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The Poutine Truck

For lovers of french fries doused in gravy and topped with cheese curds, there’s a gourmet food truck just for you — The Poutine Truck, purveyors of that north-of-the-border delicacy that French Canadians hold so dear to their hearts.

Owned by Hollywood makeup artist James MacKinnon with a menu created by Chef Debbie Lee (Ahn-Joo Truck, Food Network Star), The Poutine Truck offers a focused menu featuring hand-cut Kennebec potatoes fried fresh to order topped with a variety of gravies and meats. Diners can choose from a traditional brown onion gravy, or a chicken or vegetable broth veloute. There are also plain, garlic herb and firehouse cheese curds, as well as thyme- and garlic-rubbed steak, Dijon chicken breast and apple-smoked bacon to pick from.

Steak & Frites

Poulet & Frites

Lardon & Frites

And to top it all off, you can order some fried cheese curds, which are served with an herb aioli.

Fried Cheese Curds

I’m neither French Canadian nor Midwestern, so while I had heard about both poutine and cheese curds, I hadn’t experienced either until this day. And after four courses of gravy- and meat-covered French fries, I was so full I couldn’t really tell what was going on anymore! I did like the brown onion and veggie gravies best, though. I’m not as big a fan of the squeaky cheese curds, but I’m sure Midwesterners would disagree with me. I’m sure poutine would make a great post-drinking snack, though!

Further Reading:

Would You Like Fries With That? Meet The Poutine Truck by LAist

Note: This meal was hosted.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having lunch at Lazy Ox Canteen in Little Tokyo with some cool folks from KCET. Actually, they filmed me while I ate my lunch (it was a little awkward). See, this meeting was for a webisode of KCET’s Free Lunch, in which KCET buys you lunch and you talk about it. Anyone can do it — just leave a comment on one of their videos, and you’ll have the chance of being chosen for a gratis meal on the station. Cool, huh?

So, without further ado, I give you my small-screen debut.

I had the burger, which came with cantal cheese and green peppercorn mustard, as well as a side of fries dusted with dill. The burger was juicy and flavorful, and the fries were cooked perfectly. The dill was a really nice touch, too. I also ordered the roasted cauliflower with chili, mint and pine nuts, which I loved. There was also some lemon juice in it, too.

Lazy Ox burger

Lazy Ox French fries

Roasted cauliflower

You’ll notice in the video and KCET’s blog post that I waited a long time for my order to be taken. It was a bit ridiculous, though I couldn’t tell if they were just giving us space to do our thing, or what. The servers also didn’t want to be on camera, so that’s why it looks like I’m talking to no one. Oh, well, I had fun anyway!

Grilled tuna burger

M Cafe de Chaya, the macrobiotic mini chain that’s part of the Chaya Restaurant Group, is celebrating its 5th anniversary this month with different $5 specials each week at all three of its locations.

Week of June 7 — Falafel Wrap & M Chopped Salad (Grab & Go only)
Week of June 14 — 2 Salad Combo & Tofu Bento (Grab & Go only)
Week of June 21 — Breakfast Enchilada (breakfast hours only) and Double Chocolate Fudge Cake

What’s macrobiotic food? It’s food made from minimally processed, natural whole foods that are in-season. Fish is OK, but not poultry, red meat, eggs or dairy. I’ve been to M Cafe a few times, and it’s actually pretty tasty, despite its nearly vegan-like description. I have a few recommendations, none of which are part of the $5 specials. But no matter — you can always go back, and for certain items, it would be worth it.

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