A food truck trek through the Peterborough area
Shari Darling goes looking for new culinary surprises
This past weekend I food-truck-tripped through the Kawarthas with my good friend Karen Irvine. Karen is about to launch a brand new, hip, cool, and local online magazine called The Kawartha's Where to Go. We spent the weekend doing hard culinary research into our region's gourmet food trucks. We did this hard work (not really) for an article she is writing on Food Truck Tripping.
What's nifty about buying your gourmet fare from our local food truck vendors is that you get interesting dishes with decent portions and at super reasonable prices. After all, food truck vendors are free from the overhead costs of expensive leases, electricity bills galore, etc.
Take home your gourmet food truck fare and pair it with a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc is ideal for food truck tripping cuisine. It offers bright, zesty acidity that cleans and refreshes the palate. This is especially important during this continued heat wave.
The Ned Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, (CSPC 470070), $15.00, offers incredible value for its price. This is a classic Sauv. Blanc with bright flavours of gooseberry, passion fruit and lime on the nose. The wine has medium weight and zinging acidity surrounded by grapefruit and lime flavours. Due to its weight, this white will work with vegetarian, fish, chicken and pork dishes.
We re-visited one of my all time favourite joints -- the Angle Iron located at Young's Point just outside of Lakefield.
The Angle Iron is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 am to 6 p.m. Owned by our very own Chef Brian Henry (columnist for The Examiner), the Angle Iron serves up unique cuisine at ridiculously inexpensive prices. And portions are hefty. The menu consists of a hearty variety of poutines, tacos, fried chicken, chicken and waffles, and a variety of smoked items including ribs ,pulled pork, New York strip loin and chicken.
I enjoyed the Baja Shrimp Taco and Funky Fish Taco. Both tacos come per order with a large portion of fries ($15.00). Due to the amount of ingredients offered in these tacos, choose an all around decent tasting quaffer.
In this dish there is not one distinctive ingredient that dominates the taste profile. Therefore, the appropriate wine is one that will work more closely with the weight of the dish and delicacy of the flavours. Sauvignon Blanc it is!
Chef Brian also caters from the Angle Iron. Call (705) 8750428
By the way, Chef Brian is opening at a new location in Lakefield this fall (date to be set). Here he will produce and sell a product line featuring 15 rubs/spice blends, expanding to include a line of sauces, private label line of coffees, pre-prepared meals, lunches, cooking classes and catering. I'll keep you posted!
For many years my late husband Jack and I would dine at the Original Greek, once located on the southwest corner at
724 Water Street at Parkhill Road West. The restaurant closed the summer of 2015. Jack and I ate at the Original Greek at least once a week all year. Chef and partner Anna created incredible Greek dishes with well blended flavours that soothed the soul. True Greek comfort food.
Now retired, but incapable of relaxing and with 30 years of cooking under her belt, Anna is now working alongside sonin-law Terry (a butcher) and grandchildren Theo and Dimitri. Together they run their family gourmet food truck called
Two Fat Greeks located at 1399 8th Line Smith between Lakefield and Bridgenorth, located at the back of Classy Chassis and Cycle. Anna has brought that traditional homemade Greek food taste profile to the dishes served at Two Fat Greeks. And at a reasonable price! Portions are significant.
If we continue to have such humid weather, choose a combination of foods from Two Fat Greeks to pair with a chilled bottle of The Ned Sauvignon Blanc.
The Chicken Souvlaki comes with a side of homemade tzatziki. With yogurt as its base ingredient, this condiment has tanginess that requires a crisp, dry white like Sauvignon Blanc. This white also works nicely with the grilled chicken. Add some Greek fries and deep-fried calamari to the mix.
Two Fat Greeks is open 7 days per week from 11 am to 8 p.m. They also provide catering: (705) 977-2602.