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I don't drink, so obviously never buy alcohol at restaurants. I always chalked up any bad/indifferent/negligent service I had to just a bad waiter (therefore, not a great tip and possible talk with manager if situation is severe enough, which it usually isn't) or me being a solo diner during a non-busy time. But surprisingly, I've gotten great service 9 times out of 10 in restaurants. Honestly can't remember the last time I had service bad enough for me to even notice. Maybe I'm just not that observant.

I liked it, but have never had the NYC version (the long line always put me off). If I had one complaint about their burger and fries, it was that it was slightly saltier than I would have liked, so I'm not quite understanding the "flavorless" comments I understand some are used to more salt than others, though. The fries were okay, nothing too extraordinary, but good with the burger. I think by the second half of the burger and fries, my salt tolerance had built up a bit and I was able to taste them more. Good potato flavor in the fries. You can really tell they use Yukon Gold. The special sauce was good in that it added a slight "bite" to the burger, but didn't overpower it. Liked how they sliced the bun so that the burger won't fall out, too. The custard, on the other hand...was boring as all heck. I got a mix with peanut butter and chocolate syrup. It was such a measly portion of custard (for the price, it was just highway robbery!) and there was little-to-no chocolate flavor at all in the custard, even with the chocolate sauce! Barely any peanut butter, as well. Maybe it's just a handler issue there? I doubt it, though!

The last couple of times I went (about a week apart in late May), I did notice a wait staff issue. It seemed that, at least during the lunch service, there just wasn't enough wait staff to handle even a half-full dining room. But being a long-time and frequent diner there, I chalked it up to it being a fluke. I then noticed upon walking out that there was a "help wanted" sign in the window, so have high hopes that it's just a temporary issue. The food has been better at dinner than at lunch, from my personal experiences.

Hope it's not too far off topic, but this is the recipe I used: http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/blogs/hawaii_today/2009/6/5/make_huli_huli_chicken I didn't have sherry, so I just used xiaoxing wine, and it turned out well. Will have to roast a whole chicken with it next time, though. Back on topic, finally got a chance to try out Bada Bing yesterday. Ordered the cheesesteak to see how they do a classic, and it was great (wiz wit). Not greasy at all, which I don't understand how that can be! Also got their daily special asparagus salad with hearts of palm, cherry tomatoes and shaved parm, and that was delicious as well. As far as value goes, I think their prices are perfect for a food truck. District Taco and Bada Bing have been the only trucks so far where I feel their prices are in line with the whole food truck concept without sacrificing quality at all. Will definitely have to try their spiedies next week!

Shrimp trucks and malasadas and shave ice...you're all making me sad that there's no Hawaiian food options in the area! I think I should make a loco moco, soon... Recently made a huli huli chicken marinade, but I used it on chicken breasts instead of roasting a whole chicken, so it felt sort of wasted! Reduced the marinade to make a great barbecue dipping sauce, though.

So I went this past Saturday because my dining companion had a LivingSocial coupon. Around 3:15ish on a Saturday, and there were only a few other people there and starting to fill up when we left around 4:30 (after a round of ping pong, of course). Had The Philly, The Drive and the hot wings. I wanted to like everything, really I did. The ingredients sounded great, I saw the DDD segment and the Philly looked amazing...the concept of everything looked great, I had read this thread long before going... But all I tasted was salt. Salt salt and more salt. We paid the $4 extra for the proscuitto on The Drive, and I dunno if it was the ingredients on that pizza or if they just oversalted EVERYTHING. The egg didn't seem to mellow out any of the salt, so there must've been A LOT. I've never had that big a salt problem while eating out, though I do like to take it a bit easier on the salt than most. But it just over-rode EVERYTHING. I could barely taste the other flavors, and couldn't even taste the bitterness of the broccoli rabe on both the pizza and the calzone because of the salt. The wings were okay. Unexpected Asian spices, and I could taste the ginger the most. But even they were a tad too salty (though not nearly as bad as the other two things we got), and the hot pepper flakes were unevenly distributed, so only the two bottom wings or so had any heat to them. The dipping sauce was good, but I didn't even notice it had horseradish in it until I tasted it by itself, either because of the salt problem or the weakness of horseradish (not a HUGE horseradish fan, so I liked it kinda weak). The Philly had very little pork, way too much broccoli rabe, not enough of the other veggies. The sauce was okay, but again...THE SALT! I could taste the parm cheese in the sauce, but it also tasted like they added more salt in addition to the parm cheese. I'm not sure what to think. Maybe we just ordered the wrong items? But I had heard the wings were great, and The Philly was worth it, and the ingredients seem like they would be great together on The Drive. I'm sure everything WOULD have been delicious and worth paying full price if they just calmed down the salting. Hate to be negative about such a raved-about place, but it was a bit of a let-down. I might have a chance to go again around New Year's for lunch, so I'm willing to give them a second chance...but it's sort of a long haul to go for the off chance that they ease up on the salt. Has anyone had any success asking the kitchen to be easy on the salt? I usually don't worry about salting, but this was seriously a huge (and the only) problem.

