Food Truck Review: The Naaco Truck

Last September, I posted about the Food Truck Revolution. In less than a year, it seems the trucks have done a complete takeover of Calgary’s street scene and are here to stay. More and more trucks are popping up all over of the city, bringing the overall count to eight trucks featured on the YYC Food Truck website to date. Although, judging by what I’ve seen around the city, there has got to be a lot more of them. In particular, one of the newest trucks on the Calgary’s street scene is the Naaco Truck, which I set off to try last Monday.

I’ve got to say that last Monday was the perfect day for food trucking. Sunny with blue skies and cotton candy clouds. That’s why no one minded when there was an increasingly long line at the Naaco Truck that kept getting longer by the second. Parked by Central Memorial Park on 4 St and 12 Ave SW, the Naaco Truck was at a prime location for park-goers and downtown office people alike. By the time  I arrived at around 11:30 a.m., there was a line of about seven. When I finally got my food and left the line to eat, there was more than 20 people!

There are many choices to be made here at the Naaco Truck. For example, you choose to have a naaco, meaning naan bread or substitute that with brown basmati rice. There are combos including a naaco and mogo chips, made of cassava, a root vegetable. You can even add a choice of beverage to that combo: Coco Chai, Licorice Kiss or Spiced Green. In line with their neo-Indian philosophy, the Naaco Truckers have their own take on s’mores called the s’moresa. It includes all of the conventional ingredients of s’mores like graham cracker crumbs, marshmallow, chai icing sugar and Callebaut chocolate, but in an unconventional wrapping: in a samosa! S’mores + samosa= s’moresa. It was a hard choice between chickpea fritters, butter chicken, beef vindaloo and 5 spice pork. Finally, I decided on the Beef Vindaloo on basmati rice, alternative to naan bread, ($8.50)  mogo chips made of cassava ($4), Coco Chai Tea ($3.50) and a smoresa ($2) for a total of $15.50 tax included due to combo prices.

Due to my extensive order, it took a couple of tries to get them all at once. I had to come several times because some of my order was forgotten about. The staff were helpful and eager to do a good job, apologizing for forgetting some of my order. Really, it is understandable, considering the Naaco Truck is one of the newer trucks and town and the fact that lunch time is probably the busiest and most chaotic hours of the day.

The first thing I was handed was the s’moresa with the instructions “Eat the s’moresa first!”. It was warm and gooey like s’mores should be, but a tad too sweet in my opinion. I am not usually a chai tea drinker, but I am glad I gave it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and would admit that it is an acquired taste. After the first couple of bites of the beef vindaloo, I knew I was sold. The basmati rice had a touch of light lemony flavor, which I actually really enjoyed. The braised beef was soft, which could either mean that it took hours to cook or their beef is local, hormone and antibiotic free, Alberta beef. The wonderful texture made up for the fact that it wasn’t as tasty and flavorful as I would have liked. But, to each their own.

The Mogo Chips were a welcome unconventional treat that can be seasoned with four different types of seasoning salt as shown below. Instead of the over-done yam fries, cassava makes for an equally appealing chip with the right amount of crunch and crisp. 

A final thing to note about the Naaco Truck is their involvement in the community. According to their website, they strive to be nice to the environment by using eco-friendly products like compostable cutlery and straws, by offering purified water for $0.50 when you bring your own bottle and by starting a tree-planting initiative. Their meat comes from local farms that refrain using hormones and antibiotics on their animals and their produce is local, organic and Albertan. The Naaco truckers also have a Monthly Cause initiative that “gives customers the opportunity to donate a dollar to charity for a chance to win a free combo at the end of every week.” This month, the Naaco truck gives back to Water School, a global, non-profit organization that aims to provide clean water from sustainable sources in developing countries around the world.

Overall, I found The Naaco Truck to be fresh-tasting and an ideal lunch that would leave you feeling invigorated and healthy instead of sleepy midday. Understandably, Naaco Truck is a new establishment and I am confident that all the little wrinkles in their process will be smoothed out. As long as they can keep doing what they are doing and maybe even take it up a notch, I am sure they will find success in their endeavor and wish them the very best!

For a full menu or more information, visit http://thenaacotruck.com/ or follow @TheNaacoTruck on Twitter. Look for some special things from this bright yellow truck because The Naaco Truck is definitely worth a taste. So hit up the streets this summer, yyc!