P3rogy Boyz

The Northwest part of Calgary is known for their sprawling suburbs, not usually rock and roll. So, when I heard loud music blaring from the Crowfoot shopping area this past Saturday, I was intrigued. The music led me to the Crowfoot Rona parking lot. It also led me to a couple of food trucks, a children’s bouncy castle and a petting zoo from Butterfield Acres. What on earth was going on that day? I had no idea, but I figured this would be a perfect time to check out some street food.

It was cold, with a bit of a wind chill and there wasn’t much of a crowd. We stood in line for P3rogy Boyz. The unique spelling of their name reminds me of a B-Boy group. But, their logo is reminiscent of political propaganda from the old Soviet Union. Not sure where they are going with this mixed theme. Urban, break-dancing, perogy-making rebels? Okay. They boasted “Revolutionary Taste” on the side of their truck, so I was really excited about this one. But, then a spunky girl asked the people in front of us if they were in line, and they told her they were just waiting for their food. So she rushes to the front without even giving us a glance. Geeze. Those perogies must be that good to abandon all concept of courtesy. We ordered the Traditional and Mexicali. Although I would have preferred to try the exotic ones like Duck and Carrot Cake, in my haste I was apparently too hungry to look at the full menu before ordering. 

The Traditional perogies were filled with cottage cheese and potato. They were grilled, and then topped with bacon and onions and served with a side of sour cream. The Mexicali perogies were filled with seasoned beef and cheddar cheese and topped with chopped tomatoes and onions. The Mexicali kind of reminded me of an empanada of sorts. It wasn’t my favorite. The Traditional, however had this melty, sultry, smoky flavor. It erased memory of any previous displeasure. Our only concern was that 8 perogies was not enough! I will be back to try more flavours!

Theme/Truck Design – Its vibrant red, with a political theme. “Perogies to the People.” I’m a fan. 

Food – Eastern European foods like perogies, sausages and borscht, derived from their Baba’s recipes. Making simple ingredients so amazingly delicious! 

Service – Nothing really stood out to me in the way of a customer experience. We received what we ordered in a timely fashion. That’s pretty much it. For such a cool concept, I guess I was expecting more fun and personality?

Price - $9.00 for 8 perogies. $4.00 for a side of sausage or borscht. Eating here is not for the faint of wallet.

Wildcard – They are local and whenever feasible they try to use local ingredients and suppliers. They really just want to see Calgary thrive.

3/5 Ninja Stars

 

The Noodle Bus

From following all of these mobile eateries, it has become apparent that Calgary Food Trucks love to support anything that is going on the city. In general, I’ve actually found that the growing network of Calgary Food Trucks is just really supportive of everything. They are supportive of each other and any cause that they can contribute to in the community. That is so refreshing to see, when normally cruel competition reigns instead of friendly business relationships. This past week, I found that no cause is too small for these trucks. Not even a school fundraiser is too small for them, which is why this week’s review was at Westmount Charter School for a Terry Fox Run Fundraiser.

We pulled up to the school during lunchtime. There were a few food trucks parked in the school’s parking lot, with swarms of children! Each truck each had a ridiculously long line. A bright green truck stuck out to me right in the middle of the crowd. Vietnamese noodles? Okay! We had to wait about half an hour in the long lineup. Whilst in line, we noticed that each child at this event was dressed up. We saw devils, glittery gold girls, super heroes, you name it. Even the teachers were dressed up! I seriously don’t remember my school’s Terry Fox Run being that much fun. The truck made the ordering process easy for the kids, too. They handed out pads of paper to choose which items you wanted to order. When I finally got to the window to order, I was sad to find out they were out of their Banana Fritters. Darn. I really wanted to try those. Next time, I guess. I ordered Bun: BBQ Pork with Spring rolls. It was served in a plastic bowl. I opened it up, and steamy goodness filled my nose. The pork was tender and flavorful. The vermicelli noodles were noodley, the veggies fresh, and the spring rolls were hot and crispy. It was served with the two classic sauces that accompany Vietnamese food: Hoisin sauce and fish sauce. I love that the portion sizes are always huge with Vietnamese food. You never finish your meal hungry. It was classic dish done nicely. You really can’t go wrong with The Noodle Bus!

