Go Fish! Food Truck
Photo Courtesy of Roaming Hunger
At first glance, this brightly colored truck looks like it just drove out of a children’s book, but there is nothing amateur about this truck’s seafood. The force behind Brother Truckers is Chef David Stein, who saw the food truck wave as an opportunity for creative freedom… and when creative freedom means delicious, high quality seafood dishes ready in the snap, then I’m all for it!
I was working in the office last Wednesday when the craving hit. I needed some food truck grub. The night prior, I walked down Boylston Street to meet up with friends at City Table (excellent small bites on the app menu and a great Moscow Mule if you’re into bucks!) and passed the likes of the Grilled Cheese Nation Truck and Frozen Hoagies. My inner fat kid was dragging her feet, begging me to stop and sample some treats, but my obsessive fear of being late got the best of me. Ah the perils of punctuality.
Fast forward to Wednesday around noon time and that pang of regret in not stopping came on in full force. My coworker Sam was a willing lunch mate and off we sauntered toward the Back Bay Cluster Site adjacent to the 100 Clarendon garage. We spotted The Cupcakory (mixed feelings — decent cupcakes in my past experience, but when I asked for a business card I was stared at as if I’d just asked for an arm), Grilled Cheese Nation (GAH! stop following me around and tormenting me with your cheesy, fatty deliciousness!), and Go Fish!.
I was intrigued by the daily specials and ended up ordering the catfish tacos and a ginger lime/lemonade. The large heavily tattooed gentleman who took my order and I had some friendly banter back and forth discussing proper ordering etiquette at a food truck, which includes waiting for your beverage before walking away.
After I was handed my drink, I stood in a large hungry crowd eagerly awaiting the call of my name. It’s times like these that having a name like Shmendrick would be useful. I got tricked by another ‘Katie’ who also ordered fish tacos. When my order was up, I asked if they had any bags and received a playful “Yes we do, would you like one?” from the sizable man who took my order. On a normal day, he might have gotten an eye roll or even worse, the stink eye. Instead, I played along and rephrased my question, “Do you have and can I have a bag?” I was rewarded with a bag and a “I just like being an ass hole.” Nothing like a healthy side of sass with your tacos.
$10 bucks for the tacos and the drink seemed a little steep considering the portion size, but I’m a supporter of Boston’s food truck movement, so I’m happy to bite the bullet for a tasty treat. The tacos were good. The corn tortilla was a little sad and cold and wet after my 5 minute walk back to the office. That’s probably my only complaint. The taco was filled with mixed beans, grilled moist pieces of catfish, chilled pico de gallo, crunchy red cabbage, spicy aioli, scallions and crisp tortilla strips. Washed down with my refreshing drink, this ended up being a victorious lunch.
I was feeling spontaneous that day with the daily specials. I definitely liked it enough though to give some of their staple menu items a try. Until my next stint in the office, you guys will have to save me some fish and chips.
The Chubby Chickpea Food Truck
The Chubby Chickpea Truck in all of its yellow glory
Kate being a good sport
Getting up close and personal with my lunch
I have a natural inclination for falafel. I was spoiled as a new hire at Big 4 Company when I worked in Boston’s financial district in the Spring of 2009. Falafel King is a hole in the wall that EVERYONE knows about. You stand in a gargantuan line, but the end result is you stuffing your belly with some deliciousness.
A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to work in Boston. It’s a real luxury working from the office because I know where I am commuting to and from everyday and I have a nice structured schedule.
That being said, I also have a lot more lunch options. With the fairly recent food truck wave hitting Boston (the City only just gave the ok for food trucks not too long ago), there are designated food truck spots that have a nice rotation daily. I’d seen the Chubby Chickpea truck before — it’s almost impossible to miss the big yellow truck, but I’d never actually stopped to sample some of its chickpea goodness.
My friend Kate and I both ordered the falafel wrap, which was stuffed with veggies and warm hummus. It tasted distinctly of cucumber, so if that’s not a favorite flavor of yours, I’d kindly ask to take them out. If you love cucumber, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how domineering the flavor is. The falafel was warm, held its shape nicely, and was not dry (be warned, the food truck has received mixed reviews on the consistency of its falafel ranging from perfect to way too dry).
I really enjoyed my lunch that day, but perhaps it was because I got lucky. If I hadn’t read the reviews online, I would have never known about the moisture issues. I wouldn’t go out of my way to get Chubby Chickpea again unless I’d already made my rounds with the other food truck options, but I’d definitely not refuse it if it swung by my apartment handing me a freebie.
My only gripe about this “place” is its poor use of social media. Right now, they only have a Facebook page with 147 followers. I don’t mean to give parental advice without having children of my own, but social media seems pretty darn important if you’re a food truck. You want followers, buzz, and you want people to know where you’re going to be without them having to do some crazy search to find your schedule (like I just did to find the City of Boston link below). Why make it as difficult as possible for me to like/find you?
