Happy September! School started a week early for me this year (I want my summer back please!), so I'm hoping to find a balance between my studies and updating my blog. So before the university grind really begins, I would love to share my recap of the August 22, 2015 What the Truck?! event that took place in Telus Field.
What the Truck?! is a celebration of food trucks and food truck culture in Edmonton. I always make sure I'm free to attend What the Truck?! events because I love being able to try lots of food truck food in one location. Check out my recap of What the Truck?! at Northlands Park.
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| Telus Field. |
The event was held in Telus Field, a place that I would always pass by driving to Downtown but never really had a reason to check out until What the Truck?!. It was so nice to see people making the most of the location by playing catch in the infield or by picnicking in the outfield.
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| The Hungry Dodo food truck. |
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| Fish & Chips & Salad. |
To kick off my dinner, I decided to try Fish & Chips & Salad ($8) from The Hungry Dodo, a food truck that was new to What the Truck?!. The Hungry Dodo is Edmonton's first Mauritian food truck and serves 100% halal food. You can learn more about them here. The English style battered cod fish fillet had a nice, crispy exterior and paired surprisingly well with their avocado sauce - a change from the usual tartar sauce or ketchup. The fries, although plentiful, were just okay, while the salad could have used some more dressing but was refreshing nonetheless. I really enjoyed the big portion size though!
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| Chedda' Heads food truck. |
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| Hellbent grilled cheese sandwich. |
Next on my list was Chedda' Heads Hellbent ($9) grilled cheese sandwich. I've heard many good things about their grilled cheese sandwiches ever since the May 23 What the Truck?! event, so I knew I needed to give one a try. The 3 cheese blend along with the avocado slices gave every bite a pleasant creaminess, while the sweet and spicy Doritos added a satisfying crunch for contrast. Soooo good! Who would've thought avocado and Doritos chips would work so well together in a grilled cheese sandwich? The sandwich was also served with a side of chips and a pickle.
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| Spiced! Food Truck. |
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| Karachi Beef Naanwich. |
Another food truck new to What the Truck?! was Spiced! Food Truck. CJ wanted to try their Karachi Beef Naanwich ($8) which came with spiced! slow roasted and pulled beef, greens, chutney, and yogurt dressing. Kettle chips were also served on the side. I loved how flavourful the dish was: the crunchy greens and yogurt dressing was a perfect contrast to the spicy, Pakistani-influenced karachi sauce and tender beef. CJ instantly devoured his share of the naanwich, and ended up asking for more bites from my share!
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| Casa 12 Doce food truck. |
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| Quesadillas Doradas. |
I was already a bit stuffed after eating the naanwich, but CJ insisted on trying just one more dish! We went with Casa 12 Doce's Quesadillas Doradas ($8) to finish our dinner at What the Truck?!. This dish comes with 3 corn tortillas filled with potato and feta cheese, which is then folded and fried. I'll admit that I imagined a soft shell quesadilla when I ordered this menu item, so you can probably guess I was surprised to receive a hard shell quesadilla! Nevertheless, CJ and I really enjoyed the crunchiness of the corn tortilla, the filling and sour cream, and the refreshing salsa mexicana served on the side.
What the Truck?! at Telus Field was fantastic! I had such a fun time picnicking in the outfield with CJ enjoying the warm summer weather, listening to great music, and eating delicious food. What the Truck?! seems to always pick amazing venues for their events... I loved the previous location at Northlands Park but I think I enjoyed Telus Field even more! It was a nice change to just sit/lie down on a picnic blanket instead of having to eat standing up or sitting on benches.
One thing I noticed was that 3 out of 4 of the trucks I visited did not use a ticket-based line management system which was first tested out at the Northlands Park event. While each truck has their own method to manage lines and orders, I thought the ticket-based system would have been useful to the trucks that I found to be a bit slower in sending out their food.
So which food truck won mine and CJ's heart for the evening? Chedda' Heads! Although everything we tried was really tasty, we both agreed that Chedda' Heads' Hellbent grilled cheese sandwich was our favourite pick. I hope to see them at future What the Truck?! events!
The event at Telus Field was the last chance to enter to win a Golden Ticket. CJ and I entered by sharing our photos of the event on social media using the hashtag #wttgoldenticket and by filling out feedback cards. The winners of the Golden Tickets were just recently announced and I'm excited to say that I was one of the winners! Yay!!! Thank you to everyone on the What the Truck?! team! I'm looking forward to the upcoming final What the Truck?! event of the season which takes place Friday September 11, 2015 in Churchill Square from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM and features 35 food trucks. I plan on eating tons of food that day (check out the finale menu here)! Be sure to follow What the Truck?! on Twitter (@whatthetruckyeg) and like their Facebook page.
