Armed with my phone, a notepad and a pocketful of off-brand antacids, I set out to try as many Cowichan Valley food trucks as I could in a single day. The assignment is one part gluttonous, one part informative and all parts delicious.
Of course, I couldn’t hit every food truck in the area; my aim was to take a snapshot of the culinary community on wheels at one moment in time.
I missed local trucks that were away for the weekend, like Hungry Bubbas and Smitty’s Smokin’ Pig. Other food trucks from Nanaimo and elsewhere like Hojo’s Eats, Mizu Real Fruit Ice Cream, and JLA make frequent appearances in the Cowichan Valley, but not this weekend. Some, like Trios Truck Extreme Mac and Cheese, The Little Corner Sandwich Shop, and Whistling Whale Coffee just couldn’t fit inside my day or my dad-belly.
Vancouver Island food vlogger Mali Munroe (AKA Famished Foodie) says Cowichan Valley food truck owners are true entrepreneurs who work around the clock for their labours of love.
“There’s innovation in the wonderful food that they’re making,” she says. “And I’m always intrigued by the story behind the person.”
The stories behind the 10 trucks I visited definitely have mileage. The road these vendors and chefs have travelled to see their vision through is exhaustive and paved with passion. The next time someone hands me a hefty handcrafted sandwich through a truck window, I will savour it with a new appreciation.
1. Digable Roots Farm
I begin my journey at the Duncan Farmers’ Market and a food truck that literally brings the farm to the market. Digable Roots Farm truck serves fare from the gardens and fields of its namesake acreage.
In true farm fashion, the sandwiches and sides change with what’s available on a given week. Digable Roots has featured bison burgers, pea salads, bahn-mi sandwiches, schnitzel bunwiches and more.
I order a pulled pork sandwich the size of an Olympic handball, and Bottrell tells me about the origin of everything between the homemade buns — from the fennel slaw to the pasture-raised pork. Digable Roots is the polar opposite of fast food.
A certified Red Seal chef, Bottrell had uncompromising standards when developing his food truck concept. He says he didn’t take the easier route of ordering meat and vegetables off a commercial truck. Instead he started a farm.
“The last 15 years of my life I’ve been training for this moment,” Bottrell laughs.
2. Taco Revolution
I walk six steps and belly up to Taco Revolution, the uber-popular Mexican food truck that’s a market mainstay.
The food truck emerged after owners Michelle Paez and PJ Frayne began making all-natural corn tortillas from their Gabriola Island kitchen in 2015. In a short time, Taco Revolution and its parent company, Ixim, have grown to include a production facility, a catering business and a retail line of sauces, seasonings and, of course, authentic tortillas.
I order a trio of tacos — grilled fish, pork belly and chicken tinga. My paper plate sags with savoury taco goodness as onions, cilantro, crema, cabbage and lime juices all spill onto each fresh tortilla.
I am happy. I am almost full. It’s 11:20 a.m.
3. Phat Bastard Eats
How seriously does Phat Bastard Eats take its burger? Before even opening the truck a year ago, young entrepreneur Lucien Zimmerman and his father Mike spent no less than six months obsessively perfecting their patty.
“We’re talking hours upon hours of just researching, cooking and forcing our food down people’s throats until we felt confident,” the elder Zimmerman says.
Their patty perseverance paid off. The burger Phat Bastard serves meets the “traditional farm standard” of their Saskatchewan roots, and contains zero fillers like egg or breadcrumbs. It is juicy, crispy and full of seasoned flavour.
I order the Uncle Daddy burger and the Phatty Melt, which Zimmerman says is what a 1950s McDonald’s cheeseburger would taste like before mass franchise monotony took over. My body has hosted many hamburgers over the years, and I must say these were some of the best I’ve had.
“Mrrrph uuurgin rrooood,” the guy next to me says through a grinning mouth full of food. I nod in agreement.
4. Scorpion Chef Empanadas
My fourth and final stop at the market is the empanada truck that lives here most Saturdays. I bite into a steamy pocket of dough filled with ground chorizo that’s potent with heat, sweet and spice. It’s comfort food in the palm of my hand.
One might see food trucks as the restaurant’s’ bratty little brother, but Scorpion Chef Empanadas brings serious experience to a compact trailer. Scorpion is run by Marcello Anastasi, a decorated chef, culinary professor and restaurateur from Toronto who chose the Cowichan Valley to slow down and fine-tune the empanada along with his Argentinian wife, Nancy.
“Sometimes a young chef starts in the food truck business and learns from there,” says Anastasi. “For us it was different — we grew up in the industry.”
Marcello and Nancy do one thing, and do it well. That’s one focused food truck.
5. Mad Eats
I drive my bloated belly north, to the parking lot next to the recycling centre on Norcross Road. It’s an unassuming spot for a lunch truck, but those who know, know.
Maxwell Dixon has been working in kitchens since the age of 13 and went to culinary school in Nelson. When he moved to the Cowichan Valley eight years ago, he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. Then, one day, he scrolled past a hot dog cart for sale online.
