Tornado Potato Poutine at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

It's Saturday, and it's also Pokemon GO Fest 2021 Day 1. We spent the whole day (10 AM to 6 PM) hanging out at the VSB Park for Pokemon and food.

At around 3:00 PM, I told hubby I'll order from Tornado Potato. I thought of getting the usual tornado potato, but the poutine caught my eye. It's something different!

Tornado Potato Poutine

The gravy is sweet, but it works well with the saltiness of the cheese curds. It's such a fun messy thing to eat and quite filling too.

Tornado Potato Poutine from Tornado Potato food truck

As much as I enjoy the gravy, I would have enjoyed it more if it was more savoury than sweet.

Rosie's BBQ and Smokehouse at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

It's Saturday, and it's also Pokemon GO Fest 2021 Day 1. We spent the whole day (10 AM to 6 PM) hanging out at the VSB Park for Pokemon and food.

For lunch today, we ordered from Rosie's BBQ and Smokehouse. As I mentioned in my previous post about Yo-Bones BBQ. I haven't tried many Southern-style BBQ, so I can't say what is good or not, but I can tell you which ones I liked the best based on what I've tried in Vancouver so far.

Since I ordered chicken and brisket sliders from Yo-Bones BBQ, I ordered the same from Rosie's.

Decatur Chicken Sandwich

Decatur Chicken Sandwich
Smoked BBQ chicken topped with famous Decatur White BBQ sauce, "Funions," house bun, mayo, sauce

The Decatur Chicken Sandwich is delicious! I dare to say I like it better than the one from Yo-Bones, and I already enjoyed that one so much. The chicken is just so flavourful, and I love the toasted bun with burnt edges. It's so crispy.

Smoked Brisket Sandwich

Smoked Brisket Sandwich
Smoked & chopped brisket, sweet onions, pickled, and Rosie's BBQ sauce

Unfortunately, the Smoked Brisket Sandwich is the opposite of its chicken counterpart. I ate the chicken first while hubby tried the brisket, then we switched. I was raving about the chicken sandwich, but hubby kept asking why I didn't get the pulled pork. Apparently, he didn't enjoy the brisket. My hubby enjoys food, and for him to tell me that he didn't enjoy a specific item is saying something.

I tried it, and the brisket is juicy, but you can only taste the fattiness of the pork and no other flavour. Thankfully, the bun is still toasted wonderfully, but it's not enough to save the sandwich even then.

Mac 'n Cheese Salad

This dish confused some of the Caucasian customers. While waiting for my order, I can hear them ask the food truck owners what's a Mac 'n Cheese Salad? In the Philippines, we have our own dessert version of macaroni salad which includes lots of mayonnaise, sweetened fruits, and condensed milk. It's popular in the province during fiesta and a staple in some households during the Christmas season.

Mac 'n Cheese Salad
Cheddar cheese, Duke's mayo, parmesan, and crispy onion

Banana Pudding

I enjoyed the Banana Pudding, although I regret not trying the Moon Pie. The pudding is delicious, but there's a powerful vanilla flavour and the scent coming from it, which can be a bit off-putting.

Banana Pudding
Donia Farms milk, banana, and homemade vanilla cookie

The perfect bit includes a cookie and banana.

Drinks: #37 Sweet Tea and Classic Lemonade

We ordered both drinks because why not? 😋 Hubby has been to Texas, and he said that the Sweet Tea reminds him of the unsweetened tea he had there. I enjoyed the Classic Lemonade. It's sweet and tangy - the perfect palate cleanser.

What will I order again?

I'll have the Decatur Chicken Sandwich again. I am also looking to try the Loaded Tater Tots, and maybe next time we'll try the Potato Bun Pulled Pork Sandwich.

Rosie's BBQ and Smokehouse food truck menu

Shameless Buns at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

Masayang Biyernes! Happy Friday!

Shameless Buns have a special place in our hearts. Hubby and I were born and raised in the Philippines, so a Filipino jeepney food truck specializing in flavours we are familiar with makes Shameless Buns special.

Filipino Spaghetti Lumpia

I saw the Spaghetti Lumpia in an Instagram video, and I couldn't believe/understand what I just saw. But, I knew I had to try it the next time I order from Shameless Buns.

Filipino-style spaghetti is sweet with ground meat, while lumpia is Filipino spring roll. Both are a staple in Filipino kids' birthday parties. However, I never thought of combining it this way! Instead, they serve a giant burrito-like spring roll with spaghetti inside. The spaghetti is delicious, and I'll be happy to eat it as is, but the lumpia wrap provides crunch. 

