Truck 10 - Ursu Korean Tacos

Truck: Ursu Korean Tacos

Location: Homer just off of Georgia

Type of Food: Korean Tacos

Sidekicks: Kristina
Food Ordered: 

Kristina

• 1 Chicken and 1 Beef Taco

Tara

• 1 Beef and 1 Tofu Taco

The Verdict: 
What's the first thing you think when I say - Korean Tacos?  I love Korean beef and I love tacos so I figured I needed to give this melding of foods a try.


Wow!  These tacos were very tasty!  The most flavourful of the three was the chicken.  All of the tacos were jam packed with complex flavours, great texture (especially the tofu).  Medium spicy was plenty spicy for me.  If you don't like spice I would recommend at least mild!  


The only thing that I would have liked would be to add more traditional taco ingredients like guacamole, lettuce etc. 


Favourite Thing(s) About This Truck: 
The owners are super cute!  They are very friendly and the food was made fresh right on the spot!  It was like you had gone over to their house and they were making you lunch. 


I also love the creativity of this fusion dish!


Accessibility: Right off of Georgia Street.  This is a great location if you're studying at the library, going to see a show at the Queen Elizabeth or the Vogue Theatre or if you work at BC Hydro/Accenture!


Green Rating: Nothing worthy of note here.  Unfortunately, there wasn't any recycling for the food scraps (but I don't see there being any) or the napkins/paper bags they served the food in.

Check out this article from Ricepaper Magazine on this food truck

Rating: 4/5 
Value:  5/5

Great Location

BBQ Taco, Burger, Beef Rib Dog

Ohh...yummy!

Kristina ordering her tacos

Takes a little longer because everything is 100% handmade on the spot - but it's definitely worth the wait!

Beef and Chicken Tacos

Tofu and Beef Tacos

Kristina about to enjoy her food

Yum!

Truck 9 - Soho Road Naan Kebab

Truck: Soho Road Naan Kebab - Warning Messy and Delicious!

Location: Smithe Street between Howe and Hornby (In front of the courthouses)

Type of Food: Indian

Sidekicks: K and Kristina (Secret sidekick also came but just to enjoy the sunshine)

Food Ordered: 

K and Kristina

• Butter Chicken

Tara

• 1/2 Lamb and 1/2 Hariali Chicken

The Verdict: 
There is a reason why this truck was voted number 1 by Global TV, Top Chef Canada Dale MacKay and MattBites.com.  As we searched for the truck we smelled it before we reached it - it smelled delicious and we could only hope that our taste buds were equally delighted.  Soho Road naan Kebab did not disappoint!


All of the staff seemed really knowledgeable about every dish.  Their descriptions were mouth-watering and made me want to try everything!  I finally decided on 1/2 Lamb and 1/2 Hariali.  They just started half orders and may I say - stroke of genius!


If you like cilantro then the Hariali Chicken is for you.  Originally put onto the menu as part of St. Patrick's day, this dish is cilantro chicken with cilantro yogurt wrapped in Naan packs a mean punch when it comes to taste.  So rich in flavours that I wish I had 4 stomachs to enjoy at least a full one of these!


The Lamb Kebab was made with yogurt and tamarind wrapped in Naan.  Something sweeter to complement the tastes in my Hariali. I also loved the flavour combinations in the lamb.  I love lamb and will definitely be making a repeat trip to have another one of these delicious wraps. 


The reviews on the Butter Chicken, enjoyed by K and Kristina, was that it was great, but would have been better with a little bit more spice.  Also served in a Naan wrap I definitely want to try this and the Tandoori sometime soon!  


Favourite Thing(s) About This Truck: 
The flavour combinations that awakened my taste buds was a thrill that I will not soon forget!  Also the service was incredible!  


The staff was super friendly, knowledgeable and make me want to come back for more!  I think that they were arguably the most knowledgeable that I have met on my journey to date. The other customers also seemed really friendly!


Accessibility: Handy if you are looking for something by the court house.  A bit of a jaunt for us from the skytrain but not too bad on a sunny day!  This location is also great for finding a nice quite place to eat lunch close to nature!


Green Rating: Nothing worthy of note here.  Unfortunately, there wasn't any recycling for the food scraps (but I don't see there being any) or the napkins/paper bags they served the food in.


Warning: These were all so juicy we had to lean and eat by the bottom of our wraps- but it is definitely worth the effort!  Enjoy!


Rumour has it that they will have a second truck or maybe they already do - it's not on the list yet though...I can't wait to try it!


Rating: 4.5/5 
Value:  5/5

I want to try the Vegetarian Option next time

Charming owner and Friendly staff help Kristina

Service with a smile

Wow look at that Tandoori Chicken! Yum! You can smell it down the block!

