2013 Food Truck/Cart -Where and How was the food. [General]

2013 May 18
Starting this thread to find out how and where the new and old food trucks/carts are faring. Heard the Spark Street Food Truck Rally was postponed till September which is really the pits. I've checked the City of Ottawa for the locations of the new trucks/carts.. see link.

ottawa.ca

I want to try the asian trucks/carts and the Dosa truck.

So has anyone tried out the new food trucks/carts yet? And what about old established favourites.

If you do comment, please also mention the state of cleanliness.

2013 May 19
I tried out the [Bap] one on Bank between Albert and Slater. Went there day one, got there at 12:30, and they sold out. So I went the next day.

It was amazing.

The Beef I had on mine was really tender, and flavourful. The veggies were good, and the rice wasn't mushy at all. The big surprise was the little bit of Kimchi. I don't normally like it, but I loved it then.

It was pretty clean there too.

Highly recommend.

2013 May 21
I tried the Pizza/Panini truck next to the LCBO on Richmond, across from Swiss Pastries on Saturday. The guy working was super friendly, and a personal wood-fired pizza (4 slices on the larger side) was 8.50, bottle of water 1 buck. I had the prosciutto/bocconcini/arugula pizza. It took about 7-8 minutes, as they're cooking them to order in their little wood-fired oven. Really fresh tasting, nice crunchy thin crust and good amount of toppings. I'd definitely go back to try a panini next time.

2013 May 22
The Churros truck on Sparks and Cooper is supposed to start up next week.

I will be there.

A lot.

A lot a lot.

2013 May 22
When does Gongfao bao open? I want my chinese buns dagnabit!

2013 May 23
According to the website, Gongfu sells bao on Fridays for lunch at the piggy market until they open their truck sometime in June at Confederation park:)
www.indiegogo.com

2013 May 23
I had the beef bibimbap at Roan (Korean food cart on Bank between Slater and Queen). Fresh, healthy, honest food. Taste was fine.

Waited about 25 mins. For the experience, thought it was worth it but not scrambling to go back.

Cleaniness rating: thumbs up!


2013 May 23
Will also comment on Trailer Pork Boys (corner of Carling and Merivale).

I always go for the Cuban sandwich and it never disappoints. Had my first one of this season last weekend. Delish!

They raised the price by $0.50 from last year. Well worth it!

I normally only go for the sandwich, and not a combo. The sandwich alone is SUPER filling but I'll have to succumb to their fries one day.

Cleanliness rating: thumbs up!

2013 May 23
Fyi..RELISH food truck is also now parked beside the LCBO on Richmond Rd in Westboro.
There was also the Pizza/Panini truck (name?) and a chip wagon parked in the same lot.

It's nice to see that some of the new trucks are in the west end of the city and not only downtown!


2013 May 23
I was at Relish on Tuesday. (Richmond Rd right across from Juniper). I was the only one there, probably due to the weather. I had the fresh Steelhead trout panzanella.; tomato/cucumber/olive/pickled red onions/potato/crouton.. It took about only 10 minutes, the place was extremely clean and I really appreciated the picnic tables under the old gas station "canopy". I will be dreaming of this salad, it was that good. Not your traditional panzanella salad, however all the ingredients worked.

2013 May 23
If it's sunny out tommorow, gonna go to [BAP] again.

2013 May 23
Glad to hear about Relish in Westboro, that's practically down my street. Anyone know their hours or when/how long they will be parked there?


2013 May 23
He mentioned he would be parked there all summer. I am really not 100% sure about the hours, I want to say 11 to 3 pm maybe?

2013 May 23
yeah Relish is there till 3 and the other truck is called ``Whatthetruck`` something like that. serves wood fire pizza and Paninis.

2013 May 24
When I first heard Ottawa was getting some food carts and food trucks I was pretty excited. I've been working downtown for more than 8 years and I've walked around a lot but it'll be nice to try out some new spots. The thing is, I have yet to find any of them open yet. I saw the post above talking about Roan being there so I will go and try it today. It would be nice to get a list of ones that are open directly on the ottawa.ca website.

2013 May 24
Well that was a premature post. As I was walking to Roan I noticed that the Streat Food Truck was on Queen at the corner of O'Connor. I was order #4 so they just opened up. I'm currently enjoying Braised Beef in Soya sauce on Jasmin rice with a side salad of bok choy, cabage and carrots in a ginger dressing. DELICIOUS!!!

2013 May 24
Well since I work downtown it has become a bit of an obsession of mine to try all these trucks out on my 30 min lunch.

I would have to agree that Roan has moved to the top of the list for me. The ingredients are super fresh and very tasty.What I also appreciate is the efficiency of their set up as well. When I went they had 2 people setting up the food and one person taking orders. It also has the best value/portion ratio.

The Royi Fruta Bar at Confederation park is hit and miss. I have tried their empanada plates twice now and it has been hit and miss

Yesterday I tried Ottawa Streat Eats. I had a pulled pork puff pastry "package" which had balderson cheese with a side of coleslaw. It was ok..but defnitely not worth the 12 $.


2013 May 28
I work in Westboro and am planning to try a different food truck lunch each week. Last week I tried the chicken pad thai at Bite This (across from superstore). It was $8 and came in a Chinese takeout container. I was quite impressed with the taste and size for the price and will come back to try the Korean tacos and other daily specials. Tried the proscuitto pizza from the truck in the garage parking lot by LCBO. For $8.50, got a 6 inch pizza with proscuitto, arugula and bocconcini. Sparse toppings but it was tasty and worth the price. Next up, Relish and the traditional chip wagon, both in the garage parking lot by LCBO. Any other trucks in Westboro?

2013 May 28
Bonnste, Trailer Pork Boys are not too far on corner of Merivale and Carling.

2013 May 29
I noticed a fourth truck at the former used car lot next to the LCBO on Richmond: Sadie's Kitchen. They were all closed by the time I got home from work. Such a tease! Anyone know anything about this one?


2013 May 30
From the sounds of this article, pretty exciting things to come:
www.ottawamagazine.com

Green Papaya(!!!!!), Sadies Kitchen(crepes and sausage) and a shawarma truck. How exciting.

2013 May 30
Tried Bonita's (at 250 City Centre, close to Art-Is-In) and really enjoyed it. I had two tacos: chicken and beef (on corn tortillas) and some freshly fried tortilla chips and salsa. They cut the tortillas up in front of me so I knew they would be fresh.

2013 May 30
I saw Bonitas Cantina at the City Center parking lot for a quick stop at Art-is-in for bread but was in a rush so did not have time to stop..

Meagican, how is the pricing vs other taco places in town?

2013 May 30
I also tried Bonita's Cantina a couple of weeks ago and I liked it! Two tacos were $7 and you could mix and match as you pleased (beef, chicken, fish and veggie were offered when I was there), on either flour or corn tortillas (both soft and hard). My partner had the burrito combo for $11, which got him a beef burrito with rice and beans, I was able to snag a few bites to supplement my tacos, so I was very satisfied by my meal. I had a pork and a fish taco, and both were good and faily light, with fresh pico de gallo in both. The owner also offered me a generous portion of hot sauce to go with it. These weren't the best tacos i've ever had in my life, but they were fresh and good and beat other competition in the area (Tacolot) by a long shot. For $18, this was a great option for a quick dinner on a hot night, and I will definitely visit again.

