Butcher Salt

http://www.butchersalt.com/

https://www.facebook.com/butchersalttruck

Main Location: Minneapolis, Breweries, Etc

              It’s been a long, long winter in this juncture between 2013 and 2014, and I’ve had my share of boring days having to wait for the trucks to come back, and frustration in missed opportunities and futile searches. But finally, the days are warming up, the sun is back, the snow is receding, and the trucks have come back to Minneapolis!

              And just my luck, I had the chance to head down not only on the very first official day back of the year, but to the very first New mobile business of 2014! Butcher Salt has been on my radar for a while after seeing their startup posts, not to mention their signatory concept for unifying their menu items.

              With a veritable selection of different meat-based, American handheld favorites like Hot Dogs, Sliders and a roast beef sandwich called the Ranger, which are then placed next to Hashbrowns and (ugh) a Salad. With not much of a theme between items besides the fact that they might all be found in a stereotypical (though very delicious) Diner, Butcher ramps up each gloriously prepared piece of meat and vegetable with a little seasoning they name, as one would expect, “Butcher Salt.”

               Simply a good quality sea salt infused alongside rosemary, thyme, and other herbs, this large-grained rock is sprinkled liberally over their foods to provide proper seasoning and in-depth dimensions. Or something like that. They even let the grains fall over desserts, like their Salted Caramel and the oddly-placed Crème Brulee.

               Of course it’s not the only thing they rely on; pepperjack and spicy cheese sauce, sautéed peppers, and the required bacon festoon multiple items, like the “Stuffed” Hash Browns (really it’s just layered, but looks like a tasty breakfast item).

               Oh, and they have some of the coolest toys! Look at all of the fun things they got; a special wooden stand for the tablet to do your card-swiping, customized phone case, and the cutest little wooden tip Truck! Reminds me of my own childhood one. These set on top of a display case of various shirts and other memorabilia for us to purchase; seems to be a trend nowadays no?

               So, after multiple months of waiting, it’s time to get back to a full rating review! I just can’t wait for the self-centered indulgence!

 

Food:9

                Despite only being able to purchase two of their menu items, the owners/employees were generous enough to give me a small piece of their Roast Beef to sample the flavor! And damn, it was good; tender, beefy, really moist with that au jus or whatever they keep it in. Craveably salty, but I’d imagine it’d calm down nicely in the whole sandwich.

                Overall I’d probably use that word to describe the whole menu, “Craveable.” Everything I had was just warm and comforting, umami-focused with that poignant sense that properly, fully seasoned food can do which just makes you want it more.

                I felt it a lot with those Sliders. Buns may be toasted, but that crunch is destroyed as soon as you bite into those thick little patties, their juices spreading all over the sturdy bread and your fingers; and you don’t care. The meat is just… oh, these are the closest sliders I’ve ever seen come to those good-quality, thick juicy burgers. It just has that wet, sorta chewy but fully tender texture that slicks around your mouth as you eat it. Just heaven.

                And that’s just the meat. You top this with gooey cheese and grilled onions that are sorta cooked, sorta raw, and with the other toppings taste sorta pickled too, the best expressions of all three. The pickles themselves, which I’m pretty sure are just the simpler, store-bought style, I doubt they made them, but that firm crunch and sharp salt+acid flavor is somehow just perfect with everything else, cutting through and increasing the seasoning aspect ever further. I think I can safely say that these are the best Food Truck Sliders in Minnesota (at least for now).

                As for the Hash Browns, they tasted good, had that nice gooey cheesiness and hash browny flavor; probably wouldn’t mind getting the “stuffed” version if I needed a morning fix one day. However it was all one soft texture, I wish they had been able to actually get the potatoes somewhat crispy/crunchy; really lowered the experience to something I could get at most places.

Holdability: 8

                Basket-based, with multiple items requiring at least one hand to hold part of the food while the other eats, via multiple sliders or needing a fork. Those that could be one-handed, like the beefy Ranger, are quite the juicy messy affair, not that that’s a bad thing; the best burgers and sliders leave half their flavor on the fingers! And aren’t they just nice enough to wrap the baskets completely in foil for those buying multiple items and/or needing to transport it some distance before eating.

