by Melissa Brenner
So, if you’re new or haven’t been reading my articles, you may not know that I’m a big out on the town getting my drink on fan. It’s great to be out with your friends enjoying the scene, people watching and being silly especially when the weather is as nice as it has been the past few weeks. Vegans do this, just like the omnis.
Most of my crew is a mixed bag of vegans, veggies and omnis; although I do have one or two meatatarians (seriously….they don’t eat veggies or fruit. No, I don’t know how they have survived this long, but I do know they have some serious health issues even though they are 10 years younger than me).
Anyway, semi-preachy side note aside…. the only thing that really sucks when I’m out with my mixed crew is 2 am. Why? Because I don’t want the party to end. Well, ours doesn’t always end at 2, but I know I will see them again soon so the parting isn’t the thing that sucks. It’s the “let’s go get some after bar food” rally cry. Ugh. This means me standing in some crazy long line at a place like Café Brazil for nothing more than coffee and people watching. After way too many drinks I want food too, damn it!
One night at Barcadia this very scenario was about to go down. Then we saw what would become my bright and shiny savior. FOOD TRUCK! Perhaps there is something, anything, just one thing that would satisfy my late night vegan needs. My fingers were crossed…..well, I think they were. I had just had a bunch of hoppy ale, so perhaps it was my eyes that were crossed.
Fortunately for us all, the food truck was Three Men and a Taco. The super hot and super fun Olivia (the self professed Taco of the group…I L-O-V-E her for that, btw) was out front ready to give us the low down on their late night vegan options. The crew had two options for us that night: Asparagus – marinated with their Pili Pili hot sauce and served with rice and Beet – with carrots tossed in balsamic and served with rice.
The Asparagus was definitely spicy, in a good way. I love asparagus, so I was definitely into this taco (um, yeah. I should change that line, but not gonna). Not a complex dish, but tasty can be a simple affair. It was definitely filling, which is important after 2 am. The Beet taco had a great texture and flavor. The julienned beets and carrots were cooked to a perfect al dente and the balsamic gave it a nice bite. You can take these as is or add more sauces. Ask Olivia for which are dairy free.
New items on the truck are: Spicy Okra Salad -sauteed okra with red onions, garlic and tomatoes over rice. Kelwele -fried plantians served with rice (nix the yogurt sauce). Chickpea Eggplant Dip – with pita bread. All of them are a steal at $3, so make sure and order one of each! I will definitely be hunting down Three Men and a Taco to try out the new menu items.
Besides having great food and multiple vegan options, this is absolutely a fun truck to visit. Need another reason? Here’s the bonus: they source their ingredients locally and are involved with community charities. Check the website for menu updates and locations.
On the stumble down to the car of whoever was driving, we saw another food truck and decided to see what they had to offer, too. SsahmBBQ offers gourmet Korean tacos along with quesadilla, burrito and Kimchee Fries. You can make all of these vegan by choosing the grilled organic tofu as your “meat” and omitting any cheese. We wanted to try the Kimchee Fries, as this seemed the most interesting dish, but the staff said they just weren’t very good without the cheese and spicy mayo so we passed. I opted for a single taco with the tofu. This was a very tasty dish.
The caramelized kimchee (that they said was created without dairy) made the difference in the taste experience. It definitely was a unique flavor, but it wasn’t like any traditional kimchee I have had….you’ll just have to try it yourself and see what you think. The quesadilla and burrito just seemed too much to fit in my very full belly, but I would be down for trying them on another visit.
Lots of new and exciting things are happening in the food truck arena. I’m happy that it includes vegan options and that they can be found all over the city. My plan is to hit them all….which means being out and having drinks first. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it…I happily volunteer. See you out there!
I’m just curious, but why do you drink alcohol if you are a vegan? Alcoholic drinks, are clarified or ‘fined’ using animal-derived substances.
– gelatine (made from bones and connective tissues)
– isinglass (from the swim bladders of fish)
– casein (derived from milk)
– chitosan (made from crustaceans)
– egg albumen (very common in drinks such as margarita’s or whiskey sours where there is a slight foam on top- most mixologists are very loyal to this sort of method)
The clarification process used with these ingredients are commonly used to remove sentiment for a more clear liquid and attractive looking liquor. Since animals have still been used in the manufacture of the product, a drink which has been fined using animal-derived substances is still unsuitable for vegans.
You regularly visit fairly pedestrian establishments, so I am certain that they are not Vegan conscious when it comes to their drink mixes, well drinks, beer and wine.
Not trying to start an argument here, because I know from the past that you can be defensive. But I really would like to know how you justify ‘getting your drink on’ while being a vegan.
Elsi, I’m sure Vegan Girl is hip to Barnivore.com, a pretty concise guide to vegan beers, wines and liquors.