Meet ‘n Potatoes Truck

CLOSED
It’s a mystery what happened to this place. They made an excellent sandwich always filling with great atmosphere. Suddenly they weren’t there anymore. No farewell twitter message. No explanation on Facebook. They just… disappeared. It’s been over a year since they were last seen.
Looks like the ride is over.
Very Sad.

Man did I order the wrong thing. I had the chicken breast cutlet sandwich and it was just nasty.
None of the flavors melded at all. Coleslaw and fried chicken do go together per se but not together in a sandwich with French fries, no sauce of any kind and some bland tasting provolone cheese.
I should of gotten the pastrami (had beef yesterday) I know!
I’d advise them to just delete this one off their menu.

Try the Dr B. B is for Bomb! YummO!
If you can deal with the slightly unfriendly staff you will enjoy the food.
They used to offer a free order of fries if you checked in on FB and the last time I asked they acted like I was from Mars and spoke a different language.
The deal was good with free fries and now it’s just not worth it after the employee left a bad taste in my mouth.

Ima make this short.
Get the pastrami, get it Dr. B style.
DR. B PASTRAMI
let me break it down for you, from top to bottom.
thick, yet soft yet crunchy bread
fresh cut tomatoes
italian coleslaw
fresh cut fries
provolone cheese
tasty pastrami
truffle oil
spicy garlic
thick, yet soft yet crunchy bread
Tasty ass dinner for just about 5 bucks.
’nuff said.
carry on.

I went to a Culver City Food Truck ring-​around and out of the choices, Meet ‘n Potatoes had some of the best impressions and so I went in. My experience was good… but I felt that perhaps I hadn’t hit the right meal or perhaps got the right combination just yet. Nevertheless, meat/​pastrami lovers should be quite pleased but I wasn’t 100% completely convinced it was the best.
Meet ‘n Potatoes says it all… pretty good, large pastrami sandwiches filled with coleslaw, french fries, a tomato and the type of meat you ordered. These range from $ 5 (small sandwiches) to $ 8 – 11 for the larger ones/​specialties. They have french fries for about $ 3 for a normal batch to $ 6 for the specialty. Oh! And they add a nice egg on top of your sandwich for a $ 1 extra. I got one of the specials, the Dr. B Pastrami along with the egg which included all of the above along with some special sauces, all for about $ 10.
The final product had some great touches. The pastrami was hot and delicious and the added effect of the two sauces (one punchy and spicy and the other being a bit more smooth) really nailed the punch. However, the funny thing is when I tried one with all the sandwich together and the other with all the ingredients separately, eating with a fork, the latter tasted better to me. One aspect was the french fries… just something that is tough for a sandwich to get right since the end product is usually just soggy fries. The coleslaw as well perhaps just didn’t have enough flavor or kick to be much more than just cabbage spread around with the lone tomato. It definitely was a not too bad value, just better with a fork.
And that perhaps was just the oddity of it. Perhaps I got the wrong sandwich. Perhaps I approached the concept wrong. But it does deserve a second chance. Just letting the rest of you know to make sure you know what meat and potatoes you’re getting yourself into.

I would have to say that this was my first Pittsburgh style sandwich that comes with fries INSIDE the sandwich.
I ordered the Dr. pastrami sandwich, which contained italian coleslaw, some kind of aioli, cheese and tomatoes. Overall, the sandwich was flavorful and the coleslaw gave it a nice crunchy texture. l did feel guilty for finishing something so fatty it in less than 3 minutes. My one gripe would be the pastrami because it does need a little more TLC. It wasn’t tender and wasn’t the highest of quality.

I’m just finishing a small Pastrami sammy with a side of fries (free with check-​in on Unilocal!)…and I am sooo full!
I have a huge appetite, and the small is huge and will make you fall into a food coma! The pastrami is tender and was seasoned well, however, I wish they added a bit more so that it would really stand out. The Italian slaw and tomatoes were good and added the crunch and freshness needed in the sandwich. I loved the addition of the french fries! The white bread was really good… super soft and fluffy. However, I found the bread slices to be too thick and kind of over powered the sandwich. In my opinion, the pastrami is suppose to be the lead star and the bread is supporting. But thankfully, the bread was delicious and not dry. The side of fries were good, I liked that they had the skins on them, but I wish they were a bit more crunchier.
Overall, a really yummy sandwich for a good price of $ 5 for a small.

