To my delight, the Gaztro-Wagon made its way to the Merchandise Mart for lunch today. When my fabulous client called to make sure I was aware of its impending arrival, I grabbed two of my fave foodie co-workers and made a mad dash for the truck.As we approached, we could already see a line growing down the block. People were literally racing there to get a spot. It was complete and utter madness. However, once you scored a position in line, everything moved like a well-oiled machine. This Matt Maroni character is brilliant -- and has to be doing extremely well for himself.
Even though city ordinances state that nothing can be cooked/prepared on a food truck, the Gaztro-Wagon has enough state-of-the-art equipment in it to ensure that the foil-wrapped naanwiches come out piping hot. Plus, Matt works the truck himself and is super friendly. I was very impressed with the whole operation.
Sarah and I split the wild boar belly naanwich and the portobello naanwich. The portobello naanwich was awesome, but definitely very small in comparison to the wild boar belly. If I had ordered only the portobello, I think I would have been hungry after finishing it. (Fortunately, this was not the case... because that boar belly naanwich is very large and very filling.) But don't discount the portobello naanwich due to its slight stature; it's small but mighty. The naan is hot and soft, although mine did fall apart -- likely due to the large amounts of delicious arugula pesto that soaked through portions of it. In addition to portobello mushrooms and the arugula pesto, the portobello naanwich contains creamy goat cheese and shallots, both of which round out the creation perfectly.
The wild boar belly naanwich is a force to be reckoned with, both from a size and flavor standpoint. Made with wild boar belly, fennel, olives, yogurt and shaved red onion, it's extremely rich. The boar belly is delicious, but it almost overpowers the entire sandwich. I thought it was extremely salty in conjunction with the Kalamata olives and that really dominated the flavor profile. I got only the slightest hints of fennel and had no idea that the naanwich contained yogurt or shaved red onion until I consulted the menu afterward. That's sad because both of these elements would have helped to cut the richness and would have made for a much more complex dish. All of that said, I still thought it was a great lunch and would order it again. Even though I didn't think it was the absolute best it could be, it was pretty darn good. Our esteemed creative director Dan got the pork shoulder naanwich, which he enjoyed very much. Considering he knows more about food than almost anyone I know, I'll take his word for it that this was an excellent choice. Especially given my tremendous love of pulled pork in any capacity. I came so close to ordering it -- but opted for the portobello since, again, I am incapable of ordering the same thing as anyone else in the group. However, it's definitely on my list for next time!
All in all, I had a very good experience at the Gaztro-Wagon and now I'm hell bent on making my way on up to the store in the Rogers Park area. Although the product is delicious from the wagon, I have to think that the naanwiches are going to be even better when they don't have to travel at all before hitting the table. The store also features a much more robust menu than what they're able to offer/cart around in the truck. And really, I'd be hard-pressed to find anything on that menu I don't want to try.
In the meantime, I'll be first in line the next time the Gaztro-Wagon rolls up to the Mart at lunch. To track the wagon and learn when it's coming to a location near you, follow it on Twitter here. And it'll definitely work in your favor to make your way to the specified location as quickly as possible, since they do sell out seemingly every place they go!
