Tuesday 6/21- Basil Thyme (Pasta)

Today is a special posting of FTF blog, the wifey was able to join me for lunch today and agreed to be a guest contributor to today's post!

We tried "Basil Thyme", which is pretty new on the DC truck scene (less than two weeks), but despite their newbieness they ran a smooth and tasty operation selling a good variety of high quality pasta with generous proportions and at a decent price!  According to their website they create the pasta fresh every day, not just the sauce but the actual pasta itself, and after tasting it I definitely believe it!

Pasta Combo $10 (Fettuccine, salad, bread, drink and cannoli)

The Basil Thyme truck offers a menu of several different types of Lasagna (vegi, beef, meat) or pasta, today the pasta option was fettuccine, with a variety of sauces to choose from. I ordered the fettuccine with pesto as part of the combo special which came with a side salad, a piece of bread, a drink and two small cannolis. I found it all delicious.

The pasta was very fresh tasting, and you could actually TASTE the pasta, it had perfect texture and softness. The Pesto sauce was also very good, if not perfect. It was not overpowering and had the right balance of basil and oil, and was not too oily or greasy. The pasta was also topped with a good amount of cheese which really tied it all together quite nicely.

The salad was definitely well put together and was not an after thought as often side salads are; it contained high end ingredients, including tomatoes, cucumber, olives, greens and a tangy dressing. The slice of french bread was a nice touch and was useful to help push the pasta on the fork!

I am not a big fan of cannoli as I find them either too rich or too sweet for my taste, but I actually really enjoyed this cannoli, the casing was softer than usual and the fresh ricotta filling was soft and creamy and not too rich or sweet.

The truck staff was very friendly and pleasant to deal with, my only suggestions would be that they use more environmental friendly containers instead of the plastic containers they are using, and stop automatically putting orders in plastic bags.   Also it would be good if they posted the days menu on the truck, which they did not do today.

Overall I give the Basil Thyme truck a very high rating and will definitely be looking to try it again as it was a delicious and filling lunch at a very good value!

My wife had the Beef Lasagna pictured below and agreed to contribute to my blog by posting a review of her meal:

Lasagna Combo (Beef Lasgna, Salad, bread, drink and cannoli) $10


 I had the beef lasagna combo which came with a side salad, bread, drink and dessert. The lasagna tasted fresh and homemade. The lasagna noodles were intact, easy to cut and soft to chew. There were no rough or rubbery corners. The tomato sauce was perfect in flavor. And the lasagna was neither greasy nor overloaded with cheese, however I did not taste much basil or other herbs in the lasagna. If I were to suggest any modifications to the recipe it would be to add more Thyme and Basel as the truck name implies. The side salad was mixed greens (primarily arugula), with pitted kalamata olives and a sliced cucumber. It had the perfect amount of dressing- I like to taste the greens in my salad, not the dressing. For dessert I had the cannoli which tasted wonderful.  I would say it is probably the best cannoli I have had in a super long time. The cannoli was soft yet firm. You can taste the cinnamon in the cannoli which made it so tasty. The cream was not too sweet nor too thick. I didn't feel like I was eating sweetened butter-like cream. The cream was soft and whipped. I would definitely go back to try out other meals on their menu.

Monday 6/20- Big Cheese

I tried the Big Cheese truck today for the first time.  They serve the classic comfort food of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with a gourmet touch!  This truck has been out for quite a while and despite several other trucks at Farragut Park today, they still managed to attract the largest crowed and after trying it myself, I can see why.  

Midnight Moon Sandwich (Goat Cheese Gouda with Caramelized Onions on Multi-Grain) $6.50, Gazpacho $2

Big Cheese offers 4-5 different varieties of grilled cheese sandwiches, including Chevre with Fig spread, Brie with Fuji Apple, classic Cheddar on sour dough, and the Goat Cheese Gouda with Caramelized onions, which is what I ordered.  They also offer some sides, I went for the Gazpacho, which for $2 is a bargain.

