taco testing…

 

Mid February can be bleak. It can be dreary. It is (mostly) uncomfortably cold. In upstate NY we need to do things (indoors) that make us happy in February, in order to survive through to March, and April, and then finally May where we (probably) won’t be surrounded by piles of snow and ice. For me happiness is very often achieved with cooking, and while I LOVE to grill, smoke, and BBQ, winter time cooking is all about braising, slow cooking, and generally keeping that oven on for as long as possible. Luckily for The Good Truck, braised meats of all kinds are DELICIOUS in tacos, and though spring can feel like a distant dream, taco testing is in full swing at my house.  We’re talking red chili+beer braised brisket, slow cooked pork with green chili sauce, and, my favorite so far, Pozole, the rich pork and hominy stew that will get you through any winter day and even give you something to smile about. On deck next week; braised duck, carnitas,  and probably another couple versions of Pozole, cause I can’t seem to stop craving it. 

Get excited folks, The Good Truck is coming……

End of the season..

well, the fall came on fast. In fact, I feel like it snuck right up on me. One second it was sweltering, we were swimming every day- because we had to, and The Good Truck was in full swing. Next thing I know its that time of year in Ithaca, where we can be blessed with sunny-and-70 one day, back to back with 40-and-rainy the next. Unfortunately, for a business that depends on weather, this year we have had more of the later then the former. If fact, I think it’s rained more in the last three weeks then the last three months- combined. Since outdoor dining is not generally a popular activity on these colder/rainier days I have unwittingly become something of a fortune teller, obsessively checking the radar and trying to determine if The Good Truck should open or not. It turns out I am REALLY bad at it. Using the forecast as a guide, I have repeatedly made terrible decisions. Opening on days it rains, and closing on days that the sun suddenly busts out from behind a fortress of grey and without ANY warning rewards us with moments reminiscent of warmer times. Since we spend a lot of time procuring the best local ingredients, and cooking everything from scratch, it quickly becomes unsustainable when we get rained out, and all of that good food ends up as compost. SO, though we had planned on being open through October, this has become an impossible scenario. We have had a great season though and would like to thank everyone for supporting us. We loved feeding you! Join us this Thursday for our “closing” party. 6-9 at The Westy. In addition to all the usual suspects, we have a few specials on deck:

Coconut+ Sweet Corn Chowder w/garlic+green chili

The Local- featuring roasted delicata squash, caramelized onions, and pac choi 

Kim Chi Quesadilla- with house-made cabbage kim chi, chili garlic aioli, + amish cheddar 

Fresh heirloom tomato salsa, guacamole + hot house-made chips

SEE YOU TOMORROW!!

 

New Day, New Location!

In addition to our regular weekend hours at The Westy (Thursday 6-10, Friday 6-11, Saturday 7-11) we are excited to announce that we will be at the Trumansburg Farmers Market, Wednesdays, for the rest of the season.

For market we will be offering a limited menu including Good Truck style Bahn Mi sandwiches, which will feature seasonally changing pickled vegetables, and some sort of smoked meat. This’s weeks sandwich will have your choice of roasted local pork OR smoked tofu, pickled green bean relish, quick pickled cucumber, shredded carrots, fresh cilantro, thai basil, and red chili mayo on toasted baguette. We will also be serving the taco truck favorite, Pepita salad, a blueberry peach cobbler with vanilla bean whipped cream and to drink, hibiscus cooler.

For those that have NOT traveled out to the burg for this sweet little market, you should come check it out. Among other things, there are a couple of winery’s pouring tastings, delicious kim-chi hot dogs, Wide Awake Bakery goodies, and a plethora of primo veggies to buy. Plus arts and crafts. Oh, and really excellent cinnamon buns.

