I’ve gotten the urge to do some real scientific, in-your-face, who’s-king-of-the-castle, head-to-head(-to-head) taste tests between some of our favorite trailers. This post is just a preview of what I have on deck. The rules are simple: 1) Each place needs to offer up a similar, nearly identical menu item for a fair competition. 2) The food needs to come from a trailer. That’s it. Let the battle(s)… BEGIN!
The main events that I have lined up (so far) look like tacos, pizza, cheesesteaks, burgers, hot dogs, brats, BBQ, and sushi (maybe). Under each category I have the competitors and what they are throwing into the ring. I’m choosing menu items based on what’s common across each place and, more importantly, what I like to eat. Clearly there are infinite possibilities here so I can’t test out everything. When in doubt I’m erring on the side of more basic, true-to-form items (like plain hot dog or cheese pizza).
The general plan is to do a true head-to-head by gathering all contenders together and then starting to eat. There may be some logistical issues to tackle for time-sensitive foods (i.e. things getting soggy), but we’ll cross those bridges when we come to them.
Tacos:
Torchy’s Tacos – Green Chile Pork Taco (no cilantro, duh)
Izzoz Tacos – The Padre
Pizza:
Spartan Pizza – Cheese pizza
Stony’s Mobile Pizza Kitchen – Cheese pizza
Giovanni Pizza Stand – Cheese pizza
Cheesesteaks:
Way South Philly – The Paulie + peppers
No. 19 Bus – Cheesesteak
Burgers:
Tenderland – Classic Cheeseburger
No. 19 Bus – Burger
Downtown Burgers – 1/2 lb Burger
Hot Dogs:
Clem’s Hot Diggitty Dogs – Clem Dog
DOgellos – Plain Dog
Wiener – Good Old Americana
Brats:
Man Bites Dog – Beer Brat
Wurst Tex – Classic
Best Wurst – Bratwurst
BBQ*:
Sugar Shack BBQ – Notorious P.I.G.
Bar-B-Que Heaven – Pulled Pork Sandwich
*No, I’m not going with brisket this time around. Also, Franklin is out of the running since it obviously isn’t a trailer anymore.
Sushi:
Sushi A Go Go – Spicy Tuna Roll
Sushi Box – Spicy Tuna Roll
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p>So that’s the initial line up. I debated with myself a little and felt it’s legit to have a trailer participate in multiple categories if their food is worthy (i.e. No. 19 Bus). With regard to “when are you going to eat all this food?” I say “whenever I can. It’s a lot of food and I’m in no rush.” Once I get through this list of more “standard” categories we’ll look into branching out to some fusion trucks (like Chi’Lantro and The Peached Tortilla). Feel free to post up suggestions for additional contenders or more cuisines.