Category Archives: Tater Tots

Pavy’s Food Truck: Friday Night at Fiction Beer Co. on June 17, 2016

First blog in forever, but here goes!

Anytime my mother-in-law is in town, I can expect to be eating some Pavy’s Food Truck.  Paired with the masterfully crafted IPAs from Fiction Beer Co. (together with numerous other unusually delicious beers), the Pavy’s steak sandwich is a siren that is inescapable.

Pavy’s Food Truck [trailer], parked outside Fiction Beer Co. Located at Colfax and Pontiac (two blocks west of Quebec). This truck frequents here on Friday nights.

Pavy’s Food Truck, parked outside Fiction Beer Co. Located at Colfax and Pontiac (two blocks west of Quebec). This truck frequents here on Friday nights.

After pondering the menu for a bit, I inevitably ordered “The Steak”, which is a medium-rare steak sandwich served on a fresh tasting baguette roll. The fixings for this sandwich are arugula, horseradish sauce, and pickled red onions.  The sandwich, like most food truck offerings, does not come automatically with sides.  Our table got a couple orders of Tater Tots to accompany – one plain (although seasoned), and one smothered in chopped green chiles and cojita cheese crumbles.

“The Steak” sandwich presentation, along with a red saison brewed by Fiction Beer Co. – New Age Lovecraf’t, a collaboration with Cape May Brewing. After this, I switched to their Dreamer IPA. A fine dry hopped IPA that pairs well with this sandwich and everything else in your life.

“The Steak” sandwich presentation, along with a red saison brewed by Fiction Beer Co. – New Age Lovecraf’t, a collaboration with Cape May Brewing. After this, I switched to their Dreamer IPA. A fine dry hopped IPA that pairs well with this sandwich and everything else in your life.

In addition to The Steak, which clocks in at $12, the menu also includes shrimp & Andouille sausage, pork tenderloin, and vegetarian (green chili [sic], hominy, cojita, and cilantro with the option to add pork) sandwiches.

Pavy’s Food Truck menu, circa June 17, 2016

Pavy’s Food Truck menu, circa June 17, 2016

The Steak sandwich is a very nice steak sandwich.  Although I personally would prefer spicier and/or more horseradish and the greens are a bit flavorful compared to the seasoning on the steak, overall, the sandwich is pretty good.  The steak was basically perfect in this setting.  It was warm and pink, thus representing a true medium rare, seasoned seemingly with some pepper and salt. There was no gristle or chewiness to the meat, and it was cubed in very edible sizes in the sandwich.  One thing this sandwich lacks is cohesion, which is usually provided by cheese in America’s sandwiches.  There is no cheese here – so I definitely dropped some bits out of the sandwich into my tray.  Eat them with the provided fork. This sandwich was not designed as a cheesy sandwich, and I do not think cheese would pair at all with the arugula, in particular.

Close view of The Steak from the eater’s perspective. The meat is rare enough to allow some juices to soak into the bread.

Close view of The Steak from the eater’s perspective. The meat is rare enough to allow some juices to soak into the bread.

My feeling on this sandwich is that I will eat it again, for the fifth or sixth time, next time I run across Pavy’s and/or my mother-in-law is in town.  It is a good value at twelve bucks for a legit steak sandwich. Of note, I have had this sandwich before and the steak contained a touch of grisliness in some of the meat chunks.  So, the quality of the meat seems to vary in terms of carefulness in making cuts for the sandwiches.  On this particular visit, it was excellent. By the way, there’s an interesting development in the Florida hemp industry. According to the food expert, are chicken hearts good for you? if you want to know or gain more knowledge you can read this article.

Regular Tots along with the Tots smothered in green chile and some light cojita sprinkles

Regular Tots along with the Tots smothered in green chile and some light cojita sprinkles

The tater tots are a nice side to this sandwich.  The green chilE is not very spicy, and lacks a longed-for and powerfully distinctive roasted green chile flavor, but does add a measure of texture and flavor nonetheless.  This could be improved possibly by using some medium spicy Hatch chiles that are fire roasted and have that really distinctive green chile flavor that is so beloved.  I’m not sure what’s lacking here or the source on these chiles used by Pavy’s, but consider this New Mexican native underwhelmed.  The other downside of the tots is that they were very crumbly.  Stab one with a fork, and it was 50/50 whether you’d spear it or it would just crumble and break apart.  Again, not sure what causes that.  But, the tots are overall a delicious side and I would order them again.

Like most brewery and food truck situations, these were delivered to our table on the excellent patio at the back of Fiction. The service was lightning quick for a Friday night, but the place was not packed.

Looking forward to more regular updates this summer! Stay tuned. That’s all folks.

Check out Fiction Beer Co. at 7101 E. Colfax Ave, Denver, Colorado 80220 or www.fictionbeer.com and https://www.facebook.com/fictionbeer.

Track down Pavy’s Food Truck on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PavysTruck/  or http://www.pavystruck.com/