2013 May 30
Went to pizza/panini place on Wellington today. The pizzas were excellent although as someone else mentioned, the toppings are a bit sparse. That said, I'll be back for many more. They hope to be offering pizzas made with whole wheat crusts and gluten free within a month.

2013 May 30
By the way, Sadie's Kitchen was nowhere to be seen. There was Relish and a regular chip truck.

2013 May 31
Went looking for Dosa Inc. (supposed to be at corner of Somerset and Lyon) but came up empty. Anyone been there yet?

Of the new ones opening up, I wonder how many haven't made it to their spots yet.

2013 May 31
Pass couple days I've walked passed the Streat truck, and I gotta say, didn't really catch my fancy unfortunately. Wonder what's wrong with me.

2013 May 31
Went to Relish today. I had the bacon (pork belly) sandwich and my husband had the meatball one. I was really enjoying mine until I got to the middle and the pork ran out. I mentioned it to them and they were quite surprised. I was told they always put two strips of pork belly on the sandwich. However, we had the last two sandwiches before they closed and my pork was in pieces so I suspect I got the last bits rather than two strips. They refunded my money which I didn't really want them to do as I figured it was an honest mistake. Anyway, they insisted which I thought was very nice of them and which also means that I'll be back. My husband enjoyed his meatball sandwich but said he would have preferred it on a sausage type bun. A really nice touch was the side salad which consisted of more than the usual field greems. It was a nice mix of greens and herbs. We will go back.

2013 May 31
I tried the Ottawa Streat Gourmet truck for the 2nd time today and had the blackened trout burger with side salad. It was excellent, as was my meal during first trip last week with the soy-braised brisket.

2013 Jun 1
Damn.. Wished they had the blackened trout burger at Urban Pear on Friday..

2013 Jun 2
The pizza/panini and chip wagon trucks @ Richmond and Tweedsmuir were open yesterday. I had a cold cut panini and it was excellent. Would have liked a bit more meat for $7 but the flavours were great. The wood fire oven is a nice touch and I look forward to trying their pizza next.

Hours are 11-ish to 6-ish 7 days a week.


2013 Jun 3
I have used the streetfoodapp in Vancouver and it seems that they start covering Ottawa too but not all are on the list since must be more than 4 open on a Monday.

streetfoodapp.com/ottawa

2013 Jun 4
FoodTravel, I agree with Peachy. Pricing was reasonable ($7 for two tacos) and I was feeling full. I also added some chips and salsa and they were also really good... although realistically I didn't eat more than a couple while there. They had a coupon on their blog as well for 2 for 1 tacos, so keep an eye on the site for more discounts.

I feel as though I received fair value for money. Like Peachy said, they aren't the best tacos I've ever had (I've travelled a lot) but I would definitely go back for a repeat visit. I would also go there before heading back to the Tacolot.

2013 Jun 6
Is there a web page I can visit that scopes out all of these neat food trucks and their respective locations?

Thanks!

2013 Jun 7
Whoops! This is ridiculously bad planning by both the city and the food truck:

www.ottawacitizen.com

2013 Jun 7
loverofallgoodfood,

I used streetfoodapp before for Vancouver and they are covering Ottawa now. Tells you where they are and what time they are open. You can often follow their link to get menus that day on twitter or website.

streetfoodapp.com/ottawa

2013 Jun 7
I stopped by for lunch today and Sadie's was open in the parking lot beside LCBO in Westboro. Today is their first day. I had the pulled pork waffle with a side of apple coleslaw for $8 and it was a perfect lunch. They have a mix of savoury and sweet crepes and waffles. Will be back to try the sweet ones during WestFest.

Relish was not there today.

2013 Jun 7
Relish moved back to UofO campus.

2013 Jun 7
According to twitter, the "Ragin' Cajun" truck will not be opening as they opted out of the business. Also the "Epicurean Munchie Truck" is extremely delayed. "Don't hold your breath for them anytime soon." - @streetfoodott

Lots of other details of trucks / locations / statuses etc at that twitter account, including the new as-of-today additions to Westboro that people were asking about above.

2013 Jun 10
I tried out Sadie's Kitchen last Thursday. For $8 I got half of a waffle with ham, smoked cheddar and spicy dijon on it. The half waffle was cut into two pieces to make it a sandwich.
It was real ham, not deli-style which was nice..but it needed something sweet as you generally want a sweet/salty combination with a waffle sandwich.
Overall, I didn't feel it was worth the price. For $8, I think a whole waffle would be more reasonable.

Red Roaster truck was also parked there (Westboro beside LCBO) but was unfortunately not open at lunch time.

2013 Jun 10
Last Friday afternoon, I stopped by the food truck lot beside LCBO. The weather was terrible, but I could see this being a fun little food destination that gives a group of diners a range of options. They have a few picnic tables set up, including some that are sheltered. It's a great use of an abandoned lot.

We ordered from the Red Roaster. I had a roast beef sandwich. A nice big sandwich, really thinly shaved meat, loaded with fried peppers and onions, and a slice of cheese (provolone I think). My wife had a bbq chicken sandwich which comes with bacon. They made up a mini chicken sandwich for my toddler which we appreciated.

We had the Indian salad as a side (chai muri?) which was a new one for me. Basically crunchy Indian snacks mixed with tomato, bean sprouts, cucumber and fresh cilantro. I find those Indian snacks addictive, and cutting them with a bit of fresh veg adds a nice clean note. Could have used a spritz of lime maybe.

Sandwiches were $7, sides were $4. We'll go back. Am curious to see what gets added to the menu as they settle in.

2013 Jun 10
This looks good.

Jhaal Muri Masala is a variant of Bhelpuri.
(Chai muri was close, BGE)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhelpuri

I want some now.

2013 Jun 10
What's the best value truck in the downtown core? I work right beside the Streat truck - love love love their food, but I cant shell out $10-$12 for (what I consider) fairly small portions for the $ spent. Quality is there but value is not (again, IMO).

Would love to see someone consistently offer something in the $5-$6 range (without a drink) ie. the sweet spot for a lot of quick service options - at that price it could be more of a daily/recurring thing. I'd like to think I'm not alone on this.

The issue I'm seeing is most, if not all, of the trucks are so busy/hyped right now they don't NEED to compete on price at all. Streat seems to be sold out by 1pm everyday!

Is more competition needed? Or just some time for the food truck hubris to subside? Street food is supposed to be cheap!

#foodtruckeconomics

2013 Jun 11
I was under the same impression about street food being cheap eat. It's hard to find local fresh made food. I guess the that they're taking advantage of the hype and the rush and location. Has anyone seen or been to one of the new food trucks that isn't located downtown? Maybe there will be pricing with them.

