Old reliable - Piko Bowl

Still pining for Bruges Brothers, we found some solace in a long time favorite, the Piko Street truck.   What's not to like about the Piko Bowl:  "rice topped with chicken, ribeye, port belly and veggies."  Especially if, like Kathryn, you have them drop an egg on top.

Food truck fair @ Daley Plaza, July 6

Without the egg

With

What if a food truck barged on to an elevator...

...and made its way to the 7th floor of an old Loop office building?  Well, it could happen, couldn't it?  It would be Heaven on Seven.  Friend of the odyssey Bill Halvorsen accompanied us there in mid June and its legendary Louisiana cuisine merits this homage.  If there isn't a food truck handy, go!

Chicken and Cajun at the Plaza

Last Friday it was a food fest at Daley Plaza.  Kathryn visited HAROLD'S CHICKEN FOOD TRUCK. She went for the tasty bits shown below. 

 

Eric invested at THE CAJUN CONNOISSEUR had a full bowl of the "jambalaya de TCC" - jumbo shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage with cajun rice.

Harold's truck



The product - Kathryn's choice
 

Cajun truck

Eric's treat

Eric's wife Kay (right) brought friends Gloria and Marilyn to the fest

The Plaza had everything EXCEPT a certain black truck

5411 for empanada wonders

 Credit the City of Chicago's Small Business Center (SBC) in the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) for bringing the "Food Truck Fest" series back to the Loop. 
The year's fests will run from March through October weekly at Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St., and monthly, March through November at Pioneer Court, 401 N. Michigan Ave. Both locations will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

We celebrated with a bag apiece of empanadas from the 5411 truck.

.


A food truck fest without THE truck? It happened.

We went to Daley Plaza hoping to see a certain black truck (Bruges Brothers) amongst the dozen but alas, not present.  We were consoled by treats from the Tamale Spaceship.

Corner Farmacy fills (well, tries to fill) a big gap

Looking back to our post on Feb 9, 2017 I can see that the Corner Farmacy truck is a reliable cold weather option.  But where of where are the Bruges Brothers?  May seem ungrateful to pine for them with the CF truck offers such delights, but honesty demands it.

Let's give them their due - from the Corner Farmacy website:

The Corner Farmacy aims to unite the community with the local resources at our fingertips; contributing to our economy while making fresh, sustainable food and drink accessible and convenient. Collaborating with local producers, artisans, and small businesses we deliver cold pressed juices and an eclectic mix of farm fresh fare to the people of Chicago.
 
It is our firm belief that we are able to live our lives and function to the fullest when consuming a balanced, nutrient rich diet; time is of the essence and we should maintain our minds & bodies to the best of our abilities.

The truck was on Citifront Plaza

Date panini

Turkey brie

(Turkey brie) with apple and bacon

Food truck trekkers start 2018 with Carnivale

A favorite came to Columbus Drive for our belated season-opening food truck outing: the Carnivale Food Truck which features a Latin-fusion menu.   The weather was sunny but cold -- a reminder of why it had taken us two months to find favorable and an attractive truck.

It didn't FEEL like 46 or even 39
on the lakefront - this may have been
O'Hare weather.

Happy Holidays - with frites

Check out this stamp on a holiday card from Eric's friends Charles & Anna in Brussels, Belgium.  Those are frites, aka French fries.  And Chicago's Bruges Brothers were far and away the Food Truck of the Year, 2017.

Those are frites in a cone, without the rich sauce and goodies of our Bruges Brothers

Closing the year with Carnivale food truck

It is always somber to end the food truck season but reality intervened on Dec. 4; a grim outing because upper Columbus Drive north of the Carnivale food truck was blocked by police activity: an Ohio man had committed suicide earlier in the morning by jumping to the pavement from the Aqua high rise.




Kathryn had the burger and Eric the chicken sandwich.
 



Chicken sandwich - very good!

Food truck drought broken - and was it ever!

 

 

A giant barbeque feast from CJ's BBQ Cruiser was the fruit of our first food truck outing in almost a month.  We let work get in the way!

On Thursday, we both tried the "Tip/link combo with fries" and neither got more than a link and a pile of fries from the bottom of the box.


The portable feast - tips, links and fries










Roaming Hunger  tells the CJ's story:  CJ's BBQ Cruiser cruises through Illinois with authentic southern soul and smoky, balanced perfection dripping off every bite. From Maywood and beyond, it's attracting a cult of diners who've found a quicker, no-fuss way to do BBQ, with nothing sacrificed in flavor to give you everything in convenience.

Rib tips, hot wings, sausage links and turkey legs alike make up a menu that's big on hot and savory and small on wimpy. Cruise on up to CJ's to grab some of the midwest's finest bbq for yourself, and discover that easy doesn't mean sacrifice.



CJ's headed the line on Columbus Drive

The unveiling:

 
 
 



Frites at the Art Institute

The little park by the Art Institute at Monroe and Michigan was a perfect spot for delights from the Bruges Brothers truck.