Fun Playing With Polish Boys

You read that correctly. Polish boys. Not the New Orleans "Po' Boy." But a Cleveland specialty, served up by a ten year old Cleveland classic - the Seti's food truck. Seti's may be found Monday through Friday, from 10am-4pm, in the parking lot of Dean Restaurant Supply, E.34th & Woodland Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115. Seti's is also available for catering. Though I had read some praises of Seti's from no less than Cleveland's Iron Chef Michael Symon, it wasn't blinking strongly on my radar. Until the weekday that I needed to stop at Dean Supply for some catering supplies (Dean has an awesome selection at great prices). 

And there, in the parking lot, with only a small bench for the assembled waiting customers - there it was:

 

The menu is right on the truck:

Since it was my first time, I had to try the "Best Polish Boy" - which is a  grilled Polish sausage topped with slaw, fries and BBQ sauce. Chili and cheese are both available for a small upcharge. But I had mine "off the rack" as it were. It was hard to get decent photos juggling the goods in my car, but here it is:

The sausage was perfectly cooked and steaming hot, and it snapped beautifully when bitten into, yielding porky juices and tender flavors. My only complaint was that the BBQ sauce sort of took over the sandwich, muting what seemed like wonderful coleslaw, and turning crisp fries mushy. Still, this sandwich made for a great lunch.

I returned to Seti's a few weeks later with my husband in tow - he's lived near Cleveland for almost 60 years and had never had a Polish Boy! We needed to remedy that, and we did.

Bob's Best Polish Boy 

Bob agreed with me that the BBQ sauce overwhelmed the sandwich a bit. But that didn't stop him from enjoying every messy bite!

I opted for the Chili Dog for my second experience:

Chili Dog with Mustard and Chopped Onion 

I'm not a big chili dog kinda girl - but I really loved this sandwich! The chili wasn't very spicy, so the onion and mustard each got to play a note in the final taste.

Fries

The fries were fresh, hot, and crispy. The perfect side for a chili dog.

Seti's offers fun food at a cheap price (our lunch for two, with beverages, totaled $10). We had fun playing with Seti's Polish Boys and their other offerings - and though a picnic table or other seating appliance would be nice, the car worked just fine both times. The food is served hot enough (and wrapped well enough) to take some travel, say to an office downtown or a nearby suburb. But when food smells this good, it is so hard to wait!

More Fun Playing with Dim and Den Sum

I have been fortunate enough to catch the Dim and Den Sum truck a few more times since my last post about Cleveland's first food truck. The food just keeps getting better and better, despite flat tires, short bread supplies, empty propane tanks, and any other number of things that just seem to happen when you are trying to feed a lot of people honest, freshly made food from a converted box truck. Dim and Den Sum rocks!

My second visit with Dim and Den Sum was again at the parking lot of 24865 Emery Road. This time, I took advantage of the picnic tables.

Tater Tots with Spicy Sauce and Truffle Pepper

I don't know how they get these basic tater tots to have such perfect crunch and taste, but they do! Perhaps it's the special sauce?

Chicken Nachos with Asparagus Slaw

Loved this lunch selection. I would have liked a little more of the exquisitely fresh  and celery-free chicken salad, but I did not leave hungry.

The asparagus slaw captured the essence of spring, in a way I'd have never expected. Fresh, crunchy, yet also a creamy texture when eaten with the beans. Worked for me.

By my next visit with DDS, the venue had moved to the main street outside of the Progressive Insurance campus, between the corporate office buildings and the lovely park (300 N. Commons Blvd Mayfield OH - hopefully to be the "regular" Thursday lunch spot). And the menu had improved from a xeroxed sheet taped to the truck to this cool "chalkboard paint." The only thing missing was a place to sit, but hey, this is street food after all!

Cheesesteak Steam Bun: Shaved beef, pickled red onions, cheese, & "horsey sauce", BBQ

This wasn't exactly the format I was expecting - I expected a char sui type item, fully encased in pastry. This version, an almost pancake-like fresh bread circle topped with savory beef, incredibly tasty pickled onion, horseradishy sauce and cheese whiz, was a little messy to eat, but fabulous in tastes and textures. 

Pulled Pork Taco

This creation featured succulent pulled pork, fiji apple creme fraiche, kimchi slaw, and hot sauce. Yum!

Jjang Dawg: Local dog, pulled pork, kimchi slaw, smashed tots, Bourbon soy bbq sauce

Wow. This may be the best thing I've had from DDS (though that Cheesesteak Bun is a darn close second) - an amazing locally-sourced hotdog, perfectly grilled, which went "snap" when I bit in and which  further rewarded me with juiciness in every bite. This dog was served on the "home-made" bun the DDS boys are sourcing from a pal at Fire Restaurant, topped with tender pulled pork, crunchy kimchi slaw, smashed tots, and Bourbon BBQ sauce - I almost wished I'd hadn't eaten anything else, so I  would have room to enjoy a second  one of these, it was that good. Almost wished, because the other items were truly delicious also. But this dog left me feeling happy for the rest of the day!

 

A lone tater tot that got away. How sad!

The next week at the same locale - here was the menu:

Both Chefs, Jeremy Esterly and Chris Hodgson, were "in the house," so to speak, this gorgeously sunny day.

