Franktuary Truck (Mobile)

I have previously raved about the locavore frank at Franktuary, but the location and hours of the shop aren't exactly the most convenient for me.  Luckily, to get my locavore frank fix, Franktuary has a truck that roams about town serving a seasonal rotation of two frank dressings at a time as well as their version of poutine.  The best way to track the truck is via Franktuary's Twitter feed, but these days the truck can generally be found at 27th and Jane in the South Side on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Wednesdays and allegedly Fridays it is parked right next to the Sailors and Soldiers Memorial in Oakland.  The first time I visited the truck, about two months ago, I had the Oahu topping, with pineapple, green onions, bacon, and teriyaki sauce.  I didn't take a photo of it, but it was delicious, and I would get it again if they bring it back in the future.  More recently, I visited the truck twice.  On my first visit I ordered two franks, knowing from past experience that one is not quite filling enough.  The first is the Brasil, with mashed potatoes, corn salsa, potato chips, and bacon.  Interesting combination, well executed, and as usual, the locavore frank is a total win.  I understand that the Brasil is only available until the end of this week, but I'm looking forward to seeing what new flavor next week brings.

Locavore Frank, Brasil Style ($6)

The other frank I got was the Bangkok style, with shaved carrots, green onions, and a Thai satay sauce.  I like this more between the two franks, but I'm a Thai food fan so that's not saying much.  Who would've thunk it to put satay sauce on a hot dog though?  Pretty cool.

Locavore Frank, Bangkok Style ($6)

The following week I returned to the Franktuary truck strictly to give their Poutine another try.  I had had it once a while back but it seems they had recently spiced up the gravy a bit, so I thought I'd check out the newer version.  As I was tasting the poutine, many thoughts went through my head, yet I struggled with how I would describe Franktuary's poutine on my blog, and in the end decided just to be, well, frank (pun intended), so here goes.

For those not familiar, poutine is a Canadian dish that consists of fries, gravy, and fresh cheese curds.  At Franktuary, the individual ingredients were fantastic:  The fries were perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside; the Cannonball curds from Arsenal Cheese were fresh and tasty, while the gravy was a bit subtle but not too bad.

"Poutine"

However, as a Canuck, and perhaps a bit of a poutine purist, I'd have to say that this isn't exactly what comes to mind when I think of "poutine."  As I mentioned in a previous post, poutine fries should be neither too thick nor too thin to allow for the right balance of other flavors, and should be drenched in gravy and cheese.  Otherwise, it's just...fries with some toppings.  In fact, I think I might have been able to taste the gravy better if the fries had not been so dominating, both in size and in relative quantity.

Gravy and cheese gone too soon. *Sad face*

This is not to say that it wasn't an enjoyable dish, which is why I struggled to figure out how to describe it.  As I said, the individual ingredients were Fabulous with a capital "F."  I finished the fries even though the gravy and cheese were long gone, and I can see myself coming back for it again in the future.  If you're looking for good fries, the Franktuary Truck's got it.  But just know that this isn't the same as the poutine you might find in Canada.

(P.S. Franktuary - I still love you. *Hug*)