What a day in the lunch world

So today, I'm feeling less than myself- still stuck in weekend mode on a Tuesday. I thought this day was doomed until I stumbled across a bit of excitement. Just to enlighten you on the events leading up to my lunch order, my flight from SFO was delayed last night and I didn't get out of the cab and through the threshold of my apartment until 1:20a. Then I get to work today, my co-worker was feeling icky and bailed (feel better Chris) and to make matters worse, my favorite food truck site was not displaying any trucks on the radar this morning. Oh no! Please don't take my joy!

So I find one truck through alternative methods of research and slide out of my office about a half an hour early, in hopes of avoiding the Gastrobus type of rejection again. I found one! The Border Grill truck, owned by two of my favs in the food world, 'Two Hot Tamales!' This got me in better spirits.  Did I mention it feels like a freakin' Indian Summer outside today... I'm just really not in the mood for foolishness. But foolishness I got!

As promised Border Grill was parked right up front. But then behind it, there were not 2 but 3 more frickin trucks! Okay, I think I'm getting excited again. One was a greek truck that I passed on for the day. The other 2, Lomo Arigato: a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese flavors sold out of a converted FedEx truck, and Asian Soul food. Let's start with the good, shall we?


So I purchased a couple tacos from the Border Grill because I couldn't pass on an opportunity to taste the Tamales' culinary genius. So I tried a carne taco and a chicken cilantro, and requested a side of creamy corn salsa that sounded really good. And it was- it lacked salt, but overall a good deal. The corn was sweet and roasted before being combined with red onions, cilantro, and other fun ingredients in a creamy base  (perhaps crema fresca?) The chicken taco was delish! I was surprised by the intense flavor of the chicken. The taco was topped off with a creamy fresca salsa (pico + sour cream would be my guess). If I sound lackluster in my description of my experience it's because  I am. The carne taco was decent, the guac on top was pretty tasty but the presentation, the attitude and the overall energy of the truck was seriously lacking. Did they feel defeated by the smell of competition? If so here's my advice- park on a lonely dark road so you don't have to compete! This truck was cool. I'd recommend the food but bring your own party hat and clown nose if you're looking to have a fun experience. 


Asian soul food... where do I begin. Let's start with the menu which completely lacked focus. If you have more than a few items on your menu, I'm not gonna know what to try therefore if you have a specialty- the customer will never find it! This menu had everything from soba noodles and black rice, to black eyed peas, fried chicken, and greens. There was one item in particular that caught my interest from the gate- Macaroni and Cheese. This is  my FAVORITE 'soul food' item, so I was planning on trying this item as soon as I saw the bright yellow signage of the Asian Soul Food truck.


I ordered greens and mac & cheese, as I've already decided to go elsewhere for my main meal. At only 2 bucks a piece, ordering a couple sides seemed harmless. They were ready before I could put the change from my 10 dollar bill away, so this was off to a good start. While walking away, I cracked into my mac & cheese to find a gooey dark orange substance with a tint of red to it. Uh oh! Then I checked it out. Mercy. This was gag-worthy. It was thick, it tasted artificial, and it was just a bad representation of what I know to be Asian and/or Soul food. I crack open the other container to find string beans and not the greens I ordered. I believe in divine cuisine however, so I planned on keeping what I got and trying out the beans. They were hot but bland. No salt. Just pepper and garlic. I walked back toward the truck a bit upset. I told him about the mistake on his part and asked for the greens I ordered. While he argued with his cook and even me about who's fault the mis-order was, I scoped out the gi-normous can of nacho cheese on the shelf- it was the reason my mac & cheese tasted like it came from the menu of AMC movie theaters. All it needed was to lie on a bed of tortilla chips topped off with jalapenos to be an order of nachos. BAD BAD mistake! On a lighter note, the greens were both spicy and savory. I didn't get the sense of Asian seasoning I would've invited into the dish, but its attempt to mimic a style of food that is unmatched was sub-par as far as the greens. The mac and cheese, again, FAIL!  This day has GOT to get better. 


So I walk up and Ice Cube is blasting from this once FedEx truck- now all white with subtle logos on each side at Lomo Arigato. The girl taking orders, Kori (spelled with an 'I') took great care to make me feel very comfortable when ordering. Despite how busy they were, I never felt rushed. That's a great start. Huge flames on the trucks' interior seemed to literally swallow the half dozen people i could SEE inside the truck cooking on hot woks, throwing ingredients about into their vessels like a bean bag toss at the carnival. On top of that, when asking for my name to distinguish my order, I told her my usual alias. She insisted I tell he how to spell and pronounce the dumbed down name, Terah, that I've used for years. I went ahead and obliged her with the true spelling and pronunciation of my birth given name and she proceeded to tell me her name, Kori- with an 'I'. In case you haven't noticed, customer service is at the tippy top of my list. It, in my opinion, distinguishes great trucks from awesome trucks. Cori and this truck were awesome. I finally got my rice, took it back to the office along with the other items I purchased and was invited to almost consume this entire trough of yummy rice once I sat down! The silver lining, fried rice from Lomo Arigato. 


This rice was full of flavor, seasoned with red peppers (which I normally can't stand), green onion, egg, braised tri-tip, some carrots, and NO PEAS! Thank goodness- I hate peas! Served with a side of creamy jalapeno hot sauce, this dish and truck had all the elements of greatness. The wait was long, and so was the line. Out of all the trucks, they had the most action. I mean seriously, it was seasoned, it was textured perfectly, and it was affordable. $7 filled me up today, and earned my vote for the truck of the day! Thanks Lomo Arigato, and Cori, for making this lunch day salvageable. 


Hopefully tomorrow, I'll be in better spirits- but I'm a critic on my best and worst days, so step your lunch truck game up. You never know when you're gonna find me in your line!