Cooking sliders

Started a couple of weeks ago but just now finishing and posting.

I've written about my appreciation of the sliders from Easy Slider Truck. They make 'em pretty good. But as we all know, it's not that hard to make a burger whether it's 1/4 lb, 1/3 lb, 1/2 lb or "slider" lb. No matter how you make it or with what add-ons, it usually tastes good or tastes good to someone. Anyway, it's been a few months or so since we've had any Easy Slider sliders. We just haven't had the time but also, the last time they were near my work, they were charging $8.00 for two sliders or $12.00 for three. It used to be two for $7.00 or three for $10. I think $4.00 a slider isn't worth it when I can get almost an entire value meal (fries, drink and burger) somewhere for $8.00. Anyway, the last time I went to buy sliders for the family, I got nine sliders which cost me $30.00.

So, the family decided to try and make our own. Well, I get to do all the trying and making. The wife and kids get to try the tasting. Hamburger meat @ $8.00, slider buns 12-pk @ $3.00, small goat cheese @ $3.00, strawberry preserve spread @ $3.00, and a pound of bacon @ $8.99 which equals a total around $26.00 plus tax. I saved roughly $4.00 but I also made 16 sliders——the last two (in the bottom pic below) probably could have been broken into four for a total of 18 sliders.

Below: is just the start of the sliders in the skillet. I just mixed the 95% lean hamburger meat with garlic powder. I sliced a yellow onion and put in the skillet with the patties to hopefully pick up some of the juice/flavoring from the patties.

Next: This is just one of the many sliders I cooked. A photo just doesn't do it justice on how good it looked and also lacks the tasty smell that makes the mouth water.

I had some leftover hamburger meat since I didn't know how many sliders I would/could make. I decided to make some Heinz 57 sliders. I mixed the hamburger meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Heinz 57. I ran out of slider buns so I thought I'd see how cinnamon raisin bread would work. Added some bacon and, voila! This shit was pretty darn good and tasty if I may say so myself!

Chile Pepper Grill Food Truck

This is a photograph I took of my order from the Chile Pepper Grill food truck. What you see is (from left to right) the Alambre "deluxe" taco ($3.00) and two carnitas ($1.75 each).

The Alambre comes standard with cilantro and onions but the 'deluxe' status adds cheese, green peppers and bacon. Truthfully I really didn't feel the add-ons added anything to the flavoring or taste of the taco. The green peppers were more like dices versus slices or something of real substance and there were so few that I almost didn't realize they were in there. In fact, I only looked for them I knew they were supposed to be in the "deluxe" taco from reading the menu. The bacon was in small chunks—the kind you'd be more likely to find on a pizza. You can see a little bit of it in the photo near the top left of the taco. There was also cheese. I don't know what kind as it wasn't stated and I don't know how much there was. I guess it was pretty minimal like the green peppers. I think you can see a little bit melted on the steak to the left side of the taco sort of blending in with the diced white onions. All that being said, I have to say that the steak or even the flavoring of the taco in its entirety did not leave a lasting 'flavorable' impression. I did have it a few days ago but I can't remember what it tasted like. For reference, I can tell you exactly what each slider from the Easy Slide Truck tastes like and it's been at least a couple of weeks since I had one. Is the 'deluxe' status worth the extra $1.25 difference from 'regular' taco? I'd have to go with "No."

The Carnitas taco is just corn tortilla filled with cilantro, onions and carnitas. It's their 'basic' taco which only varies (as far as I can remember) from the choice of meat. The carnitas was tasty. I like the simple flavoring. For some it may be a little wet in the sense that they could probably dab it with a paper towel to absorb some of the juice and/or "sweat" from being in the storage container with a lid on it. Hopefully, that last part makes sense. I'm not picky and it doesn't bother me but it did make for a very drippy taco eating session. Anyway, the onions helped to add a little bit of crunch to each bite but like the Alambre, I didn't feel it added any flavoring.

