Recap: Truckeroo 2

Truckeroo is a food truck lover’s paradise. We first heard about the idea back in June and knew right away we had to go to at least one of these monthly events. Essentially, the owner of The Bullpen and Das Bullpen Biergarten by Nationals Park decided to capitalize on the food truck craze and get all of the trucks to gather by the bars as a way to draw crowds on a Friday when the Nats are away.

It’s a win-win for everyone since it’s a fun, new event to look forward to each month in the summer, a great way to see all the food trucks in one setting (especially for those who don’t work downtown such as ourselves), and attracts customers to the Nationals Park bars that generally don’t see any business unless the Nats are in town.

We got to Truckeroo right after work a few weeks ago only to find a line that partially wrapped around the block. The event goes from 11am to 9pm, and immediately we wished the food truck gathering fell on one of our flex days so we wouldn’t have to fight the crowds. There were predictable long lines for Red Hook Lobster Pound and Takorean, so we decided to try some new trucks we hadn’t tasted from yet. We shared everything we got so we could try more items as well as give our feedback. Here we go!

First up was Fojol Brothers’ Benethiopia truck. They have one truck for Indian cuisine as well as one for Ethiopian, and we were lucky enough to try the latter that day. This was Brett’s first time trying Ethiopian food, and he immediately decided we needed to try more, and soon! We had the berber meat and the stewed carrots and beans that were incredibly flavorful and tender after stewing for 12 hours. We had a “dingo bite” of each instead of a larger plate which made for a great way to start our food truck outing.

Next up, I had to try some CapMac as I have been waiting to try their macaroni and cheese. Brett was curious about the DC Empanadas truck so he waited in that line while I got my classic mac and cheese with cheddar, pimento, and crushed Cheez-Its on top. Yum! I couldn’t get over how much they gave you in a container. It was definitely more than enough for two people to share. It was such a nice summer day that I couldn’t help but also get some of the summer salad, which consisted of feta, watermelon, picked melon rinds, and basil. It was so refreshing and a great side dish.

Brett got the vegetarian Tio Shawn empanada that came with black beans, rice, Monterrey Jack cheese, Chipotle peppers, and onions. He came away impressed as it had a nice Mexican flavor while the shell was flaky and crunchy without it being overly greasy. Given his appetite, he wished the empanada was slightly larger, but overall he thoroughly enjoyed it.

At that point, we were perfectly content and just walked around for a bit while our friend Erika got a chicken pita. I thought a great last treat for the night would be a pop from Pleasant Pops. I thought they were just fresh fruit ice pops, but discovered that they are actually Mexican-inspired paletas. Whatever they were, I couldn’t get over the flavor from the peach pop – it literally tasted like a frozen pureed summer peach! They were also serving Sweet Tea pops and both were going fast.

Truckeroo will take place once a month and continue through October. The next one is coming up on Friday, August 12th, so make sure to check out your favorite food trucks – all in one convenient location!