First experience with Food Trucks in Montreal

Food trucks are finally in action right now! And I was able to witness the big fuss at Esplanade Financiere Sun Life which is located at the Olympic Stadium. All the trucks are gathered every first Friday of every month! I’m not sure when this event would end, you can gather more information on the Olympic Park website.

The day I went was one of the worst time to go…it was cold and raining. Because of that, it affected my enjoyment and I had to hold an umbrella so it was difficult to take pictures…

Another thing, I need to point out, which has nothing to do with the weather, maybe I am too accustomed to street food from other countries. I was rather disappointed with the service and the price. This applies to all the food trucks I purchased food from. I expected fast service, cheap eats and user-friendly (as in, easy to eat without needing a table). This would be discussed more below…

 

La Sandwicherie Zoe’s

I think this was originally La Mangeoire but they changed their concept.

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They offered 3 choices in the menu. I chose this one, which is called Cochon sauvage, I believe.

I must admit the pork was unbelievable tender. It was cooked in a way that achieved a texture I never had before, it was very gelatin. I think the cut consisted of mostly fat, which I felt almost guilty. The flavor of the sandwich was very unique – hint of sweet and sourness. The sourness came from capers.

I had the most easy time eating Zoe’s sandwich. Only one hand required. No dripping. No weird shaping after a few bites. All stayed in one piece in this paper bag. However, the waiting time rather long when there was no waiting line. The price was about 9$, tax included. For me…my value for the sandwich is 6.50$, so with taxes, it should be 7.50$. It’s suppose to be street food! But I heard the license is expensive, so I can understand why the price is rather high.

 

Grumman 78

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Ah- the so famous tacos from Grumman 78 and I finally get to taste it, just a bit because Mr.Butter ordered them and as you can see the portion is rather puny, especially when it is 6-7$ a piece. So here is a 13$ meal. Some say it’s worth it…and I say…

It’s only worth it for the first experience. Let’s be reasonable now. I ain’t gonna be full with these 2 tacos, I would need at least an extra one. So add that to the 13$, 20$! What? I find it ridiculous how expensive these food can be… Again, I can understand why they need to put it at that price to be viable…but then, I really wonder if people would think it is worth that $ per taco.

The top taco is Lamb curry and the bottom is Pork banhmi. How did they taste? Very forgettable.

So I have Mr.Butter to describe them to have a better representation…in his words, the tacos were like gourmet meal served on a soft taco and were greatly loved by him (he said it was very saucy, the bit of chilli sauce made the whole experience sky rocket, just thinking about this makes him salivating). Can he be more descriptive?

You go figure how come his experience was so different from mine.

 

Roux

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For my mama, being a very difficult lady that day, I searched high and low for food that will be suitable for her palate.

This is like a long bread shaped, with lettuce, avocado, and fried shrimps. The key here is the fried shrimps, which are super nicely fried. This was about 10$.

My mama said she liked it, but I think she was just pretending to like it because it was becoming too difficult to find something she likes.

This thing was difficult to eat without a table…If I were to stand up, it would be difficult to have a bit of everything in one bite. We were lucky enough to have a table as there weren’t a lot of people due to bad weather

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We also had their fries with curry mayonnaise. Their mayonnaise reminded me of Frite Alors! Just as tasty. I think if it wasn’t for the mayo, I wouldn’t have gone crazy for their fries.

I find the fries very pricey, 6$. I like how the staff told me the portion is big. Cough. It looks big because it’s in a cone shape. So really, you’re not getting much in the bottom half of the cone.

Gaufrabec

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These belgian waffles are also available at Adonis, although pre-packaged already.

My only complaint with Gaufrabec is their super slow staff. They were so inefficient, that I nearly want to take in charge and speed up the process. How hard is to sprinkle some powder sugar, put whip cream from the bottle or squeeze some chocolate sauce on the waffle?! It should take 5 seconds! Fine, if they were waiting for the waffles to cook then I can understand, but not even! They had a stack of waffles ready to be served! AH! The frustration!

Let’s put that aside. The waffle was tasty. We had the fruits and waffle, which literally means the fruits were inside the batter! The waffle itself was a bit chewy, but nonetheless, still very enjoyable.

My overall experience with food truck is closer to negative than positive. I think it’s still at experimental stage, and they still have a lot to learn from. Sure, I will try out more, merely for curiosity. But, I would never choose it over restaurants.

 
Zoe's Food Truck on Urbanspoon

Roux on Urbanspoon

Grumman '78 on Urbanspoon

Zuuchini

Written by zuuchini

Made in Canada. Chinese. Accountant. Gamer. Makeup lover. Love her family.
Website: http://www.zuuchini.com

6 Comments
  • Sara says:

    Glad to hear I am not the only one who finds this stuff expensive…! I thought the whole point of having to eat standing next to a food truck is to save money…. Otherwise I would pay to sit down in a place with nice seating arrangement……!

    And I share your opinion on Grumman 78. I totally do not get the hype. Their stuff is bland and so forgettable!

    … As of now, Montreal street food sucks. I would much rather go to Asia for that experience.

    • zuuchini says:

      Agree with every single thing you say!

      I think we are comparing too much to Asian street food…so we get disappointed when the concept as of now is so different… I almost feel like it’s like “high end” street food.

  • Glad to see the food truck movement finally going somewhere in Montreal but agree with lots of your points. Maybe it will balance out in a few years? Was great meeting you last night at Shogun.

    • zuuchini says:

      Hi Evelyne! It was very nice meeting you and Michelle!

      I’m really hoping to see the real street food players coming in. Just like…basic pretzel stand, hot roasted chestnut,….simple thing like that.

  • Allison says:

    Great review! I haven’t yet eaten at any of the food trucks you mentioned and am very curious to see if anything has improved. I’ve personally tried 3 other trucks so far and I actually really enjoyed all of them. The food has been very fresh and tasty, and no line-ups (although I guess I’ve gone during less busy hours). I definitely agree though the food can be pricey (for the quantity) and can add up quickly if you’re hungry. Thanks for the review, it was helpful!

    • zuuchini says:

      Hi Allison! You are not the first to tell me that had great experience with food trucks. I guess I just hadn’t meet the right one yet! Although my first impression isn’t as good as I had hoped, this doesn’t discourage me try others, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to try them…

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