Today I set out with two friends to do the unthinkable — have lunch at five different food trucks. Ok, it’s actually not that unthinkable, and it wasn’t even hard. And I didn’t even plan on it. Wow that was some pretty lame bragging, huh? Ok, let me explain.
The brand new Co-Op Food Court just off the drag on UT Campus is currently home to seven food trailers. In an effort to get the word out, they’ve been offering up free food just for retweeting and liking their posts all over social media. My friends, Jeff and Tyler, and I each won a free kebab from Kebabalicious, and then Tyler won $10 to Wright Bros. Dairy, and Jeff and I each won $10 to Lard Have Mercy! We planned for an epic lunch to redeem as much as we could.
Our first stop was Kebabalicious. I’m a big fan and perhaps overhyped it a bit, but I still really enjoyed all the Mediterranean goodness. I’m a sucker for warm pita wraps, and this didn’t let me down. Unfortunately, this was the high point of the planned stops.
After our kebabs we swung over to Wrights Bros. Dairy to try some of their soft serve ice cream. Before ordering Tyler and I got a sample of chocolate ice cream topped with an off-menu red wine caramel. It was a HUGE sample, actually leaving us relatively satisfied with dessert. We stuck around to redeem the $10, each getting a sundae off the menu. I used the Black Betty shake as inspiration, but ended up making my own concoction that left my tastebuds wanting more. The ice cream needed to be richer, and the only truly flavorful bites were the few at the top covered with toppings. I left most of it in the cup.
Things took a turn for the worse at Lard, Have Mercy! That’s not fair actually. We ordered Fried Oreos and Fried Twinkies, both of which are personal favorites when it comes to lovehating myself. The Fried Oreos were actually pretty good. Not quite as good as what Fried and True has on offer, but really a good dessert.
The Fried Twinkies, however, felt more like a “How Not To” demonstration for frying. More than likely oil had cooled too much from a very busy lunch rush. These Twinkies were oil-logged and pretty inedible. We left one-and-a-half of the two Twinkies untouched and sat there a little perplexed thinking about what to do next.
Not wanting to end things on a bad note, Tyler and I parted ways with Jeff and headed to the nearby Rancho Rio Eatery for some can’t-miss dessert. My favorite truck in Austin the world, Cow Tipping Creamery, had just opened and it did not disappoint. I got a Salty-Sweet (vanilla ice cream with peanut butter filled pretzels, hot fudge, and Ritz crunch), and all was right in the world. Tyler got the special of the day, made with Boo Berry cereal, and he said it was the best thing he’s ever had from CTC.
“But that’s only four trailers” you say. Well, while I was waiting for my Cow Tipping Creamery order, I swung over to Velveteen Coffeehouse and grabbed a much-needed French Pressed-to-order coffee.
It’s true that I have a pretty biased opinion about food trucks, but that doesn’t mean they always hit the mark. I hate writing negative things about these small businesses, but I also want to be honest to provide feedback to them and anyone who happens to come across my blog. My one regret is not letting the trucks (particularly Lard, Have Mercy for those Twinkies) know that something wasn’t right. Next time… maybe.