2013 Jun 11
It would be nice if food truck food was cheap, but if you look overall at the NA scene, I don't think it is. The bright shiny popular trucks in the states seem to price out their meals at around $7-9 or higher from what I've seen. If you consider that the US is generally the home of the cheap food/large portion restaurants, this price does not follow that trend. If you are looking at tacos in East LA, you will find a great deal. I don't expect many of the Ottawa trucks to follow the East LA trend. The best we could hope for is the middle ground - great food, reasonable price. This ends up being about the same as the brick and mortar places I'd frequent for lunch. Maybe Co Cham will open a truck.

2013 Jun 11
I have yet to eat at any of these food trucks... only a few really call to me since they are different and offer something unique. Otherwise, I can get the food that most of these places are serving at a restaurant for around the same price point with actual service, a seat, table, liquor licence, etc.

Oh, FYI, the new banh mi being served at Pho'licious is freakin' awesome, generous, fresh, tasty and costs $3/sub. Try to beat that!

2013 Jun 11
Co Cham, $2.25 :). I will have to try out Pho'licious and report back. Perhaps its time to reopen the best banh mi thread.

2013 Jun 11
I think the startup costs for food trucks are fairly high, less so for the carts. Not that many food trucks are year round, most are only open for the summer season say May-Sept/Oct.

When I was in Vancouver and did some of the food trucks:
* Vij Railway was $9-12 for a curry with some naan or rice.
* Japdog was about $8 for the one I choose which was middle of the road
* another Mexican truck was $7-9 per item.

Whereas restaurants:
* meat and break sandwich was $8
* La Taqueria I got 4 small tacos for around $10 and I had a coupon code so got the 5th one for free.

I would think at 5-6$ per meal price point, it would be hard for the food truck / cart to cover their costs and time. But hopefully there will be more entrants in the $6-9 price points.

I went to Wellington Gastro Pub on Monday for lunch and a cripy pork sarnie (snitzel sandwich) and cup of soup was $13 plus tax.. Pretty good value and good food. The 3 small balls of homemade ice cream added another $9 lol..

2013 Jun 11
I had the Bangladesh salad from Red Roaster on Sunday with my sister with the Turkish spinach and cheese pockets Gozmela from the Turkish cultural stand.

While the Banglash salad was reasonably tasty, it had far too much salt for both my sister and I. I think the salad was salted and then they added those salty Indian snacks on top. I used to buy some of those Indian snacks for $1-2 a packet. While tasty, they tend to be fried and had loads of salt so will not be buying them again since they are really not healthy. I rather spend the time and roast my own chickpeas with a spicy but low sodium mix..

2013 Jun 11
" ... they tend to be fried and had loads of salt ... "

Now I want that Banglash (sp ?) salad even more !


2013 Jun 13
Tried to go to Ottawa Streat truck and Queen and O'Conner but at 1pm hard to find parking spot and they ran out of food already. From what I gathered, they often ran out by 1pm if the weather is nice and only last till closing if the weather is rainy or horrible.

Only had cookies left so tried both of the cookies. They were good, full of nuts and chocolates but not good enough to make a special trip for..

Sounds like they are being limited by size of their prep kitchen at the restaurant and I had suggested that maybe they can keep the restaurant open at lunch but just serving the same food as the food truck at slightly higher price with drinks and table service.

2013 Jun 13
Was that yesterday (Wednesday)? They tweeted Thursday morning that they wouldn't be back on the street until next Wednesday.

2013 Jun 13
Sorry, it was Wed..

2013 Jun 14
So, I finally have filled my card from [bap] and have a free one as soon as I head over there. Now, I have a dilemna. I have eaten both the beef, and the chicken, and both are distinctly different, but both are delicious. Which type should I get with my free meal?

2013 Jun 14
Tofu of course. Apparently it's awesome!

2013 Jun 18
So, [bap] started offering a new dish today. Kimchi and Pork, with rice. Oh man, mouth melting hot, but sooooooooo good.

2013 Jun 18
Finally got around to trying @RaonKitchen / [bap] today - IMO this is good food with good value. Bibimbap (tofu/chicken/beef - I had tofu) with a little side of kimchi is $7, and the loyalty card gets you a free meal every 7th visit. Doing the math, this makes it $6 taxes-in per meal. Which again, I personally think is in the realm of reasonableness for a street food dish of this size. Service was lightning fast - the lineup was 10 deep and I waited no more than 5 minutes.

Re: pricing - like chimi said these vendors don't have full service, a seat, table, liquor licence, etc (ie. larger overheard!) so there is no reason for prices comparable to a brick/mortar restaurant. Startup costs might be high for a fully outfitted truck but they're nowhere near as high as a full blown restaurant. I'll agree there is some seasonality.

Maybe I'm just jaded having worked in a few restaurants and seeing the #s. I guess the only thing I can do for now is vote with my wallet. In any event, props to @RaonKitchen - I'll be bibimback

2013 Jun 20
O-Cit article today re 'Food Trucks Slow to Roll'...
www.ottawacitizen.com

...also, older article re Food Trucks vs Westfest...
www.ottawacitizen.com


2013 Jun 20
ah.. that is why I have not seen Mr. Churittos on a cart but only in tents. The cart is not ready.

Sounds like some of them did not know how to run a project or a business.. Food truck is more than just food, it is business where you have to have
* accounting
* forcasting (how much food you need to prepare with DOW, traffic, weather)
* advertising (or social media)
* potentially staffing/HR
* logisitics (getting the truck ready and supplying it every day)
* pricing (this could impact how many customer you have)
* understanding of business laws and regulations
There can be others things they need to juggle.

2013 Jul 7
Went by Art-Is-In to pick up a quiche and my husband was curious to check out Bonitas Cantina so we tried 2 tacos each, two cod, one chicken and one pork that came to $15.80 with tax.

Con #1: First time I've ever seen "street food" priced without taxes in. And at Corazon de Mais the tacos are 3 for $7 and of the same size but with better garnishes.

Con #2: Food made and served without any love whatsoever. No passion or joy here and no service to speak of whatsoever. Which perhaps explains...

Con #3: The most bland, insipid Mexican food I've ever had full stop. While the cod taco (all on soft corn tortillas) were passable, the chicken was shredded in some sort of tasteless tomato sauce with no seasoning at all, ditto for the pork. My chicken taco ended up in the garbage minus one bite, my husband did the guy thing and ate about half his pork taco until I agreed that we'd find something else to eat elsewhere.

Having eaten nothing but street food in Mexico for 6 months I can say without reservation that there is nothing even slightly authentic about this truck as the sign says.

2013 Jul 9
I just added a vendor for Urban Cowboy before remembering this thread - but I assume over time the individual trucks will get their own pages.

I was impressed with my visit today, the only downside being they are another truck that don't add the tax (see Con#1 from Johanna above). It's just simpler if they don't have to do the math and then faff around for change.

2013 Jul 9

Tried the Royi fruta cart today

twitter.com/royifrutacart

Had the latina plate (1 empanada w/ guacomole, black beans, nacho chips) plus a second empanada so I could try both the chicken and beef.

Prices: $3 for an empanada, or $6 for the plate

I'd definitely go back. The corn chips were grocery store, and the guacamole was ok (but guac isn't a major thing for me), but I found the empanadas and the black beans quite tasty.