Hariali Chicken

Lamb Kebab

I can't wait to try it!

Butter Chicken

Movie Stars Enjoying Butter Chicken

Truck 8 - Juice Caboose

Truck:  The Juice Caboose

Location: Kitsilano Farmers Market

Type of Food: Juice, smoothies

Sidekicks: My mom and my sister Erica

Food Ordered: 

Mom and me

• Today's Special - Pear, Ginger and Apple Juice

Erica 

• The Bandit - Hemp Seeds, Vanilla Bean, Strawberry, Coconut Butter, Raw Cacao Nibs, Agave

The Verdict: 
This cart was a little bit disappointing for me.  As my mom summarized "it was not the best".  She only had a few sips of the drink and let me finish the rest - something that she wouldn't have done if she liked it.  I understand that it was early when we arrived at the market, but I was hoping that this cart would present a delectable taste experience like the previous juice truck I got to visit the Juice Truck.  Unfortunately, there were a couple of things that supported my experience not being the best.


Firstly, the slight disorganization threw me off - the girl at the window didn't know what the special was and the back of the cart looked really chaotic.  I believe that entropy is the sign of genius, but when it comes to food prep that's not exactly what I want to see.  I would have forgiven this seeing as it was early and the two girls seemed fairly nice otherwise, but it was the second element which made the experience not the best.


The second black mark for me was that the drink was not cold - at all.  Erica's was almost cold, but mine was pretty warm.  The temperature meant that I had fresh but warm juice.  Not the best flavour experience.  I love pears and especially love ginger so I was disappointed that this drink didn't fulfill my needs.


Erica was indifferent about her drink, but said for the price you couldn't really beat it.  


I would be willing to give them a second chance - maybe if I try them later in the day they'll be on their game...


Favourite Thing(s) About This Truck: The children element.  I loved how they had a train set out front and there are pictures on their blog of them letting kids colour all over the truck!  This is really cool!  


Also when I asked them about what they did with the "leftovers" from the juice they told me that we were free to take it home for our compost or as chicken feed.  I think this is a really neat idea - but I wonder what they do with the "leftovers" if people don't take them.  They also don't have a sign advertising this so I wonder if people actually know that they are available for you to take home.


Accessibility: This truck seems to "roam" around to the different markets.  Follow them on twitter @juicecaboose if you want to find them.  It looks like they are pretty regular at the North Shore Green markets and I've seen them about every other week at the Kits Farmers Market.


Green Rating: It sounded like they might compost everything, but then again they may not.  The girl at the window didn't really seem to know.  They did offer me the "leftovers" to take home for my compost or for chicken feed, so I guess if you asked them you could take the compost home.


Rating: 3/5 
Value:  4/5

Check out the cool train set in front of the caboose!

Erica contemplates her smoothie choice

My mom tries her juice

Truck 7 - The Juice Truck

Truck: The Juice Truck as featured on Eat St.

Location: Abbott and Water St. in Gastown on weekdays from 11:30-5:00 and either in Kitsilano or Gastown on the weekends
Type of Food: Juice, smoothies
Sidekicks: Sisters - Kim and Erica and Erica's boyfriend David
Food Ordered: 
Kim and Tara

• The Avocado Pineapple - Avocado blended with pineapple, coconut water, lime, vanilla and          agave 
• The Raw Chai Brownie - Dates with raw cacao powder, hazelnut, coconut oil, ground flax seed, maple syrup, vanilla & chai spices 

Erica and David 

• The Strawberry Coconut - Strawberry blended with coconut meat, coconut milk, banana, raw cacao nibs, vanilla and agave 

The Verdict: 
Yummy!  A meal in a glass.  We loved how they use coconut and coconut water in a lot of their options!  Delicious and nutritious!  The combinations in the smoothies that we had had great texture, something which I often find is missing from a good smoothie.    


For the price, I would definitely hit up this truck as opposed to going to a franchise like Booster Juice or Jugo Juice.  At least you know where the ingredients are coming from and they don't put things like sorbets or yogurts in any of their drinks.  In fact, this truck doesn't put any milk in any of their beverages - they use substitutes like almond milk and soy!  The price point is slightly more - probably about $1, however if you take into account all of the freshness in these cups, it's definitely worth the extra dough!


I loved the Raw Chai Brownie!  Chocolate and chai - how can you go wrong with that combination?  It tasted like a Terra Breads Chocolate Chai latte, (which I love!) without the milk!  Kim thought the chai was a bit overpowering, but I love the complexity that the chai spices added to the brownie!


Favourite Thing About This Truck: I love the creativity of the choices!  So many different options that are all delicious and nutritious!  I'd love to hear my Secret Sidekick's opinion on the actual nutritional content but from what I can see they are all great!  I can't wait to get back to try more of the flavours!


