Just in time for our move out of this neighborhood (thanks, God!), the Green Castle food cart pod (at 20th and NE Everett) has opened up just down the street from the Merc‘s earthly offices. Ned, Courtney and I trudged over there for lunch today, and were not displeased by the results! Check out some quick ‘n’ dirty reviews after the jump—and be sure to share your opinion as well!
Of the six or seven carts currently taking up residence at the Green Castle, the Viking Soul Food cart and Cackalack’s Hot Chicken Shack are the one’s stirring up the most interest. Court and Ned tried a couple offerings from both, and here’s what Ms. Ferguson had to say:
The chicken and dumplings (from Crackalack) were peppery, thick, and delish. It was a nice stomach filler, after my too-small, but very good Viking Soul Food wrap… salmon lefkajdkajd, or something?
It’s called “LEFSE,” you idiot. It’s a delicious potato flatbread that I admit I wouldn’t have known about myself if I hadn’t been in a doomed long-term relationship with a ‘wegian. Now Ned’s thoughts:
I tried a couple of Viking Soul Food’s lefse wraps. I’d never tried lefse before, and the wraps were both great: the smoked salmon and dill was creamy and full of flavor, and the meatball one was hearty and tangy. The wraps were two for $8, but they were both pretty slender. You might want to think about three if you’re really hungry.
The spicy fried chicken from Cackalacks was similarly great: A big slab of breast meat in crunchy, spicy batter, sitting on a piece of Texas toast. The mild was plenty hot. I can’t wait to go back and try their sandwiches and dumplings.
As for my lunch, I usually try to avoid anything “foreign”—that includes my home state of Alabama. So I passed on lefse and chicken and went straight to the hot dog stand. (There are TWO such establishments in the Green Castle, but only Bailey’s Gourmet Hot Dogs was open—so it wins by default!) Bailey’s has your usual range of dog preparation—including God’s favorite method of dressing a hot dog, which is of course, “Chicago Style”—but I decided to slip through the back door of the menu and try their Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.
The verdict? NOT BAD. A nice fluffy roll that adequately sucked up the juices carried a pile of crispy-edged beef bits ladled with cheese, peppers and onions. I may have preferred more meat—shock—but this cheese steak was a solid, non-embarrassing entry. Plus it comes with not-too-garlicky garlic fries that left my mouth extra kissable, I think.
[Programming Note: There is outdoor and INDOOR seating, thanks to a tent and a trailer on the Green Castle grounds. I didn’t want to eat my lunch in the trailer because I’m in a bitchy mood, and Ned always looks at me funny when we’re in small, enclosed places. (Remember the time we rode the Alpine Roller Coaster together at Enchanted Forest, Ned? Yeah, I bet you do.)]
There are other carts in Green Castle yet to be reviewed, and we’ll send someone over to check ’em out soon enough. Until then, if you’ve already formed your smarty-pants opinion, we’d enjoy reading it in the comments. HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT LUNCH!
My mom makes lefse every Thanksgiving. You’re supposed to put butter and jam on it, or eat it in place of rolls with Thanksgiving dinner. This is all wrong.
What happened on the Alpine Roller Coaster?
The Sandwichy cart (forget what it’s called, something not memorable) is pretty good too. I got a P-town chicken sandwich, was adequate for my needs.
My vote: Terrible! This is the worst food cart pod ever! First of all, there’s two hot dog carts. Who puts two hot dog carts in one cart pod?
Even the non-hot dog carts are super meat-heavy, so for vegetarians, there’s only three lunch options: a $4 veggie dog, a grilled cheese sandwich, or something from the Thai cart. I’ve gone with Thai cart twice… and though the couple that runs it seems nice, the food is pretty bad. Like, I could probably only finish half of what I ordered? Both times?
Thanks gawd we’re moving downtown. /endrant
I live like one block from this pod. And I was excited about it… until I read Sarah’s comment. Like Sarah, I eat vegetarianally, and so now I’m worried about “my options.” But still, I look forward to exploring the offerings on my own.
Sarah, hot tip: my co-worker says the mushroom balls lefse from VSF is really good. And vegetarian.
lefsa butter and brown sugar
Idea for a low-budget film: two hot dog carts open up in the same pod. Hijinks (and hot links) ensue.
It’s the cheapest, easiest variety of cart to own, right? But two are too many for one pod, I agree.
In fact, you could say it isn’t kosher.
you should submit some photos to http://lookatthisfuckinhipsterfoodtruck.tu…
“Just in time for our move out of this neighborhood (thanks, God!)”
You certainly wont be missed, douchebags.
The Wrapture guys make meat-less options and are available as wraps or salads. Definitely going back even if I don’t close by. Next time I’m trying the waffles and the burgers looked really good.
Sorry, but I won’t be back. I just returned from a walk up the street to the food carts. I’ve been going there since they first opened, after anxiously awaiting their arrival. Here’s my experience, in hopes someone even cares….
I know that the food I take requires a little longer to prepare, so i stopped by, placed my order and paid for it, and ran a quick errand. When I returned, I discovered that they were out of something, and it wasn’t ready. So i got my money back. Went to 2nd booth, when I placed my order, is was told “Well, that’s going to take a while, I hope you have time to wait” No, by now, I didn’t, but if he’d just made what I’d ordered I would have happy, and would have never known it would take 7 minutes. So i just walked to cart #3…Ordered the special taped on the window. “We don’t have that today” WHAT? i guess that’s what makes it the “Special” it’s not even available!! So Strike Three… Every worker was rude, complaining to customers in front of me, how slow it was and that they were moving out in a couple of weeks, etc..
A little civil customer service would be nice. I guess it’s the “Special” … unavailable.