There’s a new food truck in town and it’s called the Steakout Truck which is created by Holy Grill down across from Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC).  They’ve been parked at the MEC Parking lot by 10th Ave and 8th St SW most days from around 11-3pm, you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook or the Calgary Street Food iPhone app.  One of my friends on Facebook, Cory L., has been raving about this place non-stop, so I knew I had to check it out.

It was a beautiful sunny day out, perfect food truck eating weather, there are a few benches around the truck and some rocks to sit on so there isn’t a shortage of places to sit and eat.  It was pretty busy with such a great location, just outside the doors of MEC.  It was pretty easy to order, they have some menus lying around and the girl helping everyone was great! Super friendly and excellent at recommendations.  Since it was our first time we had to go with the biggest possible order.  We both went with the Prime Rib Sandwich Combo (the large 8oz) for $15, which consisted of tender and juicy local prime rib aged a minimum of 21 days, served on a toasted italian ciabatta with hand cut parmesan fries.  I was expecting some shaved roast beef (where you wondered if it was prime rib), but NOOOOO it was a serious slice of prime rib cut right into your bun.  There’s no fooling anyone here, it was straight up delicious prime rib in a bun, fries were great and the parmesan was a nice touch.  At the side of the truck there was some horseradish where you can top on the sandwich and I slathered it all over plus on the fries.  Next time I would get extra au jus so the sauce would drip all over my fries while I ate it.  It wasn’t the easiest sandwich to eat on your lap but if you brought it back to the office and ate it at a desk or table, it would be just perfect.

I’m looking forward to trying the steak bites next time, I saw a few people eating it and it looked tasty.

Go check out Steakout Food Truck if you’re craving some meat and prime rib sandwiches!

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There’s a burger boom going on in Calgary.

Last week Clive Burger opened on 17th Avenue. Black Betty Burger & Wine Bar opens later this week. And Smashburger opens their first Canadian location Wednesday May the 2nd. Tuesday night Patrick and I had a chance to sample thier menu.

One of the cool things that Smashburger does is customize their menu to represent the the city that they are in. For example in Las Vegas you’ll find a Sin City Burger. New Mexico locations feature a Tex Mex Burger. Calgary is no different. Not only is there a Calgary burger, but they also make their milkshakes and floats with Cochrane’s own MacKay’s Ice Cream.

When you walk in the door you are greeted with an easy to navigate menu above the tills. You can either build your own burger masterpiece or order one of the 6 different hamburgers on the menu.

- Classic

- All American

- Mushroom Swiss

- BBQ Bacon Cheddar

- Spicy Baja

- Calgary

In the mood for chicken? Again you can either create you own, or choose one of the 5 chicken sandwiches on the menu. They come either grilled or crispy.

- Classic

- Buffalo

- Spinach & Goat Cheese

- Avocado Club

- Calgary

Smashburger also makes a veggie burger, 4 different salads, hot dogs, and has 11 different sides to choose from.

In an effort to give the best review possible we ordered a lot of food. We had the Calgary and the Spicy Baja Burgers. The Buffalo and the Avocado Club Chicken Sandwiches. An order of poutine and chili cheese fries.

The Burgers:

- The Calgary burger is grilled onions, pepper jack cheese, applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato and dijon mayonaise on a kaiser roll.

- The Spicy Baja had pepper jack cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion, spicy chipotle mayo, and fresh jalapenos on a spicy chipotle bun.

The great thing about these burgers is how fresh they tasted. Even with all of the toppings, the meat was so flavorful that it stood out amongst all the other flavors. Everything served as a compliment to the beef rather than stealing the spotlight. Even with the Spicy Baja, the guacamole soothed the heat from the jalapenos, once again allowing the beef to be the star.

The Chicken Sandwiches:

- The Buffalo Chicken Sandwich was Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, crumbled blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on an egg bun. We had this with the crispy chicken which is a is hand battered country fried chicken breast. Much like the Spicy Baja burger this sandwich was the perfect blend of spicy and cool with the Franks Red Hot and the blue cheese. Combined with a fresh juicy chicken breast it was amazing. It may have been our favorite. the two of us keep providing arguments for all 4 items that we tried.

- The Avocado Club had fresh avocado, applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing, and mayo on a multigrain bun. With this sandwich we went with the grilled chicken. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Again this sandwich presented a perfect balance of flavors.

The Sides:

Were good. But lets be honest…Smashburger is truly all about the burgers and sandwiches.

After watching the staff transform raw balls of ground beef into the masterpieces that tantalize your taste buds I can honestly say that Smashburger is taking fast food to a new level. Plus they’re licensed too!

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