Chris’ take: Sophie and I took today off to head up to Seattle and hit up Marination Mobile, another one of Seattle Met’s top 13 food trucks in the Seattle area. On Fridays, they are located right outside Uwajimaya, our favorite Asian grocery store in the Puget Sound, a definite bonus. Sophie is the vegetarian Korea-phile, so I’m sure she’ll have plenty to say about her experience today. Hopefully, it won’t include mentioning that we had to endure the amazing smells coming from this food truck as we drove past it several times, since I had some technical difficulties figuring out how to get into Uwajimaya’s parking lot. At one point, Sophie almost got out of the car to order before the line got too long.
And the line was long, but it moved along remarkably quickly, giving us just the right amount of time to peruse the menu and decide what to have. I couldn’t decide, so I decided to sample a variety of items: a kalbi beef soft taco, a spicy pork soft taco, an aloha (kalua pork) slider, and a spam slider. All of them were done perfectly, the meat juicy and tender, but not soggy or over-seasoned. It’s the toppings that really shine here, adding the perfect crunch of homemade slaw, with spicy, flavorful sauces. Out of the four, the spam slider was definitely my favorite. Spam is one of my favorite meats (I think it’s a meat), and the spam slider is put together masterfully, with the abundance of flavorful toppings and sauces, perfectly balanced, so the salty deliciousness of the spam could still shine through. All nestled comfortably inside a soft, fluffy bun, lightly toasted. I knew from the line and the aroma as we pulled up that we were in for a treat, and I wasn’t disappointed!
Sophie’s take: Lucky for me, I had plenty of time to get excited for this food truck-ing experience… Not only days before we went, but the time we spent continuously driving PAST the food truck itself. Countless times, I “mentioned” that we take “this road over here” or “that road over there”, but to no avail! There we were, spending our wonderful father-daughter time driving past our final destination.
But, this food was for sure worth the wait! Not only did it smell almost too-good-to-be-true, but it tasted like it too! I ordered the kimchi fried rice bowl, with a fried egg and tofu. Now, give me a second. I must love them for being vegetarian-friendly AND Korean. I have made kimchi fried rice quite a few times, and not once was it even close to as amazing as this. Their kimchi was at the perfect amount of fermentation, adding the perfect amount of sour and sweetness. Just imagine, a perfect mixture of sour, sweet, and spicy… All mixed together with warm, steamy tofu and a perfectly fried egg. Yes, it was that amazing.
The 411:
Marination Mobile moves around, plus they have a brick and mortar joint as well. Check them out here:
marinationmobile.com
Twitter: @curb_cuisine
Facebook: Marination
FoodTruckQuest 