Winnipeg Food Trucks

A good variety of foods!

The Winnipeg food truck boom has happened, or is in the middle of happening. Right now Winnipegers can find tacos, waffles, chicken wings, sandwiches, poutine, and crepes, alongside the hot dog carts that have always been downtown at lunch time during the summer months.

Last year (and maybe a bit further back) I have made my rounds to most of the food trucks in Winnipeg. Sometimes in the spots they are normally parked, other times at Fringe or other festivals they have attended. Here is my brief thoughts on some of the Winnipeg food trucks. I have linked to their site or menus. Keep in mind all these thoughts were written throughout last summer (2013) and I imagine some of the food trucks will have changed their menus, locations, or even ownership of the truck. I imagine there will be new trucks this year, plus the ones I didn't get to, so I will probably do a post at the end of summer about them, and include the new ones too.

Little Bones Wings

The Alfred

The wing truck that got me all excited. I feel Winnipeg has terrible selection when it comes to chicken wings. Not many places are attentive with their sauces or size/portion of the wings for the price. You never know if your $12 pound of wings are gonna be all bone or actually have meat. Needless to say this place excited me. I never got to try them the year before because they always had a long line at Fringe and were just never where I was, but I finally got my chance.

They parked right by University of Winnipeg, where I waited in line in the rain. Now I expected the wings to take a while because of the fact they are deep fried. It took about 7 minutes once I ordered to have the wings in my hand. The wings were heavily breaded but were a decent size. I ordered The Alfred, which is alfredo sauce, salt & pepper, and parmesan. The sauce is doused on one side of the wings, not shaken and spread around the entire wing. This was a bit disappointing but I guess you could shake the box around they come in to have the sauce spread evenly. It cost me $8 for a single order, albeit this was in the premium section, which consisted of 7 wings. The other flavours were a bit cheaper. Seemed about right for the price of wings in this city.

I want to know where the parmesan on my wings was though. I honestly could barely tell it was there. Of course that could be the recipe and I just expected more. The wings themselves were tasty, even though they had a lot of breading. Some of the other flavours were cool ideas too - Mexican, poutine, and nacho. The checker fries, which you have to order separate for another $5 were pretty good. They also have deep fried pickles - I'll be back for some of those. Overall I wasn't overly impressed with my first experience with Little Bones. I would say the food is good, slightly pricy, and it won't fill you up unless you really want to open your wallet. I'll pass if they are parked beside some other food trucks but I will definitely be back.

Pizzapotomus

Pizza time!

I thought I blogged about them before. Pretty sure I did but I can't find the post so I am just going to assume I intended to and never did.

I have only seen this truck once. I give them an A+ for speed, as the pizza is pretty much ready when you get there. Two types were available to choose from and it sounds like Pizzapotomus rotates through different types as the day progresses. The price was okay. Not cheap but not pricy - $4 a slice.  The pizza was good but not great. I'm really curious what other types of pizza they offer. I don't know if they have a special pizza that sets them apart from say a Mrs Vanelli's slice for lunch. If I see them again I will grab another slice for sure.

The Waffle Guy

Blueberry waffle

Oh the unicorn of food trucks. I actually got off my bus to try this. The waffle was more cake like but was crispy on the outside and fluffy and soft in the inside. A few different toppings to choose from - blueberry topped mine. At $6 a waffle though it is a bit pricy.

There was also no savoury options, which was a disappointment. I could only hope for chicken and waffles! If you are looking for something sweet then this is the truck for you but don't expect it to be a meal, just a snack.



El Torrito

El Grande

The home of El Grande. Also if you follow me on Twitter you could probably call this my food truck home. Partly because they always seem to be where I am, downtown on Portage a lot, but also because they are so damn delicious. This food truck is the perfect combination of well priced, great food, and good service.

Fish tacos

I usually don't fray far from my usual and just get the El Grande - 3 tacos, chorizo dog, and a drink for $10. The tacos can be beef or chicken, I prefer the beef myself but both are good. All have cilantro, tomato, onion, and are garnished with a slice of lime on a soft tortilla. The chorizo dog is topped the same. You do have to like cilantro to enjoy this meal though, I know some of my friends are turned off because of it, but that is one of the reasons I love it.

They also have tempura fish tacos, which they recommend I try. One day I did. Now I always have that tough decision of El Grande or fish tacos. Such a conundrum. This is the food truck in Winnipeg you must eat at.  It is also up in the air if it is returning this year as the truck/business is up for sale.  Hoping they will be back.

Pimp My Rice

Best name for sure. Not arguments from me at least until someone opens a grilled cheese truck called Grilled Cheesus with Jesus holding a cross with a grilled cheese on it. And no I will not be naming my grilled cheese food truck that, Adrian told me I couldn't, or shouldn't, I can't remember.

