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When Cupcakes Get Flirty

July 21, 2011 By 1 Comment

My first food truck experience with the wonderful Flirty Cupcakes many months ago. I had heard about Big Blue, the nickname for the truck itself, from coworkers. We hiked through the meat packing trucks down Fulton in freezing weather to try Flirty’s cupcakes. If you have ever seen Big Blue up close and personal, you’ll notice the whimsical decorative touches like the pink pom-pom trim around the service window.

Caution: This is just an image; do not lick your screen. This is Flirty's red velvety goodness. Doesn't that super creamy icing make you want to dive right into it?

The story of Flirty cupcakes is a sweet one (ba-dum-chh). It all began when Flirty founder Tiffany spotted an old school ice cream truck and was (emotionally) transported back to her childhood. She said, “It made me think… there is certainly a void in my adult life for something so simple yet so enjoyable!” What I love about this story is that Flirty cupcakes absolutely delivers that same experience. I overhear girls I work with giddily echo Tiffany’s excitement whenever her Big Blue is near.

 

Ordering a cupcake from Flirty

The Flirty Cupcake menu changes constantly. They have seasonal flavors and unique new variations all the time. Plus, their cupcakes all have cute names (a small but thoughtful detail that many Food Truck Freaks appreciate). They are also very diligent about posting their schedule in advance, making it easy to catch them. They make many stops every day and seem to canvas the city (and sometimes, suburbs) pretty thoroughly.

 

In Chicago we are pretty spoiled with all of the amazing cupcake shops we have in town. Flirty offers a wide variety of less traditional flavors. Don’t get me wrong, I love their sugary treats and get them often, but they are somewhat standard. I keep going back for them because Big Blue often stops by my office and Flirty cupcakes brighten up any workday.

 

I tend to order the red velvet cupcake, but also get an additional (more adventurous) cupcake and give the red velvet to a coworker if I end up digging the new flavor. Which flavors have you tried and loved? Which flavor should I get next time I flag down Big Blue?

 

Filed Under: Blog, Dessert Trucks, FTF Reviews, Reviews

5411 Empanadas: Nada but awesome

July 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I. Love. Empanadas. Love them. When I first heard about the 5411 Empanada truck, I tracked them down. A couple friends and I actually ordered every empanada on the menu the first time they were in our neighborhood. chicago food truck 5411 empanadas review packaging delivery

5411 Empanadas has a relatively extensive offering of empanadas. They have the classic beef empanada (which is very authentic as it has egg and olives), which was my favorite. I get this one every time I eat from 5411. My other favorite was the caramelized onion empanada. It is sweet without being overwhelmingly so.

 

The sweet corn empanada is great, and different in the best kind of way (especially if you like nutmeg). I had never heard of an empanada with this kind of stuffing but it is so delicious; honestly it is hard to describe this little empanada in words. Definitely give it a try next time you run across the 5411 Empanada truck.

 

Many of the empanadas I’ve had tend to have a thicker, more rigid corn-based bread shell. The only exception to that was when I had empanadas in Spain, which had a more croissant-like bread. 5411 Empanadas had a dough like the latter; it was light and flakey but crispy at the seams and very flavorful (without distracting from the flavors of the filling). The only downside was that the empanadas were a little difficult to dip in the delicious sauces that they offered that day because the outer part was more delicate.

 

Which empanada from this truck is your favorite? Have you tried their dipping sauces? If not, which dips would you like to try with their empanadas? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Filed Under: Blog, Chicago, FTF Reviews, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Chicago Food Truck Thursday: The Scene

July 15, 2011 By 1 Comment

In my previous review, Food Truck Thursday: The Food, I talked about all the great food that my friends and I ate. However, there was so much more to this event than the food.

the crowd at ethyl's food truck thursday

Lots of people at Food Truck Thursday! The crowd got much thicker than this, but was never too overwhelming.

We thoroughly enjoyed the scene at Food Truck Thursday. Ethyl’s patio was a really comfortable setting in which to sprawl out with food and really good drinks. I ordered the Kush, a frozen lemonade and blueberry drink, and it was as pretty as it was delicious. I waited for my friends to arrive and watched people and trucks trickle into the parking lot. There were a lot of people who had arrived early too; maybe they read about all of the food going quickly too?

Ethyl’s

The staff at Ethyl’s was very attentive and equally as friendly. The patio was big enough to handle such a large crowd; the tables had plenty of space between one another so you weren’t clanking chairs with your neighbor. There were at least 4 servers who waited on us while we were there. However, as the event got rolling, it our drinks took longer and longer to get to our table after ordering. At one point, it took so long for the drink to arrive that it was on the house. Though the patio was well-staffed, it seems as though the bar wasn’t. We didn’t mind too much since we were not in any hurry, but it is something to consider if you’re trying to decide between grabbing a table on the patio or one of the high-tops in the middle of the trucks.

