Best Food Truck in Kingston
It would be a pretty big understatement to say that food trucks have made a splash in Kingston over the past 5 or so months. With many chip trucks, and hot dog and sausage carts already in business around town, we have also seen an influx of new, gourmet restaurants on wheels including Farm Girl, Roamin Komodo Streatery and Mission Street North. These newer additions to Kingston’s street food scene have gained a lot of attention because of their unique offerings, as well as a general focus on the food truck industry not only here but in Ottawa, Montreal, Hamilton and many other North American cities. But which of these old or new options is really the best food truck in Kingston?
While food trucks have been lauded by many and enjoyed for being novel and often with a focus on local food and convenience, they have also been the point of contention and have raised some serious questions for local restaurant owners who have a high overhead to keep their permanently placed establishments up and running. This discussion is ongoing, but in the meantime, food trucks seem to be here to stay. Accordingly, this week’s poll question (if you can possibly choose only one answer) is:
[poll id=”175″]
Tell us what factors contributed to your choice for the best food truck in Kingston. Did you choose a food truck that is offering something unique? Maybe you’re more of a dessert person, or are you a fan of the tried and true chip truck where you can get a poutine and a good ol’ foot long hot dog or sausage? If that’s the case, I would be remiss not to mention our hot dog and sausage vendors at Confederation Basin and the Barrack Street Food Basics. For simplicity’s sake we decided to stick with actual trucks but if these are your go-to’s, we’d love to hear about it. Drop off your comments below and help us crown the best food truck in Kingston!
Thanks to tedeytan for today’s pic.
Reason for Mission Street North: Cabo Tacos
There is logans at lake Onatrio park too .
Yes! Sorry I missed that one. I did see it when I was there a few weeks ago and it totally slipped my mind. If it's your favourite, please drop a note here.
Best: Mission Street North – best Tacos I've had since mexico and the churros rock!
Logan's is the worst truck I've eaten at so far, based on having to wait 25 minutes in line just to place my order and another 20 while they made it. It was a wrap and fries and while a decent price, not delicious enough to justify the wait.
Mission Street North – hands down, all of the food on their menu is fresh, different and absolutely delicious. The food is consistent, the gentlemen are always smiling – and I crave their tasty creations constantly (did I mention the more than reasonable prices?). I have tried most of the local trucks on this list, but to be completely honest, a few of them sound much more delicious than the food put out tends to be. I don't like to pick faves, but some of the food from other locations was downright disappointing considering the hype!
Mission forever holds a place in my heart, and stomach. :)
Mission st North – burritos
Mission Street North! Not only were the guys so friendly and welcoming but their food delicious! The prices are pretty good (especially when considering the great quality products they use), portions are even better! If you're looking for the best burritos/tacos in town you've in the right place. I've gotten lunch from here several times after my classes and I've never been disappointed! It's no surprise to me that they're in the lead :)
My runner up would definitely be farm girl though! The food they put out is great I just feel its quite overpriced.
The observation that Farm Girl is overpriced, and that they’ve increased their prices over the first season, is one I keep hearing. Certainly some people will find Farm Girl expensive, especially in light of greasy, fast food trucks. Perhaps that’s part of the lure they’re trying to create: the idea that you can’t afford gourmet food, even if it’s from a truck, every day. Doesn’t that make it more special when you splurge for Farm Girl? Or maybe it’s just a case of Farm Girl taking a bit of time to figure out where they need to price things in order to turn a bit of profit.
In all honesty, my mark against Farm Girl is their inconsistency – and I in no way mean any offense to anyone as I know for a fact many others thoroughly enjoy their food.. However, in my 3 experiences with and without friends – the flavors have been a bit of a let down. Each time I've ordered a sandwich and a side ( I have yet to try any of their finger foods, perogies etc). The sandwiches on a bun have been okay, but I felt they were lacking in flavor and seasoning for the sauces and in the end kind of enjoyed my home stacked sandwiches better. As for the sides, I was disappointed twice there – when I ordered the watermelon & feta salad it was warm, mushy and seriously lacking in the basil and feta department. A second time, we ordered the pasta salad (several friends and myself) and it too had little to no flavor other than cooked pasta and a splash of vinegar and we all didn't enjoy it… I don't have fussy tastebuds by any means, I'm usually quite easy to please, but several of their products have been a bit of a miss on this end. Perhaps it's luck – but either way, I tend to walk away feeling a tad cheated for the amount I paid for a small sammy and a side.
Farm Girl also apparently focuses on local and seasonal food, so that might contribute to the higher prices. But I expect a certain brightness of flavour with gourmet cooking of local, seasonal, high-quality ingredients, and I just find that it's not there at Farm Girl. I don't know if the recipes are overcomplicated and so maybe the simplicity of the ingredients isn't getting a chance to shine, or if something else is going on, but I find that the flavours and textures don't justify the cost. Gourmet or not, the food isn't yummy enough to cost that much. I wish it was.
Does anyone know what Farmgirl pays the city to operate in City Park? Maybe they charge her a high "rent" and that's why her prices are so high? If they don't charge a lot/anything there is no excuse for her exorbitant prices.
I'm glad to see that Kingston now boasts at least 9 food trucks, and that the City of Kingston has been supportive of this type of small business. Some cities have either severely limited or outright banned food trucks from setting up. Toronto has a few but they have heavily limited the number authorized. And London, Ont. won't allow them at all.