Spaghetti Lumpia
Crispy spring roll stuffed with Filipino spaghetti goodness, sriracha mayo, chipotle cheese sauce, and green onion.

Opening the Filipino Spaghetti Lumpia

Sir Spam A-Lot combo with Palabok Fries

The sandwich is, for me, a standard fair of spam sandwiches inside pandesal (Filipino brioche bun). It's something we occasionally eat for snacks after school. If you like spam, then this is worth the try.

I want to focus on the Palabok Fries. Their menu description says, "Think 'BBQ' Chips." It doesn't taste like barbeque. However, it does taste like palabok. Background: Palabok is a noodle dish in the Philippines. I am having a hard time describing its flavour. It's salty and a bit tangy, usually creamy from the sauce. Their Palabok Fries hit the flavour profile of a palabok, but you may not understand the flavour if you haven't had palabok in the past.

Sir Spam A-Lot (Crispy Fried Spam, atchara, banana ketchup, sexy egg, sriracha mayo, green onion, and fried garlic) with Palabok Fries (Think 'BBQ' Chips)

Overall, I will still recommend the Signature Sinigang Fries.

The Brownie Bakers at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

Happy Friday! I am so happy to see The Brownie Bakers at TGIF. They were here a month ago, but I was in Victoria, BC and couldn't get to try their brownies. Unfortunately, we went there after office hours, and they only have one brownie flavour left.

Cheesecake Swirl brownie

The brownie is more cake-like than other brownies I've tried, which is more crumbly. I am unsure how to describe it, but it was enjoyable.

The Brownie Bakers food truck

Beavertails at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

When the initial list of food trucks part of TGIF was released, I did a Google search to see what food each one offers, and Beavertails was just described as pastry, so being able to try it today - I realized it's essentially a flat donut.

You can put different toppings on top. They mostly have sweet Beavertails and only a couple savoury ones - poutine and hotdog. The hotdog one looks like a corndog but is wrapped with delicious fried pastry.

Beavertails

Triple Trip

The Classic

I tried The Classic just to understand what they're selling, and I don't regret it. It's so delicious! I highly recommend The Classic if it's your first time trying the Beavertails.

Yo-Bones BBQ at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

My experience with American-style BBQ (any BBQ originating from the US) is quite limited to Memphis Blues Barbeque House when they had a branch in West Broadway.

Today, we had the chance to try Southern-style BBQ from the Yo-Bones BBQ food truck. Unfortunately, we went at almost 2:00 PM, and they've already sold out of pulled pork. Such a shame.

If you're like me and you want to try almost everything on their menu, then I would recommend getting the BBQ Meat Sliders (3 pcs), and you'll be able to try all three meat - pulled pork, pulled chicken, and beef brisket. Then, you can order a 1/4 Rack of BBQ Ribs.

BBQ Beef Brisket Slider from Yo-Bones BBQ

However, since the BBQ Pulled Pork is already sold out, we opted for 2 sliders and 1 Side. So, we got both BBQ Pulled Chicken and BBQ Brisket, and for our side, they recommended that we get the Red Potato Salad since the sliders already include the Coleslaw inside. So, this way, we'll try more items from their menu. And because I am hungry, I also ordered the Mac and Cheese with BBQ Meat.

Mac and Cheese with BBQ Meat

The Mac and Cheese with BBQ Meat is a big serving! It's good for sharing, or you can bring it home and reheat it for the following day. However, it's not very cheesy, and after a while, the BBQ sauce is a bit much.

2 Slides 1 Side from Yo-Bones BBQ

I highly recommend the sliders - the brioche bun is so soft! It's the perfect vehicle for the BBQ. The BBQ Brisket is delicious, but I thought the BBQ Pulled Chicken is even better. The chicken just absorbed the BBQ sauce more while the Coleslaw provides crunch and creaminess. 

I'll definitely order their sliders again.

Ice Cream from Crema at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

After a happy lobster dinner from Salty's Lobster Shack, we grabbed ice cream from Crema. Hubby got the Matcha Berry which totally tastes like Matcha, and I got Cookie Monster which is the colour of Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. I don't know why I was expecting a typical cookie and cream ice cream. This is so much better.

However, the colour is very much confusing.

My blue Cookie Monster Ice Cream and hubby's green Matcha Ice Cream.

