Flashback: Food Truck Crawl on the Miracle Mile in LA! (originally published 5/25/11)

I'm visiting friends in SoCal right now.  I didn't get the chance to visit Los Angeles like I normally do; it's mostly California's "Inland Empire" that I'm spending time in.  But last year I spent some food trucking time along LA's Miracle Mile.  As much as our food truck scene is flourishing, LA's is still something to revel in.

- - - - -

Food Truck Crawl on the Miracle Mile in LA! (originally published May 25, 2011)

En route to an hour of eating. I'm following that guy. Okay, I'm going the same direction as that guy, not really following him so to speak.

Tuesday was my day to venture into the wilds of Downtown Los Angeles. I had chosen Tuesday because I was going to a Web Soup taping that evening - fun as always, and the nice people there helped me find my lost keys and even gave me a bottle of water to make me feel better. Awww... (plus, Web Soup Chris Hardwick is coming back to the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse in June).

But I started my day in LA by seeking out food trucks. It all started out the night before when I read on my new phone about the Dim Sum Truck (Twitter: @dimsumtruck - NB: since so many of these food trucks get their word out through Twitter, I will post links to their Twitter feeds. This will be helpful if you visit LA, or if you actually are visiting my Bawlmer-based blog from the City of Angels). It's one of those Android phones (Hey, these things really are useful!!!) and I downloaded one of those free "apps" to tell me where food trucks are. The Dim Sum Truck was at the Miracle Mile yesterday, right across from the LA County Museum of Art (or LACMA). I had even set my GPS to its location (5850 Wilshire Blvd, LA, CA) to just go right there. What I found, however, was more than just the Dim Sum Truck. Oh yes, much, much more.

If you see this across the street, you are in the right place.

In retrospect, there were about sixteen trucks along three blocks of the Miracle Mile, including the Cool Haus ice cream truck (Twitter: @COOLHAUS) on the other side of the street. When I first saw the trucks I almost short circuited: I literally wanted to go to each one, but I knew this was not going to happen. So I had to peruse them all. A few of the many standouts:

* The Wien (Twitter: @thewientruck), one of two wiener trucks there, with regular, all beef, Polish, spicy Polish and (if I remember correctly) veggie dogs all priced around $5, before toppings and stuff. A dog is still going to run you not much more than $6 or $7 if you get a few toppings. And yes there is a bacon dog.
* Bool BBQ (Twitter: @BoolBBQ), which I ate from last year, with its revolutionary Korean BBQ tacos
* La Rue de Paris (Twitter: @laruedeparis), which sells pastries and especially crepes from between $4 and $8.
* No less than two Indian and two Mediterranean trucks, selling everything from tikka masala (New Delhi Express, Twitter: @newdelhiexpress) to pitas (Pita Pusher, Twitter: @pitapusher) to Mediterranean-Mexican fusion (Kabob Express, Twitter: @mykabobexpress).
* And of course, several taco trucks, including one of at least three Korean food trucks (the aforementioned Bool BBQ).

The Dim Sum Truck

After much hemming and hawing, I finally settled on three. The first one was the whole reason I went to the Miracle Mile in the first place: the Dim Sum Truck, which was the very last food truck I stumbled upon. For just $6, I got three pieces each of pork shu mai ($3) and shrimp har gow dumplings ($3), along with a garlicky soy dipping sauce. And I got my food almost instantly, too - warm as is usually the case from dim sum carts, and flavorful. This was as good as I've had dim sum lately, certainly better than your standard "Asian buffet" or "frozen" variety, and as good as the stuff you'll usually find in most restaurants.

dim sum and samosas

The next one I stopped by was the Bollywood Bites food truck (Twitter: @BOLLYWOOD_BITES). I stepped up to it before the enthusiastic guy came out to draw in customers, and went for the cheaper $2 order of potato and pea samosas. Theirs came with two dipping sauces, and were incredibly fragrant, flaky and tender. The filling also was better than many samosas I have eaten, even at many restaurants.