Lightly seasoned (the beef a little spicier than the chicken but neither too spicy), and their was optional condiments including one that looked like a spicy carrot mix (it had good kick, I can't swear that it included carrot).


2013 Jul 9
I tried Pizza Panini the other day. I had the spicy pizza #3. Sopprasetta, spicy eggplant, and chilis. Great sauce, great crust, and great toppings. But, I wanted more. Portion is a bit small for my lunch.

2013 Jul 10
Had lunch from Ad Mare today with my mother. (Benefits of working in the same building). She had the maple soy salmon, and I had the fish and chips.

She let me have one bite of the salmon and it was pretty good I felt. So that's a plus.

The fish and chips however was very meh really. Not much flavour, it wasn't crisp, just mushy. The chips were okay, but they were super greasy and some were soggy as well.

I don't think I'll be going back.

2013 Jul 10
OK we need a food truck in the North Kanata high tech park. Preferably in my parking lot...

2013 Jul 10
I tried Streat today. Pictured (upside down for some reason) is the Jerk chicken & potato salad.

At $13 (taxes incl.) it was a little on the pricey side but it was pretty tasty and there was more chicken than the picture really shows.


2013 Jul 11
I've been heading out once each week to try a new place. Today, the hope was to try the new Ad Mare truck but the line was a bit discouraging. Instead, I visited the Royi Fruta cart at Confederation Park and tried their Latina plate.

The food was great and, at $6, much more affordable than some other places. I had the chicken empanada, which I loved, along with some of the spicy salsa (like beable above, I think this was made with shaved carrot), beans, and a large dollop of guacamole.

I didn't see many people ordering from them, which I found a bit of a shame. They deserve a lineup. (Although that just means faster service for me when I return -- and I will definitely be returning).

2013 Jul 12
I just had lunch from Royi Fruta as well. I agree on the lineups, it needs more people.

So, I, like Beable, had the Latina plate, and got an extra one with it. Let me break it down by what I did and didn't like.

LIKE
The Chicken Empanada. So good, and only $3? I think this has a good chance of replacing German Town Deli for cheap good lunches for me. The flavours were there, right amount of spicy, very tasty.

The Beef Empanada. Not as good as the chicken. A little bit blander I thought, but that's ok. It was still decent enough.

DIDN'T LIKE:
The guac had too much onion in it. Didn't taste right, didn't feel right in my mouth.

The beans, but I don't usually like beans so I'm giving them a by on this one.

Overall, I will be back, frequently.

2013 Jul 12
At long last I finally made a trip to my first food truck this season settling on Raon mostly due to the good reviews here and the long lineups. I figure if there are that many people waiting for lunch they must be doing something right-;)

When I arrived at the food truck I spent most of my half hour in line deciding which bibimbap I would like to order. Thankfully there are only three to pick from which is nice for indecisive folks like me. As others have mentioned the three dishes to pick from are beef, chicken or tofu. As we were getting closer and I still hadn't made a decision I asked the lady in front of me if she had eaten there before. She mentioned that she eats there regularly and the beef is her favourite so I decided that would be the one I start with. For those who haven't been to Raon yet the bibimbap is served over a bed of rice - mostly sticky but a few grains of black rice mixed in - then a layer of vegetables (carrot, spinach, and a yellow vegetable - maybe zucchini?) then the protein served on top. Customers are offered a side order of kimchi - don't pass on this! There are four bottles of condiments to pick from: sesame seeds and sesame oil (which I had this time), soy sauce, and a red sauce that wasn't labelled. (Hot sauce perhaps?) I absolutely loved the dish but would loved to have it a bit spicier so I will go for the hot sauce next time. All in all it's a real bargain getting all this delicious food for only $7.

On a side note they were out of loyalty cards when I was there so the lady that served me stamped a post-it and told me I can bring it with me next time (and there WILL be a next time!) and they can give me a card. The cart was clean, the service was fantastic, and the food was delicious. I plan on going back many more times.

2013 Jul 12
I believe the yellow is actually egg. But they also have shittakes in there.

2013 Jul 12
James C. Yes the "yellow vegetable" was most certainly egg. It was finely julienned like a vegetable so maybe that's why I mistook it for one-;) I've had egg served in a similar fashion in fried rice so it was probably egg. And I can't forget the shiitakes.

2013 Jul 12
I tried another truck today - Red Roaster. I had the pork ribs ($7) with the 2 side combo to come to $13 including tax (my lunches always seem to come to $13...).

For sides I chose the sweet potato fries (which I enjoyed immensely, but they are just the same as you'd get at any chain resto) and the Jhal Muri (a Bengal salad of puffed rice, lentils and this one was topped with peanuts).

The ribs were ok, but didn't have a great deal of meat on them. Certainly not a patch on the ribs at Trailer Pork Boys for $8 (but only available Fridays). The salad made a nice change and all in all it was a substantial amount of food for lunch but I won't be rushing back.

I really had hoped Dosa would have opened up this week while I'm off work, as I really want to try them and I won't be anywhere near downtown when I go back to the cube farm. Apparently they are having their final inspection today (according to Twitter, @dosa_inc).

2013 Jul 15
Now this is more like it. Dosa Inc opened today and I tried one of their stuffed crepes. This one was "The Olympian" which had tomato, feta, avocado, spinach & onion. It was might tasty and came with chips, chutney and sambar all for $8 (tax incl) making it the best value truck I've tried so far. I think that was the most expensive item on the menu - you can get a plain dosa (again with the sides) for just $5 which would make a very affordable and substantial snack.

2013 Jul 15
Thanks for the review Ratty. I love Indian food so I will have to bump this food truck near the top of the list. I found out from Dosa, via facebook, that they plan on opening on the evenings that the Centretown Movies will be showing in Dundonald Park. India food then a movie al fresco sounds like my kinda way to spend summer!

2013 Jul 15
I chose the same order. I saw the truck (dark grey) parked across from the beer store. I got off the bus and went to give it a try. The menu consist of ALL vegetarian and have half a dozen choices. I was hoping for some meat dishes but they will remain vegetarian. It was so hot out that I walked to Secon Cuo to eat my Olympian dosa order with their mint green ice tea. The dosa is yummy. Also the chips were plantain chips.

2013 Jul 15
Was there a choice with curried potatoes? I remember having those in NYC.. yumm.

2013 Jul 17
Tried Angry Dragonz today.I had the bulgogi rice bowl, with a fried egg on top.

Now, it may be cause of the heat, but it felt like it took forever to make. I know I spent about a half hour there (watching the clock because I have a limited lunch time).

However, when I finally got back to my office and dug it, it was delicious. The beef was nice and tender, but holy crap it was spicy. My mouth is on fire! But so good. I do recommend getting the egg and mixing it in.

