Food Truck Review- "Louks To Go" - Taste of Louks, Chef's Choice Combo

"Louks on to Go" Food Truck Review – The $10 Louks  Combo (gyro, fries and louks!) A little piece of Greece through the portal of a food truck.

It’s Wednesday, so that means it’s food truck day at the Teller Food Truck Meetup Spot in Irvine.  There were a lot of food trucks today including a sushi truck!, but hat one will have to wait for another review. I had already been tweeting @loukstogo to come to the Teller Meetup spot, and today he answered to my requests and showed up!

My favorite dish the lamb burger was not being served  today :(  As a result, I had to branch out to new items.  After scouring the menu for a couple of minutes, Kevin Johns (my consultant) and I both decided to try one of the daily deals. What did we find? A Combo plate! I have dubbed it the Louks Combo, it is really called “Any Gyro, Any Fries and Any Louks”. When the Greek

Gyro Options

• Beef


• Chicken


• Shrimp


• Sausage


• Vegetarian

Fries Options

• Original with sea salt and oregano


• Feta Fries


• Tzatziki Fries


• Feta Fries


• Spicy Feta Fries


• Honey Feta Fries

What in the hell is a "Louk " you maybe asking your foodie blogger and what flavors do they come in?  A (Loukoumades) “LOUK” is a deep fried greek doughnut (similar to a Bignet) and topped with something sticky sweet. The Louks came in these flavors

• Honey cinnamon


• Strawberry


• Raspberry


• Peanut Butter Nutella

Kevin’s Chef Surprise Bag Contents and Review:  Gyro = Beef;  Fries = Spicy Feta ; Louk = Strawberry

The Spicy Feta Fries– The fries were of the thinner variety with a pleasant flavor. The spicy feta was more like a thick sauce, "...almost like a casserole due to the thickness and how it holds together like serving a Feta casserole on my fries". Kevin ate the fries with a fork, "where I come from, you have to eat this type of dish with a fork".

The Beef Gyro was very full in content, "it was a large portion of gyro meant and filling, the pita was soft and fresh, better than in Michigan. I didn't recognize it at first". "The French Fries in the gyro didn’t make or break it for me". Kevin indicated  he would like Julianed pickled beets or other Med root vege. The meat was good and thinks he had the lamb/beef gyro. The pieces were sliced thick and no burnt.

The Strawberry Louks were excellent.....aside from the topping spilling out of the container, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Kevin at dessert first, and ate it all....he had leftovers of his Gyro and Fries. He told me not to post that ;)

Tom's Surprise Bag of Contents and Review: Gyro= sausage Gyro Meat; Fries = Fire Feta; Louks= Peanut Butter Nutella

Fire Feta Fries- I pretty much agree with Kevin on his post on the consistency of the fire feta, although I will say that perhaps it was a little too viscus and would have preferred it to be a little more chunky than casserole. The flavor of the topping tasted very good, with a smooth texture and spicy flavor balanced by the feta. The fries were a little thin for me, making the a little more greasy, although overall they were crispy and an excellent flavor I would give it a 3 out of 5 on my scale, meaning I would order it again but I wouldn't run back to my office telling everyone to try it like I was Paul Revere.  I forgot to get Kevin's rating.

Sausage Gyro? - It is my guess that my gyro was the sausage gyro, it had a darker color than Kevin's, but the meat was still in the strips like Kevin's Gyro Meat.  The content of the Gyro consisted of Pita (decent quality), lettuce, Onions, Tomato, Tzazitki Sauce, and Sausage Gyro Meat and French Fries in the gyro.  The produce was fresh and the Tzazitki was creamy and good flavor, on par with my favorite greek restaurants. The fries were a nice touch in my opinion, as they changed up the consistency of the gyro filling and tied it all together by adding a little "crunchy" to each bite.  My complaint is that the meat for both the beef gyro and the sausage(??) gyro still not sure to be honest) is that the meat came from frozen strips out of a box. I would challenge Louks to one day invest in the Gyro Rotisserie, I would pay more if it were fresh, toasted and carved fresh.  Overall, I really enjoyed the Gyro. It had a great flavor, pleasant mouth feel and perfect balance of flavors and content. Even though the meat was frozen,  it was seasoned nicely and tasted very good.

Peanut Butter Nutella Louks - When I pulled out the container I had no idea was to expect, as I never had a Louk. At first I thought the topping was chocolate, but when I took a bite I discovered it was a creamy Nutella!  The Louk itself was crispy on the outside, full of air pockets on the inside and gooshy! When placed in the mouth, it was crispy on the tongue, but when you bite down it was creamy goodness! Now mixed with the Nutella...it was a small bite of bliss.

