Capital Spice

Just a quick note while we’re confirming and contacting the winners of our BONMi Giveaway…

In case you haven’t heard, today is the fifth and final Truckeroo food truck gathering in the Bullpen down near Nationals Park.  They’re calling it Truckerboo in honor of Halloween, and you’re invited to Trick or Eat from now until midnight.  There will be live music, more than twenty-five food trucks, costume contests with cash prizes and unseasonably cold weather.

Participating trucks this time around include:

AZN Eats
Surfside Truck
BBQ Bus
Big Cheese
Cajunators
CapMac
Curbside Cupcakes
Dangerous Pies DC
DC Empanadas
DC Slices
Eat Wonky
El Floridano
Fojol Bros
Halal Gyro
Hula Girl
Orange Cow
PORC
Pleasant Pops
Red Hook Lobster
Sang on Wheels
Sauca
SweetBites
TaKorean
Tasty Kabob
Yellow Vendor
Basil Thyme

Check out the website for a great aggregated page with all the participants’ Twitter feeds and additional information about the event.

Ever wonder how Truckeroo came about?  It’s a joint venture of Georgetown Events and the DC Food Truck Association.  We’ll be bringing you more information about both organizations – and what the future holds for Truckeroo – in a regular feature that we’ll be rolling out soon.  Keep an eye out for “Food Truck Fridays” here at Capital Spice!

It’s been almost two years since the Fojol Brothers burst onto the DC vending scene with their take on Indian cuisine.  Their butter chicken, lentils, and curry are fresh and flavorful, and the mango lassipop is a favorite warm weather treat.  But the Fojols are a nomadic people, and Merlindia has open borders and neighboring lands…

When the Fojol mobile carnival paid a visit to Capitol Hill just before the Curbside Cookoff, I had a chance to chat with Dingo (one of the ‘brothers’).  We talked about the diversity of food truck concepts that have launched over the past few months and the city council’s actions.  But there was one thing he told me that particularly piqued my interest.  Dingo suggested that if everything went smoothly we’d be seeing another Fojol Brothers truck on the street before too long.

I pressed him for details, but he demurred.  All he would tell me is that the truck would reflect the spirit of Merlindian enthusiasm, if not the same cuisine.  I was intrigued, and impatient to see what would come.

Well the wait is over.

On Saturday, as I was scouting the vending options along Independence Avenue near the Stewart/Colbert rally, I walked past the new Dangerously Delicious Pie Truck and came upon not one, but two Fojol Brothers trucks parked together!  A new set of Fojol Brothers have made their way to Washington.  They hail from Benethiopia, a land known for its spicy and savory dishes as well as the spongy injera bread upon which they’re served.

A sampling of Benethiopian cuisine after the jump. (more…)

When it comes to food trucks, DC is quickly earning a place as one of the most diverse and delicious cities across the country.  We’ve got Maine lobster rolls, Cuban sandwiches, Canadian poutine and Korean BBQ tacos – even food from the Fojol brothers’ native “Merlindia!”  On any given weekday a lunch crush could be gathering just outside your office for a taste one of these or a dozen other concepts.

But not yesterday and today.  With the first annual Curbside Cookoff, Washington’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs brought them all together in the parking lot at 11th and H Streets, NW for a snacking summit of epic proportions.  Voters selected their twenty favorite vendors from those who sell in the DC metropolitan area, and they all received invitations to set up at the site of the old convention center for two days of food and fun.

Yesterday’s crowds were a testament to just how popular these food trucks have become – an estimated 8500 guests waited in lines that sometimes exceeded an hour just to taste some of the favorites.

We stopped by for a quick look around in the early afternoon, and some of the vendors had already sold out for the day.  They’ve promised to reload and come back ready for twice as many people today.

Planning to be one of them?  Check out our guide to the Curbside Cookoff – complete with photos – after the jump. (more…)

Image Credit: Pressed Magnolia Studio

When we told you about FryCaptain’s debut yesterday, we warned you that there were a couple of additional food truck launches on the very near horizion.

