Fresh From the Food Truck: Rollin' & Smokin'

The first week of my new job ended with a relatively new Nashville tradition: Food Truck Fridays.

Definition: a fleet of food trucks set up shop in a corporate parking lot, enticing employees out to try a variety of options, and donate a portion of the proceeds to a charitable cause.

In the first edition of our Food Truck Fridays, the one option I'd been dying to try was Rollin' & Smokin'. I'd spied this truck parked outside of Friedman's Army Navy store several times but had never had the chance to try it.  When I checked out the menu, I knew it was right up my Alabama alley.

This truck touts itself as GoreMade Southern Cuisine, and every dish is named after a member of the Gore family, an Alabama icon, or someone special to the Gores. (All of this is explained on the menu.)

My dad and I can eat barbecue together at pretty much the drop of a hat, so I knew I was going to enjoy this truck. When I read about Skyline's Mac & Cheese, with 3 different kinds of cheese and truffle oil, I knew I was going to love this truck!

Rollin' & Smokin's special of the day was a delicious concoction of Southern-ness: the HoDownHoCake. It started with a base layer of cornbread griddle cake, piled on the truffle oil mac & cheese, and topped it all off with my meat of choice--pulled pork and sweet barbecue sauce. It was Alabama in every bite.

Rollin' & Smokin's HoDownHoCake

Although my hair smelled like barbecue smoke for the rest of the day, this was definitely worth the $7 plus tax I paid and the bonding over food I did with my new coworkers. Next time you see the yellow truck rollin' down the street, stop and indulge in some good ol' fashioned feel-good food.

Hoss of a Burger

A friend was talking to me this morning about the disappointment you get when a meal isn't as good as you'd remembered it being. It had happened to her during lunch today, and sadly, it happened to me as well.

With no concrete lunch plans, I was excited to learn that the Hoss' Loaded Burgers truck was parked near my office today. It has been a long time since I've eaten one of their juicy, stuffed, grass-fed beef creations and, since I'd already treated myself to fancy coffee yesterday, why not continue the trend? (Yes, I know this is perhaps not the wisest money-management decision to make, but I am also supporting the local economy...right?)

The Hoss Burger boys endeared themselves to me last fall and I'd been anxious to get back to their truck. So I took advantage of a beautiful day, walked the short walk to the truck, and picked out a burger from one of their four specials, each stuffed with cheese and topped with appropriate fixin's.

For the record, I have NO idea why this keeps posting sideways...

I ordered the Big Kahuna burger, a patty stuffed with Swiss cheese and topped with a pineapple slice and teriyaki  sauce. Sounded delicious for only $7. A sign in the window said for maximum juiciness and deliciousness, all burgers were cooked to medium-ish. They even asked before they through my patty on the grill. I said that was fine because, well, they are the burger experts and who am I to argue with them? I should've requested more medium-well. It was pretty raw in the middle. I won't post a picture of that, but I will say (in case my mother is reading), I did put the patty in the microwave back at the office to get it edible by Jessica standards.

Again with the sideways...ugh!

Other than that, and the fact that it was supremely messy, the burger was pretty good. Although, not as good as I remembered it being.  Not as stellar as I'd hoped for my lunch. But, compared to the $7-9 you would spend on fast food, this was a much better use of my money and probably healthier too, minus the fries and Coke.

Do try it out, though. Don't give up on them! Just make sure when you do venture to Hoss' Loaded Burgers, that you are not about to go into a meeting, eat in your car, or otherwise trying to impress the person with whom you are dining. I have tried both types of fries, sweet potato fries or their unique rosemary-parmesan, and they are both delicious. A small order is only $2 and is plenty when paired with the large burger.

 

I do apologize for the lack of cooperation with my photos. I have no idea what's going on with them.

Up for a Challenge?

A fellow Nashville-area food-blog writer & Twitterer has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet when she challenged her community (both on-land and online) to dedicate themselves to eating local during the entire month of August. Why? Well, to support our local economy and reduce our dependence on oil, of course!

Mary's dare, appropriately dubbed the Eat Local Challenge, encourages participants to devote one month to eating only food that originated within 150 miles of their location.

Her rules are simple: shop at farmers' markets, fruit stands, or the local section of your grocery store, striving to only buy 10% of your groceries from the actual grocery store. She adds that this 10% should be organic when possible and something not available at farmers' markets, like sugar. And, if you can't cook at home, eat at a locally-owned restaurant serving locally-grown food.

This challenge intrigues me. As you know, this blog has opened my eyes to all the locally-owned restaurant options in town, and I'm drawn to those that choose to serve Middle Tennessee food. I also enjoy farmers' markets and love that several are popping up all over town. (12th South, 100 Oaks, Woodbine, and Vanderbilt are just a few in my vicinity.)  Mary also encourages those accepting her challenge to document the process, the obstacles, the struggles, and the rewards. I already document when I eat at locally-owned restaurants, so I've got that part down.

So here it is: I'm thinking of accepting this challenge. As I type, my mind has already started thinking of places to go for some basics like bread and coffee. But then I start to question. What would I eat for breakfast? Locally grown eggs? Toast? What about the peanut butter and Nutella currently occupying the shelves in my pantry? Where would I get milk?

I also wonder if I would have time for this, as I feel like it would take extra effort to plan my shopping trips. But the benefit could be huge! I would supporting small business owners, reducing my carbon footprint (unless I have to drive further to markets, in which case I could see it being counter-productive).

Also, what would the cost of this undertaking be? In theory, I think it would save me money, as fruits and veggies that don't have to be shipped from California or Florida are naturally going to be less expensive. But would I have to pay more for hand-made pasta at Lazzaroli's or the cow I'm going to have to milk?

Now I want to know: what do you think? Would you support me if I embarked on this adventure? Would you join me and accept the Eat Local Challenge for yourself?