The Fat Shallot

It's not often that a new truck gets announced and hits the road so quickly. I only learned about The Fat Shallot last week, and today had the delicious pleasure of landing the truck. That almost never happens.

The Fat Shallot is the one of the few newly licensed on-board cooking trucks and was featured today as part of NBC's food truck week. And so it was off to the food truck stand at NBC Tower, which is about the same distance from my office as 600 West Chicago. And it's one of the few truck stands that sees consistent action.

If I had to sum up the menu, I'd say it's along the lines of one of those hidden gem diners that serves up some epic sandwiches and sides, along the lines of what you might see on a certain Food Network show.

The sandwich I had my eye on: the grilled salami on pretzel roll with BBQ sauce, pickled red onions and a fried egg on top. Because I'm all about putting an egg on everything.

But, I was in a bit of a rush today, with my coworker Eva needing to beat feet quickly, so I was looking for something that would better survive a to-go situation. (We actually ended up eating only a few feet away from the truck, but that's an entirely different story.)

So of course it was the Reuben. Granted, this is made with pastrami so it's more along the lines of a Rachel, but let's not split hairs. I've been on this DIY kick lately, and making my own pastrami has been one of those projects so I've fallen in love with the stuff. And man did this deliver the goods. Marble rye, delicious pastrami, tarragon slaw, swiss and horseradish. Only thing missing was a cold beer.

But wait, there's more. Listed among the sides is something that had my name written all over it: Fat Shallot Fries (hey, don't go there). Caramelized onions, cheese sauce and giardiniera. Aside from a fried egg, I like to put giard on pretty much everything. Yes please!

I will definitely return for my egged up sammich. And I'm hoping I can put an egg on anything. But only after I've completed the menu as intended.