The quality of the food is almost always the most crucial factor in dining out. Except, I recently realized, at a food truck fair.
June sun beamed upon Koots’ signature windmill and a distinct fried food smell elevated folks’ arrival to the Spenard Food Truck Carnival, where 12 brightly-painted trucks prepared to serve their specialties to joyous Alaskans.
Good food was still important — we were all there to eat. But over the course of a lunch hour spent swapping bites with shared picnic table strangers and enjoying a meal outdoors amid a stretch of perfect Anchorage weather, the actual quality of the food felt secondary.
Good weather or not, creativity and talents of a variety of local chefs and entrepreneurs is on full display at the weekly food truck fair located in the parking lots of Koots bar in Spenard. The trucks vary from week to week, but between myself and three friends, we managed to sample food from eight of the 12 trucks at this particular Thursday’s Spenard Food Truck Carnival.
A savory, very flakey “Hog Wild” handheld miniature pie from High Five Hand Pies started us off. As we crunched into flakey dough, we found incredibly melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork with a sweet barbecue sauce. The woman at our table gave us one of her double sized thick chocolate chip cookies from Beignet Today, which was served hot and ridiculously gooey. My partner scarfed down a catfish Po’ Boy with crinkle fries from B Street Gumbo in record time, thanks to perfectly cooked, tender fish. My buzzer went off next, and Reserva Venezolana served me a chicken arepa, which came topped with a mild white cheese and crunchy lettuce, and a “ground meat” (beef) empanada, which had a slightly sweet dough made extra flavorful when dipped in the accompanying cilantro crema.
We didn’t stop there. New patrons sat next to us at the picnic table with a huge portion of fried churros from Garcia’s Mini Chimis, sharing one with me when she saw me eyeing them somewhat… aggressively. My friend shared a spoonful of her banana pudding from Babycakes Cupcakes, insisting it was the best dessert she’d ever had in Anchorage. It was caramel-y without a hint of that synthetic banana flavoring, and augmented by a crunchy, buttery cookie. I did not disagree with her assessment.
BruceSkis Turkish Food served up a chicken and rice bowl with each element — chicken, rice, veggies and yogurt sauce — packed with tons of garlic and fresh flavor. Finally, the Zaap Chicken Salad Rice Bowl from Gai and Thai Bowls was also reported to be a sensation of textures and Thai spices, with crispy chicken that stole the show.
Some bites of food were amazing. Some were pretty good. But honestly, I would still have had a good time with 100% “pretty good.”
If you go to the Spenard Food Truck Carnival, a few words of advice: sit on the open end of a partially-occupied picnic table and greet your new neighbors — the food and weather-related small talk will almost certainly elevate your experience and mood. Also, bring at least one friend, preferably more, so you can sample multiple trucks. Finally, come hungry and try something you’ve never tasted before.
As we wiped barbecue sauce from our fingers and waved goodbye to our picnic table acquaintances, I reflected on the fact that good meals entail a lot more than food. They’re about atmosphere, sharing bites, and an ease that happens when a meal brings people together. At the Spenard Food Truck Carnival, that is what’s always on the menu.
Jenny Weis writes for a variety of Alaska nonprofits and causes in between keeping up on Alaska's doughnut scene, sliding on snow, and gawking at cool plants and rocks along local trails.
