Keep on truckin': moveable feasts from top-notch food trucks
The Salty Buoy food truck was created by Niall Sabongi of Klaw and Seafood Café.
This has been such a strange year for the food lovers of Ireland and I’m sorry but I’m not going to be glib and focus on positives. Whatever positives there are (provision boxes, home cooking, etc) are vastly outweighed by the trauma that has been inflicted on the hospitality sector.
Temple Bar is as quiet as a wet Christmas Day these days and many Dublin restaurants that are open are doing less than 50% of their regular business. As I write this, there are warnings of more potential lockdowns and advice not to congregate with strangers indoors so it is tough to be optimistic.
My solution is eating outside: we are more hardy than we realise so let’s give grants for food trucks and support the ones that are already there. Head to Instagram and follow some of the following trucks: @caitlinruthfood in Cork; @juliaslobstertruck in County Clare; @misunderstood_Heron in Connemara, @griolladh in Malahide and @thesamboambo.
Sambo Ambo is the new project from Marcus O’Laoire and will be selling ‘the tastiest sandwiches you’ve ever eaten’ from an orange converted ambulance. If they are anything like the toasties in his pub Anti-Social there will be queues.
California could be called the birthplace of the modern Food Truck thanks in part to the enthusiastic reviews of Jonathan Gold of the who covered taco, pupusa and burrito trucks with the same enthusiasm as the latest Noma opening.
Dublin has had just such a Taco truck in the form of La Cocina Cuevas @lacocinacuevas for a couple of years now. I first tasted their tacos at the Big Grill festival in 2019 and was completely wowed. These days they still have their old slot in the wilds of The Naul in North Co. Dublin but can also be found at EatYard at the back of the Bernard Shaw pub in Drumcondra.
I travelled to the Naul on a recent Sunday and ordered most of the menu which cost just €45 to feed three. Elote La Style (€6), was luscious, sweet grilled sweetcorn coated in smoky chipotle mayo and rolled in savoury Cheeto dust with sour cream and lime, we should have ordered three.
The tacos were still the highlight, however — two pollo asado (€8) soft corn tortillas filled with sharp sultry chicken topped with tangy salsa; Jimboy crispy corn tortillas filled with beef, cheddar, and properly spicy salsa roja; and, perhaps best of all, the crispy prawn tacos (€9). These feature battered Atlantic prawns on soft tortilla with crunchy green chilli slaw and more chipotle mayo — food of the Aztec Gods I suspect. Finally, make sure to order watermelon aqua fresca (€3) and lots of papas fritas (€4) — crispy balls of fluffy potato which can be loaded with guacamole or jalapeño cheese. If you make it to the Eatyard space watch for the birria tacos made from a rich meaty ‘stew’ that originates in Jalisco in Western Central Mexico.
My second truck feast was from The Salty Buoy created by Niall Sabongi of Klaw and Seafood Café. Niall’s main business is supplying seafood so he has been badly hit in recent months. Never a quitter, Niall created the Salty Buoy Truck which currently visits three locations, and he is looking for more.
Dinner for two hungry lads at Salty Buoy at Roe & Co Distillery cost €50 and well-constructed Roe & Co whiskey cocktails added an extra €28. The distillery was open so drinks were provided by them with food from the truck and we had some shelter from the drizzle in an open wooden hut. We began with spanking-fresh rock oysters: two 'naked' and two with a rich dressing that included a fruity, dark soy sauce which worked better than expected.
Grilled prawns on a stick were sweet, sticky and smoky and I sucked the heads dry. Lobster roll was as good as in Seafood Café with soft brioche-style bread and perfect sweet lobster and dressing with bonus melted butter dripping down my fingers.
A tasting sample of grilled swordfish also arrived: rich meaty fish topped with an intensely flavoured Tuscan panzanella salad with crunchy bread pieces and lots of lemon juice, capers and tomato. The panzanella was delicious and I didn’t mind that it slightly overpowered the fish.
Star of the show is the hake kiev and chips: fresh hake encased in a golden crumb that leaks a rich salty garlicky butter when pierced. Once again, fingers were licked and any remaining sauce was mopped up by the crispy chips.
Service was charming and efficient and this felt like a proper outdoor restaurant. Every village green and beachfront in Ireland should have one. Let’s get lobbying.