Use a chisel to cut out a large square (or whichever polygon you prefer). So much easier than trying to use a regular knife. My dad uses one of those big Chinese cleavers. Sharp corners and such help, but I'm not confident enough in my own coordination to do it. Chisel + hammer is the easiest. Just make sure the coconut can't move around easily when you're trying to put a hole in the top. A fresh coconut is a terrible thing to waste. You can also refill with water after you drinkt he coconut's natural water, wait a bit, and it'll pick up the flavor of the wonderful flesh...provided you haven't already eaten all that delicious white meat. Mmmmmmm

I bet there's some (real or Container Store-brand-esque) on sale on Craigslist.

Stay away from the curry potato salad. It was...horrendous. Waste of $4 for me. Watery, way too much dill and vinegar, couldn't taste the curry at all. I ate a few bites and had to throw the rest away because I couldn't stomach any more... Also had the butter chicken over their rice, and while it had good flavor...it wasn't really the flavors you expect out of butter chicken/chicken tikka masala/chicken makhani, It was more like a generic "Indian flavors" taste. Also, it was REALLY greasy. There was a pool of grease at the bottom when I was done. It also was like pulled chicken instead of chicken chunks. I really should have gotten mine with the flatbread because that seemed to be more worth the $7.50 than when you get it with the rice. The rice portion was just SO not worth what I paid. Coupled with the curry potato salad, I'm not very impressed with Sauca. I might try them again Friday at the Curbside Cook-off, but maybe will read some more reviews of their food first to see which item would be a "best bet".

Ah, good to know! Shame I don't have time to go back before it ends. It's a great idea for that space, though. When I first came upon it, I even thought that it might be a nice place to have food truck park, sort of like how they do in Austin.

Someone sent me the link to this nice, in-depth article about what the food truck situation is currently in DC and what they're facing vs. the hot dog carts and brick-and-mortar places: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/39815/inside-dc-food-truck-wars/full/ Just thought I'd share Personally, I've only eaten from a few food trucks so far since they mainly seem to serve areas within the District, or are in North Arlington (where I basically never go unless I'm craving the buffet at the Delhi Club or need to get something from the Container Store). It'd be great if they were allowed to develop like in L.A. or NYC, but I do understand why the brick-and-mortars would be incensed. It's a tough economy and a tough business, but I do think a happy medium can be reached somewhere. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the town for it to happen.

Dang, just when you start to think there might be some hope for humanity.

I distinctly remember both Grill Em All and Nom Nom talking about parking near Yankees Stadium to try and catch any crowds there. Just so happened that Nom Nom caught the wrong crowd (coming out of the stadium) rather than the crowd Grill Em All got (bar scene, before the game let out, probably some people going TOWARDS the stadium as well). And once there, there was nothing stopping them from moving, I don't think? Or maybe with all the parking laws throughout all 5 boroughs, they probably just decided to stick to the Yankee Stadium area. Besides, it didn't matter anyway since the truck stop put them on equal footing. The only difference this time is that Grill Em All finally cottoned onto some of the marketing tricks that Nom Nom had been using previously. I think they even mentioned that GEA was telling their customers to tweet their location and $500 goal while on Staten Island, and I think it continued into Manhattan.

Well, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm glad the winning team won... The editing and bad attempts at trying to create drama/make it a closer race/derail the winning team was horrible, though. The finale was easily the worst episode out of all six. I won't even get started about the truck stop. Oof.

I don't know if I'm willing to wait an hour or so for one, but I DO like the fact that they serve up something that is known to be great quality for LESS money than any of the area brick-and-mortar places, which is a big beef of mine concerning food trucks in this area. At this point, every food truck I've bought from (and it's been around 4 or 5 of the newish popular ones by now) has been slightly-above-average AT BEST and horrible at worst...with the only unifying characteristic being that they are pretty much all overpriced for the amount of food you receive. I just might track down Red Hook the next time I have a day free to walk around the city and no schedule to adhere to! If it beats Tacklebox's lobster roll (which I think is great), then why the hell not?

So I was walking around the H Street parking lot today and saw that they were having some sort of "International Fair" or something to that effect (I can't remember if it said "fair" or "Marketplace"). I was wondering if anyone knew any more info on this? I've tried Google, but I can't seem to find anything. They had a whole bunch of food vendors, including Korean, Mexican, Tex-Mex, Empanadas, usual burgers and hot dogs, ice cream, etc.... along with a couple of carnival rides and a bunch of vendors (the kind you'd see at Eastern Market). I'd love to see if they do this again, so was wondering if anyone here had any clue about it!