“You know what? That might be a living,” Dixon thought at the time.
The success of his hot dog cart led to the larger Mad Eats food truck, now a destination for true smash burgers, authentic poutine and quality hot dogs offered with a buffet of toppings.
While spooning jalapeño crisps and grainy mustard on my dog, I meet a customer named Carson who says he comes every day, sometimes just to talk to Maxwell.
“It’s better than going to a random company [that doesn’t] care about me,” he says. “This guy knows what’s up.”
By now I‘m lugging a doggie bag of food truck treats because I’m only halfway through the assignment. As much as I want to finish my crispy smashed burger and down my dog, I tuck them away and head further north.
6. Thunder’s Truck
Her name is Carol Struck. Say it out loud. Carol Struck was meant to run Carol’s truck.
“I couldn’t not do it,” Struck says.
Her food truck, called Thunder’s Truck, is a mainstay of Ladysmith’s Transfer Beach and has been serving food to beachgoers and picnickers in this spot for seven years.
Thunder’s Truck slings a mean burger, fish and chips and fish tacos, all classic beach fare. But the unconventional draw here is the curry.
Carol hands me a container of chicken curry atop a hillock of fries and rice. The thing is heavier than my newborn nephew and provides me with leftovers for two days. Thunder’s Truck’s curry is mild, almost sweet like a Japanese curry, and it somehow works as a sunny seaside lunch.
7. The Brazen Fork
I drive south to Cowichan Bay, grateful for the respite of a long car ride and time without filling my face. The Brazen Fork is a welcoming, modern-looking shack that serves proper BBQ from a Tennessee smoker out back.
Although co-owner Kristie Erickson jokes they came up with the idea “one night over a bunch of wine,” she and her business partner Peter Joyce definitely have the chops for proper BBQ. They both have years of experience in the restaurant industry and Peter served time as a butcher.
The tender brisket I eat falls-apart on my fork, its crispy edges complementing the smoky meat. Brazen Fork’s food is more Texas-style than Memphis or South Carolina, but in a way, eating it from the Cowichan Bay country road, it tastes only like Island BBQ.
8. Drifters Creamery
With all the robust food I’ve consumed, I need something sweet, stat. It’s time for the dessert portion of the program, so I drive across the highway to Drifters Creamery in Cobble Hill.
Drifters takes soft serve to a gourmet level with organic ingredients mixed fresh every morning to make creamy vanilla, chocolate and seasonal flavours like mango, strawberry and lemon.
I order the Salty Dog sundae, a decadent creation of salted caramel sauce, crumbled pretzel bits and salted caramel pearls on top of vanilla soft serve. This is the cream of the crop and I enjoy each cool scoop.
During COVID-19, owner Reana Borthwick decided that life was short and left a career in the Coast Guard to pursue her passion project. It has paid off — Drifters Creamery is now a Cowichan Valley destination for family outings, bike groups, bus tours and serious soft serve lovers.
“If you have a dream, just go for it,” Reana Borthwick says.
9. Softys
Many Cowichan Valley food trucks I visited offer food that caters to dietary restrictions, not out of obligation, but from a genuine pursuit of fine recipes and flavours. This is Softys entire mission.
The soft serve here doesn’t contain dairy, nuts, eggs, soy or corn. The vegan vanilla-salted caramel twist that employee Quinn Ransom hands me is rich and creamy, the oat and coconut milk adding a new depth to the soft serve taste.
“I take the most pride in being able to give everybody a treat,” Ransom says of the accommodating menu.
Softys has one truck at the base of the Malahat Skywalk and another in Victoria. The Mill Bay location is the original spot where the electric trailer runs off a nearby car charger. Everything at Softys is also compostable and the owners strive for a zero-emissions business. As weighed down by food as I am, I leave feeling healthy about my cone.
10. El Churro Loco
Technically not a food truck, El Churro Loco is a small Mexican dessert cart tucked away next to an alley in downtown Duncan, which makes it that much more of a hidden gem.
The churro cart (and batter recipe) is on summer loan from Shawnigan Lake’s Compass Mexican Bistro to Spinning Ninny, the upcycled and handmade clothing store that has operated in Duncan for almost two decades. The shop and its owner, Lara Brunschot, are both charmingly eccentric, so a temporary churro stand feels right at home among the hodgepodge of the shop.
I order a five-dollar bag of bite-size Mexican donut fingers. With a crunchy outside and a creamy inside, the churros are the perfect cap to my all-day food truck bender.
Returning home, I flop onto my bed and swear off food for the rest of the weekend. I call Mail Munroe, the Famished Foodie, to tell her about my food truck gold medal performance.
“What makes food trucks in the Cowichan Valley so special boils down to that whole felt sense of community,” Munroe agrees.
I take a heavy food nap. When I wake up two hours later, I’m still full. Yet I head down to the fridge and pick at my leftover curry, burgers and empanadas because, well, the Cowichan Valley just tastes so good.
