Super-Secret Underground Food Truck Extravaganza

Last evening, we went to a fun event to support a campaign to bring street food to Atlanta.

Food Truck Extravaganza, Souper Jenny

There are a couple of notable food vendors in the city. Specifically street vendors, I mean. Yumbii is one of them. It has its own Twitter handle that announces the truck location of the day. The cuisine is Korean BBQ flavored tacos, burritos, etc. Not many options for vegetarians although you can get burrits/tacos stuffed with tofu. The other vendor popular around town is The King of Pops. These guys sell hand-crafted popsicles in the most unique flavor combinations. Ever heard of Arnold Palmer, Pear Cardamom, Watermelon Peppercorn pops? The King of Pops is a hit in Atlanta and of course, they have their highly popular Twitter following as well. What a perfect name for the business, awesome.

Yesterday’s event included Korean BBQ tacos, The King of Pops’s hand-crafted popsicles, cupcakes and ice cream, delicacies from New Orleans… so what did we eat?

Got a Korean BBQ taco with stir-fried tofu from Yumbii. The tofu came nestled with lettuce and a spicy-sweet sauce (reminded me of Sriracha) in a crisp tortilla. P liked it a lot. I think it was strictly okay. Really, this could be one awesome vegetarian taco but it fell short. The vegetarian palette of flavors has much variety and this little taco felt very limited. Check out any Indian street food stall and you will see what I mean. A taco isn’t too different from a Frankie, a snack that is an integral part of the Mumbai street food scene. The variety of spices, fillings, seasonings and sauces available is mindboggling. I suppose this Korean BBQ tofu taco should be counted as a decent start.

Korean BBQ Taco with Stir-fried Tofu

Curry Cone

Obviously we had to sample every vegetarian dish that was on display. Next up was a curry cone. Imagine a waffle cone filled with a samosa filling, topped with chopped cilantro and mint yogurt. Tall promise but the end result didn’t quite deliver. The samosa filling was cold (!!!) and lacked salt. Not just a little salt but a lot of salt. Plus it wasn’t even a mint yogurt topping, more a drizzle, an after thought! Full disclosure, the waffle cone contained eggs, I am mostly sure, but I went ahead and got it anyway.

Then came a quesadilla with a sweet potato and pickled okra filling… Excellent, I liked it! An innovative blend of flavors and textures, in my opinion.

Quesadilla with Sweet Potato and Pickled Okra

I absolutely had to get a scoop of ice cream from Westside Creamery. It’s been a long time that I have wanted to sample ice cream from these guys. So I ordered a scoop of salted butter caramel.

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream, Westside Creamery

Disappointing.

I went back and asked if salt was a topping or if the ice cream had salt infused in it. Turns out that it is the latter or else I would have asked for some extra salt! This was simply regular sweet caramel flavored ice cream, reminiscent of the Malai Kulfi  you can buy at many Indian restaurants. Nice it was but nothing like what salted butter caramel ice cream should taste like.

I also went and got myself a chocolate-mint cupcake. The frosting was delicious but the cupcake was so-so. Probably I am not a cupcake person.

Chocolate-Mint Cupcake

Since The King of Pops was around, we got ourselves a Cucumber Jalapeno and a Raspberry Lime popsicle each.

Cucumber Jalapeno Popsicle

Raspberry Lime Popsicle

P liked the green one. He thought that it was an excellent combination of cool, sweet and spicy. Jalapeno added a spicy kick to the pop. However, I couldn’t discern the sweetness that P was talking about. I liked the red Raspberry Lime a lot better. Sweet and slightly tart, this is a perfect summery combo. Each pop cost us $2.50. Rather high for a popsicle, you think? But they are hand-crafted, heavenly tasting and large-sized.

All in all, a cool event with a hip crowd, decent food, great weather. I am not talking about cross-contamination issues with street food at this point. Some things you pretty much always turn a blind eye to… whether it be street food in Mumbai or Atlanta.