Hump Day Happy Hour!

The food truck scene in the Capital Region has grown quite a bit within the past few years with a loyal fan base. I remember when Slidin' Dirty was just starting on the scene. Now their avocado fries have taken them all the way to Live with Kelly and Michael and lines have gotten longer, making the wait even sweeter. Not too long ago, we had missed the Food Truck Showcase at the Saratoga Eagle's Club and were pretty bummed out.  Lo and behold the kickoff of the Food Truck Showcase of Upstate New York's Hump Day Happy Hour at Shmaltz Brewing Company last Wednesday. It was the first warm and beautiful day of the summer, perfect for enjoying a few cold brews alongside our favorite food trucks.  

Naturally, our first stop was for beer. We were at Shmaltz Brewing Co. after all. $10 will get you a flight of 5 beers plus a souvernir tasting glass, even when the food trucks aren't around. Armed with a cold one, we were ready to hit the food trucks. J's been waiting to hit Slidin' Dirty since last summer. Sadly avocado fries weren't on the menu but we gladly substituted for jalapeno beef cheddar egg rolls. It's a fun twist on a favorite appetizer and tastes even better with chipotle cream dipping sauce. The beer, in this case a hoppy rye lager (David's Slingshot), paired great with the salty, crispy, and greasy eggrolls. We also shared a duo of sliders: The Dirty Soprano (beef slider with fresh mozzarella, pesto, balsamic glaze, and fried tomato) and The Avocado Bleu (opting for a fried tomato veggie substitute with blue cheese, arugula, crispy onions, and horseradish cream). As always, these are little bites packed with flavor. It might seem like a lot of ingredients for a little bun but it all comes together so well.

Eat Good Food was a new experience for us and thankfully lived up to its name. We split a grilled bruschetta flank steak wrap and flavors were spot on. It was generously filled with juicy, well-seasoned slices of medium rare steak and a fresh mix of tomato and basil added a burst of flavor with each bite. We also couldn't say no to a homemade brownie either. It was the perfect mix of a cakey and chewy brownie, not too sweet but plenty of chocolate flavor to satisfy any sweet tooth. Another food truck that was new to us was Kona Ice. It's a throwback to childhood that's fun and interactive. You get to mix your own snow cone syrups, and the best part was sipping the rainbow of flavors at the bottom of the cup.

As if this wasn't enough food already, we added a cheese pizza to the mix. What's beer without pizza? Among the food truck mix was Pies on Wheels, an actual wood-fired pizza oven on the back of a pickup truck. It was a pretty impressive contraption spitting out a hot, fresh pie in no time. Wood-fired pizzas have an awesome crispy and charred crust and the texture did not disappoint. Sadly the cheese had an odd texture, almost melted American cheese-esque but the tangy pizza sauce and a generous sprinkle of fried garlic helped. Lastly, because we couldn't leave any food truck behind, we added an order of baklava from Flavors of Lebanon to go. The crispy, flakiness of phyllo dough was there but sadly the grainy texture and excess of sugar threw us off a bit.

All in all, Hump Day Happy Hour was a fun and tasty mid-week outing. It was nice to enjoy the local food truck scene without the crazy long lines of festivals and grab a flight of beer to boot. We're hoping to hit a few more of these this summer!