My husband suggested heading to the C-Town Chowdown tonight for dinner. I have to admit I was reluctant at first, considering how packed the 2011 Winter Chowdown was! When we pulled into the parking lot of The Agora, I wondered if it was going on at all. I learned that Umami Moto's brick-and-mortar venture, The Hipp - was hosting patrons inside their new restaurant space (which was an EXCELLENT idea... It's super cold outside!).
We had a choice of Umami Moto, Zydeco, StrEat Mobile, Sweet! Mobile Cupcakery and Seti's Polish Boys. One of the benefits to going with friends and or/loved ones, is that you get the chance to try out more things. The only truck we did not sample tonight was StrEat. Next time!
Here's a quick review of the things we tried tonight:
Zydeco: Hush puppies. For only $2 you could get a total of six, bite sized. My only prior experience with hush puppies was about 20 years ago at a place that rhymes with Don Juan Wilbur's. Yum! Zydeco's hush puppies were simple and what I'd expect them to be. They didn't take any artistic liberties, and that's good in this case.
Umami Moto: Banh Mi and Sweet Potato Tots. I really liked the sandwich quite a bit. UM has the great gift of offering up fresh and straightforward food. Their Banh Mi is served with pulled pork, jalapeño, cilantro, and daikon/carrot pickles. I could eat the pickled veggies forever, and the bread and other accouterments were fantastic. It had great flavor and was the perfect size.
The tots were also very good, and reminded me of French Toast (I know that sounds odd, but I do not see this as a bad thing - Hello, curried French Toast anyone? I may have to try that). They came with a curry aioli that I wish there had been a bit more of. We got a huge portion, perfect for sharing.
Seti's: While it's not a "first date" kind of food in my book, Seti's served up one of the most flavorful hot dogs I've ever had. The Polish Boy we got was covered with fries, barbecue sauce, cheese, slaw, and chili. It was indescribably messy, but that's the way it should be. While this one was technically Jeff's - I had a few bites and was wishing for my own Polish Boy - and a not-full stomach!!
On the way out, we stopped at Sweet! and picked up a Red Velvet and also a Buckeye cupcake. We waited until we got home to try them, and they were great! Sweet! has several flavors to choose from, at only $2.50 a piece - with better deals when you buy in bulk (6 or 12)! Totally worth it.
The C-Town Chowdown is going on until 10pm tonight (3/3) so if you're out and about and a little hungry, go for it! If you're not out and about, get going - I promise you it's worth the trip!
