We’re creeping up on the greatest food event of the year, and I gotta say, I’m quite excited for Thanksgiving. More on that later…
Here’s a few things going on around town:
This past Wednesday evening, I joined some of my fellow food truck loving friends for the Westover Hills Food Truck Meet. It was a bit nippy outside, but this did not dampen spirits in the least…especially with the high level of cooking we were seeing from the small fleet of truck that came out that night. I was craving Southern Gourmasian and went with their brisket sandwich with sweet plum barbecue sauce and housemade chips. It was lovely. But I managed to procure a nibble off of Kevin Shalin’s spicy chicken and dumplings and I remain convinced it’s one of the greatest dishes coming out of a truck in the entire known universe.
Joel DiPippa was kind enough to slide me a morsel of his Waffle Wagon selection—a sweet potato cornbread waffle smeared with boursin cheese, topped with maple seared Falling Sky Farm pork belly. Do I even need to tell you how it tasted? No…because it’s every bit as great as you are imagining it to be. I did not stop there with the Waffle Wagon folks, though. Megan Boyd of Bacon Selfies offered up a quarter of her Granny Smith apple stuffed waffle, and I ordered the banana brown sugar stuffed waffle. As expected, all were superb. I watched DiPippa join Jason and Shelle Stormoe (of Arkansas Mirepoix) in gulping down a few fantastic looking pies from Pizzeria Santa Lucia. Alas, they were gone before I could even weasel a slice. Next time, PSL. Next time.
I also got a small sample of the pulled pork from the Jacksonville truck, Blackhound BBQ. The pulled pork was decent, I’d be happy to try more, but I found the ribs to be slightly tougher than I like them. I also managed to gobble down a couple ginger cookies from kBird, and they are every bit as good as you all have made them out to be…I appreciate the recommendation.
Big thanks to Matt Clark and Melissa Melton (owners of Waffle Wagon) for organizing the event. They even brought a small, portable campfire device and provided DIY s’mores. Kudos.
Scott McGehee and the crew at Big Orange held a fantastic event earlier this week, the High West Distillery Whiskey Dinner. While McGehee pushed out the eats, the bartender/mixology crew of Lee Edwards, Ben Bell, and Dylan Yelenich provided the libations. I’ll let you read all the juicy details over at Kevin’s blog The Mighty Rib. Personally, I’m excited to see McGehee rolling up his sleeves and flexing his culinary muscles a bit in the kitchen. Sure, he’s done great things with pizza, burgers, and pizza in this town, but the guy can flat-out cook, and it’s nice to see him let his hair down a bit and dish out such high level food. Looking forward to getting in on one of their future events.
The Pulaski County Youth Services is selling pies this holiday season in support of youth programs throughout Pulaski County. Supporters may also order pies to be sent to a local charity— Our House Shelter, The Dorcas House, The One Inc., The Union Rescue Mission, and PCYS Our Club are among a few of the selected charities. All pies are $10 and options include apple, chocolate cream, pecan, pumpkin, coconut cream, and Boston cream. Orders due by Nov. 18th. For details visit pulaskicountyyouthservices.org or call 501-340-8250.
And speaking of Thanksgiving, Justin Patterson of The Southern Gourmasian is offering to lighten the load a bit this year and save you some stress in the kitchen. He’s selling family-style Thanksgiving dishes with a Gourmasian twist—items such as butternut squash soup with gingerbread croutons, scallion cornbread stuffing with Benton’s bacon and shiitake mushrooms, or apple cider and five-spice glazed turkey breast. Check out the menu here, and get your orders in by emailing them to thesoutherngourmasian@yahoo.com by 5 pm November 25th.
And let’s not forget about Food Feedback Friday! Go.