Back On My Food Truck Game

With another Food Truck Friday just hours away, I had to let you know about some of the food trucks that I have recently checked out for the first time.

Chorizo & Pulled Pork Arepas

Eat Arepas is a brand new food truck that has one simple message: "Eat arepas!". "What are arepas?", you ask? Made of white corn grits, Arepas are a starchy vehicle to Awesomeville. They are to Colombians what bread is to Americans, what tortillas are to Mexicans, and what Pita is to Mediterraneans. These things are really killer and taste like a grits cake (so if you love grits like I love grits, you will love these too). In Colombia, arepas are typically buttered, salted, and topped with Colombian cheese (that is most similar to queso fresco, only not quite as dry). However, Al and Amy had a bigger vision for them when they decided to bring these Colombian treats to the streets of Kansas City. 

At Eat Arepas you can get: pulled pork, chorizo, steak, roasted peppers, or "solo queso" on your arepa. You can also buy packs of arepas at the truck to take home and accessorize as you please (ideas include: PB&J, Nutella & banana, burnt ends, avocado, or any of the options served at the truck).

Taco Republic

Taco Republic (truck edition) is the latest offering from Bread & Butter Concepts (the geniuses behind such restaurants as BRGR, Urban Table, and Gram & Dun). The game plan was to open a brick and mortar version of this restaurant this past spring, but after some hiccups, they decided to send a truck to the streets in the interim. This taqueria reminds me a bit of a mash-up of Port Fonda (the truck) and Torchy's Tacos (in Dallas & Austin). The tacos are better than the ones that were served at the Port Fonda truck (IMO), not stuffed quite as full as a Torchy's Taco, and a tad more expensive than I am used to paying for street tacos (but not unfairly priced). The tacos are made with quality ingredients, those ingredients are cooked slowly, and you can taste that.

Cochinita Pibil & Tecate Barbacoa

I have tried the Tecate Barbacoa, Cochinita Pibil, Tinga, and Puerco Rojos from Taco Republic. My favorite (and my wife's) being the Cochinita Pibil, by a lot. All of the tacos were good, but after trying that taco, I have to say that it dwarfs the others. There is something about that Yucatan-style marinated pork that is going to keep me coming back. You can also get Mexican Coke and all of your favorite Jarritos flavours at the truck.

Boom Boom Tacos

Beauty of the Bistro is a relatively new truck that offers up classic American fare, with a twist: Sandwiches, Burgers, Tacos (although I know are not American), all the way to Mac & Cheese. I have only had the pleasure of partaking in the Boom Boom Tacos, which were phenomenal, and did not require a trip to The Hawk on Halloween (and also probably tasted a lot better) - link purposefully foregone. The Boom Boom Tacos are jam packed with pulled pork, broccoli slaw, homemade roasted salsa, and topped off with a jalapeno aioli. The pulled pork and the broccoli slaw complimented each other very well. I cannot wait to try more from BOTB; perhaps the Crawfish Mac&Cheese or the Boom Boom Burger!

Wilma's Real Good Food is run by a mad scientist by the name of Brett (Brettski as the guys call him). Brett's madness is right up there with that of Adrian (of Indios Carbonsitos), Brandon (of Jazzy B's), and David (of Prairie Fire Oven, he put beets on a pizza for goodness sake). Brettski is an OG in the KC food truck game, but for some reason, it took this long for our paths to cross.

Barnyard Bliss

When I say Brett is a mad scientist, here is what I mean: The two items that I have had from Wilma's are the Barnyard Bliss and the Hong Kong Cletus. If those names by themselves did not peak your interest, just wait to hear what each of those are. The Hong Kong Cletus looks like a pretty straight forward homemade crab rangoon (from the outside), but when you bite into it and taste the pickle and bacon that have replaced the imitation crab meat (that most restaurants try to hock you) in this rangoon, you know you are in heaven! Following up something like the Hong Kong Cletus will leave some big shoes to fill, but the Barnyard Bliss delivered (and then some). Barnyard Bliss is a hoagie roll filled with seared steak and provolone cheese that is then topped with two deep fried-soft boiled eggs. *My Barnyard Bliss was a Lance Armstrong version (only one egg) because I got the last one*. That melted provolone and copious amounts of red meat alone were worth the price of admission, but then you put that egg on top of there and you have a masterpiece! This thing will make an egg burger tuck its tail and run. You need to try this, like yesterday!

Guadalajara Cafe

Photos on the wall

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably know the story of how my wife and I came to spend a few frantic (yet awesome) hours in Guadalajara, Mexico. That unplanned excursion turned out to be a life changing event. Guadalajara was the first place that I tried an authentic street taco (on the street), which in turn led to me starting this blog. And as they say, "the rest is history".

With all of that being said, a place called Guadalajara Cafe seems like a logical place for me to check out. It is owned by one of the part owners of Frida's Contemporary Mexican Cuisine, so you know you are in for authentic Mexican food (it is more to the traditional side than Frida's). I actually think that Guadalajara Cafe is better than Frida's, despite the fact that GC has no atole ice cream.

When you walk into Guadalajara (the cafe, not the city), you are greeted by the smell of an authentic Mexican kitchen and photos of small tortillerias. The homemade chips and salsa are phenomenal, although (for the millionth time) is never a reason to choose/not choose a Mexican restaurant.