2013 Jul 17
i posted this review under Urban Cowboy but that thread looks not to be live yet. Maybe I was to post it here? Anyway, it was so good I wanted others to know about it so here goes. We went today to Urban Cowboy and we both had the Belcher brisket burger and an order of sweet potato fries that we shared. The brisket burger was excellent, the brisket melt in your mouth tender with a nice sauce mopped on it. And bonus - they toast the bun! The sweet potato fries were the best I have ever had. They are coated in what seems to be almost a very light tempura batter and are positively addictive. They come with a spicy aioli type dipping sauce. The burgers were $6 each which seems cheap but the size of the burger falls between a regular grocery hamburger bun and a slider type bun - in other words, it's not all that big. Also, tax is not included. The sweet potato fries are $4 plus tax. The other offering were fish tacos also for $6, with today's fish being salmon. I don't know how many tacos you get. Highly recommended.

2013 Jul 20
I happened to check the app and noticed a bunch of food carts gathered at city hall. So I went and checked it out. There was a roller derby thing happening on the concrete slab. There were 6 food trucks there. I was gonna try the chinese bun cart but looking at a price of $6 for one large bun with maybe a small salad seemed very pricey. I ended trying the churros and finally the Angry Dragonz. I had the fdragonz bowl with lamb, chicken and beef for $9. Plus an egg roll for $1 more. Red Roasters and Ad Mere were ther too but they already where running out of stuff.

2013 Jul 20
I was suprised nobody had posted about the derby dolls food truck rally myself. I went down there on my lunch break. Snagged some churros, and the maple char siu bao bun. (Also a bottle of Harvey & Vern's which was amazing).

The Churros were nice. I got them filled. The problem is the filling leaks out the bottom of them really fast, and they get both messy, and just lightly coated inside so you have a hard time telling the filling was there really.

The bao however was actually really tasty. A little bit of spice in it, but the flavour was really strong. However, not sure if $6 for one is the right price.

2013 Jul 20
uhmm $6 for a BBQ Pork Bun? What size are they?

Even in dim sum restaurants they are a lot less than that for pairs. In some take out places they are often $1-2 each.

2013 Jul 22
I was also at the Derby Dolls rally on Saturday and sampled some of the tasty food from the variety of trucks that were there. I had the chicken Pad Thai and egg rolls from Angry Dragonz. Both were good but I particularly enjoyed the egg rolls. Nice and chrispy and not greasy at all. I tried a pork taco from Red Roasters, it was pretty good too, nice tangy flavour. I also wanted to try the frozen custard from another truck but by the time I was ready they had left the event. I will have to track them down at a later date.

2013 Jul 23
Ok, this is slightly off topic, I apologize, we are thinking of parking our food truck someplace Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, come September/October.
Any suggestions?

We would sell baked spuds and wedges with various hot/cold locally sourced toppings, pasties, salads, great coffee, etc.

High foot traffic, uni., would be preferred...

2013 Jul 24
Have anyone seen the documentary on Ottawa food trucks on CBC
Absolutely Ottawa: Food on Wheel on July 20th evening?

www.cbc.ca

EPISODE 4:

This one-hour documentary sinks its teeth into Ottawa's street food industry with a focus on the gourmet and specialty food truck movement new to the city. You'll savour flatbread pizza, Korean food, empanadas, organic soup and quench it with a beverage from the beer bike!

Food on Wheels is produced by Bonnie Robinson of YOW! Productions.

Visit the City of Ottawa website to find out where these new vendors are located.

I tivoed it if anyone is interested.


2013 Jul 24
@spud guy - any intersection with Sparks Street. Public Servants are depressed in Sept/Oct and seek solace in heavy carbs!

2013 Jul 25
Today's lunch was at Al Mare at Slater and O'Connor. The menu changes regularly depending on what type of fish the chef can get. Today's menu was a choice of crab cake sliders, shrimp lolipops, fish tacos and fish and chips. Lunches are in the $10 to $12 range. Since I was getting a hankering for fish and chips that's what I ordered. The fish and chips came with a side of coleslaw and mayo I think (I was too busy scarfing down lunch...) and served in a take-out container lined with faux newspaper. The fish was good - not greasy at all - and the coleslaw was nicely dressed with abit of vinaigrette on it. The chips on the other hand were way overcooked and burned tasting. I also had a one hour wait from the time I got in line to the time I received my order. So I dashed back to work since my lunch hour was over and I was beyond hungry at this point. I might be back to try something else on the menu but will focus on trying other trucks first.

2013 Jul 25
I too, tried Admare food truck today. I arrived at 115, 2 people in line, about 10 waiting for food. Placed my order, was told 20 minutes... went to the bank, bought a drink and returned in 10. Food was ready in another five.

Had the crab cake sliders. Two decent size cakes on little ciabatta buns with tartar/mayo and some kind of relish, slaw and veg chip fries, $13.

And isn't there a law that sliders always come in sets of 3? ...if not, there should be! ... but that's a nitpick because portion wise this was fine. if i had been starving i may have not been entirely satisfied, but as a light lunch (light, in the fried and breaded sense) this was all good.

That aside, these were delicious. Crab was tasty, not loaded with breadcrumbs or other filler at all, I could really taste the shellfish. Nicely breaded to give a little crunch. Toppings were a good compliment to the crab, buns were fresh. Solid slaw, and those just made veg chips were like crack cocaine. Unfortunate you got a bad batch pastalover, because damn they were good.

Saw the fish tacos and the fish/chips, both looked good. Will be back.

2013 Jul 25
OSoloMeal Looks like we just missed each other-;) I saw the line shrinking as I was waiting for my meal so I suspect the best time to go is before noon or after 1:00. There was a HUGE lineup when I got there just after noon so I suspect I was there at peak time. It's possible they were trying to get the food out to the hungry masses as quickly as possible hence the burned chips. (I finished lunch an hour and a half ago and I can still taste burned chips...) After reading your review I will have to go back now-;) Unfortunately my boss is not flexible about me changing my lunch hours so I will try to squeeze in a return visit when I am off next week and the week after.

2013 Jul 26
Yeah, based on what i saw i wouldn't go anywhere near the truck at high lunch hour. Great for them tho', it's nice to see Ottawa jumping so thoroughly into food truck fandom.

2013 Jul 26
Saw this on twitter. A photo of a sign outside Farm Team Cookhouse and Bar in the Glebe. Red Rooster food truck is parked a few meters away...

twitter.com

2013 Jul 26
Oh please - The food truck license may only be 6000. But a food truck also has a lot of the same/similar costs. I am sure they have to submit HST.

Does Farm Team want a ban on all food establishments with a certain radius?

2013 Jul 26
Farm Team also has a liquor license, which the food truck can't get.

That being said, I understand their anger, but I wonder if they actually paid attention during the entire process, and raised a complaint during the assigning? Did they contact the city? Furthermore, I can't thinking of a better location in the glebe for a food truck. Where they are is the practically only empty stretch of Bank between the Queensway and Canal.

2013 Jul 26
I like the Farm Team pub, i give them my beer dollars regularly, i like the food, the staff are without fail great, i respect the fact that running a business has risks and costs and burdens and despite all of that they try to give back to the community... but a food truck with lunch hours and no booze and no seating isn't targetting quite the same market as a pub with a patio and booze and waitstaff. On price point alone it seems like a stretch. There may be some overlap, but not as much as say, another pub (or any other seated food serving business) opening up in the empty lot across the street.

