Smoked Turkey Leg and BBQ in a Bowl from Smokehouse BBQ

Smoked turkey leg #yegfood

A photo posted by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Jul 3, 2016 at 1:54pm PDT

Summer means festivals, and festivals mean food trucks, and for me, that means I am going to having some meals from the Smokehouse BBQ food truck. At the Blues On Whyte Block Party at the beginning of July, I ate at the Smokehouse BBQ truck not once, but twice! My first item was the smoked turkey leg. This is usually offered as a special and always sells out before I can get one. Well, it was not going to elude me this time! The huge - and I mean, huge! - leg was smoked to perfection, the skin crispy on the outside with the inside remaining moist. Simple and good.

BBQ in a bowl . #yegfood

A photo posted by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Jul 3, 2016 at 4:31pm PDT

BBQ in a Bowl is a speciality that is a layered dish of French fries, meat, baked beans, and coleslaw. I had the version with the brisket. Lots of tender chunks of brisket was found between the fries, beans, and coleslaw. The slaw was fresh and delicious, and it has been ages since I have had good baked beans (for me, they are hard to find because they are usually laced with pork. Not here.). It was a hearty meal that covered all of the BBQ bases.

Celebrating Old Strathcona

On July 7, I stopped by the Old Strathcona block party organized by Blues On Whyte. 103 and 104 Streets were blocked off, two stages were filled with music, vendors sold unique items, and, of course, there were food trucks.

I had lunch while I enjoyed some live music and started with a brisket sandwich from Smokehouse BBQ. The slightly sweet, fresh bun was filled with chunks of brisket. The meat was lean, with just a tiny bit of sweet fat to make things rich. The sauce was not overpowering, and the spoonful of coleslaw on top made me glad I grabbed a fork - things could have gotten messy!

I had a snack later on, and went for a vegetarian samosa from Naanolicious. It was interesting seeing the street food truck right there, when their physical location was right nearby! The samosa could have been a little warmer on teh inside, but the outside was satisfyingly crunchy. I also wanted something sweet, so tried an order of Can-naandians, which are pieces of naan bread in the shape of maple leaves in a maple sauce. They were almost like soft cookies in a sauce.

Although the weather did not fully cooperate when I was there, I had a great time hanging out on Whyte Avenue and celebrating the culture the area has to offer.