Mobile Chowdown V: Eat Like A King

Marination Mobile at Mobile Chowdown

(This guest post was written by Katelyn Hackett, freelance writer and recipe editor at ManTestedRecipes.com. Find her on Twitter at @k_hack.)

Food trucks allow me to indulge in one of my greatest urban fantasies, which is to sit on the hood of my ’97 Toyota Corolla in jeans and Birkenstocks, listening to rap, while eating the kind of food honest-to-God royalty in yesteryear could only dream about. For under $10, for instance, I can buy access to a Skillet burger with grass-fed beef, Cambozola cheese, and bacon jam—and on my lunch break, without having to dress up or otherwise be an adult in a strenuous manner. No need to commit to the whole restaurant experience. (Time enough for that after work.)

The only problem with incorporating the whole food truck thing into my day-to-day is that I’m currently living up North, and the best food trucks don’t make it to Bothell. Mobile Chowdown, which is a recurring event where more than 20 food trucks all open up for business in one spot for a few hours, struck me as an excellent way to taste what I’ve been missing this year; so, when the gates opened on Friday night at a parking lot by Qwest Field for Mobile Chowdown 5, better believe I was there with my favorite blue jeans on and cash in hand.

I started off with a palate-cleansing salted brown butter Rice Krispy treat from Street Treats. Royalty eats dessert first if they damn well please, and what better combination of high- and low-brow to set the mood for my night than a fancy Rice Krispy treat? It was delicious, though I agree with John that it coulda done with even more salt (go read John’s write-up of the same cookie).

Chicken curry taco from Fusion on the Run

Next, since I was expecting to be able to order smaller bites at the many food trucks I wanted to try (false), and since tacos are always a good idea (true), I stopped at Portland’s Fusion On The Run. The marinated beef tacos with cilantro sauce were more aggressive and interesting than the pork with mango salsa, but I’d eat both again. More tacos at Curry Now, where the chicken curry tacos come assembled with impressively handmade flatbread. The curry itself wasn’t terribly exciting, and our tacos were too messy to eat without a fork, though my companions seemed to like it well enough. Then I had a good chile truffle from Hot Cakes. The spice came into play at the right time, which is at the back of the bite, with good-quality chocolate deep enough to hold the heat.

Peacemaker Po'Boy from Where Ya At Matt

Already starting to feel full but happy from the tacos, which is a common side effect, I decided to brave the lengthening line for New Orleans soul food from Where Ya At Matt. While in line, I sipped at an unconscionably expensive IPA from Pyramid Ale, which cost me something like 40 cents a sip at $8.50 per cup. Uhh, just the one beer, thanks. (Note to Pyramid: I probably would have bought two at $5 each and you would have walked back across the street to your offices with more of my money.)

After a solid wait in line, I asked Matt to hook me up with “something with oysters.” He recommended the Peacemaker Po’Boy, a giant fried oyster and bacon sandwich with lemon aioli. My friend ordered the day’s special of shrimp and grits, and Matt threw in an order of beignets. John’s written about the ecstatic Peacemaker experience before.

Better even than the po’boy (I know! Such riches!) was the order of creamy shrimp and grits, with a spicy, complex sauce that brought everything into sharp focus one second and blissed me out the next. I love me some grits anyway, as long as they’re done right (and these were perfect, texturally) but the sauce really makes this dish something to seek out. I don’t think it’s usually on the menu, but if you see it as an option, I’d tell you to get it–maybe even instead of the Peacemaker. The beignets were light, eggy, and hot.

Shrimp and grits from Where Ya At Matt

After soul food, somehow determined to cram yet more delicious gourmet food into my belly in the names of research and pleasure, I went over to Maximus/Minimus for a pork sandwich. From what I’d read about the truck’s flavor profiles, I’d hoped for a spicier sandwich, but it really was fine not to deal with extra spice after the po’boy and shrimp at Where Ya At Matt. I was especially delighted by the toasted bun that held its integrity and crispness even when met with the pork. I wish I’d been able to try the truck’s macaroni and cheese, but they were out by the time I got there.

Next up (more! More!) was a cup of apricot sorbet from Parfait Ice Cream, which smelled and tasted like a real apricot, fresh from the tree. Impressive feat, and I just wish at that point I weren’t stuffed to the gills from pulled pork, fried oysters, and various ethnic fusion tacos, because I think I would have been able to appreciate it even more. The folks in line with us enthused about the butter toffee, and I would have liked to try the mint stracciatella–“It’s like lying down in a field of mint,” my friend raved. But after sorbet, I couldn’t force myself to take even one more bite of anything. Not even the famous kimchi fried rice with egg from Marination Mobile, though I walked out with a stinky take-out container full of the stuff for later.

All in all, a huge indulgent foodie success. I ate like a broke crown princess on her day off, met interesting people in line, shared bites with my fellow food tourists, and vowed to make it down to the city more often—if only for the promise of another taste of those shrimp and grits. My thanks to everyone involved with Mobile Chowdown, and my sincerest envy directed at all those who have daily access to such glamorous food in such a reasonable, jeans-friendly context.