COME CHECK US OUT- tomorrow 4-7, corner of Main St. and 227, TBURG

You Say it’s your birthday…

The Good Truck loves our customers, plus we like getting festive. Thats why we are excited to announce our new birthday promo. Its simple. Come celebrate your bday with us, receive one FREE taco of your choice. All the fixins. On us. One little way of saying thanks, and happy birthday.

 

Press!

We are pumped to share this gracious review from Luke Fenchel, that ran in this weeks Ithaca Times.

Thank you Luke, Ed (for the photo) and The Ithaca Times for giving us some press….

The Good Truck: Ithaca-Mex in a Trailer – Ithaca Times : Dining

 

In store for the weekend....

Reblogged from The Good Truck's Blog:

Summer time is upon us... the nights are no longer frigid, the baby doesn't have to wear shoes, and the whole town appears to be encased in emerald greenery. Also, folks have come out of their wintry hibernation, hungry for things like beer, and tacos. The past few weekends have been awesome, and particuarly festive...thanks to everyone who has come to check us out!  

Read more… 230 more words

wild edible

ramps for salsa!

In store for the weekend….

Summer time is upon us… the nights are no longer frigid, the baby doesn’t have to wear shoes, and the whole town appears to be encased in emerald greenery. Also, folks have come out of their wintry hibernation, hungry for things like beer, and tacos. The past few weekends have been awesome, and particuarly festive…thanks to everyone who has come to check us out!  We are finally getting into the swing of things and boy has it been fun.

We are excited to be getting more and more local produce as the growing season progresses- a big shout out to all this spring rain and sunshine for making that possible  This week we will have asparagus (from The Good Life Farm) Arugula (from Remembrance), Rhubarb and Ramps (from Rosy Bone Hill Farms) and hopefully we can scare up some shitaki’s and raddishes from someone… I know I’ve seen these things around, its just a matter of locating them…

As always we have fresh meat from Autumns Harvest (bacon, pork shoulder, steak) also chicken from regional purveyor, Murray’s Chicken, and Tony Potenza’s practically famous black beans. This week we are also trying out a new recipe for home made jalapeno poppers… not exactly “local” fare, but likely to be sinfully delicious all the same. Ahh, the beauty of the fryer…

Other exciting things are a foot as well… Here is a preview of some Good Truck gear that Lily and Pheobe have been working on..

who doesn’t need a hand painted flying taco truck hat?

available for purchase soon!

WEEKEND GOOD TRUCK HOURS May 24-26

Thursday- 6-12 (tacos 6-9, late night menu 9-close)

Friday 5:30- 12 (tacos 5:30- 9, late night menu 9-close)

Saturday 7-12 (tacos 7-9, late night menu 9-close)

Pasta Para Duros

Fry outs !! (thats fryer try outs)

There is something about having a fryer that is both dangerous and thrilling all at once. Sure, it won’t help knock of those pesky extra pounds or win us points from any health food enthusiasts, but it does insight a whole new realm of creativity in the kitchen. With our new home in the back yard of a bar, and a serious craving for fish tacos, the purchase was a no brainer. And now taco truck fans, the deep fried possibilities abound. 

This past weekend we celebrated Lily’s  (the other half of The Good Truck) return home with fryer tryouts. With help from family and friends we tested the new Good Truck fryer with many savory and sweet snacks… some of which will no doubt end up on our menu.

For those of you that have spent time in places where the bodegas are teeming with all manor of Latin American snacks, these crispy little wheels will look familiar. The “pasta para duros”, as they are called, came to us from Lily’s mom who got them on a recent trip to Mexico. After a quick dunk in the fryer we tossed them with lime juice and hot sauce, and did they taste good with a beer. If we can find a good source to buy them we will add them to our “late night” bar menu… until then it’s looking like we will be making fries, fresh tortilla chips and (every so often) fish tacos Baja style (though I’ve had them this way in other coastal states of Mexico as well) 

Looking foreword to a new season- hope you will join us FRIDAY MAY 4th and SATURDAY MAY 5th for our opening weekend !!!!!