 |
| The Crooked Spoon |
Food trucks started popping up at locations fairly close to our house. After I did all my research and started following them on Twitter, I discovered one of the trucks, The Crooked Spoon, would be at the corner of University Blvd and Metric on Fri 8/12/11 for lunch. So off I went to eat at my 1st Orlando food truck!
The Crooked Spoon menu contained a couple of burgers, a ham sandwich, turkey sandwich, chicken quesadilla, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, and on special was an Italian beef sandwich.
 |
| Crooked Spoon Burger |
Their motto is "traditional fare with a twist". I think that's a fairly accurate description of the food this truck offers. All the item seem like fairly standard items from their titles, but once you read the descriptions, you see where the "twist" comes in.
For instance, the quesadillas started out as chicken, cheddar and monterey jack cheeses, but then took a turn by including pineapple BBQ sauce and mango salsa. The turkey sandwich had a description that reminded me of Thanksgiving dinner because it had a sage aioli and a cranberry chutney.
My companion ordered the Crooked Spoon Burger. It was an Angus beef burger with chipotle aioli, onion marmalade, swiss cheese, tomato, spring mix lettuces, and was on a brioche bun.
 |
| Italian Beef |
 |
| Homemade potato chips and Italian Beef |
The burger was juicy, and the accoutrements complimented the Angus beef. As with my sandwich, the burger was served with homemade potato chips, which we'll get to in a moment.
For my meal, I chose to go with the special, the Italian Beef. It was not at all what I expected. I am used to your Chicago Italian Beef, dripping in au jus. However, while The Crooked Spoons Italian Beef was not what I had pictured, it was FANTASTIC.
This sandwich had a tangy but creamy sundried tomato aioli, deliciously smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced beef that had been pepperoncini braised, and had giardinera. Instead of a traditional hoagie roll, this sandwich was on a levain bread. Levain is a starter that is used instead of yeast to make bread. It gives it a delicious, almost sourdough taste.
In my opinion, the Italian Beef was well balanced. You had the rich meat, which was braised until incredibly tender and sliced thin. The nice vinegar bite from the crunchy giardinera cut the richness of the beef, and the smoky, melted mozzarella lent a different flavor profile. By adding the sundried tomato aioli, the sandwich had an element of creaminess, which was offset by the tang from the sundried tomatoes. I cannot wait to have this sandwich again!
But lets talk about their homemade potato chips. I don't know too many people or restaurants that can make what I consider a good potato chip. The Crooked Spoon? They do it right! First of all, they don't tell you that your sandwich comes with potato chips on the menu, so it's a pleasant surprise. Secondly, these chips are fried correctly. They have some body to them, but they contain the right amount of crunch. Which for me is ESSENTIAL in potato chips. A lot of people/restaurants cannot get that crispy crunch correct. These chips had a good salt ration, and I'm also excited to eat the chips again on my next visit to this truck.
Now lets talk Mac and Cheese!
The Crooked Spoons Mac and Cheese had not one, not three, but SIX cheeses in it's blend. I'm not exactly sure what all 6 were, but I believe there was some mozzarella due to the delightful strings that stretched from the box to the fork going to my mouth. The cheese blend had a pungency to it, and my companion suggested there might be a blue cheese involved.
This macaroni and cheese dish was not just noodles and cheese. It also contained bacon (who doesn't love bacon?!?), basil, and roasted red and yellow peppers, and was topped with a light breadcrumb. And the macaroni was not your traditional elbow macaroni, but instead a rotini. And I have to say, I do love rotini.
I would say this was a good Mac and Cheese. On that token though, I am a macaroni and cheese purist. I did not need the peppers or basil. I love most of all a good macaroni and cheese where cheese and macaroni are basically the two main star ingredients. Breadcrumb toppings are good as long as they are baked and are the perfect crunchy, golden brown. The Crooked Spoons Mac and Cheese is great for people who like gourmet macaroni and cheeses. But if you're more traditional, this will not fit the bill. All of this being said, I would eat this dish again, it just would not be my first choice.
Overall, The Crooked Spoon was a good choice for my first Orlando food truck experience. The food was fresh, hot, and tasty. There were a couple of people in line, and we did have to wait a little bit, but it was not an unpleasant wait. I like that this truck puts it's own spin on what we think of as classic sandwiches and burgers. I loved their potato chips!
So I urge you to get on out there and try your local food trucks. Whether you're from Orlando or somewhere else, the food truck revolution is upon us. I am so glad to be starting my food truck adventures and cannot wait to share more of them with you.
***On 9/1 Steve from the Crooked Spoon appeared on Orlando's local Fox 35 News. In his interview he said that the Mac N Cheese had Fontina, Asiago, Parmesan, Swiss, Provolone, and Gorgonzola. Glad we now know the cheeses! Turns out, my companion was right about there being a blue cheese (the Gorgonzola) and I was wrong about the mozzarella (must have been the provolone that gave all those melty strings!).
I was watching the Cooking Channel recently and Tia Mowry was cooking with her husband Cory. He made this AMAZING looking mac n cheese and I just knew I had to make it. I only made one swap from the original recipe, and that was to trade the cream of mushroom soup for cheddar soup (I use Campbell's condensed). Also, I do not put olive oil in my pasta cooking water, but you can do that if it makes you happy. It came out soooooooo good... This will be my go-to mac n cheese recipe from now on. You can find the original recipe HERE. Trust me, it's a LOT of cheese but it is worth it.