Apparently, Spencer on the Go, Austin Daily Press and Grill Em All are all pretty good friends after the experience, which is nice to hear. I wouldn't think that they had that much time to socialize during the filming, though!

I think 2/3 of Nom Nom truck have actually a decent amount of cooking knowledge...at least enough to make good, basic sandwiches and they know what to do in a kitchen. Unfortunately, the 1/3 of Nom Nom that gets the most damn camera time is probably the one pulling in the most business and attention... Just got caught up on the latest episode tonight. I'm rooting for Grill 'em All. Because they're not Nom Nom. Seriously, I can't stand looking at that damn headband that girl wears anymore...But as an Asian female who hates the "Asian schoolgirl" look, that's probably just my personal beef with society in general.

Wow. If they're going to be independent from the Penang chain, shouldn't they at least use a different logo design? It's just a bit confusing...

Which isn't TOO different from what's going on with the whole food truck craze around the country right now, I suppose. I mean, sell it out of a truck, and it immediately has that "hipster, niche market, too-cool-for-school authenticity" that seems to be what a lot of foodies are crazy about. Is it that different from someone only wanting to go to "dives" when dining instead of the good chains or celeb chef places?

I love scanning the pots and pans, dinnerware, kitchen utensils and food areas. I've not necessarily bought the food items, but I've found lots of Williams Sonoma items for a great price, such as the vanilla and almond extracts (the BIG bottles!) and also lots of Madagascar vanilla beans and other great high-quality gourmet items. Sure, sometimes they're treated horribly by customers and staff alike, but most of the items I've found are in good condition. TJ Maxx, Ross and Marshalls (all owned by the same company) also often have Le Creuset "irregulars" for $100. It's still too pricey for me at the moment to justify a purchase, but I am seriously tempted every time I come across one! I have bought plenty of utensils, plates/bowls/cups/mugs and a pot or pan here or there. If you have the time and patience, it's a great place to find quality stuff.

Maybe to help out the competitors, they're all given a sort of guide to the most frequented places with potential parking spots within the city? It'd seem sort of cruel to just have them driving around a big city, even with a GPS, having them slow down traffic while they scope out the scene from their cars/trucks. They have to be given guidance on where the best areas are to park. I would imagine, to someone who wasn't that familiar with New Orleans, they'd just head to the French Quarter and try to park there, and there definitely is NOT room on any of the FQ streets for a food truck...

She also has that annoying "deer in the headlights" look to me. I mean, she's ten million times better looking than me, so it's probably catty of me to mention that... And to continue on my deeply superficial level, the main guy in Grill 'Em All always looks like he hasn't bathed or showered since the beginning of the competition in San Diego... Yes, I did enjoy the Nom Nom truck's weird breakdown in NOLa and them getting booed. Didn't seem to affect their business, though! Feh. I wish they showed more of New Orleans, since I love that place, but it's not a travel show, it's a food competition. The "truck stop" was sort of stupid, too. I don't see how it achieved anything, really? What else could Austin Daily Press or Nom Nom do with the catfish? Good thing they didn't subject the Crepes Bonaparte truck to that challenge, even though they did great things with the side of beef. I think Grill 'Em All has a great chance at winning, since everyone (except vegans and vegetarians) loves hamburgers. It's really the perfect food truck food to spread across the country, I guess. But something tells me Nom NOm will squeak into the win with their marketing savvy.

Well, I watched the New Orleans episode and...I'm REALLY sick of the Nom Nom truck by now. Grill 'Em All's main tactic is to be by as many bars as possible, which is a good idea with the type of food they have. I really don't understand how Spencer on the Go keeps getting by, especially with their prices...actually, it's probably because of their prices! Sad to see the Austin Daily Press truck lose, but theirs was the "simplest" concept and not conducive to the towns that have more foodies, I suppose. I'm actually more bored the less trucks there are, but at this point I'm pretty sure the Nom Nom truck will win (unfortunately).

I've heard that the Nom Nom truck isn't really that great (their bahn mi), but they're great at marketing and finding the best locations. And yeah, when I first saw the girl in charge, my first thought was that they probably get a lot of young hipster guys going just for that. I was rooting for the Crepes Bonaparte truck, but it seems Texas just isn't the right market. I agree that the burger guys are sort of...clueless? But they manage to squeak by every time... I can't wait to load up the New Orleans episode on my DVR. Surely the people in New Orleans, tourist and locals alike, will gravitate towards the food and not the marketing? Plus, there's lots of Vietnamese in the NOLa suburbs, so they should be able to tell a good bahn mi from a crappy one...