Theme/Truck Design – Bright green truck with a red noodle bowl and chopsticks. You know what you’re getting yourself into. 

Food – Traditional Vietnamese cuisine. I craved a little more of a variety or uniqueness in their menu, besides the classic dishes that were offered.

Service – Although she was dealing with a long line of rambunctious children, the lady at the window still managed to smile and be courteous to each customer.   

Price - $8.00 for Bun, $7.00 for Pho. These prices are definitely in line with what you would normally pay at a Vietnamese Restaurant.

Wildcard – They donated 10% of their sales to the Terry Fox Foundation. Wayta go, Noodle Bus!

4/5 Ninja Stars

Vasili’s

The weather has cooled down a little bit. The leaves are turning. The air is getting crisper every day. This makes one wonder just how much nice weather is left in this year? More importantly, how much time is left to review food trucks? I’m not sure about how the food trucks work during changing seasons. Do they hibernate for winter? I have to start reviewing overtime to get in as many as possible before the inevitable.

This review comes courtesy of Smart Technologies (Research Rd & 36 St. NW). Their building is close to the University of Calgary and the Brentwood LRT Park and Ride. I received a tip from a friend of mine that a whole schwack of food trucks would be congregating in the adjacent field for the lunch time rush. It was sunny, with a bit of a nip in the air. We entered the ever so familiar circle and looked around us. There were about 15 trucks there. My friend casually suggested Greek food. In the corner of my eye, I saw a giant Pegasus. It was then that I knew I had to try Vasili’s food truck.

The smells of fresh Greek cuisine emanated from the blue truck as we ordered our food from the friendly lady at the front window. Their specials for the day were written on a white board in front of the truck. We decided on the Zeus Sub and the Twisted Pig. It was not long before we received our orders and headed over to a shady spot on the prickly ground. The Zeus Sub had three giant beef meatballs stuffed with Macedonian feta, and topped with bell pepper, spring greens and aioli. The sub bun was soft and tasted freshly made, and was a welcome change from big name stale buns. It was kind of like an Italian meatball sandwich, with a Greek surprise! The Twisted Pig was a pita containing marinated pork, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, feta and tzatziki sauce. My friend was thrilled with the giant clumps of feta in the sandwich. We both found our subs/sandwiches to be delightfully messy, requiring many napkins to achieve any sort of decency. I shall return, little Pegasus. I shall return. 

Theme/Truck Design – The little Pegasus logo is really cute. The bright blue truck is smartly decorated, with hints of Greek mythology and architecture.

Food – They think outside the box, like stuffing meatballs with feta. Yum! Also, the beef they use from SilverSage Beef is naturally raised with no hormones or antibiotics.

Service – Smiling, friendly service, welcoming you to try their Papous’s (Greek for grandpa) recipes   

Price - $8.50 per sandwich/sub. It helps that the servings are huge! 

Wildcard – If you follow Vasili’s on twitter, they will sometimes ask a Greek mythology trivia question and the first person to their truck with an answer gets a free meal. Like a game show on wheels...Come on down!

4/5 Ninja Stars

Fries & Dolls

This week’s review comes courtesy of X-Fest 2012. It’s an annual music festival at Fort Calgary, featuring great bands, all outdoors. This year, headliners included Fun., Incubus, and Silversun Pickups. Over 11,000 people came to see their favorite musicians. We specifically came to see one of my companion’s all time favorite bands, Linkin Park. They have never been to Calgary before, and we could not miss this opportunity. They were the last band to play, so we had some time to explore, and grab some food!  