Accessibility: A couple of blocks from the sky-train, the location is great for tourists as it is at one end of gastown.  It is slightly more difficult for me to get to on a break.  It is too bad that they aren't open in the mornings, because I would definitely try to hit them up on a workout day before work instead of a franchise.


Green Rating: They compost all of the rinds etc from there juices.  They have future plans to try to incorporate some of these natural "leftovers" by using a dehydrator in the future.


Rating: 4/5 
Value:  4/5

Deciding what to order

The Menu. It can also be found here

Kim paying for our smoothie

Kim enjoying the Avocado Pineapple Smoothie

Erica and David sharing the Strawberry Coconut Smoothie

Raw Chai Brownie - Yum!

Truck 6 - Ze Bite

Truck: Ze Bite

Location: Tuesday to Thursday - NE corner of Burrard and West Cordova.  On other days they can be found roaming the city - check out their twitter feed to see where they are at @zebite.


Type of Food: "Fast and Delicious", "A taste of France in one bite"


Sidekicks: KP 


Food Ordered: They were sold out of everything except for the Beouf Bourginon by the time we got there at 1:00 so that's what we had!


The Verdict: 
Beouf Bourginon is one of my favourite meals so I was very excited to see that it is on the menu of one of the food carts!  Although I didn't get to try the mashed potatoes as they had run out and only had couscous left I think that they should offer this as an option as a substitute.  

The truck is owned by a legitimate french man who obviously knows how to cook!  According to the Georgia Straight he used to be a chef at Le Magasin and comes from a long line of French Chefs.  This definitely came out in the complex flavours of the Beouf Bourginon.


Next time I would love to be able to try some of the other offerings on the menu! 


Favourite Thing About This Truck: The friendly owner and deliciously flavoured food put a smile on my face as I enjoyed this dish.  Do not miss this truck!  I think I may even head there to get dinner on the odd occasion as it offers more substantial fare than some of the other trucks that I've tried.  


Accessibility: A couple of blocks from the sky-train, the location is great for tourists and people using the Vancouver Convention Centre but not as accessible as some of the other trucks I've tried that are right outside of the sky-train stations.   


Green Rating: All of their containers and utensils are compost friendly.  They also offer a compost bin outside of the truck. 


Rating: 4/5 
Value:  5/5

KP orders from the owner  himself Matthieu Gicquel

Pretty Great Location for the Tourists or if you're at the Convention Centre

KP enjoys her Beouf Bourginon

Beouf Bourginon with couscous

Truck 5 -Re-up BBQ

Truck: Re-up (addictive) BBQ
Location: Georgia St and Hornby - exact location 700 Hornby St.  right across from Caffe Artigiano on Hornby
Type of Food: BBQ Sandwiches
Sidekicks: Kristina, Jason and Santu (Also tried on the same day by my Secret Sidekick, Helen and KB)
Food Ordered: 

• Tara, Kristina and Jason - The Pulled Pork Sandwich, Tara and Kristina also had sweet tea
• Santu - Beef Brisket Sandwich

The Verdict: 
The pulled pork was delicious!  I couldn't get enough. I also wish I could have had more of the delicious, crisp, fresh coleslaw.  The bun on the other hand, was not my favourite.  I wouldn't say that this would be addictive, but it was tasty.


The sweet tea was yummy!  I would go back for this drink.  Not too sweet and as close to American Iced tea that I've had here.


To combine the delicious flavours of the pork and the coleslaw with a plain, white kaiser bun seemed like a cop-out to me.  I would consider myself a bit of a bread snob, so the fact that this plain, white kaiser bun seemed to ruin the experience for me may not apply to everyone.  As a rule I don't like white bread.  I would have much preferred to have an option for a more nutritional bun or to try the pulled pork over a bed of coleslaw without the bun entirely.  


Santu and Helen(my coworker who had gone earlier) said that the beef brisket was also delicious.  With a smoky, almost masala taste, the general feeling I got from Helen was that she would definitely try it again.

Favourite Thing About This Truck: 
The pulled pork.  They've kept it simple and delicious!  The coleslaw was also pretty yummy!  Also worthy of note - the company who braved the rain to try this truck with me.


Accessibility: Great location for the downtown core in front of the art gallery on the Hornby side. A few blocks from transit, but still a pretty good location for us.


Green Rating: Nothing worth mentioning here.  They used non-recycled paper bags, napkins and didn't have paper recycling.  They also serve their sweet tea in non-recyclable plastic cups.


Rating: 3.5/5 - (4/5 if I was able to order the pulled pork on a bed of coleslaw without the bun)
Value:  5/5

Jason and Santu decide what to order

Kristina tries her sweet tea under her umbrella

Great value

Preparing our food in this tiny cart

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Kristina takes a bite