Food Truck Friday : What The Truck, Road Runner Grill & Yellow Lunch Box

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If you are a local resident you have probably heard that Todd Franklin is trying to bring "The Park - Patio & Bar" to downtown Redding and Anderson River Park.  To get people revved up and excited about the idea of a food truck park, Todd has been hosting food truck tastings at his home. We were out of town when he did the first one, but I was determined to get to the next one.

Last Saturday, three food trucks were hosted. I was going to review each of them in individual posts, but because we only tried one thing from each truck, I didn't feel like it would be a fair review. So I'm going to take a look at all three trucks in this post.

**Let me remind you that last Saturday saw temperature highs over 110 degrees. And while we are used to high summer temps here in Redding, it's still HOT. No matter how you look at it, 113 degrees is too hot. Too hot to stand out in the sun and order from a food truck. Too hot to wait for the food and too hot to eat it once you get it. (Although, Todd did a very nice job of offering shaded seating near his pool, which is where we sat to eat our food.) But the people need to know if the food truck food is good. So my dear husband indulged me and we braved the fiery furnace of the Redding Sun.**

What The Truck

We ordered the "BrieBQ Burger" with caramelized onions ($10) thinking, "We love brie cheese. We've never had it on a burger before, we should try that." The burger was very good. It tasted fresh and the onions were good. However, there was no brie or cheese of any kind on the burger. Q said, "They must have forgotten the cheese." Later I noticed on the side of the truck that "Brie" is not a cheese but rather the co-owner.  In their defense it did not say "cheese burger". But if I were to make a suggestion, it would be to add brie cheese to that burger. It would be delicious! Had I not thought there was supposed to be cheese on the burger, I wouldn't have any complaints. It was served with a side of potato salad, which was excellent. Definitely home made.

Bottom Line: The misunderstanding of the "BrieBQ Burger" was minor. I can't wait to try more things on their menu! I've heard great reviews from other people about their Blue Cheese and Bacon Jam Burger.

Road Runner Grill

Because we were trying to get food from each truck, we ordered a smaller item at The Road Runner Grill. I wish we had ordered more because the Chicken Mango Taco ($4) was delicious. It was sweet and fresh, perfect for a hot summer day. We opted for the grilled chicken rather than the chipotle chicken because I am wimpy when it comes to spices, but I bet the sweet mixed with a little spicy would be great! I would have gotten the shrimp taco if I wasn't sharing with Q, but he won't eat anything that lived in the water...

Bottom Line: Don't share this taco with anyone, you'll want it all to yourself. There are more things I want to try on the menu, so I'll definitely be stopping by for a bite the next time I see them.

Yellow Lunch Box

This was the truck I was most excited to try. The truck only does special events, but they are the same owners that run the Ma Der Ma Der Sap House & Grill in downtown Redding (which we have not been to). Q really wanted to order the Redding Rib Eye Cheese Steak sandwich, but I wanted to try something "new" and ordered the Hawaiian Chicken Adobo with Lumpia and Rice ($9).  Q was ok with this because he lived in the Philippines for two years where he ate chicken adobo and lumpia often. The lumpia (similar to an egg roll) was very good. I could have eaten a whole plate full of just lumpia. The sauce they served for the lumpia was sweet but with just a hint of spice, but didn't leave your mouth burning.  The rice was sufficiently sticky. The chicken, I'm sad to say was not my favorite. It was a bit dry and I mentioned to Q that I felt like it needed a sauce. He told me that Filipino adobo has a sauce and maybe they forgot to give it to us. (Or maybe Hawaiian adobo doesn't have sauce.)

Bottom Line: I would give this truck a 2nd try. That Redding Rib Eye Cheese Steak sandwich is calling my name!

Well, there you have it. No sugar coating it, just giving you our honest opinion. We spent $23 total for a meal for two people (we shared everything we got), so no complaints about the price. While we may not have loved everything we tried, if I saw any of these trucks serving food I would stop and grab a bite.

Check out our other food truck reviews:
Tango Taco
Taco Loco

Have you tried any of these three food trucks? What was your opinion? What should we order next time? Leave your comments below.