Food truck roundup
Filled up on fancy at Fifth Street Live
BIRD IS THE WORD Chick-n-Chill’s signature Fried Chicken Wings paired with its Carne Asada Tater Tots were both big hits. Photo by Bev Stenehjem.
In search of enlightenment of how far food trucks have truly come, our hungry party recently scouted out the food trucks which gather at 6pm every Friday night at the Fifth Street Live event in downtown Gilroy. We were on a quest to sample all the food that was being offered and make a list of hits and misses.
Visitors to the event have lots of parking options especially if they arrive before 5pm and even while the Farmers Market is still going strong. Most people can walk the short distance from where they parked into the event which is located on the block of Fifth Street between Eigleberry and Monterey Streets.
Entering from the west side on Eigleberry, where the musician’s stage is set up—the first available food for purchase is at Café 152 Burger Company serving up Silva’s Sausage. Technically, this is not a food truck and the only food booth at the event. The food is freshly grilled to order while you wait. We shared the most popular entrée, the Smoked Italian sandwich, ($7 each or $10 for double sausage) consisting of mild Italian sausage smothered in sautéed onions and green bell pepper and served on a soft roll. To top it all off, there was a selection of five different mustards, including standard yellow, stone-ground, jalapeno, grey poupon and a honey-spice Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Our party agreed that this sandwich, oozing with smoky pork flavors and tangy mustard, was an outstanding hit.
Licking our fingers and anxious for the next sample, we spotted the six food trucks—three on each side of the street. Our first stop was Takoz Mod Mex, serving up a fresh take on Mexican cuisine with tacos, burritos and creative wraps. At two for , we sampled one El Beef Tako and one El Pork Tako. The El Beef Tako, made from marinated and well-seasoned carne asada, topped a soft corn tortilla. The “tako” was garnished with their signature arugula mix; sprinkled with cilantro and roasted yellow corn. The El Pork Tako was a tender braised pork shoulder in adobe sauce and pineapple bits, also on a corn tortilla and topped off with a pickled onion. Both “takos” were tasty hits.
Seeing the lines grow increasingly longer as the evening wore on, we hurried along to H. Butler’s Bar B Q, where we ordered a pulled pork sandwich for $8. A generous portion of tender pork with a squeeze of their signature barbecue sauce filled a French roll. The sandwich was such a hit that one of our party members was half-way through it before remembering to share it with the rest of the group.
Just a few steps across the street was Aki-Ta Sushi—a sushi-lover’s fantasy. The extensive menu offered rolls, sushi, nigiri, hand rolls, sashimi and combination plates. We opted to try the “Today’s Special” Godzilla Roll, ($10)—a large, made-to-order roll which contained crab, shrimp tempura and salmon—drizzled with unagi sauce and spicy mayo. The freshness and quality of this roll shined through and the group agreed that it was our favorite hit of the evening.
With appetites waning, we soldiered on to the next offering at Chick-n-Chill. True to their tag line, “Your craving ends here!” we made room to enjoy two of their chicken specialties. We ordered their Signature Fried Chicken Wings ($7.50); 5 pieces of crispy and juicy, bone-in wings coated in a dark, sweet and spicy sauce, which stayed nicely on the skin. After watching several orders of the Carne Asada Tater Tots go by in the hands of other seasoned diners, we knew what our second pick had to be. The freshly-fried tater tots were covered with generous portions of meat, cheese, bacon, tomatoes and cilantro. A meal in itself and another hit of the evening, we staggered away to the two dessert trucks nearby.
Keeping our physical limitations in mind, we decided to order and share only one dessert. Fairycakes won our coin toss and thinking that “there’s always room for dessert,” we bellied up to the truck. Inside the truck, Brian and Gabby recommended their two most popular cupcakes, the Salted Caramel and the Lemon Cheesecake ($3 each). Both were light and airy cakes with a thick swirl of frosting on top. Not overly sweet, both were a delicious end to an incredible dining adventure. Yes, these cupcakes were also deemed a big hit.
Not wanting to leave out the remaining truck on our crusade, we asked opinions from the line of people waiting for a scoop of Treatbot ice cream. A chorus of “excellent,” “so good,” and “extra creamy,” went up to describe the ice cream. Yesenia Gonzalez, along with her daughter Audrey, from Gilroy, recommended “The Mexican Chocolate and the Horchata flavors are my favorites.” And Ela Gomez, also from Gilroy and with her family, said, “We always try to stop here for dessert – they’ve got great flavors!” Single scoops were $4 and double scoops were $6. Obviously another hit, our party has vowed to return next Friday night for a scoop or two.
Without finding a single miss among the food we sampled, we wondered if we had failed in our quest. Or perhaps, we mused, we found the holy grail of food trucks.
- Food at your front door – November 30, 2017
- Jammy Trio – November 8, 2017
- Dine-in bar – November 5, 2017