                The Crème Brulee stands a bit out of place; I’ve never really considered it street food in any real sense. Placed inside a throwaway foil ramekin, though, it does make it possible to eat while walking, like a caramelized pudding cup!

Price: 8

                 There are two main price points; all sandwiches/main entrée-sized items stand at $8, which seems reasonable based off what I was given (and can imagine for the Roast Beef Sandwich), though I couldn’t see paying that much for the Caprese, basically just cheese and tomatoes. Besides these, Hot Dogs and Side items stand at $5, also reasonable(ish maybe) except for, in my opinion, the Hashbrowns. Just seems too small and simple for anything over even $3, I mean it’s just soft potatoes (not even fried) and cheese (well, and bacon, but sadly they ran out on my visit…). Finally, $4 for the Brulee, not sure if the salted caramel is the same or less, hoping for the latter. Overall it’s great individually though buying multiple items can grey the lines.

Speed: 7.5

                 Average cooking speeds, giving you ample time to have a fun chat and ogle over all the fun doodads!

The TOE: 9.5

                  From the front, I wasn’t really sure I’d get that much of an overall feeling of “place” that I search for, especially due to the generic-ness of using only hot dogs, small burgers, and roast beef for the menu focus. Once you eat it, though, you sorta get it… I think there’s a centered-ness to them, a great personality that rings through the deliciously prepared food. The little doodads help too.

                I still think that having Crème Brulee as the main dessert option is really weird though, sorta off-centers the whole thing a bit. Opposite that, though, the Butcher Salted Caramel sounds AMAZING; I can’t wait to come back and grab it in the Summer (when it’s served). I’d say they’ve reached Official Toe Ring status.

                       Tally: 42/50

Final Thoughts

              Probably one of the better street stops when one has that “Meat” craving, with some good, safe bets centered on the Butcher Salt Sliders and Ranger as the main items to get. Secondarily, if in the mood for breakfast with neither of the main morning trucks on the street, their Stuffed Hash Browns may just be the item to choose among the crowd. And a third highlight, with a great snack or food-truck-day stop for those Caramels. A veritable rolling triple threat.

              Definitely a great business to start off 2014!

Melch’s Meat Wagon

http://melchsmeatwagon.com/

https://twitter.com/MelchsMeatWagon

Main Location: Minneapolis

             New to the scene, Melch’s Meat Wagon is already making an impact with its Big Bull of a Food Truck, standing massively next to most any truck it’s parked by. Brown, rough, with a giant red steer decorating its side, Melch’s firmly identifies itself in the eyes of us seekers of the bloody, of the fatty, of the MEAT.

            True to their name, burgers is their game (well that and a fried pork and chicken sandwich). Toppings are pretty simple, they also offer a vegetarian black bean, but more importantly any burger can be either single or double. The true claim to fame, however, is the “Melch Me:” an artery-clogging, heart-stopping stack of a burger, chicken breast, two slices of cheese, and bacon, all held together in a toasted pretzel bun (as are their other burgers).  THAT is what I got on my first stop.

            In an interesting turn of events, it seems I wasn’t the only person reviewing Melch’s on the day in question. Right after ordering my burger, I see someone in a checkered cap pop out of their front door, waving a camera and telling me that my burger’s going to be the star of its own photo shoot. After watching him talk to the truck owner about where to take it, getting a base and napkin, etc, I finally had the chance to ask if he was with the truck or not.

To my delight, it seems Thrillist was doing their little post on it as well (it’s fun, see it Here), and we both got the chance to share a nice little talk about food trucks and the different sites devoted to them. Listings, mixed review, or the full focused blogs such as this own, it was fun to discuss the various benefits of each. He also mentioned the Owner’s plans on introducing the idea of “interesting meat items;” think game, but I have nothing to prove that. Either way, I’m already excited at the thought, and I’ll be sure to head straight back soon as they start.