And but for the rent and property taxes and perhaps the BIA, the truck would totally have many of the comparable expenses, as would any business.

2013 Jul 26
175K in payroll is about say 8 FTE (full time equivalent). Pretty sure the larger food trucks need at least 4-5 people like Ad Mare has. Not sure how many at Red Rooster.

There are times I prefer to pay more for a place to sit down and an adult beverage or two and times I am in a rush where food truck might be an option if there is one close by.


2013 Jul 26
farmteamcookhouse.ca

This is from their web site.

2013 Jul 26
After reading both the sign and the lengthy diatribe from Keith Loiselle, I have the following to say:

1) If you want to be taken seriously, for the love of God proofread your material.

2) if you want to be taken seriously, be honest in your representation of the food truck business model. You list every single expense you have, yet seem to imply that all a food truck pays is a licence fee. They share most of the expenses you do, so don't pretend they don't.

3) yes, I know, even once we factor in all the other expenses from the food truck, you likely still pay more. Why? Because your business is on a different scale. You are a brick and mortar business with seating, that is open from 11-close day in day out, with a liquor licence. Of course you have more costs. Don't be an idiot suggesting this is somehow unfair.

4) Competition is part of life. If you never want to have to face the possibility of competition better have Stephen King put a dome around your world so nothing can get in. Otherwise accept the fact that other businesses will enter the market and you will have to adapt to survive.

5) in your diatribe you list out all of the challenges your business faces, and the root of your issue seems to be that everyone who warned you about what you were getting into was right.

While I have been to previous iterations of establishments at your location, I have never been to yours. Why? All the reasons you list: bad location, not really providing anything unique I can't get somewhere more convenient. Rest assured that after your self-entitled tantrum I will never patronize your establishment. I may, however, walk down and check out this food truck and support a business that deserves it.

2013 Jul 26
This does not make me want to try Farm Team any time soon..stinks a bit of desperation.

2013 Jul 26
Well, Farm Teams little tantrum/publicity stunt did make me check out their website & menu (so they were successful in that respect) but as PubGuy said, they offer nothing that I can't get at a closer & more convenient pub.

Farm Team should focus on adapting rather than whinging. If there is clearly a demand for a fresh, reasonably priced lunch then why can't they open up a patio window and sell 'brown bag' lunches e.g. soup & a sandwich or a burger etc. for a competitive price, and then people can go and eat that in the park like I did when I got my Red Roaster ribs?


2013 Jul 26
lol I did check out the menu as well but nothing that really grabbed my attention.

Ratty makes a good point. They can adapt and beef up their lunch offerings and/or give a good takeout option that would eliminate the wait for service or line up at food truck.

But I am curious who the Glebe BIA was referring to when they said food outlets in Glebe was supporting the food truck movement.

2013 Jul 26
Perhaps Ben Baird can explain the math...

2013 Jul 30
Tried the bap! cart on Bank tween Albert and Slater for lunch today.

Had the chicken bipimbap toped w kimchi. Tasty, nice alternative to wraps, sandwiches etc in the area. The chicken looked like white meat, chopped to small chunks and well marinated, with ample peppers and mushrooms, shreds of egg/omlette and shredded fresh carrot with a nice topping of kimchi for some heat/spice, all served over an ample layer of rice. $7 + 1 for a soda can.

No particular lineup, two people ahead of me, two behind, and they turn it around quickly, i waited maybe a minute.

The thing i enjoy most about bipimbap is the crispy rice that comes from serving the dish in a stone bowl heated to roughly the temperature of molten lava, and for obvious reasons a street food cart can't do that, so i adjusted my expectations accordingly and it was all good. If i want 'real' b'bap i'll have to go to a restaurant, but for lunch on the move this will do nicely.

Will go back, would send others.

2013 Jul 31
At 1:45pm, Street Gourmet was nowhere to be seen on Queen street, and Ad Mare had run out of food, so i strolled over to Laurier/Elgin for ROYI.

Two empanadas (one chicken, one beef) and a can, $7.

The empanadas were good. Not great. Both were decently seasoned with meat and veg, but everything chopped small, no identifiable chunks i could see to figure out what was in there. Condiments include unremarkable salsa that tasted like it came from a bottle, and a fresher looking spicy carrot/jalapeno/something mix that was quite tasty and gave the empanadas some much needed kick.

I would have them again if i were seriously jonesing, but otherwise i'd hold out for the monsters at Amazonas in Gatineau.

As an aside, the chips in the chips/black beans/guac option come out of a bulk bag of plain Doritos. I opted for the second empanada instead, because, Doritos.

2013 Aug 2
Tried out Chowdown today. Byron-Woodroffee. Next to the Shouldice wagon. I

Yellow curry with Lemon grass toast
It's supposed to be potatoes, carrots, onion over rice or noodles.
I choose over noodles which probably was not the best choice. The noodles were a bit on the mushy side. My portion had 6 chunks of potato and 3 of carrot. Yes, I counted b/c I was a bit taken aback by the lack of veggies. There were some bonus bamboo shoots(I think) in there as well. Curry was very very thin. It didn't have that developed flavour that good curries have. Only flavour was just hot. Lemongrass toast was a small round of baguette and had a nice flavour.

Rice wraps (2) - choice of pork, chicken, tofu or shrimp. Choice of peanut sauce or fish sauce. These were ok. Loosely rolled, Noodles, a bit of cucumber, lettuce and Thai Basil. You really needed the peanut sauce to get any flavour. Peanut sauce was pretty typical

Egg waffle- You get the waffle in bag, no toppings but I don't think it needed anything else.

A combo is 11.00 and includes a main a snack and a drink.
Mains are 6.50, snacks are 3.50
Drinks are all Asian, Green Teas, Coconut waters, etc.

I would return for the egg waffles and maybe to try some of other snacks


2013 Aug 6
Tried Angry Dragonz today. I am completely stuffed and very (surprisingly and pleasantly) satisfied!

We tried the chicken panang curry (very flavourful and quite spicy!) and the chicken pad thai (great taste and perfect noodle texture).

I was very reluctant to order the pad thai since I was convinced it was going to be a let-down. I was very wrong and tremendously impressed.

Both meals were $8 a piece. The portions are extremely generous!

I will definitely return.

2013 Aug 8
Tried Dosa again since they are open later than 2 pm. Tried the one with the indian cheese forget.the name but starts with a K. I was disappointed this time. I am still hungry. The dosa was very thin almost paper thin. My previous photo of the Olympian had it much thicker. That dosa filled 2 thirds of the spot while tonight's dosa barely filled half. Also lesser quantities of the chips as well as the 2 sides. Very disappointed.

2013 Aug 8
Having traveled in south east Asian and central America where food trucks / food stalls are very common, I was beyond excited to try some of Ottawa's newest trucks! So far I've been impressed with the variety of foods offered, the eagerness of Ottawans to support this initiative and pleased with the media coverage. Love the "Ottawa Street Food App".. very handy!