Cookie Monster looking gray than blue, which frustrated me because I kept taking pictures.

Matcha Ice Cream from Crema

Other than the confusion about my Cookie Monster ice cream colour, this is such a happy Friday.

Salty's Lobster Shack at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

I have a confession. This is my first time trying lobster. We eat crab in the Philippines a lot (my parents love seafood), but not lobster. When we migrated to Canada, I hear and see lobster on Food Network more often than I thought I would, but I never had the urge to try it.

That said, we want to try all food truck that's going to be part of TGIF. Today there are four food trucks when we went there - Shameless Buns, Crema, Dos Amigos Tex-Mex, and Salty's Lobster Shack. Salty's is the only one we haven't tried, so today is the day I tried lobster.

Maine Lobster Roll
Menu Description: Toasted garlic butter brushed brioche bun, Halifax lobster tossed in Old Bay Aioli, fresh diced celery, and dill.

We ordered Maine Lobster Roll, Crab Roll, and Lobster Bisque.

Crab Roll
Menu Description: Crab Roll - Chilean Rock Crab, Old Bay Aioli, Fresh Diced Celery, Garlic Butter Toasted Brioche Bun, Fresh Dill and a Wedge of Lemon

Salty's Lobster Shack at Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF)

I recommend the lobster roll over the crab roll. The lobster bisque is a must-try as well. The lobster is sweet and fresh.

Ice Cream from Say Hello Sweets at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

My hubby, siblings, and I ordered ice cream from Say Hello Sweets earlier today to enjoy during a warm summer day in Vancouver.

Coconut Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream

Marshmallow Ice Cream

Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

I highly recommend the Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream of all the flavours we tried today.

Mr. Arancino at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

Buon Sabato! Happy Saturday!

Today is Pokémon GO Community Day which means we're going to play from 11 AM to 5 PM. The nearest park from our home now has four Pokestops that you can reach in one spot, so we're happy to hang out here with the five different food trucks in the area.

Mr. Arancino

Mr. Arancino is not the name of a person. If you want the story behind the food truck's name, you need to check this page on their website. Mr. Arancino specializes in one item only - Sicilian Risotto Balls (arancini) with different filling.

I went bonkers on their menu and ordered two of each flavour they have available today so that I can make a recommendation on which one I like best.

Vegetarian

Meat

Vegetarian Arancini

For today, they have three Vegetarian Arancini - vegetable ragu, spinach, and cheese. Because I ordered so much, the nice Mr. Arancino offered me a couple of the new arancini flavour he's testing - Thai Curry. He mentioned that he's working with another food truck, Super Thai, in its flavour and promotion when they release it.

Cheese Arancini
Menu Description: Vegetarian. Called “arancini al burro” in Sicily. For those who love melted cheese, these. Mozza-filled arancini are simple and delicious!

Cheese Arancini is my favourite. If you're going to get only one get this one. It blends perfectly well with the tomato-based sauce.

Spinach Arancini
Menu Description: Vegetarian. Another favourite with Sicilians. This creamy spinach and Mozza filled arancino pairs the goodness of spinach with delectable risotto rice.

It's creamy for sure, but I still prefer the Cheese Arancini. I am unsure if it's not creamy enough, but I feel like the Spinach is lacking in flavour.

Vegetable Ragu Arancini
Menu Description: Vegetarian. All the deliciousness of the traditional beef ragu arancini without the meat. Fresh Mozza in the middle included.

I prefer the Beef Ragu. It tasted better than the Vegetable Ragu Arancini, but if you're a vegetarian, this is definitely a solid option.

Special not-yet-released item: Curry Arancini

I love curry! The number one on my list is Japanese curry, and the second is Thai curry. This is a vegetarian Thai curry with mushrooms. I enjoyed this (maybe not as much as the cheese), and please don't dip it in the tomato sauce. Eating this is like eating Thai curry and crispy rice. The coconut is the most pronounced flavour.

Meat Arancini

They have three meat flavours for today - Salmon, Beef Ragu, and a Savory Special, which is bacon.

Salmon
Menu Description: Our traditional risotto ball is filled with wild pink salmon prepared in a sweet and tangy seafood sauce. Don’t like fish? These will change your mind!

I love salmon, and this has a good salmon flavour, but I don't like salmon in arancini.

Savoury Special: Bacon

This is the most "loose" of all the flavours we tried. What I meant is that the bacon is falling out of the ball.

