My friend Jon and I took our normal mid-week ride-and-lunch this week. We were both pressed for time, but Le Bon Cuisine truck was at Technology Federal Credit Union on First Street, and that made a nice, quick ride for us.
I had looked up the menu online and noted that the choices seemed to amount to a chicken sandwich or a pork sandwich. Not sure whether there’d be anything I could eat, I was delighted to see the big banner on the side advertising “Savory Shrimp Garlic Noodles!” Saved!
So I stepped up to the window and said, “I’d like the shrimp garlic noodles”
“We don’t have shrimp today.”
“You know you have a big banner out here saying you have ‘Savory Shrimp Garlic Noodles,’ right?”
“Umm, uh, OK.”
“Well, can I have the garlic noodles with no meat?”
“Sure”
She took my money and Jon stepped up, having carefully examined the three (3) items (Chicken Sandwich, Pork Sandwich, Garlic Noodles) on the truck’s menu.
“I’d like the Number 2,” he said, confidently.
“Ummm… I don’t know… what’s #2?” the server asked
“Pork Sandwich”
“Oh! OK, yes, we can make that.”
With this auspicious beginning, I was openly fearful of what might happen next.
Our food came, we went over to a table that TechCU has next to the building (I’m sure it’s reserved for employees, but I have been a member of Tech for longer than most of the employees have been alive) and tore into our meals.
The garlic noodles, it must be said, were delicious. Redolent of garlic, salty, and perfect in texture, they were very good. I would have liked a little bigger portion, but I was happy with the noodles themselves.
The pork sandwich was an unqualified hit, however. I’m glad I got a picture of it before Jon bit into it; when he took the first bite, all conversation ceased. When I asked him how the sandwich was, he just replied “Mmmph… mmmm” with a look in his eye I have only seen once before, and then on a hungry rottweiler that had found a steak behind a butcher shop. I decided not to bother him too much.
When he finished, though, he said the pork was perfectly seasoned, with the cabbage slaw on the sandwich adding to and enhancing the flavor of the pork, and that their hot/barbeque sauce went perfectly with the ingredients. It was served with a little bit of cole slaw and some potato chips (invisible behind the sandwich wrapping). He really enjoyed it, and said it was well-worth the ride.
So, an “A” for the food, but low marks for the customer service at Le Bon Cuisine truck. I hope they’ll get their act together – that sandwich deserves a better introduction!
Les Bons are a fun bunch. Sorry to hear about your service peccadilloes; blame it on youth. They’re like the Brat Pack of our South Bay Food Trucks, but they cook like old souls.
Bill- I agree. I walked away from the entire lunch laughing, from the incredibly bad service to the incredibly good food. In the end, of course, the food wins out… we’ll be back there. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jon hasn’t been back – he looked really, really happy with that pork sandwich.