Is today soon enough for you?

Wonky Truck has done a few test runs over the past two weeks, and today they go live.  They’ve even got a new website up and running, though they’ll continue to post location updates via Twitter (@eatwonky) and Facebook.  Hungry fans can find them at Franklin Park today from 11:30 to 2 to find out what all the fuss is about.

Image Courtesy eatWonky

I had the chance to chat with Jeff Kelley, one of the pair behind the Poutine Machine, and he gave me some more information on the gravy-and-cheese curd concept that he and partner Minas Kaloosian are about to unleash on the DC dining scene.  Like any good politically-minded Washingtonian, I wanted to see just what makes a Wonky Dog so wonky.

As it turns out, wonky means “a little off-center” in Canadian slang – the perfect description for the idea of putting cheese curds, gravy and fries on top of a hot dog.  But somehow that’s exactly the idea that Jeff and Minas came up with upon first tasting poutine in Vancouver.  So all you policy wonks with a dream of chucking it all and starting a new career as a food truck driver/chef will have to find a new inspiration (may we suggest the guys at Pork Barrel BBQ?).

Kelley gave us a few hints of things to come and a look at the truck’s menu board.  Check them out after the jump. (more…)

It’s official!  After test runs on Friday night in Adams Morgan and Saturday evening in Dupont Circle, the newest food truck to hit the streets will be serving its first lunch crowds today.

FryCaptain, the brainchild of Jake Sendar, will be bringing crisp, hot french fries (complete with an array of flavorful dipping sauces) and cold, thick milkshakes to compete with the lobster rolls, frozen yogurt, cupcakes and all the other food truck treats.  And they’re not a moment too soon – there are at least two other trucks scheduled to start making the rounds within the next week.

We talked with Jake and his fry chef Rusty to get an idea of what to expect when the truck pulls up to its first stop – 1 Massachusetts Ave., NW (near Union Station) - today.

We asked about the fries and learned that they’re cut and prepped each day before service begins, then fired up hot on the spot.  For now, at least, they’re cooking the fries in a trans-fat free vegetable oil, but they’re still looking into other options and may consider peanut oil or another option down the road.  They are also committed to bringing their promised duck-fat fries online within the next few weeks, though they’re rolling out with just the basic fries for now.

Funky flavors for dipping sauces and shakes after the jump. (more…)

<<EDIT 8/13/10 11:23 AM: Bummer!  Apparently the truck is out of commission for the day.  Red Hook has tweeted:

So, we’re not as weatherproof as our favorite hard-shelled friends and Friday the13th demons struck our truck. So sorry. Hope to roll Mon.

Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery and a smooth opening run on Monday!>>

By the time you read this, Red Hook Lobster Pound may have already tweeted the site of their first stop (Brooklyn-based owner Susan Povich has already spilled the beans on their New York feed).  If that’s the case, you can bet that a line is already forming to greet them upon arrival, regardless of weather.  Before Red Hook had served even their first sample, they had more than 1900 followers hanging on their every update about when their mobile lobster shack would be hitting the street.

Well the wait is finally over, and we can say from experience it was worth it.  Last night the team behind Red Hook Lobster DC threw a launch party for some of their most eager fans and media types.  Guests enjoyed tastes of the truck’s signature lobster rolls as well as Cape Cod chips, shrimp rolls, whoopie pies and Maine Root sodas.  We gathered in the grassy park-like space where M and 2nd Streets meet in Southeast, near the Nationals’ stadium. (HINT: Apparently the Red Hook folks thought it was a good location…just saying.)

At the kick-off party we had a chance to meet Susan as well as Doug Povich (Susan’s cousin) and Leland Morris, the guys behind Red Hook Lobster Pound’s Washington operation.  The mood was festive despite the fact that we all huddled under a pair of tents while a storm blew through.  The mobile restaurateurs were effusive with their praise of their DC followers as they shared their excitement to be hours away from opening.

So what was that delectable-looking lobster roll like?  And what do you need to do to be ready when they come to your neighborhood?  Find out after the jump. (more…)