has (you guessed it) a variety of sliders. And they arent exclusive to Georgia. They will be rolling out trucks at Penn State, Santa Barbara and Scottsdale.

I tried the Asian Fusion Chicken slider. Asian Marinated shredded chicken with slaw on a bun. I’ve always been a fan of asian fusion food and this little slider was great. My favorite thing about it was the little bit of caramelization and char on the shredded chicken.

The Pup Truck   Twitter: @thepuptruck

The Pup Truck specializes in serving locally made Bohemian hot dogs. Although there is nothing fancy or special about their toppings, this is where to go to get a good ol’ dog.

All the menu items have quirky, creative dog names. Seeing as I am picky about what goes on my dog or sausage I went for the Great Dane. It’s a smoked bratwurst with toppings of your choice. I settled on sauerkraut, onions and mustard. I wanted tomatoes but unfortunately they did not carry any. I topped it off with a local hot sauce for some heat.

Tex’s Tacos   Twitter: @texstacos

Serving up Nueva Texicana eats, Tex’s Taco was voted Atlanta’s Best Food Truck/Street vendor in the AJC’s Best of the Big A.

The Chicken Fresca soft taco was tasty and fresh. The tortilla was filled with marinated grilled chicken breast, grilled onions, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and cilantro.

I couldn’t get enough of the lime fries. They were thick, super crispy and topped with a sweet and salty lime seasoning.

Honeysuckle Gelato   Twitter: @honeysuckleatl

It took a lot for me to pass up King of Pops but I was out to try something new. Honeysuckle offers made from scratch gelato and sorbet made with fine, fresh ingredients.

After eating so much food, my stomach was feeling heavy so I skipped over the gelato and went straight for the sorbet. I got a scoop of mango and a scoop of pear. When they say fresh, they mean fresh. I have never had a sorbet with the kind of flavor these had. They definitely embodied the flavor of the fruit.

Even though I did not order gelato, there was one flavor I just had to sample- waffle with maple bacon. BACON. I couldn’t resist. The syrupy waffle flavor of the gelato with the bits of maple bacon tasted just like breakfast!

Atlanta’s food truck community is still growing and I am glad to see it. They offer delicious, unique bites at an affordable price.

I had recently heard about a somewhat new Filipino restaurant that emerged in Asian Square off of Buford Highway. Being half Filipino myself, I thought I would be doing myself a disservice by not giving it a try. The last time I had been to a sit down Filipino restaurant was over 4 years ago when I lived in Orlando, FL (Cafe Mindanao which is now, sadly, shut down). So this past weekend after watching a matinee of Captain America and resisting the casual dining menu at the theatre, we made our way to Phil-Am Star.

The plaza and restaurant are nothing to rave about. The space is small, simple and does its purpose- provides a place for the patrons to eat. Our waitress was young and inexperienced but I wasn’t there for the service, I was there for the food.

I knew exactly what I wanted… pancit palabok and lechon kawali.

Palabok (or pancit luglug as we called it growing up) is one of my favorite Filipino dishes. It’s rice noodles with a thick shrimp sauce. Their preparation was very similar to how I make it on my own home. They topped it with chicharron (fried pork rind), green onions, and egg (I also prefer the addition of fried garlic). The significant difference between their palabok and mine was the sauce. I have always used a packaged Mama Sita product to creat emy sauce but theirs tasted homemeade. The flavor was fresher and not as packed with sodium and msg. We loved it. It was delicious. I have memories of my mom and I eating palabok and halo halo in the markets of the Philippines and this brought me back to my childhood.

As a lover of bacon, I could not resist another favorite of mine (although I rarely have it) lechon kawali (deep fried pork belly). Pork belly is very popular is many Asian cultures but, in my opinion,  this has to be best. What’s better than some deep fried pork?

I enjoyed the lechon but not as much as I had anticipated. It was missing something but I am not quite sure what. It was served with a thick liver based sauce- which I was not a fan of. I had always had it with a vinegar sauce (vinegar with garlic, salt & pepper). Maybe that is what this dish was missing.

Everything was served family style so there is plenty to share. I wouldn’t rave about Fil-Am Star & Bakery but I also would not write it off of my list. I’m glad to see the Filipino culture being represented amongst the many various Asian establishments of Buford Highway.

Atlanta is giving love to food truck and street vendors in a major way. Every Tuesday from 5-10PM go get your fill of some of Atlanta’s favorite food trucks. This weekly event just launched on May 31st so I have yet to go but I plan on doing so in the near future and will report back!

Visit their Facebook page for further updates.