Mr. Choo-Choo's Hotdogs made an appearance at Charleston's most recent Food Truck Wednesday. I had never heard of them, so I made the trip to Slack Plaza on Wednesday just to check them out. They have a small cart setup, with a sign out front that led me to them.



They serve all beef hotdogs that are pretty large topped with anything you'd like. I ordered one with chili, slaw, onions and added my own mustard (which is why it's looking a little messy). 



These hot dogs are cooked perfectly where they have that slight char on the outside that makes the skin have a snap. It was also split down the middle, so easier to eat, and the toppings fell into the center. I loved both the chili and the slaw. I mayyy have put too much mustard, but still, really tasty overall. And a nice little change from the regular. 

Grade: A

During one of Hurricane's recent "Food Truck Fridays," I made the trip west to check out some new grub.



Saved by Grace BBQ is a Hamlin-based food truck that has been quite active in the Metro Valley area. I was excited to see them scheduled fairly close to me, so I made a beeline when I arrived. Apparently others had a similar thought, though, because they were running low on many of their regular items.
Fortunately, I was still able to try some of their BBQ. 



I went with the pulled pork nachos, which included nacho cheese, BBQ sauce and jalapenos. It's quite the sight. A huge portion, doused in BBQ and cheese, with a layer of pulled pork spread across the top. It was like a race to get a bit of each flavor in every bite before it all went soggy. It was tasty - though those jalapenos had some extra heat (there are some seeds there!). 



And, a side of pepperjack cheese bombs never disappoints. I love these things; they remind me of memories going to the drive-in theater. Fried cheese, what could be better?



To wash down all this heat, I ordered a fresh-squeezed strawberry lemonade from the booth next to the food truck. I'm not sure if there was an official name, but I couldn't leave them out. They rounded out this meal of deliciousness. The huge drink was $5, fresh and made to order. 



Grade: A

Charleston has implemented Food Truck Wednesdays, and I couldn't be more excited. 

Food trucks are always sort of fun and a novelty, since they're like a little treat when you stumble upon one. But having a handful in one location? Even better.

This past Wednesday featured local favorites like Dem 2 Brothers & A Grill, Joey's Rockin' Dogs & Tacos, and more. But I had my eye on one in particular.

Bite Mi is a new "Asian Street Food" food truck that was serving up stir-fried ramen, fried rice and other favorites throughout the morning but had just a few items left by the time I arrived. 

But I was excited to try the "Bite Mi Bao." Fluffy steamed buns held pickled carrots, pickled daikon pate, mayo, cilantro, jalapeno, cucumber and chicken, pork or beef. Or, you can be weird and get shrimp like I did. 

There is something about the texture of bao buns that makes me fall in love. It's like a warm cloud holding fresh, crunchy ingredients. Plus three of these for $8 was an easy choice. 

These had a fabulous flavor, and I especially enjoyed the pate on these. 

And, I also ordered BBQ Pork Buns. These I haven't had since I was on the West Coast, and I'm absolutely in love. Again, the dough is soft, steamy, but toothsome. And inside is this sweet, salty BBQ pork that is just a treat.

If I could get these daily, I would be in big trouble. These are two of my favorite Asian street foods, so I was very excited to see them.

To finish off my meal, I had a Vietnamese Iced Tea. This was less sweet than I would have liked, but it helped balance the meal overall. Yum. Have you been?

Grade: A

During the summer, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern West Virginia hosts Food Truck Fridays where a couple local food trucks set up during lunch time at their space and give a percentage of their proceeds to the charity.



This is a genius idea because it's consistent, but with new opportunities, and allows folks to try a few different things. It's like a mini festival every week. Recently, I was able to go and got to try a brand new-to-me food truck: Philipos!



This Italian-American food truck features hamburgers, hot dogs, fried bologna and meatballs. I had to try a meatball, of course. It was a good size and had just a bit of cheese on it. I wouldn't have hated more salt, but not bad overall.

Grade: B

Have you heard of The Peach Truck? The Nashville-based food truck partners with Georgia farmers to sell fresh Georgia peaches around the country.



Recently, I saw they were going to be stopping in Hilliard, Ohio, and I had been wanting to go there anyway because I knew of a DiCarlo's location in the town. So, I figured I could kill two birds with one stone: check out the peach truck and get my DiCarlo's fix.