The food trucks were placed strategically at the entrance of the festival. They formed some sort of semi-circle. You could see lots of couples stand in the middle, and look at all their options, arguing back and forth about who wanted what. It wasn’t a hard decision for me. The bright pink truck stood out in the crowd immediately. I knew I had to try it. We waited in line, and looked at the menu. They have two sizes, B cup and D cup. Cute! All of their gourmet fries are named after famous femmes: Farrah, Fergie, Audrey, Sophia, etc. These aren’t just fries, either. They are gourmet fries, topped with gourmet toppings, like pink sea salt, grana padano parmesan and honey! You get a 50’s kind of vibe from the whole thing. The employees all wear adorable polka dot dresses, and they address you as “honey”. We had to wait a few minutes for our fries, but it was worth the wait. I ordered the special of the evening: the Ivy with a side of chipotle sauce and ketchup. The fries were topped with prosciutto, truffle oil, applewood smoked cheddar cheese, and honey. The fries were hot, fresh, crispy and delicious! The toppings made it more of a meal than a side dish. It definitely was a flavor combination that I have never tasted before. It was smokey, and salty with a touch of sweetness. Sign me up for another cup o’ fries!

Theme/Truck Design – I love the hot pink 50’s theme. Girls love fries! Just watch the GAP girls sketch fromSNL. So this combination is perfect!

Food - Fries, fries, fries with fancy toppings to create unique creations.

 

Service – Flirty waitresses in retro-looking uniforms. No wonder the majority of those in line were male.

Price - $8 for B cup (16 oz.), $10 for D cup (32 oz.). Gourmet ingredients don’t come cheap!

Wildcard – For all my gluten-free friends, you will be happy to know that this truck is also gluten-free! This includes their fries, sauces and sausages. Fries & Dolls is a great tasty option for those with gluten issues. 

4/5 Ninja Stars

Pimento’s Pizzeria: Chef Mario’s Truck

I decided to check out the fireworks at Globalfest’s 10th Anniversary Celebration in Elliston Park this year. It was a beautiful evening! There were a lot of people out to support the multicultural festival. Tents from all parts of the world came together to showcase “One world”. Kids of all ages had come out to see the show. Mayor Nenshi even had a little speech prepared for the occasion. Apparently, he grew up in that part of the city, and he is proud to see this annual event as such a success. Love that mayor!

With such a great event in progress, I knew that food trucks would also be there, so I scoured the grounds. I came across a silver food truck with quite a crowd. I saw that it was a pizzeria! Perfect. That’s exactly what I had been craving that evening. The chefs inside the truck were laughing, and joking. They looked like they really enjoy what they do. I ordered the 3 Cheese Basil Pesto Pizza. It was so delicious. The crust was nice and thin to make way for the big flavour of fresh basil pesto, tomato and cheese. One of the best pizzas I have ever tasted! It had no meat on it, and it really didn’t need it. This came as quite a big surprise to me and my companion, as we are both meatatarians. What an accomplishment to have such basic ingredients taste so amazing! We finished off the meal with some delicious mini donuts. You know those addicting donuts they have at the fair, doused in sugar and cinnamon? Yeah. Those ones, except Italian.

Theme/Truck Design – The simple silver truck leaves a bit to be desired in the way of creativity. Maybe there was something I missed on the other side of the truck?

Food – Such great Italian pizza makes you want to hide the frozen pizzas in your freezer in shame.

Service – Fun loving Italian jokesters with a dash of charm.

Price - $10 for a personal-sized pizza, $4 for a bag of a dozen mini donuts. Is it just me or are food trucks in general just more expensive?

Wildcard – Pimento’s is run by an expert pizzaiolo, Chef Mario. That means he uses only the finest Italian ingredients in his pizzas, including organic tomatoes, fresh basil, and premium meats. Each pizza is hand tossed, and freshly prepared. Like their website says “Pimento’s pizzeria is all about an Italian guy having fun making great Italian pizza.”

3/5 Ninja Stars