November 6, 2011

Ni Haowdy! "Fresh off the Truck" is fresh off the hook

I spent the day with Fresh off the Truck (FOT) owners Paul and Tova while Eat Street (Food Network Canada) filmed us demonstrating how to make traditional Asian Street Food.  With Tova's Chinese heritage and Paul hailing from Vietnam, FOT prides themselves on serving authentic Asian food (no fusion fare).  Their tagline, Ni Haowdy is a play on the Mandarin 'Ni Hao' (meaning hello), and the Texan 'Howdy' (for hi y'all). 



They currently are open for lunch Monday-Friday and are located on the University of Texas at Austin's longhorn campus just behind the Castilian dorm on 23rd.  With her background in culinary school, Tova is well educated in flavor and makes all of their sauces fresh daily.   My personal favorite is their Crispy Scallion Pancake in Dumpling Dipping Sauce and like a good friend would do, Tova had one ready for me before I could order.  This is the kind of great customer service you can expect if you decide to become a FOT-er. 

I also had a chance to try their Daikon Omelet which was equally impressive.  What other brunch do you get to use chop sticks to eat?  Their banh-mi's are only $4 and definitely a meal for two.  In fact, while we were there, two girls came up and ordered the Pho to share ($6 total for two meals ain't bad in my book).