In the image you'll also see to small containers above the tacos that contained two types of sauces. I don't know their official names but I'm going with the green sauce and the red sauce. I dipped a finger into each to see how they tasted. I decided the green sauce was more appealing to me. I first tasted each of the tacos without the green sauce to get a true sense of their taste. I then took a few bites with the green sauce added to see how it changed, enhanced or detracted from the taste of the tacos. I'd have to say that it changed but did not enhance or detract. For the Alambre, it actually hid the taste of the steak...maybe that's why I don't remember it much. For the carnitas, I think the carnitas meat was flavored enough that it still came through the spicy-ness of the green sauce. I actually preferred the carnitas taco without the green sauce and that's how I ate the second one.

Overall, I did not feel that I could recommend this food truck to my friends, family and coworkers. I don't think it was bad necessarily. I just didn't feel like I was awed or impressed enough by the flavoring of the tacos to put my recommendation on it for others. Now, I'm not a snoot and I eat just about anything especially if the price is reasonable for what I'm getting in return. In my opinion, for $1.75 if this is the only food truck available or it's next to one I thoroughly do not like I will most definitely eat Chile Pepper Grill tacos again. In fact, my recommendation for this food truck is to forego the deluxe option and stick with the regular taco. My tab came to $6.50 ($3.00 + $1.75 + $1.75). I could get four regular tacos for $7.00 and feel fuller from eating four tacos versus three since the deluxe I had was really an overpriced 3rd taco. I would also like the feeling that I got a good deal at 4 for $7.

So that's all I've got. Now go try it yourself.

More food truck commentary

Today, I was able to taste test a couple more food trucks.

First up: Ruthie's Rolling Cafe. I previously posted about Ruthie's but did not comment on the taste and quality of their offerings since I had not had any of them at the time. Now, I can comment on at least two of their items: The Boss ($7.50) and Ham-I-Am ($7.00) — each shared between me and a coworker.

Let me start first by saying that I still would never pay $5 or more for a grilled cheese sandwich. The only reason I (we) even decided to get something from Ruthie's is because we had a coupon for a buy-one-get-one sandwich of equal or lesser value. So, between the two of us, we paid $8.13 for both of sandwiches since we brought our own drinks. I can get a loaf of bread for $1.50 (or less) and 16 slice American cheese pack for $3 (or less)—this makes about 8-10 sandwiches depending on the size of the loaf.

That being said, The Boss is not a grilled cheese sandwich! It's a BBQ sandwich with cheese. The ingredients for this sandwich are BBQ meat (mine was shredded) with cheddar cheese on sourdough bread. I love BBQ and I love sourdough bread—my favorite burger at Jack in the Box is the Sourdough Jack‐so this was a no-brainer for me to choose on my first tasting. The sourdough bread was grilled to perfection! The BBQ meat was flavorful...it was generously doused in BBQ sauce...and the cheddar cheese seemed to be holding it all together. So much so that I didn't have a problem with the BBQ meat falling out of my sandwich. For something seemingly so messy, I didn't get a bit on me or the table.

On the other hand, the Ham-I-Am is definitely a grilled cheese made with ham and Swiss cheese on sourdough bread. Most definitely not worth $7.00 in my opinion! I won't go over what I can make and how much with $7.00 spent at the grocery store. I don't know what more to say about it. Was it good? Yes. Is it worth making a trip to wherever this truck may be? Only if you truly are too damn lazy to make yourself a grilled cheese at home.

My overall take of Ruthie's Rolling Cafe isn't all bad. The two sandwiches I shared were good. The Boss was way better than the Ham-I-Am. The guy that took my order was very nice and the service was fairly quick. Is it worth the cost? Not in my book but that is strictly based on the fact that I can make either of these sandwiches at home and probably the entire menu. Other people may find it worth the money so it might be worth to try it and see for yourself. Will I eat at Ruthie's again? Yes, because I have a couple more buy-one-get-one coupons.
 
 
Second up: Nammi Food Truck. This truck was at the same location as Ruthie's. Even though I had already ordered from Ruthie's, I've wanted to try Nammi for some time. I love Asian food...just about any kind of Asian food...and Nammi is Vietnamese Fusion style. Nammi had been there for at least an hour or so therefore when I got there two of their "meat" choices were already marked off the menu and unavailable. I was left with (honey?) battered pork and tofu. I don't eat ANYTHING tofu so pork was the meat of choice.

