Last week was spring break for the Minneapolis schools. By Friday, the boys and I were rather tired of the house. Fortunately for us, food truck season came early this year with the premature onset of warm weather. We decided to visit downtown Minneapolis—for a tour of the food trucks.
We started at World Street Kitchen, on Nicollet Avenue at 5th Street, with a red curry chicken banh mi with pickled vegetables and jalapenos. Great, I thought. I’ll eat this and then find the boys something at the next stop. But the sandwich had all three of us fighting for a portion. I’m pretty sure I was the loser, shocked that my picky eaters were tussling over something with curry, hot peppers, and vegetables. The World Street Kitchen sandwiches are that good.
With all three of us still hungry, I hoped we could get a sausage sandwich from Vellee Deli, around the corner on Marquette Avenue at 6th Street. Alas, we were too late for anything but the egg rolls, which disappeared nearly as fast as the banh mi.
But what was that, just ahead on the next block? Smack Shack, with its fat chunks of lobster on buttered, toasted bread. They kindly cut it in half for us, and warned the boys it would be messy. It was, but it was worth it.
A prudent person would have gone home then. But instead we walked up to Candyland. I got a small bag of Chicago Mix, the addictive trio of salted, caramel, and cheese popcorns; the boys got fruit jellies. We munched our respective treats happily on the way home, where we collapsed on the couch, stuffed and happy. After our successful adventure, I now have another option for sunny days when school is out. Next time, though, we’re getting to Vellee Deli early.
What food trucks should we find on our next outing, and do your kids have a favorite truck?
