Food trucks have a reputation for being a gamble. Some are great, some are a letdown, and you rarely know which one you have until you take a bite. The YouTubers behind @BrennenTaylor decided to roll the dice on purpose. They went to Cookeville, Tennessee with a plan to eat at random food trucks for 24 hours.
By the end of the day, they had a verdict that few food adventures can match. “There was nothing bad,” one of them said. “Nothing.”
Here is the whole episode, so you can see what they ate along the way.
Starting at Trackside
The first location was Trackside Food Truck Park, which turned out to have only two trucks. That sounds small, but it did not stop the hosts from finding something to rave about. One of the trucks was a spud truck, and it sold a “Mac attack” stuffed potato. The hosts compared the idea to the viral UK spuds.
The hosts were quickly won over. “All around this place has delicious food, great service, good drinks,” one of them said. “I’d be here every day. This is worth the drive.”
At a stuffed potato and mac and cheese stop, one of the hosts said something that says it all. “This is delicious. That’s like the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had.”
Hogzilla and the Tallow Fries
The potatoes were not the only thing on the list. The hosts also tried an item called Hogzilla, and they had beef tallow fries. Their review of the fries was short and vivid. “McDonald’s but better, tastes cleaner, very salty.”
If you grew up eating fries from the drive-through, that description probably gets your attention.
The Filipino Surprise
The biggest surprise of the day came at the end. When the hosts looked back on the trip, they could not stop talking about a Filipino spot. “I would never expect Filipino food to hit this hard,” one of them said.
They were also honest about how they got there. “If this spot hadn’t been recommended we would have just gone to a random restaurant,” one of them said, “barbecue or some Mexican spot.” That is a very human thing to admit. Most of us pick the same few places again and again because they feel safe.
The hosts said their series is the reason they got out of that rut. “I’m just glad this series keeps us trying new things,” one of them said. “Without it we’d be eating the same three meals.” They also made a promise. “If I’m in this town again I’m trying this again. And the potato shop, that potato was great.”
A Few Things to Know About Cookeville
Food was the star, but the hosts also noted a couple of sights in Cookeville. The town has a bike archway and a train depot. The hosts pointed out both while they were in town.
How to Do Your Own Food Truck Day
You do not need a camera to copy this idea. A random food truck day can be a fun, low pressure outing for a couple, a family or a group of friends. Here are a few ways to make the most of it.
- Start at a park with more than one option. The hosts began at a food truck park, where a few different vendors sit in one spot. It makes it easy to try more than one thing without driving all over town.
- Split plates. If you are planning to eat several meals, sharing keeps you from filling up too early. The hosts were able to try a stuffed potato, a Hogzilla item and tallow fries and still keep going.
- Order the thing you cannot get at home. A stuffed potato loaded with mac and cheese is not something most of us make on a Tuesday night. Treat a food truck visit as a chance to try something new.
- Ask for recommendations. The Filipino spot made the day because someone suggested it. Locals usually know the places that do not show up on every list.
- Keep an open mind. The hosts expected barbecue or Mexican food and left raving about Filipino food. The best meal of the trip can come from a cuisine you did not plan on.
- Bring a drink and a napkin stash. Messy food is part of the fun, and you may be eating outside.
The Bottom Line
There is something refreshing about a trip where the verdict is simply that nothing was bad. In a world of angry online reviews, it is nice to hear a group of people say that a day of random food trucks led to a stuffed potato they would go back for, fries they compared favorably to a drive-through classic, and a Filipino meal that hit harder than they expected.
The lesson is an easy one. If you always eat the same three meals, try something different this week. Take a drive to a town you have not visited, find a food truck park, and let curiosity pick your lunch. As the hosts put it, a spot like that can be worth the drive.
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