The Bollywood Bites food truck

My last stop was a taco truck. This time I stopped at the Komodo Food Truck (Twitter: @komodofood). Though I almost went with the Bool BBQ truck again, what drew me to Komodo was not its intriguing pan-international fusion tacos, but the Baltimore Ravens flag hanging from above the window.

There it is, hons.

Yes, I am a sucker for a Bawlmer ex-pat. I bought one of the Java tacos - Indonesian spices with pork, scallion and cucumber for $3.


While not nearly as spicy as they advertised (it didn't make my mouth hurt anyway), it was still a juicy, slightly sweet and savory, and tasty soft taco. I had some flashbacks to a cochinita pibil that I had made a while back, not so much for the flavor as for the look. Ooooh, I wonder if anyone is planning a Yucatecan food truck? (Note: some of the trucks take Visa or Mastercard. Komodo does, but you must spend at least $10. They make this easy for you, since they offer whole meals that cost $10).

I drove away from the Miracle Mile thinking that this was, by far, the best $15 I had ever spent on lunch in Los Angeles, and I have had more than a few of those over the last several years.

Finally, a helpful list of food trucks that showed up at the Miracle Mile on Tuesday. I have posted Twitter links wherever I could.

All-American Gourmet Grill (American food - Twitter: @AllAmericanGG)

Bollywood Bites (Indian - Twitter: @BOLLYWOOD_BITES)

Bool BBQ (Korean fusion, including their legendary Korean BBQ tacos - Twitter: @BoolBBQ)

Chili Dancer (pan-international dishes, focusing specifically on Thai and Southeast Asian food, that showcase chilis - Facebook: The Chili Dancer, though nothing is posted; Twitter account has been so inactive that I'm not sure it's even theirs)

Cool Haus (gourmet ice cream sandwiches - Twitter: @COOLHAUS)

The Greasy Wiener (hot dogs, including New Jersey-style "rippers" - Twitter: @TheGreasyWiener)

Happy Cup Ramen Truck (ramen noodles, duh - Twitter: @HappyCupRamen)

Kabob Express (Mediterranean-Latino fusion - Twitter: @mykabobexpress)

KoManna (Korean - Twitter: @KoManna)

Komodo Food Truck (pan-Asian and pan-international tacos - Twitter: @komodofood)

La Rue de Paris (pastries and crepes - Twitter: @laruedeparis)

New Delhi Express (Indian - Twitter: @newdelhiexpress)

New York Galbi (Korean - Phone: (213) 985-8219 - I cannot find a Twitter or Facebook account for them)

Pita Pusher (Mediterranean - Twitter: @pitapusher

Vchos (pupusas and "Central American-inspred tapas" - Twitter: @vchostruck)

The Wien (hot dogs - Twitter: @thewientruck)
Other photos:

The view towards the Mediterranean food trucks
Got pupusas indeed!
All those food trucks

Guido-Approved for the Left Coast. Orange people welcome.
And from New Jersey to New York, all in a small section of the Miracle Mile.

Food Truck Fight!!!!!

At first I didn't think I would make it to A Taste of Two Cities, the Baltimore-Washington food truck rally at Westport Waterfront.  I was able to get there right at the start of it, and was a little surprised (only a little) to see so many people there already!

With the large circle of trucks from Baltimore and Washington (almost complete list of competitorshere) I had to pace myself accordingly, deciding to hit up an equal number of food trucks from each area.  I started with entrées, then appetizers and finally dessert.

My first choice was DC's El Floridiano (Twitter: @ElFloridianoDC), which proudly announces that it is the only solar powered food truck on the East Coast.  El Floridiano, obviously, is bringing some Miami heat (not that Miami Heat) to the Nation's Capitol.  And on Saturday they brought some to Westport too.  I got the small version of their Pan de Lechón ($4): juicy pork on a roll with a creamy spicy sauce.  El Floridiano also has a little tent covering a table of other hot sauces for all your heat needs.

