A Fork in the Road

From experience (most of which I’d like to forget), most tourists to New Orleans believe that life doesn’t exist outside the confines of the French Quarter. The same holds true in regards to the growing New Orleans food truck scene. Unfortunately, because of municipal ordinances, the only food cart most of the city’s visitors will stumble upon will be Carny-driven Lucky Dog carts after a long night at Cat’s Meow. What started as a few simple hot dog carts, has now grown to several food trucks locking their tires and slinging out gourmet street fare at various locations throughout the city. From tacos, to Brazilian barbecue, to burgers and fries, hunger pains and a Twitter account are all you need to delve into the diverse food truck scene in the Crescent City.

Since the on-site cafeteria’s daily special is fried chicken (and by daily I mean EVERY day), I’ve made my way across Leake Avenue to the Tuesday Crescent City Farmer’s Market to check out the green plate specials quite a few times. Each time, the overpriced specials at Tulane’s Uptown Square further deepen my frustration and disappointment in lunch. One day, amidst the low hum of a generator, something caught my eye- a short bus (let the jokes begin). This wasn’t an ordinary yellow dog. One whole side of the bright red bus seemed to be opening like a Transformer. As I ran (or maybe just a slight jog) over to the bus like I was late for the first day of Kindergarten, the function of the bus was now becoming obvious. The bus had been converted into a kitchen and been retrofitted to handle the Uptown lunch rush. Seats were replaced with a refrigerator, a small range, a sandwich press, and yes, even a kitchen sink.

Even though New Orleans is no Memphis, I passed on the turkey muffuletta and placed my order with a lady as nice as Ms. Frizzle- pulled pork with cole slaw. At just $8.00 for a large sandwich and a side, I hustled back to the office with what felt like a steal. Once back at my desk, I unwrapped the sandwich from its covering of aluminum foil.

Much like the other specialty sandwiches from A Fork in the Road, the special-of-the-day was pressed to a golden brown in their signature Panini press. Thick BBQ sauce was trying to escape the sandwich through every crevice. Mounds of juicy pulled pork and creamy cole slaw were stuffed between a large French loaf like Phil Brickma sandwiched between two hotel suite doors.

Even though they are consistently set up at Uptown Square every weekday at lunch, I think it’s time for A Fork in the Road to update their website and Twitter, and take their delicious sandwiches to Facebook. With social media networks driving the New Orleans food truck business, the guys over at the converted school bus would benefit from at least posting their daily specials to Twitter or Facebook. Wait, maybe I don’t want excessive customers in line. I definitely don’t want to be waiting for lunch with LSU students.