The Truck Stops Here...

... but the line didn't. On Saturday night in Downtown Los Angeles with the sky preparing its change into night we attended Dwell on Design Night at the Movies at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. For the event, Dwell magazine designed a roving food row in front of the museum. There were a few tall tables covered with white cloth facing the different food trucks in the open sun. Represented at the mobile food baazar were Let's Be Frank (hot dogs), Barbie Q's (bbq sandwiches and such), GreenTruck (organic healthy fare), Coolhaus’ (ice cream sammies), Sprinkles (cupcakes), and Icycle (gourmet popsicles).

With few options and long lines we ruminated over what to eat. For our pre-show dinner we opted for a pulled pork sandwich and a braised beef sandwich from Barbie Q's. We accompanied this with herb-seasoned fries and a watermelon fresca from the GreenTruck. The sandwiches were basic but tasty, full of barbeque-y goodness on a french roll. The side dishes of cole slaw and baked beans were unappealing and lacking flavor, but with such a big sandwich we really didn't need them. The fries were crisp, delightfully oily, and fragrant from the rosemary sprinkled on top. The watermelon fresca outshined the entrees. It was refreshing and lightly sweet. It had an almost-thick texture as if you were biting right into the watermelon through your straw. We finished our meal in time for the first screening - The Greening of Southie, a documentary on the construction of the first green building in Boston.

During our intermission we headed outside for a second go at the restaurant truck row, but this time for dessert. Already having been familiar with Sprinkles cupcakes I went straight for the cold stuff. I have read a lot lately about Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches and was eager to finally try one. Again there was a line. It seemed to be the theme of food truck night. Waiting patiently to order I had an opportunity to really study my ice cream and cookie pairing options. I decided on ginger cookies and strawberry ice cream, while R choose sugar cookies with cinnamon ice cream. The ice cream sandwich was good - I will give you that - and I did eat every last bite. But the cookie was a bit too hard and with each tough bite I forced more and more ice cream to squeeze out of the sandwich. The strawberry ice cream was also not what I expected, more icy than creamy. R's sugar cookie was not quite as tough, it crumbled more with each bite. For the sake of research we decided to try the Icycle popsicles after our ice cream sandwich indulgence. Not quite a truck, Icycle is a guy on a bike attached to a little freezer riding around the lines of people. The no line factor of Icycle was a plus. We ordered the mojito flavor and the strawberry lemonade. Upon first glance I thought 'why am I paying $2.25 for this small thing?’ but after one taste the reason it clear- they are amazing. Simple, flavorful, and perfect. This was the clear winner of the evening. I was now content and ready for the second screening- a documentary about the architectural photography of Julius Shulman.

All in all, it was a wonderful summer night. Only a few trucks stopped by, but they were enough to design a tasty and entertaining evening.