Enchiladas en Mole

Every time that I have been to GC, I have been nearly incapable of ordering anything but the Enchiladas en Mole. The lunch version of this entree is two traditional chicken enchiladas (made with corn tortillas, as they should be) smothered in the most delicious mole that has a light, but distinct essence of cocoa. - To those of you who are unfamiliar with moles: A mole is a traditional Mexican sauce, there are all different varieties of moles (spicy moles, sweet moles, more moles than you can shake a stick at). This one is a savory mole that has a hint of chocolate in it. - If you have never tried a mole before, you are in for a treat. If you are a seasoned mole veteran, you will agree with me that GC has the real deal. The beans and rice that accompany the enchiladas, that I would normally just toss aside at most Mexican restaurants, are quite enjoyable at GC. These beans, like the mole, have been slow cooked and tended to with love (you can tell when you taste them).

Steak Picado

The last time I was there for lunch, however, I did stray from my unequivocal favorite and tried out the Steak Picado. This is a dish of slow cooked carne asada steak and sauteed mushrooms, served in a mushroom sauce, with tortillas on the side. (The tortillas that come with this particular dish are of the flour variety, but corn tortillas are available by request.) The steak picado was a delicious change of pace, especially if you enjoy a good mushroom sauce. I got so overzealous and overloaded my first two tortillas so badly that I almost didn't have enough steak left for my third tortilla. The beans and rice were still delicious as well.

I have never been for dinner, but have only heard great things about any dinner entree that friends have here. This is one of my favorite lunch spots and I can only imagine that they turn it up at dinner time. I recommend GC to anyone that loves authentic home-style Mexican food!

El Pollo Rey

El Pollo Rey has two items on the menu: whole chicken and half chicken. They know what they do and they do it right! The chickens are cooked whole, on a wood fire grill, then quartered upon order. Your half/whole chicken comes with tortillas, rice, beans, grilled onions, and salsa. The general idea is to separate the chicken from the bone and make wonderful grilled chicken tacos with it.

The chicken is out of this world! The chicken is flavored with an understated delicious rub. It is the second best chicken I have had in my life, second only to my dad's BBQ grilled chicken with his homemade sauce. The tortillas are good, but not great. They are fresh, but the tortillas are not the reason you're going there to begin with. The rice is solid, pretty much your standard Mexican rice. The salsa has the look and consistency of applesauce, and is delicious! Which is saying a lot, coming from a salsa snob like myself. The beans had little slices of Mexican hot dog in it. I was not a huge fan of the chunk of chicken fat in my beans, I am not a fan of places that put pork fat in beans either, but the flavor of the beans was incredible. Its hard to argue with results.

When you drive by El Pollo Rey, you can smell the wood smoke coming from the stack. They used to be located in an old hole in the wall store front, but have recently upgraded to an old Dairy Queen building. More capacity = more delicious chicken. I recommend this place to anyone looking for some great chicken or anything slightly outside the box. Plus you can't beat all of that food for just $6.50 per half chicken order.

Street tacos in KC

After many failed attempts to find street tacos in a town that is dominated by tacos that more closely resemble deep fried crap covered in cheddar cheese than they do tacos. I came across Ricos Tacos Lupe. It is marvelous! It is a little slice of Mexico here in Kansas City. The tacos (and other food) are actually made on a cart that is behind a fence looking structure in the front of the restaurant. The TV in the back is always tuned into Univision (that is when a soccer match is not on), there is a giant Chivas Guadalajara flag on the wall, and the menu is in both Spanish and English. This is one of the most unassuming places that I have ever eaten in my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way. There it is, off to the right in the Google street view image shown below, the orange store front with bars on the window.

More important than the atmosphere is the food. They bring you chips and a traditional tomato based salsa when you sit down. There are also two other varieties of salsa on the table in diner style condiment containers, a salsa verde (my favorite) and a chipotle pepper based salsa (my wife's favorite), I recommend eating your chips with these salsas over the salsa provided in the bowl. That being said, the bowl salsa has improved quite a bit in the time that we have been going to Ricos. Their big hits are the street tacos, burritos, and tortas (a traditional Mexican sandwich). The taco/burrito meat options are: carne asada (pictured to the right), pollo (chicken), carnitas, cabeza, chorizo, al pastor, and tripas. The carne is always my go to option, if you cant make up your mind, just go with the carne. The chicken is solid. The carnitas (Mexican shredded pork) are always very juicy and flavorful, they are my wife's favorite. The cabeza (which translated literally means "head", but is beef cheek meat) is my personal favorite meat when prepared correctly. Sometimes the cabeza meat is a little fatty but if you get a good cut, it is amazing. The chorizo has great flavor, but a little greasy for my taste, its spiced just perfectly and not TOO spicy. The al pastor is sort of like a Mexican gyro that is made of pork, to those that have never tried it. Every time I try to order the tripas and relive my trip to Mexico, they are out, but I will keep ordering it until I get it. The tacos are perfectly sized (not too small and not too large) and come on corn tortillas with cilantro and onions, just like they would on the street in Mexico. The tortillas are made in house and taste great, however sometimes the tortillas beneath the tacos can get a little soggy if you don't eat them fast enough. The burritos are nearly the size of a Chipotle burrito and come in a flour tortilla. I recommend squeezing that lime slice that comes with your tacos and adding some salsa verde, then chowing down.

You can find me at Ricos on most Tuesdays and even a good number of Thursdays with a group of friends and a 12 pack of Modelo. That is right, nothing goes with the 1$ Taco Tuesday special or the 2$ Burrito Thursday special than the Mexican beer of your choice that you can pick up across the street at Royal Liquors and bring in with you. It should also be noted that Ricos is a cash only establishment, so make sure to bring a whole 10$ bill to pay for you and your date after cash and tip (you may even have enough left over to buy a losing lottery ticket if you take a skinny date).