Next it was food from the hometown.  I followed up my pan de lechón with sushi.  Noodlerolla (Twitter: @noodlerolla) has Japanese and Korean favorites, from bibimbap to miso soup to several types of maki rolls.  I got their simple, fresh and juicy salmon avocado roll for all of five bucks.  The little packet of soy sauce decided to explode all over me, but that's not the food truck's fault.

Quite full already and worrying that I would not get the chance to try anything else. I got something to drink instead.  I chose a Maine Root Soda from the Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck (Twitter: @RedHookLobsterTruckDC).  I've eaten there before, getting the buttery Connecticut version of their wondrous lobster roll ($15 when I got it).  But due to lack of money, time and room in my belly - plus a desire to try as many new things as possible - I held off on the lobster.  They have a self-serve soda dispenser with various Maine Root Soda products.  I got the standard root berr, which is rich and tingly and has none of that weird "fountain drink funk".  One root beer was just $2.

Again it was Baltimore's turn.  I crossed the food truck pavilion and after deliberating over many Charm City food trucks peddling everything from South Carolina barbecue to chicken and waffles to grilled cheese to all of the Gypsy Queen's offerings (the eventual winner of the day's festivities), I finally made it over to Miss Shirley's (Twitter: @MissShirleys) which I have never visited before (honest, just haven't been able).  Among the many offerings on their menu was a seemingly simple dollop of mascarpone grits with bacon and tomato bits.  Probably this was my favorite thing to eat in a day where I enjoyed everything ate or drank.

To finish off, I had dessert.  There were many choices in this category as well, with lots of trucks peddling ice cream, cupcakes, even popcorn.  I decided to go for two cupcakes.  The first came from Curbside Cupcakes (Twitter: @CurbsideCupcake), DC's first mobile cupcake truck.  The variety from this gleaming pink truck included one that sounded particularly interesting: the H Street cupcake, a swirl of marble cake and marble-ized frosting for all of three bucks.  It was a soft cupcake with rich frosting that capped off a good morning of eating.

But this wasn't all: I had to make a stop at Icedgems Baking cupcake truck (Twitter: @IcedGemsBaking), a truck I visit when I can.  This time I chose their Jubilee cupcake, made in honor of Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee: a yellow cupcake with raspberry jelly under the top, flecked throughout with bits of orange rind, and topped with a pink rosewater frosting.  I was too full to eat this at Westport, so I just took it with me in the hopes that I would have room for it soon.  I found some.

My final assessment of the Taste of Two Cities: I've only been to Baltimore's first food truck rally, which was, honestly, a mess: food ran out and people (read: me) stood in line for the better part of half an hour just find this out.  I'm sure these events have improved since then.  This food truck event is proof of that, as this was quite an orderly and well-organized event.  Granted, I got there early, but for me at least it went well.  And hopefully for all of our local and visiting food trucks the case was the same.  But I just couldn't tell who had the best food truck.  The only way to actually figure this out: have another one of these events.  In fact, they should probably do this a few times a year, alternating between either ends of the BW Parkway.  I mean, that's the only way we'll truly find out whose food trucks are better.  And if not, at least we get to eat at them more often.

First Friggin' Food Fight!!!

If you are anywhere near the Westport Waterfront on Saturday, 11 to 7, bring some money and a hefty appetite.  The first ever Baltimore-Washington intercity food truck event, A Taste of Two Cities, is happening this weekend.  Here's what you'll find:

* forty food trucks - twenty from each city
* judges! - three from each city
* parking - lots and lots of parking
* people - lots and lots of people, but hell, you can't help that

We have the home field advantage here, but any Washingtonians coming to this thing will be arriving with an appetite so get there early if you can.  There will be food.  Lots of food.  Directions to this event can be found at the Westport Waterfront website, but mind the irritating music that opens up with the page; the directions can be found in the upper left hand corner behind the green arrow.

Thanks to Jessica Lemmo and Richard Gorelick for the info!

Snacking State-by-State: Oregon III - Food Truckin' the Thai Cuisine Way (or "Dawn of the Food Trucks II")

Many of the food trucks in Portland are of the Thai variety.  This should not come as a surprise: I noticed the same thing in Los Angeles, when I encountered the many food trucks along the Miracle Mile across from LACMA last year.  Thai food has become a more and more important part of the American food landscape.  Not only do you find many Thai restaurants, but even Chinese restaurants serving up pad thai left and right.