Now, the real fun in the day came in being able to take a picture of the guy taking a picture of my burger! Look at him ANGLE that shot!

Yeah, that burger’s posing nice and sexy, that pretzel bun barely covers its skin. So indecent how it shows him its bacon too…

Overall, as you see they were able to get it into a nice, perfect little stack. As we joked, “It’s like a McDonalds commercial… only real.” Shared a laugh, I took my burger, transferred it back to the to-go box…

And immediately ruined the perfectness. Oh well, doesn’t diminish the taste.

 

Food: 9

              Let me tell you how good this burger is; by now, I had already eaten all of my House of Hunger dog (the monster that it is), and I had PLANNED on only eating part of the burger for now. Despite my obvious love for all that’s delicious and drags me closer to the verge of a heart-attack, I am currently watching my weight. Problem is, the burger wouldn’t let me… it was gone in under 10 minutes.

            Aside from the burger itself, which I think is already at the point of rivaling Neato’s for best Burger Truck (I really need to go back soon to make the final confirmation), this single item is filled with everything it should be. The chicken is juicy and cooked well, pretzel bun is toasted fantastically and brings an extra flavor along with its firm base, and that bacon… it ain’t the thin kind. Taking a look at it, one may be dubious of the boring American cheese, but when used with the right foods one can see why they’ve become so popular in our culture.

            And the burger itself… cooked to medium-well, it still retains that nice burger juiciness. It has to be their own grind, or at the very least a mixing of good-quality, high-fat beef. It just has this little note, little angle in its flavor that reminds me of R Burger Bar, which, before sadly closing, was home to the best burger that I have eaten to this day (I still think of how heavenly my first bite there was). The fact that there’s even a slight reminiscence of this special note earns them huge a lot of respect in my book.

            As for fries and rings, though I haven’t ordered, from what I’ve seen in pictures and other plates, not to mention how well they must fry their pork and chicken, it’d be strange to consider them low or even average in quality.

Holdability: 6.5

            Juicy and served in a big to-go container, this is certainly a sit-down burger. Ultimate experience depends on the items; fried chicken and pork are likely to be much easier to eat and walk, but the Melch Me and Self-Centered (stuffed) would err on the other side.

Price: 8.5

 Prices range $6-8, with $9 for the awesome Melch Me, and one can pay only 2 extra dollars to make these burgers a double (they aren’t thin burgers, so it’s quite the little deal). Overall, the only price points which I dislike are the $3 and $4 for the fries and onion rings.

Speed: 7

 It can take a bit to get the burgers made, but that’s just going through the proper cooking of an awesome product (doing the pressings, bit of basteing, steam, etc). Definitely worth the extra minute.

The TOE: 8

             Having only started recently, Melch’s has already started paving its own path among our horde of Trucks, building a sense of self and reputation with their little bundles of meaty goodness. They’ve really communicated that specialization on the burger front, and I expect their future to be filled with hordes of loving fans. Ultimately, their pure identity isn’t quite there yet, but I think they’ll be pretty close once they get those game and alternative meat items going. I am very much looking forward to when they do, and will certainly be there to prove witness to their ongoing evolution.

                        Tally: 39/50

                        (So here’s a fun little piece of info; I just realized that Melch’s currently has the exact same score as their burger rival Neato’s. Further proof that these two are neck in neck in the goal of best Burger Truck)

Final Thoughts

            A must try, definitely one to go for if you have the chance to sit down after ordering, or if you’re just in a Burger mood. Of the selection, they’re all good, but I would go for the Cowboy or Self-Centered as your first item; the Cowboy itself is topped with Onion Rings, so it’s a good way to try them without having to order a side. If you don’t mind spending the extra couple bucks, though, definitely shoot for the Melch Me; combo of Burger and Chicken is always a fun, tasty experience. Same said for getting side of fries and rings; price is not one I would do immediately, but if you have the extra it’s a definite.

            If you absolutely have get something to eat here but still need to walk, the Fried Pork and Chicken Parm are your end-game.