Local foodies treated to live music, lawn games, and more
Once a month more than a dozen local food trucks converge on Corpus Christi’s gorgeous bayfront. Local foodies are treated live music, lawn games, colorful pop-up tents and lawn chairs. Because food trucks are not known to break the bank, we decided the spot would be perfect for our next Economic Crunch review.
PRISCILLA BOREN
pboren@foghornnews.com
The lines were unusually long due to Realms Com and the MAC Selena makeup debut. I ran into friend and Del Mar College alumnus Ben Vasquez and he highly recommended the Bar Be Que from Dazed & B’Qued.
Ordering the sliced brisket sandwich with coleslaw was easy and the woman taking my order was very friendly even though she was busy. Not being a fan of creamy slaw I was happy to see two full see-through containers of finely shredded delicious mixed cabbages with a light sweet glaze and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. The tangy flavor was the perfect accompaniment to the zesty, juicy and tender poor boy sandwich. The toasted buns made the sandwich so much better.
The drinks are self-serve and it’s a good idea to get two and share the sandwich with a friend. The sandwich is huge and for the price of under $10 it was perfect.
I attempted to wait in line for the Street Fries from the TacoBar Street truck that everyone was raving about. Unfortunately, it was too busy, but at least I have an excuse to go back next month.
Cost: $7.00
Rating: 3/5
GABRIELLA YBARRA
gybarra@foghornnews.com
With its friendly faces, tantalizing aromas and bright yellow appearance, Mise en Place Mobile Cafe stood out among all the food trucks lined up against Shoreline Boulevard.
Adrienne was my server, a very polite woman who recommended the Sriracha Lime Chicken Salad and their award winning Chicken Caprese Sandwich. The prices were a bit steep, with the chicken salad costing an even $9 and the sandwich $9.50, resulting in a total of $20.03. Luckily they were nice enough to ask me to forget about the 3 cents.
I waited about 15-20 minutes to receive my food. At this point, I had very high hopes for the award-winning Chicken Caprese Sandwich so I decided to chow down on it first. I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh the ingredients tasted. The grilled chicken was substantially juicy and the mozzarella cheese was delightful. I thought the use of the Ciabatta bread was really nice as well. The balsamic vinaigrette dressing had a tangy, sweet flavor which I think really complemented the sandwich. It also came with french fries and like the sandwich they were great, perfectly seasoned and cooked to perfection. This one really did seem to live up to its award winning status.
Next was the Sriracha Lime Chicken Salad. The strips of grilled chicken on top were delicious. The Sriracha added a nice kick but it wasn’t too overpowering. I really liked the use of the grilled pineapple and how it complemented the bit of heat. The salad was pretty nice. It had a nice blend of greens with some really fresh looking tomatoes. Again, I really enjoyed the dressing they had for this dish. It was a citrus flavored dressing which tasted very much homemade.
Overall, I was very pleased with Mise en Place Mobile Café. They really have gotten A’s all around the board. The food and the people running it are great. Although the prices may seem steep, you’re getting your money’s worth on this one and I’d definitely recommend them to anyone.
Cost: $20.03
Rating: 4/5
JONATHAN GARCIA
jgarcia@foghornnews.com
When I got downtown, I first noticed the row of trucks lining up along the bayfront with people crowding around each truck. I took a moment to look at the trucks lined up and each of them looked like they had delicious food. After moments of walking back and forth, I settled on the truck known as Bigger Burger.
The truck had two windows, one where you place your order and the other is where you pick up your food. I took a good look at the menu and noticed they had chicken strips there. I decided to have the four-piece tenders because it’s becoming real hard to mess up a burger nowadays, so I wanted to see if the strips walked the walk as much as their burgers do. I placed my order and the bill rang up to $12 exactly since I ordered fries, for $2, as well as a soda for the same price.
After 12 minutes, they called my name on a PA system. I took my food and seated myself, getting organized to have this hot and fresh food. I am a huge fan of chicken strips and could possibly eat them all day. Unfortunately, these tasted off. As soon as I bit into it, it had a weird taste like the frozen chicken tenders you heat up at home. It didn’t bother me at first, but as I kept eating them it really started to put me off and I couldn’t finish the last tender. The french fries, however, tasted very good and crisp, which almost made up for the experience.
I will consider going back to try one of their burgers, but I wouldn’t recommend their chicken strips. In the end, I left feeling mixed about my Bigger Burger experience.
Cost: $12
Rating: 2.5/5
VICTOR RHODES
vrhodes@foghornnews.com
When I got to the bayfront, I noticed several trucks parked inches from each other. Around five or six of them were serving dozens of people. There were a lot to choose from and I went with D’Lish Foods.
At first, barbecue or burgers were calling my name until I notice something on D’Lish’s menu. They were serving my favorite item, lumpia. For those unfamiliar with lumpia, it is a traditional Filipino dish similar to eggrolls. It’s pretty rare to see this dish served in Corpus.
Inside the lumpia was ground pork, chopped carrots and green onions. It tasted wonderful and was full of terrific flavors.
I tried another item from their menu called the pulled pork rice bowl.
The rice bowl was pretty similar to other rice dishes. It came with rice, pork and diced onions that were too sweet. The pork was bland with little to no flavor.
Other food items included fruit salad and veggie fried salad.
D’Lish pricing seem reasonable for college students on a budget. Lumpia cost $5 while their rice bowl was $9.
Whenever D’Lish Foods is parked on the bayfront, I highly recommend checking them out.
Cost: $14
Rating: 4/5