Official Name: State of Oregon
State Nicknames: The Beaver State
Admission to the US: February 14, 1859 (#33)
Capital: Salem (3rd largest)
Other Important Cities: Portland (largest), Eugene (2nd largest), Gresham (4th largest)
Region: Northwest, Pacific; Pacific (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Salmon, Pinyon Nut
Bordered by: Washington and the Columbia River (north), Idaho (east), the Snake River (northeast), California & Nevada (south), the Pacific Ocean (west)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: beaver (animal, though they are generally no longer eaten), milk (beverage), Dungeness crab (crustacean), Chinook salmon (fish), Oregon grape (flower, bearing an indigenous fruit that was once gathered and eaten), pear (fruit), Pacific golden chanterelle (mushroom), hazelnut / filbert (nut - they're the same thing)
Some Famous and Typical Foods: Northwestern and Pacific foods, including: Pacific seafood (salmon, Dungeness crab, etc), hazelnuts, pears, marionberries (first grown in Oregon), huckleberries, blueberries; Portland is an epicenter of the American food truck industry


As is the custom in Bangkok, most food trucks specialize in just one thing alone [see Shouse 2011: 74].  Thai-American food truck chef Nong Poonsukwattana, owner and operator of Nong's Khao Man Gai truck, does just this.  Poonsukwattana focuses on just one dish: her kaho man gai (chicken with rice).  According to Shouse and many loyal customers, she does it damn good.

Of course, Poonsukwattana was unwilling to surrender the recipe for her signature dish - which she practiced over and over before she started selling it to get it right [see Shouse 2011: 74-75] to Shouse. Who could blame her?  She did give Shouse another recipe: the winter squash soup she typically serves with the khao man gai.  According to her website, which shows a much more diverse menu for her new location, the soup is bland.  It didn't seem very bland to me, but maybe it was the type of winter squash that I used?

The Recipe: Nong's Winter Squash Soup

For Poonsukwattana's soup (exact recipe on page 76 of  Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels [2011]), you will need:

* winter squash (I used butternut squash.  In retrospect, perhaps I should have used a more bland winter squash than this one, because the flavor had that lovely rich butternut flavor.  I got this one for about $4)
* cilantro (getting expensive these days: one bunch for $1.89)
* white pepper (had it)
* white peppercorns (did not have it but I will find uses for it.  The cheapest white peppercorns I could find were $6, surprisingly at Whole Foods.  I couldn't even find them anywhere else I looked - just the already-ground stuff)
* chicken broth (oops, I used up all the chicken stock from the previous poutine recipe.  Double oops, I only had a beef boullion cube)
* water (that I had a plenty)
* garlic (had it)
* two types of Thai soy sauces: the thin kind and the dark kind (Healthy Boy brand, as Poonsukwattana specifically recommends.  What's the difference?  The thin / light soy sauce is more or less like the standard soy sauces we are used to in the US, though presumably this brand is of a higher quality.  The dark / thick soy sauce, on the other hand, has molasses added to it, thus also making it sweeter.  Any East Asian supermarket should carry both kinds, whether from Thailand, Japan or China.  Each bottle was about $3, and was big enough to last me a while).

First, take a few white peppercorns and put them into a mortar with some sprigs of cilantro.

Crush it all together with a pestle and set aside.

Peel your squash...

...and dice it.  I used about half of this squash for the recipe.

Meanwhile, throw your water and broth in a large pot and add your garlic.

Add to that the squash...

...and the crushed cilantro and white peppercorns.

Next add a few tablespoons of the thin soy sauce...

...and just a little bit less of the dark soy sauce (note: I made the mistake of reversing this, adding more of the dark soy sauce, thus making the soup much darker than it probably should have been).

