Noshing in the Midwest: Chef Shack- Food Truck

In what hopefully will be the first in a series of reviews on the up and coming food truck scene in the Twin Cities, I bring you, The Chef Shack.

Last summer, Minneapolis City Council passed a proposal to allow a maximum of 25 licensed street food operations in downtown Minneapolis. In St. Paul, vendors can operate under slightly looser requirements. With a prime parking spot in the Mill City Farmers Market, the Chef Shack food truck was way ahead of the pack, attracting long lines on warm Saturday afternoons since 2008.

This was my first visit to the Chef Shack, having been scared off by the lengthy waits, and the very real fear that, after all that time, they would have ran out of what ever it was I wanted. The Chef Shack does, after all, operate out of a very limited amount of space. But today was the very first day of Mill City Market's fifth summer season, and if I wanted to go on pretending to be a true foodie, I was going to have to give these much buzzed about guys (or gals, actually) a shot. So we waited in line, taking turns dancing to Cajun jive with our daughter. The weather was pure Minnesota spring perfection, that rare combination of sunshine, warmth, and total lack of humidity. So what's a ten minute wait when you are surrounded by the river on one side, the new Guthrie on the other, and a crowd of giddy Minnesotans all around? It's true, we are even nicer when we are warm.

As we waited, a Chef Shack employee knelt in front of the menu black board. We held our collective breath to see which way this will go. He could erase yet another menu selection off the board, leaving us with only three to choose from this late in the day, or he could, do we dare hope... add an item. And he did! He added an item. Not just any item. This lovely, lovely man scribbled Pulled Pork, wait for it...nachos on that magical board. A roar went through the crowd, or maybe it was just in my head. Either way, when I finally got up to the window to order, I didn't even care that the last of the brats my husband was craving was given to the lady in front of me. I shrugged my shoulders and ordered their famous mini-donuts for him, and the pulled pork nachos for me. I was giddy too.

Ok, so I shared my nachos. And he shared his donuts, although mostly with Millie.

First, let's just get this out of the way: Ouch. $7 for a relatively small offering of nachos hurts. There, I said it, it's a bit pricey. For the same price you would get a giant platter of soggy chips, cheese sauce, and gray guacamole for you and five of your friends at any dive bar in town. Have I made my point? You pay for quality people.

So let's talk quality. Big, crunchy, not too salty green and white tortilla chips, topped with black beans, salsa, and guacamole that was more of a punchy sauce than the thick gobs we have to come to expect. I assume this is because guacamole cannot hold up well under the conditions, but I don't care. The layers of flavor, from the vinegary salsa to the slightly smokey pork to that creamy sauce, packed such a glorious punch, you find yourself practically licking the paper plate. Seriously good.

Now, for dessert. As some of you may know, I am not a big fan of cinnamon, which in turn, makes me less than excited about State Fair mini donuts. I have had a bite or two of those ever popular fritters over the years, and have been less than impressed. The Indian spiced mini donuts at the Chef Shack are not of the State Fair variety. They are luscious pillows of fluffy dough, covered in a thick layer of the largest grains of sugar I have even seen, and dredged in an intricate mix of spices. Yes, there was cinnamon there, but there was also cardamom, and did I taste some sea salt? I don't know, and again, I don't care. They were divine. No wonder almost everyone at the Farmers Market was carrying a bag of these beauties, and wearing a big ol' grin on their faces. Spring has indeed arrived.

The line. Not so bad when you know what's in store for you.