I was very happy with my sandwich, it was like eating French Onion Soup in Sandwich form.  It came with a generous serving of cheese smothered with carmelized onions!  The bread was also full of whole grains which gave it a nice texture.  I do think that $6.50 is a bit costly for what you get, but in terms of taste, I have no complaints.  The Gazpacho was delicious, it was very chunky and tasted very fresh, for two dollars you get a paper coffee cup serving, which I think is a pretty good deal.  I was left a bit hungry after the sandwich, so maybe next time I might just get a double or triple order of Gazpacho.  If you are seeking a light, but tasty lunch- Big Cheese is the way to go!

June 14 - Fojol Bros of Benethopia

Fojol Bros is my favorite food truck  franchise, so I am not sure why it has taken me this long to post a review.  Fojol Bros of Merlinda (aka the Indian Food Truck) is my favorite of the food trucks and never disappoints.  The food is always delicious and the staff, dressed up in their goofy outfits complete with huge fake mustaches and turbans always have something hilarious to say.  Today I tried their newest truck, called Fojol Bros of Benethopia which as the name implies, serves up Ethopian food.  Its the same style 70's funky truck as the Indian truck, also blasting funky tunes and also has a witty staff making the lunch process enjoyable for their customers.  They even put out chairs and blankets on the grass for customers to enjoy!  Even better, this truck has a sink on the outside to wash your hands, which comes in handy since Ethiopian food is best eaten with your hands! 

Pick 2 Combo with Beef Berbere and Berber Lentils- $7

Like their their Merlindian relatives, the fojol bros of Benethopia have combo options of 2 or 3 items, both come with plenty of Injera bread.  I like Ethopian food a lot, and despite DC being full of Ethopian restaurants, I have found, with few exception, most to be hit or miss.  Fojol Bros did not let me down, I found the combo of Beef Berbere and the Berber Lentils to be delicious!  They were both very tasty and generous in proportion and had just the right amount of spice kick- not too spicy and not too bland.  As far as I can tell, this is pretty authentic Ethopian food and definitely well prepared.  The beef is very moist and comes in a tomato based sauce.  The lentils also come in a tomato based sauce and are cooked to perfection, not soggy or smushed and not hard-- just right!  I dont know if you can go wrong with Injera bread, but I should note that the Injera bread is also just good and comes pre cut in easy to eat triangles.

I am glad to have found another solid food truck in town.  When I am not in the mood to experiment I know I can get a solid meal at an excellent price, at $7 for the 2-item combo, its cheaper than all of the lamewhich/salad places that are scheming to keep the DC lunch scene bland!

I look forward to trying the other offerings at Fojol Brothers of Benethopia, and also to write about the original Fojol Bros of Merlinda, I definitely recommend trying both trucks, you cant go wrong with Fojol Bros!

Monday 6/13 - Oh Captain, Fry Captain

When I heard that the Fry Captain food truck had hit the streets of DC, I immediately recalled fond memories of Pommes Frites in NYC and hoped this truck would be of similar caliber.  For those who have not been to Pommes Frites, take my advice and GO!  I would say its even worth a special trip to NYC, for it.  Unfortunately for us in DC, Fry Captain does not come close and does not even warrant a special trip down the block.

I purchased the regular order of fries for $4, they also have an option for a double order for $6, and if I wanted them fried in Duck Oil (whatever that is), add $1.50 extra.  They also have shakes which I did not try.

So I order my fries and am charged $5, when I refer to the menu and ask aren't they $4, he informs me that they ran out of regular oil so they are using Duck Oil and so they have to charge me $1 more!  I don't mind so much when trucks run out of stuff, its part of the nature of the truck biz, but not to be informed upfront (say I was a vegetarian and didn't want Duck Oil).. that was the first put off.   Second strike, was the size of the fries, for $4 I was expecting a decent size order of fries, well the picture above is a bit misleading, and it was a lot smaller than it looks in the picture.    Third strike was they had no napkins!  How can your core business be fries and you do not have any napkins!  So as you can see this truck struck out with me before I even tasted the food.

Fry Captain did not redeem itself with the quality of the food.  The Fries were over salted, greasy, and small.. and all broken up.  It was like the fries that gather at the bottom of an order that usually get tossed, except my WHOLE order was like that.  I kept eating after the first couple of bites because I felt bad wasting $5, but by the time I got half way through I asked my self why I was still eating this ball of grease and salt and I tossed the rest! 

Bottom Line- Fry Captain = Complete FAIL.   Very unfortunate as I really wanted to love this truck.