I also failed to lid the pot before some of the water boiled away, so when I finally did pull away the lid, I wound up not with winter squash soup but squash mush.  I had to add more water to this to make it more like an actual soup.  Anyway, cook the soup until the squash is "fork tender".  I squooshed it with the fork.

Regardless of how the soup is supposed to look,  serve it up...

...with sprigs of fresh cilantro and sprinkles of white pepper.

It only dawned on me after auto-scheduling this post for publication that I probably wasn't supposed to squoosh the squash (errrr...).  So I did this again a few days before this post went up (at the time I was feverishly working through the Pennsylvania recipes y'all will be seeing up here in the next few weeks).  I came up with the following:

What to say of this soup?  Well, as noted above a few times, I am now pretty sure that I did something wrong the first time around - namely, squashing the squash.  I have to say that, even though the second time around got me a result that was probably much more in line with what Poonsukwattana serves up at her food truck, the wrong version I did first still wasn't bad.  Each one was a tasty soup, which leads me to think that perhaps it takes a lot of work to mess this one up.  I sure worked hard at it, and it was still okay in the end.

That said, the second time around, with its juicy sweet bits of butternut squash, its salty-sweet dark and light soy sauce broth, and its strong tang of cilantro, was indeed much, much better.

Sources:

Brooks, Karen.  "Portland's top 10 food carts".  Posted October 8, 2009 (The Oregonian), reposted August 6, 2011 (OregonLive.com).

Cuisine Bonne Femme & Dieselboi (blog authors).  "About" (About Page for Food Carts Portland".  Copyright 2012 Food Carts Portland, all rights reserved.

Lewis, Nancy (recipe author).  "Marionberry Cobbler".  Information page for the episode "A Cuisine of Our Own" from the television program Oregon Experience, 2010.  Copyright Oregon Public Radio 2010-2012, all rights reserved.

Mersinger, Monica.  "Marionberries: A Delicious Part of Salem's Past".  Salem Online History, 2006.  Copyright Salem Public Library, 2005-2006, all rights reserved.

Oregon Public Radio. "A Cuisine of Our Own".  Information page for the episode "A Cuisine of Our Own" from the television program Oregon Experience, 2010.  Copyright Oregon Public Radio 2010-2012, all rights reserved.

Porges, Brad.  "Hazelnut Salmon with Apple and Pear Compote".  Posted on the Oregon Food website, date unknown. Copyright Travel Oregon 2009-2012, all rights reserved.

Shouse, Heather.  Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels.  Random House: New York, 2011.

World Culinary Institute. "James Beard".  World Culinary Institute, date unknown. Copyright World Culinary Institute, all rights reserved.

Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "Oregon" page and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "Oregon".

Snacking State-by-State: Oregon II - Poutine-on-Wheels (or "Dawn of the Food Trucks I")

Food trucks have become an important part of the US city food landscape for a few years now.  Whole websites, TV shows & smartphone apps are dedicated to finding them.  Literally hundreds of Twitter feeds point drooling foodies and people on their lunch breaks out to some strange corner they wouldn't normally go to at 12: 17 in the afternoon.  And wouldn't you know it: Portland, Oregon, seems to be at the center of it all.

Official Name: State of Oregon
State Nicknames: The Beaver State
Admission to the US: February 14, 1859 (#33)
Capital: Salem (3rd largest)
Other Important Cities: Portland (largest), Eugene (2nd largest), Gresham (4th largest)
Region: Northwest, Pacific; Pacific (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Salmon, Pinyon Nut
Bordered by: Washington and the Columbia River (north), Idaho (east), the Snake River (northeast), California & Nevada (south), the Pacific Ocean (west)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: beaver (animal, though they are generally no longer eaten), milk (beverage), Dungeness crab (crustacean), Chinook salmon (fish), Oregon grape (flower, bearing an indigenous fruit that was once gathered and eaten), pear (fruit), Pacific golden chanterelle (mushroom), hazelnut / filbert (nut - they're the same thing)
Some Famous and Typical Foods: Northwestern and Pacific foods, including: Pacific seafood (salmon, Dungeness crab, etc), hazelnuts, pears, marionberries (first grown in Oregon), huckleberries, blueberries; Portland is an epicenter of the American food truck industry