My order with Ruthie's was completed first. I took a few bites of The Boss and then my Nammi order was ready. I ordered two of the tacos. They looked tasty...and to me they were.

The tacos had good spice and filler like carrots and some other stuff I don't really remember at this time because I tend to wolf down my food. Also, I'm writing this in between doing work stuff and randomly surfing the 'net. I only ate one taco because I ate half of The Boss. I saved both remaining food items for lunch tomorrow.

Overall, I'd have to say that I liked both food items. Would I pay full price for The Boss? No. Was it good and someone else might pay full price for it? Probably, yes. Would I buy the tacos? Yes, probably again and again when the craving arises.

Roach coaches a.k.a. Food Trucks

I started this a few weeks or more ago. I've been busy and distracted but I wanted to continue with my thought when I began this post instead of deleting it.

I don't know if you've noticed but there's a new fad in town (in the Dallas/Fort Worth and maybe Austin area anyway). It's called a food truck a.k.a. roach coach. Of the ones I've posted below, I've tried two: Easy Slider and ssahmBBQ. I can't bring myself to pay $5-$7 for a freaking grilled cheese from Ruthie's because I keep thinking that I can buy a whole loaf of bread and 24-36 Kraft cheese slices to make my own 12 or so grilled cheese sandwiches for the same price.
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Easy Slider Truck

So, I've had all the sliders from Easy Slider. I can't really say that I have a favorite but the two I recall the most are the Sweet & Lowdown and The Nutty Pig. I remember them mainly because of the added toppings of strawberry jam on the first and peanut butter on the second. All the other regular sandwiches are pretty good too except for The Black & Blue. It comes with slaw that takes away from the slider more than it adds to it. It's just not very flavorful slaw. The French Revolution is just as memorable as the S&L and TNP but the toppings like Dijon aren't anything really different that I haven't used on a sandwich/burger before like with the strawberry jam and peanut butter. For the price, I'd go with their 3 for $10 versus the 2 for $7 or just one slider. I just felt like it was a better deal. I also compared the price to slider appetizers that are sold at a few restaurants and 3 for $10 is actually a better price than at most places for the same amount of food. Final verdict: Easy Slider Truck is definitely one that you should try out and I think you'll have an easier time finding them since I think I read somewhere that they purchased a second truck — they are a franchise now. :-)
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ssahmBBQ Gourmet Korean Tacos

I've only had the KALBI(Beef) and DAEJI(Pork) tacos from ssahmBBQ. I've also only eaten from the truck twice. A friend of mine had the bowl and thought it was pretty good. As for my experience with the tacos, I thought they were pretty darn good. The meat is seasoned well and fairly tasty. It comes with some garnishing or what I call "filler" like kimchee, cilantro and onion which adds a little crunch to the taco as well as some tangy sauce. For me, it's the right level of spicy. I can't say much else about the food they serve besides the beef or pork tacos but I'm sure the other items taste just as good. I will definitely try something new the next time I get a chance to order from the truck.
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Ruthie's Rolling Cafe

I can't say whether or not the options from Ruthie's are good eating or not. I haven't actually had any of their product. I probably won't ever either. The only reason being is that I refuse to pay $7 for a freaking grilled cheese sandwich! I can make a dozen grilled cheese sandwiches for $7. I think they may have a couple other offerings but they are still probably just as ridiculously expensive for something so simple and otherwise cheaply made at home. I just threw a picture and link in with the others that I have tried to show a variation of the types of food trucks out there AND in case there are any people out there that would actually pay for an expensive grilled cheese. I work with a few people that have and said they would again purchase from Ruthie's. I'm just a little more stingy with my hard-earned money.

So, in conclusion, these food trucks are a nice alternative to the traditional restaurants like Rusty Taco, Torchy's Tacos, Fuzzy Taco, Digg's Taco, Baker's Ribs, Peggy Sue's, etc., etc. that serve similar food items especially when they are in walking distance or very short driving distance.