So usually we go done the road one way when we leave the office for lunch. Today, we decided to go the other way just see what was there and low and behold we find the Meet ‘n Potatoes Truck. JACKPOT… I LOVE sandwiches!!!
«I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.» — Robert Frost
Felt I was appropriate to channel a little Robert Frost. :P
Anyway, there was a small line but it went quick. Menu’s pretty simple, all you really need to do is figure out what main ingredient you want cause each sandwich comes
/​BREAD\
{HEARTY TOMATO}
=ITALIAN COLESLAW=
–FRESH CUT FRENCH FRIES–
~PROVOLONE CHEESE ~
+ MAIN INGREDIENT +
\BREAD/​
Your sandwiches end up being about as thick as this post. The bread is REALLY THICK and we were all surprised at how physically heavy the sandwiches end up feeling.
I ended up getting the TRIPLE CHEESE and opted to ADD A FRIED EGG

It was really good, but two of us made the mistake of eating the WHOLE THING 0₀. I don’t think either of us needed to eat dinner.
I’m not a huge fan of coleslaw but the ITALIAN COLESLAW is really good as well. Not overly creamy but nice an zesty.
SPECIALS BOARD SAMPLE
Coworker got the WHITE TRUFFLE AIOLI — BURGERhttp://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/RJ5k2Fox71­KcLyq1hxd1bw?select=PLHKpIB8Zi6t3KG-Uv1HgA and wisely ate half.
Another wise coworker ate half the DR. B’s PASTRAMI –http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/RJ5k2Fox71KcLyq1­hxd1bw?select=N1JS1c6I-S_zpcxz03DNIg
ANGUS GARLIC AIOLI BURGER — Ok, at this point I realized all the burgers pretty much look the same.
Overheard someone else order the CARNE ASADA FRIES say the Carne Asada wasn’t great.
They also had a check in deal for a FREE SIDE OF FRIES, not that you need more fries since they’re in the sandwich already!
For $ 9 it’s a pretty good deal. You can get a small for $ 5. Would definitely do it again… just not eat the whole thing: P.

Layers of goodness!
The sandwich to try here is the stacked pastrami!
First comes the two slices of fresh Italian bread.
Second comes the pastrami. You can see the strips of spices along the edges of the meat. oooooh yeah!
Third comes with the hand full of fries. CARBS YES!
Fourth comes the coleslaw, balances the saltiness from the pastrami and the cheees.
Fifth comes the provolone cheese. glues everything together.
Sixth comes the tomatoes, yes they’re good for you!
7^th and last, the lettuce makes the sandwich a little healthy.
Very good sandwich! Thumbs Up!

Got the white truffle Angus burger and loaded fries (with pastrami coleslaw and tomatoes). True to its name, the burger had both meat and potatoes (it had french fries inside). The bread was regular bread, not a bun, and was fairly resilient with so many toppings. The patty was juicy and perfectly cooked. Probably one of the best burgers I’ve ever ordered from a truck.
The loaded were fries delicious. Not soggy, good fresh tomatoes, great pastrami, absolutely great.

What? There’s a truck called Meat and Potatoes? Only they spell MEAT like the potatoes MEET everything else? Okay… I don’t get it.
Anyways, being a lover of both meat AND potatoes which seems to translate as putting french fries in everything you eat, this truck has something special going on. I went for the pastrami sandwich and I must say it was everything I expected! Pretty much a pastrami sandwich with cole slaw dressing and french fries. It was good! Aside from the french fries, I liked the bread. It was super soft and fluffy (if fluffy is allowed as a bread description).
All-​in-​all, since I love the whole idea of french fries integrated with my food, this was a good experience for me. Nothing I would go hunting aound for, but something I would probably go for again if I saw them parked on the street.

Forget getting a side of fries because the burgers include fries IN the burgers. It’s an entire meal on its own and enough for 2 people. I could only finish half of my burger. Down side is it’s pretty pricey (about $ 10) for a combo. Is it worth the price, maybe. But I’ll come back for a repeat if I’m starving.
[TIP] They take all major credit cards (courtesy of Square Up) but this is one of the few (if not, only) food trucks I know that charges a fee for using your credit card (I think $ 0.30 or $ 0.50).

These guys serve up these stacked sandwiches with french fries in them. But I didn’t try the sandwiches on my first visit. The one item that caught my eye:
Loaded Fries: These fries are topped with pastrami, cole slaw, cheese, and tomatoes. The pastrami slices were cut really large, I found myself stuffing my mouth with the full slice on certain bites. Smaller slices would have been perfect. The combination of everything did go well together. Not bad.
When I have my carb cravings, I’m gonna go hunt this truck down.

I’m not sure which has the cuter chick, MnP or Nom Nom… not that it matters, but then again it doesn’t hurt.
Anyway, I think this truck is GREAT… I ordered the Pastrami and Kilbasa and they were both divine. It’s loaded with fries and «meet» and heaped with coleslaw and all for reasonable price.
If this truck is in your area, it’s worth checking out, it might not be the greatest thing you tasted but you won’t leave disappointed.