Karen Brooks of The Oregonian, as far back as 2009, said that Portland is "the new face of America's maverick food cart movement" [2009].  Sure we have our food trucks here in our own city, and so many cities now do.  But as noted by Dieselboi and Cuisine Bonne Femme, who own and operate the Food Carts Portland webpage, Portland has taken it a step further.  They point out that they are a great bargain, can set up everywhere - Portland has a few dedicated areas just for food trucks, unlike other cities that have tried to limit them (**cough cough DC cough cough**).  And you can wind up eating a variety of foods all day every day.  From their website:

Set up in parking lots, sidewalks, and even parks (sometimes in large groups and sometimes solo), one might nosh on a fresh tortilla Baja fish taco one day, a rib-sticking bowl of traditional goulash the next, have a coffee and pastry for an afternoon snack, and then take home a giant Indian combo box for dinner. [Cuisine Bonne Femme & Dieselboi, 2009].

It is futile to try to chronicle the depth and breadth of the food truck movement in Portland in this small space - even in two posts (yes, there will be two Portland food truck posts).  So I won't even bother.  Instead I will direct you to sources such as the aforementioned Food Carts Portland webpage, and (of course) the Google Maps Portland Food Cart site.

Or you could take a flip through the book Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels [2011] by Heather Shouse (note: Shouse visited Mid Day with Dan Rodricks in April of 2011.  Listen to the podcast here).  Shouse's compendium is not just about Portland and its varied food truck scene.  It chronicles food trucks from all over the United States (none from Baltimore, though there is a Washington, DC, section).  The section on Portland features maps of the different parking lots (or food truck "pods") where Portland's food trucks cluster together.  It gives some more dedicated information about the origins of the mobile kitchen scene there.  And of course, it offers recipes from various food truck chefs in Portland.  Shouse's task was a difficult one: she points out that this is no city featuring a mere handful of food carts (upwards of 300 circulate the city by her estimates), nor is a recently started passing fad:

Encouraged and supported by the local powers that be, the nunber of food carts in Portland has hovered in the high three hundreds since the early 2000s.  When 2009 saw a spike of nearly a hundred new carts hitting the streets, it was pretty clear that Portlanders considered this industry integral to their experience.  So much so that when the Portland Plan launched in 2010, the twenty-five year city plan included food carts among topics like economic development, historic resources, and sustainability. [Shouse 2011: 68]

Dang, these food trucks really are ingrained into the fabric of the city!

Shouse showcases five recipes from four of the hundreds of food carts: Potato Champion (gourmet fries), Nong's Khao Man Gai (one of many Thai food trucks in the city), Tabor (a Czech food truck), and Moxie Rx (a juice truck that closed down last year to start a new venture).  I chose two of the five Portland recipes to test out for the next few posts.  I went with the first two (and will have to try out this chicken paprikash from the Tabor truck at a future date, or if I ever get to Portland).

Potato Champion is run by Mike McKinnon, who was inspired by the vlaamse frites of the Netherlands and Belgium on a trip in 2001.  As he told Shouse, "'I always bitched about it with my friends, "Why doesn't Portland have a fry place?"'" [Shouse 2011: 71].  The rest is food truck history: his twice-fried fries - only made from Russet potatoes, and only fried in rice bran oil - are served with one of nine different dipping sauces, everything from mayo to, ahem, "rosemary truffle ketchup".  The recipe that McKinnon provides (on page 73 of Shouse's Food Trucks book) is for that Québecois classic, poutine.