Sarah's Jalapeno Tots

As described on the menu, except no bacon. The bacon was not missed at all - the flavors and textures were delicious, though a little messy for finger food.

Meatloaf Melt: Beef and Veal Meatloaf, Duck Confit, Sweet Soy Ketchup, Green Onion Cheese

 

Thought this sandwich "suffered" from not having the wonderful homemade bread (the supply had gotten stale, and the Chefs decided that packaged bread was the better choice) - the fillings more than made up for it! The duck confit tasted wonderfully ducky, and the meatloaf was moist and flavorful. The cheese was an interesting and different product - it all worked together beautifully.

I haven't mentioned the beverages because I've mostly stuck to water, but Dim and Den Sum offers a small variety of unusual libations to accompany the eats - so far, I've seen an Apple Soda from China, an Apple Soda from Mexico (all cane sugar and no high fructose corn syrup), and a Coconut Soda.

And so, another three Dim and Den Sum lunches delivered a pause from the workday that truly refreshed. Please check out their website, twitter (I understand that they are about to launch an IPhone app that makes them easier to find) and Facebook page, so that you can have some fun playing with Dim and Den Sum's made-from-scratch, tasty food. It is definitely worth the the sticky fingers!

Fun Playing with Dim and Den Sum

Dim Sum, as many of you know, is a Cantonese reference to "The Heart's Little Treasures." In practice, Dim Sum generally consists of small plates of dumplings, cakes, rolls and other dainty goodies, usually labor-intensive to make, and quick and easy to eat. Cleveland-area Chefs Christopher Hodgson and Jeremy Esterly have turned the concept inside-out with their historic (read: first legal in Cleveland) food truck: Dim and den Sum. Combining modern communications technology (ie Facebook and Twitter), cooking technology (a mobile kitchen) and eclectic crafting on Slow Food, Soul Food, and Asian themes, these two young Chefs have created a new food sensation, which appears at various venues around the Greater Cleveland Area. Where and when they will be serving is where the social network tech comes in.

Last Thursday, I had an 11:30am appointment in Willoughby, and was rushing to get caught up on my  morning info-overload when I saw a post on the Facebook Wall of fellow blogger Cleveland Foodie:  "Want to try Dim and den sum? Work on the east side? They are coming to my office parking lot tomorrow at 11:30 - stop by!" An inquiry or two later, I learned that they would be serving until 1:30pm, "or until the food runs out." Hopeful that I could make it after my appointment, I found myself flying into the parking lot of 24865 Emery Road just about 1pm. And imagine my distress to see that they were obviously gearing up to drive out! As my mind considered parking in front of them to stop them from leaving, I was rescued by yet another Cleveland food blogger, Heidi Robb (of Life in Recipes), and another gentleman, who emerged from their vehicles just as I was hitting the driveway apron. Thank goodness, and lucky for us!

Why so lucky, you ask? Because we all got an awesome lunch for a little money!

The Uniquely Decorated Dim and Den Sum Truck

Chef Chris informed us that everything on the menu was still available except tater tots (because he'd already shut and cooled the fryer). And he was out of tomatoes. And singles. And we said: "no worries!"

First up - a sandwich for the gentleman:

Brisk-wich: Slow roasted brisket, asian baked beans, spring onion relish, pickles

Heidi ordered two sets of sliders:

Chicken slider: chicken confit, watermelon slaw, homemade hot sauce 

Pork Slider: Pulled Pork, kimchi-onaise, seaweed salad 

I did not get to taste any of those, but they sure looked fabulous! I had briefly considered taking my lunch back to my office to eat, but the sight and smell of the other items sealed it. Back in my car, as Dim and Den Sum rolled past my rear window, I dug into my packages!

Shortrib slider: Braised local shortrib, corn salsa, teryiaki sauce 

What a lovely introduction to Dim and Den Sum! Melt-in-your-mouth tender shortrib, crunchy fresh onions and corn (not super sweet, but better than I would expect for May), and mild teriyaki adding salty bite against the sweet salsa.  A toothsome appetizer.

PBLT: Slow roasted pork shoulder, thick cut bacon, tomato relish, sriracha mayo, red leaf lettuce

PBLT = Pork, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato.

This DDS signature sandwich was a little sad to be missing it's tomato components - but pork fat definitely made up for it!

This last photo is included to show off the bacon more. It is a most worthy bacon - deeply tasty, not overly salty, and richly porky. Mine was just a tad undercooked, such that it was a bit too chewy, but I'm not holding that against it - conceptually, and in execution (but for the doneness of the bacon) it was a fabulous sandwich, which I anticipate happily eating again. The pulled pork was perfectly cooked and flavored, and the sriracha mayo made my lips tingle with pleasure. Though the menu described the greens as red leaf lettuce, my sandwich also had peppery micro greens, which added even more depth to the flavors, while the leaf lettuce added crunch. All in all, a lunch worthy of committing a parking violation to get!

Dim and Den Sum posts the info on where and when it will be serving to Facebook and Twitter, and provides menu and other information on its website. The website says that they are also available for catering or corporate events. I highly recommend playing with their food (I hear the tater tots with truffle are to die for!) if you have the opportunity to do so.