Pho-jita Fusion - Tor-Thai

Truck: Pho-jita Fusion

Location: Houston Food Park, 1504 St. Emanuel

Date: Janaury 31, 2014

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Phojita1

Tor-Thai - $10

I love the names and the ideas behind all of the Pho-jita's dishes, and this is one of the best. Start with a classic Mexican Torta. A torta is kin to a classic grilled and pressed Cuban sandwich on a fluffy bolillo roll. Now comes the Thai part, fill the torta with classic basil chicken. You can get it mild medium, or spicy. I got the medium and it was pretty spicy, but its Thai, expect some heat. The basil chicken portion is huge, get a spork with it, you'll want to scoop all that falls out. Its a huge sandwich. Synopsis: Mexican-Thai fusion at its best.

Muiishi Makirritos - Chicken Karaage Burrito

Truck: Muiishi Makirritos
Location: Karbach Brewing Company
Date: January 10, 2014
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MuiishiTruck

Chicken Karaage Burrito - $8.50

This is a Mission style burrito with a lot going on here. The star ingredient is Chicken Karaage. Karaage is a Japanese technique where the meat is first marinated then coated with wheat flour or potato starch and deep fried. I think boneless chicken thighs were used here and that works for me, I think they are much more flavorful then breast meat. Layered in I found tempura corn, avocado, rice, and green and purple cabbage slaw. I really like the karaage and tempura corn, it gives the burrito some texture changes to break up the even monotonous texture of many burritos. Synopsis: This is a big, hearty, and delicious burrito.

Krabby Paddy ($12) and Mac & Cheese Egg Rolls ($5) revisited

I've reviewed both of these before (see 7/20/2013), but since we ordered them again I thought its worth a follow up. The Krabby Paddy is a large sushi roll  featuring a fried soft-shell crab, avocado, and imitation crab meat sticks. On the side is a natural color (i.e. not alien green) creamy wasabi sauce. This time the crab was a little on fishy side in smell and taste.

You get one each of beef and mac & cheese and bacon and mac & cheese stuffed egg rolls. Crispy and very savory with the smoked Gouda mac & cheese and meat. Served with spicy creamy green sauce on the side. These are still over the top egg rolls, one of the must try food truck items in Houston. 

Gastro Punk - Pork Belly Tacos

Truck: Gastro Punk
Location: Houston Food Park, 1504 St. Emanuel
Date: January 10, 2014
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GastroPunkTX

Pork Belly Tacos - $11

Wow, but these are good, really good. I think its because of one "secret" ingredient too. Lets start with the basics. Three con tortilla tacos loaded with smoked pork belly. My impression is the pork belly is given a little deep fry carnitas style before its loaded into the tortilla. A warm cabbage fennel slaw and basil chiffonade top the taco. That would be by itself a really good taco. What puts these over the top is the savory orange-fennel jam. I mean Bam! that's some good stuff on these tacos. The jam has lots of orange zest in it and its just something that brings out the best of the slaw and the pork belly. Synopsis: I hope they don't sell out before dinner!

Fraiche - Carnitas Hash

Truck: Fraiche
Location: Montrose Market H-E-B, 1701 W. Alabama
Date: January 3, 2014
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FraicheKitchen

Carnitas Hash - $8

Slow roasted pork combined with tater tots, veggies, and topped with a fried egg. I think this could be a really good dish, but mine lacked some in execution. The pork was certainly tasty and tender, the tots were nice and crispy. I think putting a little of a crisp on the pork on the grill and combining the tots with the pork on the grill with a little chop would have pushed this dish up a notch. Carnitas traditionally has some crisp on it from deep frying and a little crisping on the grill would have mirrored that. Now for what I really found wrong, the fried egg was really over cooked. The proteins in an egg bind together when overcooked into something like latex. This egg was about like eating a tire patch. I had to tear it apart by hand, I couldn't cut it with a fork. When you top something with an egg, usually you want the yolk a little runny to add a some silky unctuousness to the dish. Overall I love the idea of this dish and I'm going to chalk it up to a bad night. The flavors are certainly good. Fraiche's menu in interesting and I will be back to give them another try. Synopsis: Don't give up on this dish, give it another try.

Soul Cat Cuisine - Flaming Funky Chicken and Mardi Gras Fries

Truck: Soul Cat Cuisine
Location: Houston Food Park, 1504 St. Emanuel
Date: January 3, 2014
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoulCatCuisine

Flaming Funky Chicken - $9

Oh My God! I should have known better from my previous experience with Soul Cat's Hot Mess. This Sandwich is hot, I mean lava hot, I mean Man vs. Food hot. I feel sweat running down my face as I write this. Ok I'll stop my moaning and groaning now. The mesquite grilled chicken breast was tender and moist, perfect for a sandwich. The sandwich is topped with melted Swiss cheese, delicious caramelized onions, and sweet grilled red pepper. Served on a nice french loaf. There is a lot to like about this sandwich, for me I just need a little less heat. Synopsis: If you can't take the heat, you need to get something else from this kitchen.

Mardi Gras Pommes Frites (Fries) - $7

Basic food service fries topped with Swiss cheese, more of those great caramelized grilled onions and red peppers, chopped grilled chicken and very good sweet and spicy sauce. I'm glad a took a few bites of the fries before the Flaming Funky Chicken. The sauce is spicy, but after the other sauce it seemed mild. This sauce is great and I may ask for it on the Funky Chicken sometime. I was amazed the fries never got really soggy like food service fries are apt to. Synopsis: Sweet, spicy, and savory.

Something very nice, Soul Cat has a $5 and under menu, check it out.