On Thursday, 9/15/11, I had the pleasure in partaking in the opening launch for Chef JJ’s Big Green Bistro; a unique spin on the emerging food truck culture, as it is aimed to be a high-class mobile catering unit.
The restaurant, if one could assign it the moniker, is essentially a tricked-out RV equipped with JJ’S signature Green Egg grilling machines that boasts it can serve up to 400 people. Although that may seem like a large number for a mobile food unit, the bistro had no problem serving quality food to the 25 people in attendance at the event.
JJ served four interesting courses at the event, all aimed to show the diverse repertoire of the restaurant.
The evening started with a delicious pair of tacos made with pork, cucumber salad and a made-from-scratch chili sauce. The tacos were a delightful break from the norm, as the cucumber salad added a very spring feel to the more spicy and direct chili.
The second and third courses were a palenta and “Indiana Slider.” The palenta was a traditional corn-based cake that served more as a warming up for the main event: The slider. The slider was beautifully crafted with a pork and duck patty, chili, slaw and very high quality, decadent, bacon. The combination of flavors, along with the trademark smoky feel of a Green Egg cooked dish, made for an amazing experience as the ingredients of the sandwich danced along the palate with a variety of flavors.
The fourth course was dessert, an orange cream that was ok. However, this may be due to the fact that I was still in shock by the quality of the slider. The unique part about the dessert was that even though it was a cream-based item, it was still cooked on “The Egg.”
Overall, Chef JJ really presented a diverse and delicious experience for the participants of the Bistro’s opening. I am very excited about where he can go with this mobile unit, as the ingredients and dishes all were very different and unique, and more than what one would expect from a restaurant on-the-go.