All my meals have been stellar here. They have a pretty diverse menu as well. Seem to sell out of menu items quick as it is always busy. Don't know if I could pick a favourite dish. They have all been consistently good. Probably one of the best bang for your buck food trucks out there.

Lovey's BBQ

Here is my burger review of Lovey's . The food truck itself I have never actually had. I imagine it is similar quality. If I get there I will post an update but I've had friends eat at it while at The Forks and the food looked, and they said tasted, amazing.

On A Roll

Eaten at On A Roll a couple of times. Both were pretty good. They have a chicken and waffle sandwich that I would recommend for sure. A couple friends ate their with me and they both seemed impressed too. They also did a Breaking Bad burger at the end of summer, which was rather tasty, albeit a bitch to eat while I was walking through Assiniboine Park.

Stuff It

My first experience at Stuff It foods was Fringe the previous year. When I skipped the line at Little Bones I walked right up and ordered a chick pea curry, well, not sure if the term is a sandwich, but it was a baguette stuffed with chickpeas slow cooked in a rich curry sauce, with basmati rice, onions, and spices, and mixed veggies. It wasn't spicy but it was very filling. And at $6 how could I go wrong.

I've been back a few times for the stuffed baguette filled with chick pea curry and will probably hit them up again this year if they are at Fringe.

They also have mini donuts, fried pickles, and fried banana peppers. Sadly I haven't tried any of these yet but I will soon for sure. Sadly I couldn't find a picture of any of my visits. This is another must eat though.

Pub Chat: Episode 58 - Surly Seven

#cenquist

The week I didn't use the internet, cell phone or technology in general as part of a documentary called #cenquits. This is the brainchild of Marianne and Jared who joined us to talk about this whacky experiment and drink some Surly Seven.

Download here . Or subscribe in iTunes here .

Show Notes

00:00 – Intro
00:25 – Surly Seven
00:45 – About Surly
03:00 – Tasting the beer
04:35 – The topic at hand: #Cenquits
07:25 – Can he do it?
08:00 – Challenges of being without a phone
09:20 – Comparing life before cell phones
11:00 – How does it feel?
12:15 – How does he spend his time?
13:10 – Could everyone else go phoneless?
14:45 – Travelling without phone or internet
20:50 – Yelp
22:50 – Fighting and Twitter
27:05 – Back to cell phone use
31:45 – Writing versus typing
34:00 – Twitter versus calling versus Facetime
39:30 – Distracted driving
43:55 – Wrapping it up

Grilled Cheese Month: Week 1

A month filled with melted cheese

So apparently it is grilled cheese month. I figured I would make a grilled cheese a day and then post it on Instagram. Then I realized how much grilled cheese photos I already put on there. So instead I am going to just do a weekly blog post for the month. Assuming I don't have a heart attack from all the grilled cheese first.

Each week will probably have some kind of theme cheese and bread. Much easier that way instead of buying different kinds for each day. The first week bread is rye bread, and the cheese is mostly jarslberg and gruyere.

Here we go!

Caramelized onions, mozzarella and gruyere.

Smoked salmon, cream cheese, and jarlsberg.

Bacon and gruyere.

Lime and cilantro chicken, Brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, and jarslberg.

Cantaloupe, prosciutto, gruyere, and mozzarella.

Bacon, shrimp, and jarlsberg.

Stir fry chicken, onions, red and yellow peppers, gruyere, and marble cheese.

Tune in next week for more grilled cheese goodness.

Pub Chat: Episode 57 - L’Imperatrice by Le Trou Du Diable

Just another beer Colin can't pronounce

This week we’re drinking talking bourbon with whisky aficionado Riley McDonald . It wouldn’t be an episode about bourbon if we didn’t have a bourbon barrel aged beer, we went with L’Imperatrice by Le Trou Du Diable.

Download here . Or subscribe in iTunes here .

Show Notes

00:00 – Intro
00:30 – Le Trou Du Diable – L’Imperatrice
01:25 – Tasting the beer
03:50 – Bourbon barrel aged beers
04:15 – Innis and Gunn
07:00 – Bourbon
11:00 – All-time favourite bourbons
14:00 – Why the good stuff is better
17:45 – Remembering what you drink
21:45 – More bourbon talk
23:50 – Bourbon places in Winnipeg
25:40 – Composition of bourbon
28:30 – Some other bourbons
30:50 – Scotch
32:40 – Back to bourbon
35:45 – Woodford Reserve double-oaked
37:05 – Bourbon in New York
38:15 – Bourbon on sale
39:00 – Bringing liquor across the border
42:05 – Eagle Rare and Four Roses
45:00 – Favourite bourbon barrel aged stout
46:00 – Colin be reppin’