Sunday, December 5, 2010

Buttermilk Truck - Breakfast of Champions Any Time of Day!

On a sleepy Saturday morning, while idly checking my Twitter feeds, I jolted wide awake when I saw that the Buttermilk Truck was parked just 12 minutes away from my apt...and we only had a little less than a half hour left in their service. 

As someone who doesn't enjoy waking up early in the morning - I sleep in whenever I can on weekends.  But, with the opportunity to get an awesome gourmet breakfast at stake, I quickly ran into the other room and shook my visiting relatives awake (hey, they came from Montreal so they should be on East Coast time, i.e. much more awake than I was, right?) and issued marching orders.  Do what you need to do to get out the door in 5 minutes - quick clothes change, shower and tooth brushing optional.  We have our priorities!

The fact that Buttermilk truck was rated one of the Top Food Trucks in LA by media and foodie bloggers aside - it was really the menu itself that had a Pavlovian effect on us.  This consisted of traditional comfort breakfast foods, but with creative twists - such as french toast sticks made with Hawaiian bread, or their famous red velvet pancake bites.  And you could have them anytime of day that the truck is in service - breakfast, lunch or dinner.  And I love eating breakfast at all times of day. 

This particular Saturday (late) morning we arrived with only 6 minutes to spare in their service and felt like Indiana Jones sliding under the descending stone door - though our excitement was somewhat deflated when we saw that they had already sold out of some key items, including the sliders and rosemary garlic hash browns. 

With three of us, all used to family style dining, we decided to order almost everything left on the menu to share for wider sampling, starting with Hawaiian Bread Cinnamon French Toast Sticks (3 sticks $2.50, 5 sticks $4).  These were served with powdered sugar and were delicious, just the right thickness (without the issue that plagues a lot of other people's french toasts - soggy / overly eggy centers that aren't cooked all the way through, or have so much bread that it's overwhelming), with a perfectly flavored, crispy shell all the way around.  Syrup was offered on the side, but the sticks were already so full of flavor that we did not find that we needed the extra syrup.

Next up were Buttermilk Pancake Bites - Buttermilk truck apparently offers this item with changing flavors - and this month's is red velvet chocolate chip (order of 6 plain $4 filled $5).  This is obviously a hotseller, so much so that a sign was posted next to the order window that stated only two orders of these pancake bites can be placed by each party.  The red velvet chocolate chip pancake bites were AMAZING - light, super fluffy, piping hot, in a beautiful shade somewhere between red and pink, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with a generous dollop of whipped butter.  The chocolate chips melted into a nice Nutella consistency and added additional sweet flavor to the pancakes - these bites were also so flavorful (without being overpowering) that we did not need to add any syrup.  These are so good you could plate and serve them at the Four Seasons and I would not have questioned the source.  The red velvet choc chip pancake bites are now my favorite breakfast item off a food truck - if only we hadn't ordered the entire available menu, and arrived just before they were getting ready to leave, I would have shamelessly gone back for seconds.

For the 'traditionalists' looking for a good egg dish - Buttermilk truck offers the Southwest Veggie Omelette with sauteed onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, and cilantro topped with jack cheese - and adds their own creative touch by serving it with housemade cornbread (omelette + corn bread total $5).  This was possibly the best omelette I've had this year - rich in flavor but light in texture (the omelette was about the shape and size of a crepe), with all the ingredients really coming together as a cohesive whole.  The cornbread was a great touch and also incredible - very light, fluffy, with actual kernels of corn inside - and not too 'mealy'.



But that's not all for our bottomless stomachs - we still had to get to the Buttermilk Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches - served on housemade buttermilk biscuit with cheese and fried egg, choice of applewood smoked bacon, tocino, or chicken apple sausage ($3.50 each).   We tried two varieties:  bacon, and tocino (tastes and looks like a combo of ham/sausage).  I had the bacon and it was fantastic, with a perfectly runny fried egg - but it was not as unique and mind-blowingly great as the pancake bites and french toast sticks.  My brother & his wife had the tocino and agreed.

Normally, these breakfast sandwiches can be ordered with rosemary garlic hash browns (add $.50) - which also sound amazing, but they were sold out of this by the time we got to the truck, so it's something I'll have to save to try next time along with the sliders. 

My only note for Buttermilk Truck would be that if they could offer some gourmet coffees and teas to accompany the awesome breakfast foods, that would really put the meal over the top.

In any case, we left with very full and happy bellies - and Buttermilk Truck left with three new 'followers'.  My fav part aside from the awesome food?  We fed three insatiable adults a very filling gourmet breakfast for a total of $24.  That's really only a few dollars more than a meal of heavily processed foods from any fast food chain, and the same cost as a platter of run-of-the-mill breakfast foods at any diner chain.  And it's fresh.  And fast.  And gourmet. 

Will definitely be keeping tabs on Buttermilk Truck - this is one of the few food trucks I will actually chase, and venture out of my neighborhood for!

Update April 2011:
I finally got a chance to try Buttermilk Truck's late night menu, when they rolled into the neighborhood by my office last Friday. 

They were already sold out of the chicken and waffles by the time I got there, so I picked my second choice - Buttermilk Brick ($8). 

What does this consist of, you ask?  All kinds of awesome.  Hash browns, 2 eggs over easy, buttermilk biscuit and housemade chorizo gravy.

Buttermilk Brick is at once crispy, luscious (from the perfectly runny egg that you can't see underneath all that beautiful gravy), creamy, fluffy, and meaty, savory and buttery with a kick from the chorizo.  I love it!!!!

It's now my second favorite from their late night menu after Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Pancake Bites!!!  Can't wait til the next time they're in my 'hood for late night dining!!!


On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 6 bites
Presentation - 6 bites
Originality - 6 bites
Ambience - 5.5 stars
Service - 6 stars
Overall experience - 6 bites
Price - $ (1 bite mark)
Probability of return visit - 100%

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Buttermilk Truck
All over Los Angeles
Website: buttermilktruck.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/buttermilktruck
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Buttermilk Truck on Urbanspoon   Buttermilk Truck in Los Angeles on Fooddigger

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