 FROM A PRIOR VISIT...........

Greek Lamb Burger - The best dish on the menu in my opinion! The bun is a homemade style Brioche Bun that is fluffy yet buttery dense. The Meat is a pure lamb patty that was extremely juicy on the first

[caption id="attachment_67" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Lamb Burger and Tzazitki Fries"][/caption]

 bite. It was topped with honey humus, onions, and grilled onions and red peppers......seriously a perfect combination!  This was a 5 in my opinion, meaning I would eat this whenever I get a chance and would tell my friends and family about it. This dish is restaurant quality

Tzazitki Fries-  These are the same fries that I mentioned before, but drenched in their yummy  creamy Tzazitki.  This is a very  heavy dish,  but a great flavor.  This dish really did need a fork and knife.

Overall an excellent lunch truck.

Review of a Business Lunch at The Daily Grill (Humus Trio and Blackened Ahi Tuna Salad)

Review of a Business Lunch at The Daily Grill (Humus Trio and Blackened Ahi Tuna Salad)

Today, I had a business lunch and had to choose somewhere quick and near the office. Based on prior experience, The Daily Grill in Irvine (Off Jamboree / Dupont)  is always quick and provides high-end fare. 

[caption id="attachment_43" align="alignleft" width="287" caption="Daily Grill"][/caption]

 As expected, we were seated within 5 minutes of arrival and the staff was professional and prompt.

I ordered the "Humus Trio Appetizer" and the "Blackened Ahi Tuna Salad".  The  appetizer consisted of a Kalamata olive flavored humus,  standard chickpeas humus and a roasted red pepper humus. The accompaniments included 6 triangles of pita, sliced cucumber and radishes for the folks attempting to watch their weight or gluten intake.  My first impression is that all three humus' had a rich and creamy texture, yet

[caption id="attachment_40" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The Daily Grill Humus Trio"][/caption]

maintained a solid density. They sat on the plate like scoops of ice cream.

The Kalamata style humus had a purple hue and visible pieces of Kalamata olives speckled in the humus. It had a gentle smell of Kalamata and chickpea and a creamy mouth feel. The taste was a balanced savory of Kalamata and cream of the chickpea puree. The flavor was good, but I would not eat more than a couple bites of this one as it grows old after the fourth bite.

The Red Pepper Humus used roasted red peppers that provided a slightly sweet and smokey flavor and smell. as it was well-integrated into the body of the humus.The taste of the red pepper humus was actually intensified after I swallowed the humus.

The Standard Humus was well-flavored with mediterranean seasoning and reminded me of an old girlfriend you go to visit after a series of dates with strangers.

My main complaint,  not enough of the Pita on the plate. We ended having too much humus and not enough pita, a shame.  On my scale of 1-5, I gave it a 3. The score of 3 means I would order it again, but not sure if I would rush to call my  friends telling them that they have to try it.

The Blacked Ahi Salad was actually one of the better Ahi Salads that I have tried in a long time. The salad itself was a combination of mixed greens (a very good balance of sweet and pungent), carrots, red peppers, green beans and artichokes. I also noticed that there were Almond shaving in the salad, a nice touch. The dressing was an Asian Style Ginger dressing with a very pleasant flavor. For my preference, there was a little too much dressing on the salad.

  The star of the salad was of course the Seared Ahi Tuna. The sliced Ahi was seasoned with a generous dusting of paprika and lightly seared. The execution of the Ahi searing was near perfection with just a slight browning around the slices, leaving the flesh moist and naturally

[caption id="attachment_41" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Daily Grill's Blackened Ahi Tuna Salad (Lunch Menu)"][/caption]

 segmented along the muscle segments. This was a very well done salad, balancing the size of the salad components to create a pleasant mouth feel and easy to consume. This second part is important for a business lunch, as you need the ability to speak quickly and swallow your food even quicker.

My main complaint of my experience today is that the  restaurant did not have the calories and nutritional information for the Ahi Tuna salad. I was provided a nutritional guide, but it did not include the lunch specials. I requested this information from the waiter, who did his best to work with the kitchen crew to calculate the calories. Unfortunately I had to leave before they could figure out the calorie count. I left my email with the Manager, who promised to email me with the calorie count. It is now 9:50 and have not heard back.  I will post tomorrow with an update if this was resolved.

UPDATE: 04/13 2:10 pm - I received an email back from the daily grill with the nutritional information. Although, I wish I would have read this before ordering, I am very pleased and feel appreciated that I received the calorie count. Base on how my email was elevated through the Daily Grill, it is obvious that they took this matter seriously. Thank you Daily Grill Management!

Overall good business lunch location with great food choices. Very fresh ingredients, professional staff and good ambience.