Ad Mare: As a maritimer this is perhaps the truck I would be most critical of, I was very pleasantly surprised! Had the Lobster wrap: good quantity of lobster, very fresh (from Lapointe's that morning), good amount of lemon to pepper ration. Very much enjoyed the veggie chips also. Was "meh" about the cold slaw. I'm eager to return to sample other menu items. Wait time, 15 mins.

Angry Dragonz: Moist chicken pad thai with a good amount of cilantro, lime and peanuts. Chicken was dark meet and somewhat greasy. Tofu skewers: loved the idea but somewhat boring, they needed more sauce. Good egg role. Excellent service!

Bap by Roan Kitchen: Not as traditional as missing the crispy rice but a well portioned and flavorful dish (greens, egg / tofu and beef) . Loved the kimchi so I purchased a bottle last weekend at the Ottawa Brewer Park Farmer's market. Will try again.

Flatbreak Pizza Co (Ottawa U location): Margherita Pizza: Boring, not creative, somewhat thin crust that was too doughy, bland bocconni. If menu items were more inventive, would "possibly" try again.

Up next: Bao Bao Bao! Come soon!

2013 Aug 10
I'm now winding up a two week vacation and had a chance to try two new food trucks while I was off.

The first truck that was new to me was Dosa. I ordered the breakfast dosa with egg, spinach and cheese. The dosa was the perfect thickness, the filling was the right consistency and generally quite tasty. The sides however were a huge let-down. The sambar consisted of three or four pieces of veggies which were swimming in gravy. This is too bad because the sambar tasted really good there was just not enough veggies in it - I think they need to work on their veggie-to-gravy ratio. The chutney consisted of a little puréed coconut which was swimming in oil. Again I wish there had been no oil and lots of puréed coconut.

The second truck that was new to me was Angry Dragonz. I ordered the dragonz bowl which consisted of rice, fish roe (I can't remember which kind of fish the roe was from), Asian slaw, and three kebabs: lamb, beef, and chicken. For an extra dollar I got a spring roll. I "think" this is probably the best food truck I've been to to-date with Bap coming a close second. I hope to move heavens and earth to go back to Angry Dragonz to get some chicken panang. Either that or convince them to park their truck immediately in front of my office...

2013 Aug 11
So far, ive tried:

Streat Gourmet (many times)
Urban Cowboy
Bap
Ad Mare
Churros
Red Roaster
Relish (Many times)
Bonita`s Cantina (Worst truck ever)

Overall, Streat Gourmet wins all around (quality, quantity and prices). The weekly rotating menu is amazing and always original. It really shows that the man behind the food is a skilled chef.

Urban Cowbow is also a very good BBQ truck. I had their Brisket and I was really impressed with the quality of the meat and how it was tender and smoky.

Hopefully I can try Angry Dragonz soon so I can comment.


2013 Aug 12
I tried Angry Dragonz last Friday and had the chicken panang, with egg roll on the side. Others in my group tried the Dragonz bowl. We split one of the Dragonz Puffs (Maple butter & bacon) for dessert.

The food was excellent and the price was reasonable ($8 or $9 per person, plus $1 for an eggroll). Unfortunately, they were a bit swamped and the person taking orders was also helping serve (maybe there was missing someone in the truck that day?). That meant that both the order line and the pickup line didn't move very fast.

Despite the wait, I'll definitely go back. I'll just make sure to make it there a little earlier.

2013 Aug 13
Me and a co-worker hit the gongfu bao cart for their first official day. They had the maple charsiu bun, the mushroom banhmi, and a daily special of peach and vidalia pork BBQ bun. We got the last two of the peach one. I also got slaw with mine.

It was nice. I coulda used a little more peach in mine, but overall I'd get again. The slaw was also nice. Veryspicy however, but nice.

2013 Aug 15
I tried Streat Gourmet today being tempted by the spaghettini on the menu. Also on offer were chilled cauliflower and cumin soup as a starter and vanilla bean custard with rhubarb honey compote for dessert. Both items sounded equally delicious but the main course items seem to come in generous portions so I thought I'd stick with the spaghettini today. The pasta was served with pesto made with local basil, pine nuts, and locally grown cherry tomatoes and goat cheese. The portion was generous and so tasty I enjoyed every morsel of it. I still think $10 is pricey for food truck food especially for the dish I ordered. But Ben is an experienced chef and serves top notch dishes with top notch ingredients so I will happily return to try more of his offerings.

2013 Aug 15
I just came back from the Gongfu Bao cart. I tried the maple pork bun at 6$. It was very tasty, rich and filling. I think it's a little pricey, however it did fill me up. I found the wait a little too long, but I think this was due to a malfunctioning of the heater or something...

If I could suggest for them to be using a mini clipboard with already detached papers for orders. It was painful to see the guy struggling with the spiral book, trying to write on it and then to rip it off in a little piece.

Maybe this is just me, but I would much prefer if the person cooking and serving the buns use tongs or a piece of wax paper to move/manipulate the buns and not his bare hands. Too much touching of the buns was going on....

2013 Aug 16
I had an awesome lunch from Leroy's today. I had the chicken & waffle combo. It came with 5 pieces of fried chicken (boneless white meat tenders) and a large waffle. The whole thing was covered with a healthy dose of syrup. Both the chicken and the waffle were excellent, but it would be great if they offered some sort of hot sauce for the chicken. Very good quality and amount of food for $7.00

Service was friendly and fast. It's very nice to see one of the new food trucks in the west end of the city for those of us that don't work downtown.

2013 Aug 16
Only tried two of the new food trucks. Le roys and Chow Down. Le roys was interesting with the chicken and waffle combination was interesting. Ordered the chicken and waffle combo. Chicken was still a bit red near the bone waffle was fantastic. The price was $8 which is reasonable, waffle well recommended. Their truck is all black and might be easy to miss. At Chow Down, I got the $11 combo. Had their banh xeo, their egg waffle, and 100% pure coconut juice. Had no idea what banh xeo was or that it even existed, but it was really good. Their egg waffle was delicious. Wish they had more tables for seating. It's very nice that these two trucks are not located downtown, I have somewhere to park without paying for it. Both trucks highly recommended.

2013 Aug 17
Just had the chicken on a bun from red roaster from the craft beer week event at city hall. It's kinda messy, but man it's good. Perfectly grilled, the cheese was nice, and the bacon crisp. The sauce was tasty too, and the chicken wasn't dry at all. So, kudos to them.

2013 Aug 17
And speaking of the craft beer festival, we had a few portions of the sweet potato fries from Urban Cowboy. We were initially put off by the 5 ticket (i.e. $5) pricetag but this was a huge portion of fresh cut fries with chipotle dip. The perfect partner to soak up beer.

I also had their shrimp taco which I very much enjoyed and my friends Belcher Burger (actually beef brisket) looked amazing and got a very favorable review.

Sorry, no pictures - we were too busy chowing down.

2013 Aug 18
went to Leroy's twice this week. Chicken and waffle on a stick was one of my favorite apps from the restaurant and nice to see it back in a slightly larger version. Also welcomed the return of the sweetwater corn bread. Party fries were a new option - french fries with bits of crisply fried chicken breast and pepper gravy. Loved it. He's still not "officially" open but seems to be doing a steady business.

