It’s taken me awhile to jump on the food truck bandwagon. There’s something that bugs me about paying top dollar for a lunch served out the window of a truck. $13.50 for a sandwich? In a box?
But my hesitation was foolish—and there are good bargains to be found on the trucks.
Let’s start with the Smack Shack. Dara previewed it last month and loved it, but wondered what the market would be for $13.50 lobster sandwiches in the Warehouse District.
Yesterday, I stood in line with 15 other people at 11:20 a.m. waiting for it to open at 11:30 a.m. So clearly there’s a market.
The King Roll is the $13.50 treat. The woman working there told me it was about 1/2 pound of lobster; Dara was told it was almost a pound. So it varies. But it’s wonderful. The freshest lobster prepared in an aoili with tarragon and chunks of cucumber. It tasted like the ocean. Just glorious. There’s a regular lobster roll (1/4 pound) for $8.50, and that’s certainly a lot of lobster. I mean, just think of how much lobster costs—and then this does seem like a bargain.
Go with a friend and spend the $2 for the seasoned fries—it’s a huge serving. Josh Thoma runs the Smack Shack. He may be on to something. You’ll find it at 1st Avenue and 4th Street in Minneapolis.
The World Street Kitchen is run by the team behind Saffron, and I’ve only tasted one thing, but I’ll certainly be back. You’ll find it parked at 5th and Nicollet in downtown Minneapolis.
This is in fact a bargain. $5.50 for the curried chicken banh mi. The curry is luxuriously complex, with flavors unfolding with each bite. The bread wasn’t my favorite; I thought it was a little too sweet, but to its credit, it doesn’t overwhelm the sandwich (that can be an issue with banh mi).
They had a lamb taco on the menu for $2.50, and a meatball sandwich for $5.50. These are cheaper prices than what you’ll pay at Chipotle, Panera, and Potbelly downtown—for a great meal prepared by one of the Twin Cities’ top kitchens. On a truck.
There are so many more of these trucks to try out. What’s your favorite food truck? Is it crazy to pay $13.50 for a sandwich from a truck? Tell me where my next stop should be in the comments!
