Yesterday (and again today) I had the pleasure of hitting up the Dos Equis Mobile Academy truck. It’s a promotional truck that’s here in Chicago just through August 30th. They paired up with our beloved Duck N Roll truck (from Chef Amy Le) to offer nibbles of arguably the most interesting thing you’ll have to eat this week (possibly even this year).
Three coworkers and I dropped by the truck near Millenium Park. To my utter and sincere shock, all 3 of them (only 1 of whom is a self-proclaimed adventurous eater) ordered the Sea Cucumber. If you’ve seen the movie Jackass, your brain might automatically recall this video clip upon mention of the sea cucumbers; they eject a sticky white substance as a defense mechanism. When we saw the food, it looked a bit like eel. I was expecting it to taste fleshy or chewy, but that was not the case. Le prepared the sea cucumber with oyster sauce and served it with white rice. I was surprised at how delicate and tender the sea cucumber was, and the fact that it tasted like a mushroom.
Next up was the jellyfish salad. This cute little amuse-bouche-size salad was stellar. Before I ate it, I mentioned to Le that I didn’t know you could eat jellyfish. She informed me that they first remove the stinger and then sell the head of this sea creature. It was finely julienned (think shredded, matchstick-sized carrots) and pickled, and served with red and green bell pepper. It was tangy and awesome. Plus I feel slightly cooler being able to say I’ve eaten jellyfish…AND sea cucumber…AND liked them.
I saved the miso-marinated beef tongue baos for last since it was the most familiar to me. Beef tongue and I are friends; we go way back. I first had it when I was 12 at Perez Restaurant; I sat down with friends and on an impulse ordered beef tongue tacos. I remember it so vividly because it was the first “adventurous”, or really unfamiliar, thing I had ever eaten. So, when I saw it on Le’s menu for the Dos Equis Mobile Academy truck, I was pretty stoked. When I bit into the bow I immediately tasted the succulent meat as well as the juicy mango. You could give this bao to a conservative eater (without telling them its tongue) and they’d love it.
I had friends come in from out of town last night (from Wichita!), and as I described to them all three things I ate for lunch they were awestruck and excited; they wanted to try them to. So, we chased down the truck again today and they loved it.
You. must. go. to this truck. I am not being compensated to tell you that (girl scouts honor). I really really recommend that you try any of these dishes. Go out of your way to do so, if you must. Here’s where you can find the truck:
- Saturday August 25: The Silver Room, 1442 N. Milwaukee Ave, 12pm-3pm
- Sunday August 26: Wrigleyville Noon-2pm (Note: the Cub’s game is at 1:20pm)
- Monday August 27: Truck’s gotta take a breather; no stops.
- Tuesday August 28: Wabash and Van Buren 11am-noon
- Wednesday August 29: University of Chicago, 57th and Ellis (11am-1pm), then Jefferson and Madison 1:30-2:30pm
- Thursday August 30: Wrigleyville Noon-2pm (Note: the Cub’s game is at 1:20pm)
When you go to the truck, tweet us @foodtruckfreak and tell us what you think! We’d LOVE to hear your thoughts!
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