2013 Aug 20
Visited Leroy's again today. The chicken n' waffle on a stick was really tasty and unique. I would strongly recommend skipping the mac n' cheese though...it was dry, sticky and bland.

2013 Aug 20
Where is leroy's

2013 Aug 20
The website says "Courtwood Cres near Woodward Ave (Off Maitland Ave/417 exit). I've been waiting for this food truck to launch so I am definitely going to be heading there now that it's open.

2013 Aug 24
Went to Gongfu Bao for lunch yesterday. My friend had the pulled pork and peach bun which was strangely flavourless. Mine was the better choice. I had the spinach and tofu with curry spices bao with a side of Asian slaw. I really liked the flavour and the heat of the slaw. But...the wait was too long. These fellas have a great attitude and are almost there but are obviously disorganized and don't have a system or a flow that works. It was actually painful to watch. I hope they manage to get it together!

2013 Aug 28
Dropped by for lunch yesterday at Leroy's truck and me and my co-workers were all disappointed. Ordered the Chicken & Waffles with side of Mac & Cheese. The chicken are not the regular chicken you usually get with Chicken & Waffles. They are boneless chicken strips. The chicken was dry and tasteless. The waffles were burnt on one side. The Mac & Cheese was bland and dry also.

2013 Sep 21
Tweet from LeRoy's Food Truck this evening. (@LeRoysTruck) "Closed for good. See y'all soon enough with a new venture. Sorry Ottawa Thank You all from the bottom of my heart."

2013 Sep 21
Now that summer is over, some of the food trucks that did not have good financial planning and management would have some issues.

2013 Sep 22
Unless you "overheard something", it's pure conjecture as to why any of the food trucks closed shop. Maybe the location was bad for what they offered, maybe they have other career aspirations.

2013 Sep 22
no. It is a fact that something like 80 or 90% of new business in food industry fail in the first year to 3 years.

There are also definite seasonality in the food truck business where they get more business in the sunny months and a lot less in the winter months since not many hardy people would wait 15 mins or whatever in cold weather to get food when they can go to a food court.

Some food trucks in Vancouver close down for the winter and they are a lot milder than we are. One truck affiliated with a restaurant closed down for good after 2-3 years. I asked the owner when I dined there with a friend since I was looking for them and did not find the truck and they said it was dividing their attention too much.

If they owe money on the truck or cart, the repayment are usually divided evenly through the 12 months of the year. There will likely be some that did not budget or plan well and run into issues in the slow months. Simple logic.

2013 Sep 25
Streat did a fennel sausage on a bed of polenta yesterday that was phenomenal.

The Polenta was seemingly lighter than air, generous portion of sausage nice sauce.

I think overall Streat is my favourite Truck, Angry Dragonz would be a close second?

2013 Sep 27
URBAN COWBOY truck on Bank today just below Sunnyside.

Two significant food loves of my life are seafood tacos and sweet potato fries. The Cowboy served up possibly, in fact, i'll just say definitely, the best, i have ever had.

The shrimp tacos were shrimpy perfection, 3-4 plump shrimp, seasoned just enough and grilled so they were still crisp, with avacado, green onion, shreds of something green and slightly minty, and a brilliant sauce. Honestly, they were fantastic. I want more. LOTS more. Immediately.

And the sweet potato fries... i didn't ask if they were hand cut but they certainly seemed that way, then tempura'd in possibly the best batter ever and served with a really nice chipotle aioli.

Honestly, they knocked it out of the stratosphere with this lunch. Combo of a taco, massive pile of fries and a can drink was ten. I added another taco, total was 16 and change and worth every penny. I don't generally rave about a place like this but dammit they earned it. Fairly quick to... maybe five people ahead of me but the wait was ten min max.

Will be back, will send others. LOTS.

2013 Sep 27
Just to torment you OSoloMeal, here are those lovely fries ...

2013 Sep 28
Oh damn you Ratty.... DAMN YOUUUUUU.

2013 Oct 3
I've co-workers who spend their precious 1/2 hour trekking to and back with lunch from the Urban Cowboy. Then they eat their super yummy food while working. They go at least once a week. I've had their sweet potato fries and I can attest they are some of the best sweet potato fries in Ottawa.

2013 Nov 11
Was very happy and impressed with my lunch at Angry Dragonz (corner of Gloucester & Lyon) the other week of:

A “Dragonz Bowl” – container of a bed of rice topped with shredded vegetables with three skewers (one of each: beef, chicken, lamb) balanced on the top. The whole thing was finished with a small spoonful of caviar. All meats were tender and wonderfully marinated and the “dressing” on the vegetables was superbly flavoured.

A healthy portion and a great deal at $9.

I took it back to work and my colleagues were extremely jealous.

2013 Nov 12
Had the split pea and ham soup from the STREATS truck last week.
$5 for a good sized container. Totally worthwhile.

2013 Dec 29
Visited Flapjack's Pancake Shack (www.flapjacks.ca/Index.php) today. It's located behind the Miss Tiggy Winkles on Bank. They make pancakes and french toast, and offer a variety of options. You start with how many pancakes you want, and your base (buttermilk, whole what, gluten-free oatmeal, or french toast) and then you pick your toppings. There are selections of fruit, savoury, and sweet toppings, and additional sauces. Butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and sprinkles are free toppings. There are "panwiches" which again have sweet and savoury options. You can have an egg, bacon, or taffy on snow as an extra, and a variety of hot and cold drinks.

I had the small stack (2) with butter and maple syrup ($3.38 total). I wanted to see what their "default" pancakes would be like. I loved them! They were a great size! I always feel overwhelmed eating pancakes at restaurants because they are normally 3 massive pancakes, but this was the perfect amount! I will happily return to try some of their savoury options! The truck is open 9:00 -2:30 weekdays, and 9:00 - 5:30 weekends.

2014 Jan 20
Today's caramelized onion and bacon soup from STREATS was all good. Thick, hearty, perfect for a -25 day.
But the dessert... i mean, sure, make a ginger cookie. Make an AWESOME ginger cookie. Then make it better by adding chocolate chips. Yeah, that's all good, i'm happy... but then... THEN... sell it with a side of house made whipped cream and chocolate ganash... i mean, it's basically a delicious cookie with a side of delicious pudding.... these people are evil.

2014 Jan 26
Went to Flapjacks and had a breakfast sandwich for $4.99. Two fresh pancakes, an egg, a slice of processed cheese and two strips of bacon. I thought it was great - the only place for processed cheese in my opinion is on a weekend morning on an egg sandwich when you have had a couple of drinks the night before.

2014 Jan 26
I made a second visit to Flapjacks a week or so ago, and had the same "Panwich" as ChrisB. I loved it. The egg yoke was runny when you cut into it and the flavours mixed perfectly, even the cheese slices. I agree with ChrisB about processed cheese and breakfast food. Very satisfying.

Their Facebook today had a post with a "Big Joe" with "2 eggs, 2 bacon strips, 2 cheddar slices, 3 buttermilk pancakes". My stomach growled like crazy!