So, I placed my order online for the smallest amount - 25 lbs. of peaches! They took three days to ripen, and I systematically doled out peaches to all my friends so they didn't go to waste. For my part, I made a peach crisp. Tasty. Plump, juicy and fresh. It doesn't get much better.

Riverchick Farm Food Truck is a new food truck in the Fayetteville area that has a focus on crepes using their local eggs.



When I heard that the food truck would be stationed at Bridge Brew Works, I found it the perfect excuse to enjoy some sunshine with tasty food and brews.



The menu featured both savory and sweet crepes. And they had all different sorts of combinations - pepperoni pizza, gyro, even a "pig in the blanket" option. Which of course is what I got. It was a footlong hot dog rolled up in a crepe with pimento cheese and pickled ramp relish. Great flavors. It got a bit mooshy, so some crunch texture would send this to the next level.



And, I ordered a "sweet and creamy" Iced Thai Tea with boba. So refreshing and delicious.
 
Grade: A

The Kanawha Valley is home to a new food truck: Joey's Rockin' Dogs and Tacos.

This area is no stranger to hot dogs or tacos, so I'll be honest - I wasn't overly excited to check it out. However, I was driving through the area and caught the bright red and yellow food truck and decided to give it a go. It was very cold on this day, so I did a little turnabout and pulled up alongside the truck. Convenient and warm? I'll take it.

So tacos include carne asada, pulled pollo, and grilled mahi. You can also get pulled pork, chicken wraps and quesadilla. On the hot dog side, there is a Chicago dog, a baked bean dog, a chili dog and more.

And I had to try a little of column A and a little from column B: Pulled pollo taco with homemade marinade, fresco cheese, avocado, fresh cilantro and lime juice. And then a classic dog with sweet green relish, raw diced white onions and yellow mustard.

Both of these were delicious. I was absolutely blown away by the quality of the taco. That fresh cheese, the fresh avocado, the tender chicken. The bold flavors blended beautifully. It was really, really good. I could've eaten like five of these.

But don't sleep on the hot dog! I'm not usually a relish person. But I liked this sweet relish with the mustard and onion and the dog was like fried. All these flavors together made for a dang good hot dog. I would eat both of these again, hands down.

Grade: A

Belknap Dough Company is a mobile wood-fired, brick-oven pizza food truck. They can be found setting up shop around the Teays Valley area, and they always post on their Facebook where they will be. So I got lucky one day recently and caught them out and about.

They serve up some standard pizzas, like cheese, pepperoni, sausage, then "Piggie Pie" which has sausage, bacon and ham. And then there's the Buffalo Chicken, which has a garlic base, buffalo chicken, and a ranch drizzle. That one sounded the most exciting, so it had my vote.

First of all, it looks fabulous.  That is one inviting pie. And biting into it, I was instantly hit with a ton of cheese, a hint of garlic and a little heat from the buffalo sauce. A classic combination that's brought to life on a fresh pizza dough. This is definitely a tasty pie.

Grade: A

The Shape Shop Cafe is a health-based restaurant that when I last visited, was located on the West Side. They've since moved locations, and I need to go check them out. But in the meantime, they've been out on the street in their food truck.

The food truck features wraps, soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches and paninis. They're pretty standard with a main protein and lettuce, tomato, onions on top. I went for a ham & cheese panini, which came with a side of chips.

Fairly healthy and tasty.

Who doesn't love a food truck? ESPECIALLY one that specializes in cheese?!


Truckin' Cheesy is a Huntington-based food truck that serves up cheeseburgers, ham sandwiches, philly cheesesteaks, and sides of nachos and crinkle fries.



So I ordered the "Cheesin' Philly" - Two grilled cheese sandwiches with Colby/jack on toast; folded in half& loaded with our savory Philly beef or chicken, onions, bell peppers, & melted cheese sauce.


If that doesn't look delicious, I don't know what does.

Connie's Hot Dogs is a small hot dog truck that occasionally parks outside of Encova in downtown Charleston and sells delicious hot dogs.



She supplies fresh slaw and chili for a tasty hot dog. Have you tried them yet?

Adventures Grill Food Truck is a new food truck that sits in downtown Charleston mid-week, dishing out Mediterranean food and more.

Their rough schedule: Tuesday at Laidley tower, Wednesday and Thursday United Bank on Laidley and Virginia Street. They also own Fairways Bar & Grill in Hurricane.

So I stopped by to get lunch: a chicken quesadilla with sour cream and salsa, as well as two grape leaves.



Have you been?