Baitong on Wheels 2

The Truck

The return visit to “The food truck that everyone is talking about.” The bold tagline they backed up in the first visit. Unfortunately the sequel didn’t quite live up to the original.

Menu

Another day out thrifting for my Amazon Book Store, ResellerRex, and I took @socialmediaridesharerex to BoW ready to knock her socks off with a dish I thought she’d really like, but alas the Crispy Garlic Chicken wasn’t quite to her taste. But for me…

Lunch: pineapple 🍍 shrimp 🍤 fried rice 🍚 – Jasmine rice 🍚 infused with yellow curry flavor stir-fried with Pineapple 🍍 shrimps 🍤, cashew nuts, raisins, and onions 🧅. $12.95

After getting knocked out of my chair in my first visit, this was like going to go see Jaws 2 after seeing Jaws, a complete let down. But hey, I still got one of those fire Thai Iced Teas, so it wasn’t all bad. But for the PFR, it was just bland and oily, there really were 0 spices used, and too much oil in the frying. The only thing that gave it any flavor were the raisins and cashews. Unfortunately a total miss on a spot I really hyped.

Drink: Thai Iced Tea $4 yeah, I could drink a gallon of this.

I’m still interested in going back to BoW to try a few other dishes specifically the Pad Thai, Thai Basil Chicken 🐓 , and Spring Rolls & Crab 🦀 Won Tons.

Bangers and Brews Eastside

Gourmet sausages with an Argentinian Flair

After a long day of hunting books and thrifts, we decided to have a nice sit down dinner at Bangers & Brews Eastside. We’ve been wanting to check out one of the sausage places in town & decided a trip to the Eastside location was a great place to start.

You start out at a cafeteria style line ordering first & then choosing a place to sit.

Menu
Drink list

There is inside seating,

and a split patio seating shared with Hablo Tacos.

The Hablo side

Winter set up with heaters, and open air flow in the summer.

You can order the traditional 1X2X1 or off the specials menu, and lastly have sides.

After ordering we took our beverages out to the patio and found a table, and old whisky barrel with a new top & high bar stools and we were set.

I opted to get the Reuben’s Lager which was a solid lager option from a Seattle brewery. Besides on tap, there was a cooler as well stocked with alternative drinks & fountain sodas as well.

Reuben’s Lager

We opened up with the 12” Pretzel and cheese for an appetizer, but before we received that we were brought out some warm bread and chimichurri. honestly the bread fell apart easily, and was not easy to dip in the sauce. And this will be the last complaint you’ll hear from me.

Weak bread

A warm buttery pretzel with a nice hot creamy cheese sauce with a good salt to pretzel ratio. A good opening once we got passed the bread fiasco.

I went with a (1) Elk/Pork Brat (2) Caramelized Onions & Sauerkraut (1) and Chimichurri. There is also an option to go bundles which I did choosing to have mine on a bed of mashed potatoes.

Elk/Pork Brat

The chimichurri is nice with a cilantro kick, gravy is semi sweet & pairs well with the slightly gamey sausage, carmelized onions are a little under cooked and gives a nice texture difference to the sausage and potatoes. The sauerkraut portion is a little lacking but flavorful & melds well with the rest of the components.

Overall I’m impressed with both the price point & amount of food provided in the portion. I think this place is great (I ended up taking my dad to the Westside location a few weeks later. Smaller venue, longer wait times, go to the Eastside.) and am excited to try out some other combos & sausages. 💯 Rexamend this as a go to while in town!

Baitong on wheels

Baitong on wheels

“The food truck that everyone talks about” pretty bold tag line, but nothing they can’t back up. Located in the River’s Place food cart & tap house, BoW was one of 5 local carts available. I was on my way to Nik’s Snacks, but unfortunately Nik was closed that day, but I’m glad BoW was there to back him up.

Menu

With classic Thai offerings, I was immediately drawn to the crispy garlic chicken $10.95 , crispy fried chicken in homemade honey garlic sauce topped with fried basil and chopped bell peppers with a side of rice.

Crispy garlic chicken

Wow, this was perfectly cooked white rice, crispy chicken with enough sauce to keep the rice company while you pair a fried basil leaf with a perfectly portion sized bite of chicken. This is a Rexamendated dish 💯!

When I first saw my plate, I was a little underwhelmed by the amount of food, being 6’4” and 260 lbs I though my I’d end up needing an additional snack after lunch, but boy did that rice fill me up fast, and it was easy to finish the whole meal and feel satisfied.

Thai Iced Tea $4, the first time I had a Thai Iced Tea I knew I was in love. There’s just something about a nice iced thirst quenching Thai tea that does wonders on a nice sunny day, and Bow makes an excellent tea to compliment your meal if it’s a touch too early for a🍺 .

This is a must visit if you are a Thai Food connoisseur, or wanting to try an entry level Thai dish for the first time. Mmm

All gone

The Hideaway Bend

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When you have an almost 3 year old, sometimes alcohol and bar food calls your soul. How do I know this? Experience lol. So we decided to check out the local dive down at the Hideout Bend. First impressions is that they have done a good job with the name, if you didn’t know this place was here, it’s cause it’s hidden well. Second is I pick up and take patrons here often, so this fall I can attest to the work they’ve done upgrading their parking lot and outdoor space. But hey, let’s get to the food.

Beer: I went with a S1nist0r Black Ale from 10 Barrel Brewing Co. (5.7% ABV 28 IBU Schwarzbier $4.75). Now normally I wouldn’t be doing a beer review on an Anheuser-Busch beer, so how did I end up here? Well it was probably the most local beer I could find that was a dark beer, so options were limited. It was a good beer though, dark and malty, just how I like em’. Find my review on Untappd here!

S1nist0r Black Ale from 10 Barrel Brewing Co.

Dinner: You’re going to find your run of the mill bar food with appetizers, salads, burgers, and pizza.

I opted for the Nachos Carnitas ($16) House braised pork, refried beans and housemade queso over a plate of warm corn chips. Topped with chipotle sauce, sour cream, four cheese blend, fresh cilantro, pickled jalapeños and salsa.

It was pretty much what I expected it to be except for two things, the meat was cold, like it was supposed to be warm, but wasn’t, second, the chipotle sauce was excellent, but there wasn’t enough of it.

Nachos Carnitas

We also had the Buffalo Mac & Cheese ($15) Five cheese, grilled chicken and our Buffalo hot sauce. Topped with crisp panko flakes, bleu crumbles and green onion.

I’m not a big Buffalo sauce fan, but I’ll tell you that this thing was spicy but I heard no complaints from the other side of the table, so I’ll take it that it was better than the nachos lol.

The Hideaway in Bend was pretty much what I thought it was going to be, a locals type of place with a decent amount of taps, friendly faces behind the pours, and a nice atmosphere to just hand out (they had a TV wall with couches). I believe this is the spot to watch NFL Patriots games in town as well.

All in all, if you are on the South East Side, this would be an option for you as they do most things well, but nothing quite better than other sports bars in the area.

Click below to check out their social accounts, and as always if you visit tell them Rideshare Rex sent you!

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Rating: 3 out of 5.