The Vibe

The music added to experience, really making it feel like a party. The families with kids seemed to be enjoying the event as much as the group of single stag smoking and swirling glasses of wine as they dined. The music got louder as the night went on. We had anticipated staying for only an hour, but found ourselves still hanging out come the end of the event. The trucks lingered too; they didn’t start to file out until around 9:15ish.

The Vendors

The vendors themselves were just as sociable. We were talking to the fun Haute Sausage guys, asking for recommendations and asking what was in certain things. At one point they even told me, step-by-step, exactly how to make their same potato chips at home. That was pretty sweet. The vendors seemed unaffected by the boisterous crowd and long lines awaiting their service, even when people asked questions or paid with credit card. Their customer service was impressive whether they had 2 or 20 people queued up for their food.

The reviews about food going fast were right; when we got up to get Round 2 of food, a lot of the vendors had sold out of several items. They all said that the items that run out first change every night, it just depends on the crowd’s taste that night. To me, that’s an indication that there aren’t any menu duds, so it may not be that crucial to arrive early unless you want a full selection or have your heart set on trying a certain food.

Our Experience

Food Truck Thursday exceded our expectations. It was a full-blown, well-rounded event. We definitely recommend getting there early if you plan to stay for a while or want the trucks’ full menus to be available to you, but if you can’t make it at 6:00 it is most certainly worth your while to come at any time. We’ll definitely be back again!

Filed Under: Blog, Chicago, FTF Reviews

Chicago Food Truck Thursday: The Food

July 15, 2011 By 1 Comment

Every Thursday at 6:00 p.m., Ethyl’s Beer & Wine Dive hosts Food Truck Thursday. There’s a different combination of trucks every week. Last night, my friends Tessa and Rachel joined me to partake in the food truck festivities.

The sign that greets you at Ethyl's entrance

After reading comments on Facebook and the rest of the Internets about the food going quickly, we decided to arrive early at 5:45 p.m.. We got drinks and a table as the trucks were getting situated. Ethyl’s outdoor patio seating filled up quickly and the crowd started piling in as early as 6:15. Music was blaring and the sun was setting; it was about to get good!

The crowd was bustling and its composition surprised us a bit: there were tons of families with small children, plus lots of dogs running around (likely at least partially because Fido To Go was there). The atmosphere was very fun and relaxed. We were glad we got seats because the people-and dog- watching was as good as the food.

Round 1: Entrees

Once all the trucks were all set up, we hit the trucks for Round 1 of food. Here’s what we got:

  • Taquero Fusion: Flame Asada taco, “No Carne” Veggie taco, all of the salsas, brownie
  • Tamale Spaceship: Chicken tamale, Veggie Tamale
  • The Slide Ride: Pork Bahn Mi slider, Chicken Sofrito slider
  • gaztro-wagon: Wild Boar Belly Naan-wich with truffle honey, cherry, pistachio, and manchego; Caprese naan-wich with tomato-onion salad, tomato, and mozzarella.

We split each dish 3 ways so we could eat tapas-style. Our strategy was to try foods with likely milder flavors first and work our way up to dishes that we thought might have lingering flavors. Here’s what our spread looked like before and after we had at it; as you can see, we ate it all.

Round 2: Haute Sausage and Desserts

After coming out of a bit of a food coma, Round 2 began. It included:

  • Haute Sausage: Cabo Cheddar Dog which was described as a Kosher hot dog with roasted poblano and grilled corn guacamole and merkts cheddar; Boerewors Chakalaka which had beef & lamb sausage with Chakalaka, a spicy African mix of onions, tomatoes & beans; chips flavored with chutney and curry; chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick
  • Flirty Cupcakes: PB&C peanut butter and chocolate ganache cupcake, Curious George cupcake which is a banana chocolate cupcake with a light, salted caramel Italian butter-cream frosting
  • MORE Cupcakes: Lemon meringue cupcake and the red velvet cupcake
  • Fido To Go: I got a Coconut Mini Muffin to bring home to my dog

 

Stand Outs

Everything we had was delicious (cross our hearts), but here are some dishes that really hit the spot for us that night:

Rachel’s faves:
  • Round 1 favorite: Taquero’s beef taco with the green salsa (the chicken tamale came in at a close second)
  • Round 2 favorite: MORE’s Lemon Merengue cupcake
Tessa’s faves:
  • Round 1 favorite: Veggie tamale
  • Round 2 favorite: Red velvet cupcake
My faves:
  • Round 1 favorite: Taquero’s veggie taco and Haute’s chips were tied (yes, the chips really measured up to the entrees)
  • Round 2 favorite: My dog gobbled up the Coconut Mini Muffin so quickly I think I should have gotten him several more

That’s a snapshot of the food for the evening, but this post is becoming a tome so we’ll save our other thoughts and observations for Food Truck Thursday: The Scene. Check it out!

 

Filed Under: Blog, FTF Reviews