Getting Fresh, Local, Wild

My pal Linda, who now lives in Montreal, was in town for a visit last week. We are both food enthusiasts and we planned to do a lunch and dinner together while she was in town. I suggested that we hit up a food truck for our lunch adventure since Montreal since there are no food trucks there (except the Grumman 78 taco truck) and she was pumped. As we drove into the downtown core, I reviewed and went over the many options, and at first she was leaning towards TacoFino so we heading in the direction of Burrard and Dunsmuir and parked. We walked over and the huge crowd and line-up started to sway her away. I had heard that Fresh, Local, Wild was open again for the spring/summer season and not far away and described the type of food they served, and she was sold. So we walked a little further down Burrard to W Hastings and saw the trailer parked on a shaded corner with a small line.

This trailer has a great look- chalkboard menu, tasteful Pacific Northwest decor, and the best part: a small attached patio with wind-blocking curtains that seats approx 6. Fresh Local Wild offers innovative variations on seafood-based culinary traditions and the menu changes depending on what is fresh and available. They cook with fresh and organic ingredients like locally caught fish and vegetables free of pesticides. Head chef, Josh Wolfe and his truck team are super friendly, extremely knowledgable about their product, and helpful with menu suggestions.

We both looked at their daily menu and picked two sandwich options, hoping to share, but worried that it would be wayyyy to messy. We explained out situation to Wolfe and he said it would be no problem to cut the sandwiches and pack up the two different sandwiches for seperately for sharing. Did I mention that their utensils and take-out boxes are made from recycled material. Our food was ready in about 5 minutes just as the patio cleared and seating became available. JACKPOT!

BC Fish Shawarma ($10) Halibut, Salmon, Cod, Hummus, Tabouleh, Spicy. This was fan-freakin'-tastic! The freshness of the fish and the bright veggies and herbs really wow-ed me. I think the salmon was the dominant fish in this shawarma (in fact I didn't really see any cod or halibut) and it was well-season with eastern-meditteranean flavour and a slight crust on the outside of the fish, but juicy, flaky, and tender inside. The fresh chopped veggies and bright herbs and creamy hummus with a light, garlic kick all made for a tasty, fresh symphony of flavours. This was nice and light and tasty really healthy in its whole wheat pita pocket.

We also split a Chicken Fried Oyster Sandwich ($10) Buttermilk Fried Oysters, Trailer Made Tartar, Romaine, Sesame Seed Bun. This was also a tasty sandwich....from the fluffy sesame seed bun, to the plentiful home made creamy tartar sauce, the fresh shredded crunchy romaine lettuce, to the star of the sandwich: the oysters. They are battered and fried until super crunchy, like a fried chicken batter and its a nice contrast to the soft, plump, juicy oyster meat inside. Apparantly, Wolfe soaks the oysters in a buttermilk batter overnight. I wish I got a bit more oyster in my sandwich- the pieces I had were phenomenal, but unfortunately, my sandwich was a bit dominated by tartar sauce and shredded lettuce so the oysters were buried and hidden (visually and in taste).

This really is an awesome food truck with a chef and staff that seem to be great guys that take a lot of pride in what they do, and have a lot of knowledge about what they are serving and where it came from. The food is great- well prepared, great flavours, extremely fresh tasting and made with care. I also appreciate their efforts to be eco-friendly and that little patio is awesome and a perfect way to enjoy food truck grub on a not-quite-warm day.