I was really excited about Farm Girl when it first arrived but after a few visits found I was disappointed with the food – lacked flavour and quantity for the price and also took way too long after ordering. Food trucks need to have the food out quickly…otherwise, why not go to a restaurant where you can sit down and be served for the same price…or even less?
Mission Street North! Delicious food, excellent quality, fun & friendly proprietors. I'm there once a week on average at least. Cabo Tacos on corn are my favourite. They won't say they're gluten free, but I am and never have any concerns with the Cabos on Corn. Love the nachos and guacamole and all of their sauces. I hope they stay open through winter too! Anyone I've taken with me has enjoyed what they had. I wish I could try more, but alas dietary restrictions prevent that from happening. (Gluten free burritto wraps?)
I want to love Farm Girl so much! I’ve been four times now, always ready to love the experience. But I can’t justify $14 or more for lunch unless it’s memorable and spectacular — and none of the food I’ve eaten there has been either. It’s a long wait and a high price for just okay food — I’d be okay with one or two of those but when you put all three together, I’m unlikely to return. By contrast, the food at Mission Street North might also take a while to get to my hands but the price is better and it’s always delicious. I will be sticking with MSN for now — haven’t tried Roamin’ Komodo yet but I’m looking forward to it! So glad Kingston is welcoming these food trucks — they’re great for the city!
Agree wholeheartedly with many comments about Farm Girl’s sticker shock…it was already on the expensive side in June and earlier. I, too, wanted to love it and tried to support it in all of its locations (Princess St., Memorial Centre, City Park) but the inconsistency combined with high prices made it a let down more than once. Also, more than once, had to wait 20-30 mins from ‘opening’ time before things were hot enough to serve. Beautiful homemade perogies and homemade donuts had visual appeal but tasted way too greasy, baked beans were too runny, side dishes were too bland. A few bright moments (deep fried cheese/tomato sandwich, homemade bbq sauce) couldn’t compensate for the rest of the disappointments. As noted elsewhere, they were aces in the marketing department but food just isn’t delivering.
Roamin’ Komodo serves *fantastic* fish tacos (had twice, both excellent) and great fries. Also love the fries at the Dog House at Cdn Tire (Gardiners). Anxious to try Mission St. North. Thanks for all the insights from comments above.
Update: I finally tried the Yucatan Chicken burrito at Mission Street North today and it was excellent. My dining companion advised that the Cabo (fish) Tacos were good, especially on corn tortillas, but not as good as Roamin' Komodo where the mango salsa gives that sweet balance to the heat.
Suggestion: a friendly fish taco battle between Roamin' Komodo and Mission Street North with proceeds to United Way or similar?
Roamin Komodo accepts the invite to a Taco throwdown against my friend Alex at Mission Street North , love to see this pan out !!
Excellent, let us know if it works out! It could be like Iron Chef Food Truck edition: Battle Fish Taco!
Have to agree with most of the above comments. Farm Girl is expensive, not always flavourful and not always alot of meat on the sandwiches and you never know when they'll be there. I wouldn't mind paying 15$ for lunch from a truck if it was good. Mission St and Roamin Komodo really hit the spot at a reasonable price.
You have to try DogZilla Grill in Confederation Park! Amazing gourmet hot dogs! Great prices. They use top quality ingredients. Way different than all the other street meat carts.
Would love to throw our hat in ring. Cheeky Chips, located at 1143 midland Ave at North Star gas. fresh cut fries, True newfie fries, homemade chile and weekly specials. Opening for the season on 24 march. Please see facebook website.
So, after a disappointing visit to the Mission Street truck – which had rave reviews – I decided to try Farm Girl to see if it would live up to the local ratings I had read.
My sister and I had their daily special which was a roast beef sandwich with an au jus dip as well as a red quinoa salad.
The sandwich and au jus were both quite good. Close to excellent!
The quinoa salad was good also though the dressing was not quite as tasty as I had hoped…..but I am quite picky when paying $16 for a food truck lunch.
Overall, worth the price because you could easily share this meal between 2 people. I also felt the food was truly fresh and tasty.
The service added to the experience as the staff were friendly and efficient. The meal was ready in under 10 minutes and I was greeted when I walked up by the owner and a staff member.
After many food truck experiences, including a couple of U.S. award winners, I would say this truck makes it into the top 3 I have tried. Congratulations to the owners who seem to have good vision and a desire to over achieve in their industry.
My sister and I tried this truck after reading local reviews raving about the tacos and burritos.
Having been to both California and the American south west, we have had our share of excellent Mexican food.
I am sad to say we were disappointed. We had 2 types of burritos – the traditional carnitas and the chicken. They were 'medium' heat. We both agreed they met with the heat expectations but lacked in flavour. The burrito filling was quite wet and as a result we ended up with a mushy mess.
Perhaps our standards are too high as this is not an area where many Mexican restaurants are located. We have been to chain restaurants such as Mucho Burrito and had food equally as good.
We truly feel that, though the men running the truck are quite pleasant, the meal missed it's mark.
Waited 40 minutes for Farm Girl – who left the truck to do a media interview. In the end my meal was really mediocre and unbelievably expensive for what I got. VERY DISAPPOINTED will never waste my $$ again.
Has anyone tried cheeky chips on midland across from wal mart. Homemade hamburgers and chile. Fresh cut fries cooked in canola. Owned and operated by a Newfie you will find the best Newfie fries ever. Raved for their best fries in town. They even take call in’s and text orders. I recommend you do that if you are going for lunch.
I am looking for a food truck to come to Providence Manor for a lunch-out idea for our residents, any thoughts?