I have
been getting tweets (Geez, that still gives me the creeps to admit)
from something called
Walnut Wednesdays for a few weeks now. While I am loath to admit
it when it comes to rolling food sources Twitter has been a boon. To
be completely transparent the remarks from a number of comedians
keep me chuckling through earthquakes both terrestrial and
otherwise. |
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More Boring Than Sweet Tots |
But back to the food trucks…a group called the Downtown Cleveland Alliance has organized this weekly gnoshfest by inviting a number of trucks to converge in the same locations. Sort of like the 70’s movie Convoy, except in this version the trucks conflagrate to deliver lunch instead of vengeance. We haven’t had a chance to get out much as of late and here was opportunity to try loads of places at once. Let’s see how we do? Well, back surgery and all we made it to Cleveland without incident and turn on to Rockwell Street instead of Walnut since the usual spot and name sake is closed for the filming of the film Avengers. The line looks promising,
eight brightly colored trucks, all bellowing smoke with notes of
protein and veg into the air. Does Cleveland have a temporary but
weekly Utopiaesqe food nexus? Well yes and no. While some of the
menus show great promise, most are slightly upscale drive thru food.
Two trucks do capture our notice…Hodge Podge and Umami Moto. |
Hodge Podge is a sister
truck to Dim and Den Sum which we had
thoroughly enjoyed on a previous journey and has gained notoriety on
the Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network as a competitor. While
Chef Hodgson has been edited into something of a hothead so far on
the show, I know how different people can be in the kitchen compared
to anywhere else…plus television is television; life is life; and
seldom the twain doth meet, we were excited to try his food. We
ordered the tuna sliders, the kim chi mac and cheese, the sweet
tots, and the duck and Korean sausage frites. We watched Chef
Hodgson race around on his cell while we were eating to mixed
results. First the less than spectacular. The tuna sliders were
salty to me. If they are salty to someone whose palate has been
dulled to the effects of the chemical, it should be ridiculously
salty to others. Steph couldn’t finish hers, confirmed. It sounds
snarky but it’s not intended to be. Put the phone down for a couple
of minutes and check your product…the attention will only last as
long as the quality of the food does, don’t lose both by losing site
of the truly important one. The red onion and goat cheese atop the
grilled roll would have been a really nice combo for me if it didn’t
taste like a salt lick. The sweet potato tots were also a real
disappointment, the slight sweetness that pervades sweet potato
fries is completely lost in the tot form, which is nicely crispy but
lacks any worthwhile flavor. Things did get better, however.
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The Tuna Had Been Assaulted |
Rich Wonderful Mac n Cheese Paired with Spicy Korean Kim Chi. Awesome! |
The mac and cheese had a
thick and rich cheese sauce enveloping a fat rigatoni noodle. I
tried a bite from the side, away from the cabbage, and noticed a
hint of spice in the cheese sauce itself. The fermented Korean
cabbage known as Kim Chi added a blast of heat and tang which worked
surprisingly well with the rich pasta and sauce. The fries.... Oh,
the fries. To be honest it looks a little like someone threw up in a
container of French fries. Don’t let the look stop you. Simple fries
are exponentially elevated with a rich ducky gravy swathing ground
duck and Korean sausage. Easily the best thing we had all day.
Unique, stupendous, exactly what you would be looking for from a
specialist. If only everything approached that criteria. The fries
alone were worth the trip. |
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Ratings | |||||||
Food |
Service |
Ambiance |
What's Best |
What's Worst |
Overall |
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B | C | C | A | D | C+ | ||
Fries | Watch the Salt |