Beef Ragu
Menu Description: Delicious risotto rice surrounding a traditional Sicilian ground beef ragu and gooey fresh Mozza center. A taste straight from the streets of Sicily.

This is so delicious. The Beef Ragu and Cheese are the two flavours I will be ordering again!

Mr. Arancino menu of the day

Dos Amigos Tex-Mex at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF) | July 2, 2021

Feliz viernes! Happy Saturday!

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

In my previous post about Dos Amigos Tex-Mex, I mentioned that I love food trucks because they do not have a long menu. Occasionally, they add items to their menu in the guise of a "Special." Today, Dos Amigos have Nachos as a special item. I chose double cheese, and we took it home to enjoy while watching Doom At Your Service.

Special: Nachos

Nachos
Chips, Pico, Cheese, Chipotle, and Salsa Verde

The Nachos are so delicious! It's cheesy, creamy, crunchy, and there's heat as well, which is a welcome surprise. I enjoyed it more than any items from the Kyu Grill, unfortunately.

Dos Amigos Tex-Mex food truck menu

The nachos just made today so much better.

Kyu Grill at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

Happy Friday! For dinner today, we ordered from KYU Grill. First, it's unfortunate that the JPC (Japanese popcorn chicken) is already sold out. But, to be fair, we arrived at around 7:00 PM, an hour before the event ends. So I guess it's a popular item.

Kyu Grill

Okonomi Hero and Spicy Mayo Frites

They have a combo where you can choose your hero, frites, and a drink. So that's what we ordered. Hubby picked Okonomi Hero, while I chose the Spicy Mayo Frites.

Spicy Mayo Frites and Okonomi Hero

Okonomi Hero
Menu Description: Pork skewer, coleslaw, crispy noodles, okonomi sauce, bonito flakes, green onions, mayo, and sesame seed on our Hawaiian egg bun

The hero is like Japadog flavours, but instead of using hotdogs, they are using skewers. The Spicy Mayo Frites came with the French fries still hot and crunchy. We enjoyed it.

Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp Fries

Printed on the food truck are "Japanese" and "Hawaiian," so I originally thought they're a poke food truck. That said, I wanted an item that makes things "Hawaiian" and found one item called "Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp Fries." The flavour is "fresh" with the mangoes, and of course, it has seafood (shrimp). It's a sweet dish.

Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp Fries
Menu Description: Garlic Shrimp served over Crispy Fries, Mango Sauce, Lettuce, Spicy Mayo, and Cayenne.

Overall, I will come back to try the Japanese popcorn chicken (cause I am a sucker for fried chicken). Otherwise, I'll go back to getting my usual at Japadog.

July 17, 2021 Update

They're back in TGIF today! Woot! Since it's a Saturday, we were there early enough to try their Japanese popcorn chicken. The best thing about this dish is the spicy mayo dip.

Japanese Popcorn Chicken
Light, Crispy Boneless Chicken, served with Spicy Mayo.

REEL Mac and Cheese at Thank Granville It's Food trucks (TGIF)

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) organized Thank Granville It's Food Trucks (TGIF). Every Friday and Saturday from 11 in the morning until 8 in the evening from June through Labour Day, there will be a rotating lineup of food trucks located along West 10th Avenue at Fir Street in front of the Vancouver School Board building.

For dinner today, we grabbed a couple mac and cheese from REEL Mac and Cheese to eat while watching the Vancouver Whitecaps FC game.

With today's meal, we have tried most of the items on their menu. We had The Main Event and Godzilla at The Columbia Streat Food Truck Festival three years ago. Then, we had The Green Mile at VanDusen Botanical Garden. Today, I ordered Some Like It Hot while hubby tried Kevin Bacon.

Note for future us to try the Snoop Dogg and Meat The Parent next time.

It was a wrong move to order mac and cheese today during the heatwave. I was so food coma and felt hotter than I would have been.

I didn't grow up with mac and cheese the way kids in the US and maybe Canada did, so I don't have any strong opinions of what's a good mac and cheese. However, I enjoyed the Kevin Bacon more than the Some Like It Hot. I guess the heatwave weather is a big factor in that.

Some Like It Hot
Gourmet Macaroni & Cheese that packs a lot of heat (Banana peppers & cayenne, chili flakes and a dash of Frank's red hot sauce topped with crispy onions)

Kevin Bacon
Gourmet macaroni & cheese topped with crumbled bacon and a panko parmesan crunch

Stay safe and cool.