The Recipe: Potato Champion Poutine

To make McKinnon's poutine fries the way he does it, you will need the following:

* Russet potatoes, which McKinnon recommends because they have the right sugar to starch content (I cut down the recipe by a few, which still yielded me a nice amount of fries.  The potatoes were about $1.50 per lb at Harris Teeter)
* rice bran oil, which McKinnon recommends for its flavor, its high smoke point and its ability to last longer (at first I had no clue where to find this.  I looked in a few health and natural food stores.  But I could not locate rice bran oil until I hit up H Mart for some thin and dark Thai soy sauces - for the next post.  Sure enough, there were jugs of rice bran oil in the oil section, for $10 for a large bottle.  Had I not found any, I was going to go with peanut oil, which is the most similar type of oil in terms of nutrition info and smoke point.  A recent "Rehab Recipes" episode of Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen confirmed this.  Nadia was making, of all things, poutine)

For the poutine gravy you will need:
* butter and flour (yes, first you make a roux)
* shallot (I used half of one from Harris Teeter)
* yellow onion (also Harris Teeter)
* garlic (had it)
* chicken broth (it turned out I needed more of this.  Fortunately I had extra duck broth in the freezer.  Unfortunately, I needed more broth for the following post.  You will read about that in a few days)
* balsamic vinegar (had it)
* salt and ground pepper (same)

McKinnon also suggests queso fresco or cheese curds to serve on top of the fries and gravy. I forgot to put them in the photo, but I did purchase queso fresco for $5 at Harris Teeter.  I will be finding many ways to use this cheese in order to get my money's worth.

Fill a deep fryer (or in my case, a deep cast iron skillet) with the rice bran oil.

Now to make those potatoes into fries.  I busted out the french fry cutter that I bought last month in Rehoboth Beach and set it to work.

I used the thick fry setting.

Rinse off the fries in cold water, to get rid of as much starch as possible.

Then dry off the fries with paper towels while the oil gets to 325°F.

Time to multitask.  Mince the onion, shallot and garlic.

Brown the onions in a saucepan, with balsamic vinegar and pepper.

In a separate pot, melt the butter...

...and add flour to make a roux.

Stir constantly and take it off of the heat when it is a light brown color.

Add the roux to the onions...

...and then add the broth(s).  Let it reduce over low heat for 30 minutes.

Back to the fries.  McKinnon fries his twice - the first time quickly, here only five minutes at 325°.

When time is up, pull the fries out of the oil...

...and let cool down for 30 minutes.

Let's see how that gravy is doing.  Yup, looking much thicker and gravy-like.

When the fries have sat for 30 minutes, add them back to the oil, this time heated to 375°F.  Leave them in until lightly brown and crisp.

Now to prep the fries, which McKinnon would serve in a paper cone.  First salt the fries.

Next, add the poutine gravy

Finally, add the queso fresco or cheese curds.

I haven't had poutine before, and I don't often get freshly made (not out of a bag) fries.  These are a meal in and of themselves, the tangy poutine gravy smothering the lightly crispy fries.  This is even better with slightly melted cheese on top.

Sources:

Brooks, Karen.  "Portland's top 10 food carts".  Posted October 8, 2009 (The Oregonian), reposted August 6, 2011 (OregonLive.com).

Cuisine Bonne Femme & Dieselboi (blog authors).  "About" (About Page for Food Carts Portland".  Copyright 2012 Food Carts Portland, all rights reserved.

Lewis, Nancy (recipe author).  "Marionberry Cobbler".  Information page for the episode "A Cuisine of Our Own" from the television program Oregon Experience, 2010.  Copyright Oregon Public Radio 2010-2012, all rights reserved.

Mersinger, Monica.  "Marionberries: A Delicious Part of Salem's Past".  Salem Online History, 2006.  Copyright Salem Public Library, 2005-2006, all rights reserved.

Oregon Public Radio. "A Cuisine of Our Own".  Information page for the episode "A Cuisine of Our Own" from the television program Oregon Experience, 2010.  Copyright Oregon Public Radio 2010-2012, all rights reserved.

Porges, Brad.  "Hazelnut Salmon with Apple and Pear Compote".  Posted on the Oregon Food website, date unknown. Copyright Travel Oregon 2009-2012, all rights reserved.

Shouse, Heather.  Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels.  Random House: New York, 2011.

World Culinary Institute. "James Beard".  World Culinary Institute, date unknown. Copyright World Culinary Institute, all rights reserved.

Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "Oregon" page and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "Oregon".