Let us pronounce a special benison on the operators of food trucks.
Food trucks present an option for outdoor acquisition for to-go orders in a time of plague, when entering a physical restaurant requires a calculation of the risk, large or small, to one's life, limb and health.
Also, there is a growing number of them, which allows us to extend the life of this column without yet having to duplicate any one establishment — which, considering it's been going for 18 months, is no small accomplishment.
Thus we "cover" two food trucks in this week's compilation, as well as two stationary places, one brand new and one we're just now getting around to.
We're sticking to locally owned and/or operated businesses, within a radius of 15 minutes from our place of consumption so food will have a chance to still be hot when we get there, and we pay for our meals up front.
◼️ TWO SISTERS UPTOWN, 201 N. Izard St., Little Rock, (501) 246-5322, facebook.com/TwoSistersUptown
WHAT WE GOT: Ahi Tuna Steak Salad ($15)
We had spotted a photo and description of Two Sisters' Classic Burger, and had every intention of ordering that. Then we got a good look at the description of this salad and we were hooked. It consists of a half-dozen slices of peppered, lightly seared tuna, sprinkled with sesame seeds and garnished with green onions, on a bed of mixed greens, flanked by shredded carrots on the right and crisp chow mein noodles on the left, with an adequate, though not generous, plastic cup of ginger-sesame dressing. The quantity of food in the plastic clamshell more than justifies the cost (Ahi tuna isn't cheap) for lunch. (We'll grab that burger or perhaps the Chicken Salad Bacon Melt on our next lunch or early supper visit. Two Sisters also does breakfast, and it's on our way to the office, more or less.)
HOW IT WENT: The tiny kitchen was slammed with orders, so ours took close to 15 minutes to come out. We suppose it's possible the tuna may have been seared to order.
HOW IT'S GOING: The place was, while not quite packed — there were plenty of unoccupied tables and seats in the spacious rear dining room — was busy, with a more or less constant stream of lunchtime customers, some ordering off the menu, some grabbing-and-going of pre-prepared entrees and baked goods from a display case.
◼️ PRESS WAFFLE CO., 1424 Main St., Little Rock, (501) 222-7413, presswaffleco.com
WHAT WE GOT: The House ($8.29)
We've been waiting with bated breath for the opening of this place, the first full brick-and-mortar outlet of a Dallas-based franchise/chain, whose owners are part of the family that created the concept. And we had to wait a while before we found a time (see below) when it wasn't swamped with customers. We guess a lot of other folks have been bating their breaths as well.
The centerpiece of everything here is the liege waffle — dough-based, with a brioche-like texture and caramelized clusters of Belgian pearl sugar. The House is topped with drizzles of gingerbread/Biscoff cookie-dough syrup, Nutella, strawberries and house-made whipped cream; for our to-go version, the drizzles were already on the waffle (with extra in small plastic cups in case we didn't feel there was enough), but the whipped cream came in a separate, larger plastic cup and we had to apply it ourselves. No big deal.
We're not sure if the waffle would have been crisper if we'd eaten it on the premises, but otherwise we were totally delighted — worth the wait indeed.
HOW IT WENT: We dropped by, midafternoon on a weekday, when the only other people there were a local TV crew doing an afternoon news-show spot. We were first in line to place our order, which took about 10 minutes to prepare. Note: They don't take cash.
HOW IT'S GOING: Our first visit, a day or so after they opened, we got right in the door, and were then informed that there were so many orders it would take at least an hour before we'd get any food. For the next couple of weeks, we'd drive by at peak periods, particularly weekend brunch, to see lines out the door and stretching down Main Street.
◼️ GRILLED SANDWICH CO., parked at the Filling Station, 3623 John F. Kennedy Blvd. at West G Avenue, North Little Rock, facebook.com/grilledsandwichcompany
WHAT WE GOT: The Bacon ($12)
On the surface, it's hard to make a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon sound exciting, but this one is — the food truck's proprietary four-cheese blend laid thickly on Texas toast with thick-cut, slightly chewy bacon and thoroughly grilled but not, as we feared, greasy to the touch. The price includes chips ("Dirty" brand, choice of four flavors) and a canned drink with, according to the online menu, a pickle that we didn't get.
HOW IT WENT: The truck was sold out of the other option we were considering — The Brisket ($15). We were second in line for our sandwich, which arrived about seven minutes after we ordered it.
HOW IT'S GOING: We arrived only a few minutes after these folks set up shop, so there were other customers but not many.
◼️ THE CAJUN TROUXTH, parked at the Filling Station, 3623 John F. Kennedy Blvd. at West G Avenue, North Little Rock, (501) 444-2567, facebook.com/thecajuntrouxth
WHAT WE GOT: Red beans and rice ($8); jambalaya egg rolls ($6)
We got a good-sized portion of rice topped with rich, spicy (but not too spicy) broth, sliced andouille sausage and a few chunks of meat — the menu doesn't specify, but we're guessing pork. The two fat egg rolls, crisp shells stuffed with chicken, sausage, rice, veggies and pepper jack cheese, not as lively as we expected until we dipped it into the very lively remoulade in the accompanying plastic cup.
HOW IT WENT/HOW IT'S GOING: We arrived what we thought would be early enough in the food truck's dinner cycle that we wouldn't have a lengthy wait, but ended up behind a woman who literally ordered one of everything on the menu, which took a while for the gentleman at the order table to work out with her; then it took awhile for the in-truck kitchen to prepare our food; even so, we only had about a 10-minute wait.