[Food police] Mexican fiesta

By Connie van Uffelen & Marjolein van der Veldt

It is horribly cold AND the exam period has started. That can only mean one thing – the food trucks! The ’t Je van het Loket truck steams in the comforting winter sun like an inviting oasis on the Mekelwegse horizon. Comida Mexicana it is!

Restaurant: ’t Je van het Loket
Day: Thursday 24 January 2019
Time: 12:11
Meals: Beef burrito without cheese and with extra salsa (€ 5.25) and a vegetarian quesadilla (€ 5.75)

“It is incredibly cold in the caravan”, according to the two chefs from ‘t Je van het Loket.

Temperature
Burrito (8)
No more than two metres from the food truck we pull our thermometer from the jacket pocket and stick it right through the aluminium wrapping. We measure 55 degrees Celsius and tramp through puddles of melted snow contentedly.
Quesadilla (8)
The thermometer indicator also shows 55 degrees Celsius – good. The salsa & sour cream are on the cold side, but what do you expect when the food truck is out in sub-zero temperatures.

Texture
Burrito (7)
The wrap itself looks like a bodybuilder writhing around in baby oil, but here too, you can’t tell a book by its cover. The texture of soft minced meat mixed with juicy vegetables transports us to a summery Cancun.
Quesadilla (7-)
The crust has a delicious crispy cheese layer. Within it are corn, tomato, jalapeños, kidney beans, peppers and onion. Every bite sets off a trickle of vegetable juice from this tasty meal. You definitely need that pile of napkins.

The vegetarian quesadilla is served with spicy salsa and sour cream with (what we think is) coriander.

Taste
Burrito (8-)
Is it the amount of fat or the spicy salsa explosion that make every bite a fiesta? You need to be immune to heat as after just half a burrito, your mouth is on fuego.
Quesadilla (8-)
The crispy quesadilla is delicious, but gets wet from all the spilling of the hot and spicy filling. The salsa is good. What herb is that in the sour cream again?

Quantity/proportion
Burrito (7+)
Just right for lunch. Especially after drinking that litre of water to cool down our hot mouths. An even division of meat and vegetables.
Quesadilla (7)
The two flat quesadillas are enough to satisfy our hunger pangs.  

Price/quality
Burrito (7+)
We usually write about how pricey our lunches are, though we must admit that we do choose them ourselves. If you want something different to the endless Turkish pizza, we highly recommend walking a little further to this food truck! You can get a burrito for EUR 5.25.
Quesadilla (6)
For a vegetarian version with two sauces, EUR 5.75 is not bad.

The lactose-free beef burrito was a spicy surprise thanks to the extra salsa!

Presentation
Burrito (7-)
As the burrito, just like us, is hidden under thick layers, once we get to it, it doesn’t look that great anymore. A bit like a student after a heavy night of drinking. But the burrito smells a lot better.
Quesadilla (6)
Oh well, a quick bite at a food truck usually just lies on a cardboard plate wrapped in some aluminium foil. What do you expect?

Experience 9
The best service that we have experienced to date. Two sweet ladies who took the time to have a chat and made the effort to accommodate us. “You want a lactose free burrito? No problem, we’ll just add some extra salsa and rice.” If only they had delivered the food hot and steamy and on a linen table cloth to the editorial team’s office, they would have gotten a 10!

Overall rating
Burrito: 8-
Quesadilla: 7
 

Scoreboard:

1. Sausage from Chorizos & CO (8+)
   Gadogado from Warung (8+)
2. Burger from Chorizos & CO (8)
   Couscous from the Couscous Bar (8)
   Burrito from ‘t Je van het Loket (8) (new!)