Like Eve leading Adam down the path to ultimate ruin, my well-​intentioned wife innocently suggested that we eat from the Meet ‘n Potatoes Truck (
) at last night’s South Bay Din-​Din-​A-​Go-​Go. Little did I suspect at the time that this ill-​fated decision would cause each of us to endure the gastronomical equivalent of being cast out of the Garden of Eden.
The wife chose the Triple-​Grilled Cheese from the regular menu, and I, the White Truffle Angus Burger from the specials board (
). Despite only one or two customers having ordered ahead of us, the ~12 minute wait time for our food seemed just a bit longer than it should have been. Upon receiving the food the two orders were unmarked, preventing us from telling which was which without dissecting at least one of the identical looking sandwiches.
The burger came not on a bun, but between two thick but very soft slices of Italian style bread, as apparently do all of their sandwiches (
). The deceptively ample looking bread is actually too soft to provide any suitable structural integrity for a burger, for the underside became soggy and tore apart as I was eating it. To use bread like this as support for such a sandwich, one would be wise to toast it first.
The burger was buried beneath tomatoes, coleslaw and fries, and the flavor of the latter two ingredients completely dominated the taste of the sandwich as a whole. Also, they were rather grotesque. Apparently arbitrarily piling mounds of coleslaw and French fries on every kind of sandwich is a Pittsburgh thing. I hope it stays there so I know exactly where not to go in order to avoid it in the future.
The overwhelming essence of grease and salt and watery mayonnaise assaulting my mouth and invading my stomach fully characterizes the experience of eating this burger from start to finish. It was a total gut bomb that left me feeling sick to my stomach and filled with regret. Whether white truffles existed somewhere in this Godforsaken mess, I could not say. There was no discernible hint of their distinct flavor or aroma to be found.
As for the grilled cheese, it was not grilled. Nor was it toasted, griddled or fried for that matter (
). It came on the same two pieces of fluffy white bread as the burger. Think about that for a moment. This grilled cheese sandwich is *not grilled*. It’s really kind of unforgivable, really. There are only two essential components to every grilled cheese sandwich — grilled bread and melted cheese. Not grilling the bread automatically guarantees that your sandwich will be at least half a failure from the outset. Why would anyone choose to do this? It is a mystery. It’s not even clever as irony.
The sandwich was not toasty, ooey or gooey, or anything at all a good grilled cheese sandwich should be. It also came stuffed with the obligatory tomatoes, coleslaw and fries that is the incomprehensible hallmark of this truck, none of which have any business being on a grilled cheese sandwich. It was disgusting. The paltry portion of cheese was not so much melted as it was congealed. It just laid there on the bread like a dead animal, bland and lifeless and devoid of any soul.
And why are we being charged $ 8 for a grilled cheese sandwich? This is not aged Manchego, Gruyère, and Jarlsberg Special Reserve with pitted dates, shaved truffles and Jamon Iberico — it’s Pepper Jack, American and Provolone with tomatoes, coleslaw and fries. In fact, the only thing that drove us to attempt to finish these monstrosities (
) was the fact that we’d paid $ 8 apiece for them, and we were torn in our ability to determine whether the greater sin would be to consume them or to throw them away. In retrospect, the latter would have been the more divine option.
Punished for our transgression of consuming these unholy atrocities, my wife spent the rest of her evening on the toilet in a futile attempt to dislodge the crippling cramps from her belly, while I spent mine laying on the floor in the fetal position praying for mercy.
Hence we found that dining at the Meet ‘n Potatoes Truck was indeed a sinful experience. But not in a good way.

Such a sinful treat these guys dish up! Loaded fries.
Had so much to eat I wish I had left room to try more goodies from their menu. Alas, it will have to wait until the next visit.

The Pastrami with the coleslaw & french fries in the sandwich is well… just bomby salami. I mulled over the menu for a bit, trying to figure out what to get, and the guy recommended the Pastrami. I was initially a little hesitant because Pastrami sandwiches can be really heavy… but eh, what the hell. If he recommends it, I’ll take the plunge.
It was a great decision. I’m generally used to a hamburger shop/​The Hat type of pastrami cut — thinner, tougher, and fatty/​oily. Their pastrami, however, was a thicker cut with a softness and lots of flavor. I really prefer their way of preparing it over the thinner cut.
Sandwich portions are big enough to share, and trust me. If you’re not used to having coleslaw in your sandwiches yet, you’re missing out.

What karma
When I got to try my 100^th truck in February, I invited a few Unilocal friends including Tai B, to join me for the milestone. I thought about doing something similar for #150, but since it was midweek, and my work schedule is unpredictable, I decided to wait for #200 to make it an event./
Anyway, as I was on line at Meet and Potatoes, I feel a tap on my shoulder and hear my name. It is Tai, she wanted to try Grill ‘Em All which was also set up in the same lot.
So ironically, it was the «Meet» ‘n Potatoes truck and I got to meet friend.
I also got to try a truck that has been on my radar for sometime now.
The Meet ‘n Potatoes niche is the humble French fry. Not as a main course, or even a side order. They treat the fries as a condiment; piling them on top of every sandwich. They didn’t invent this of course, there is a chain of restaurants called Primanti Bros. in the Pittsburgh area that has been doing this for decades.
And ironically, Tai B. happens to be the only person I know who used to live in the Pittsburgh area.
II ordered the Popcorn Shrimp Sandwich from their chalkboard. it was a great sandwich – the MnP folks have found a thick Italian Style bread and load it up with lettuce, tomato, provolone, and of course French fries. Like the City of Pittsburgh itself, the bread isn’t spectacular; but it is a solid working-​class bread that holds the whole thing together wonderfully.
It is a good hearty sandwich. They come in two sizes and while I go the large (of course) I think that lighter eaters would be just as happy with the small.
Gourmet Food Truck #150 on my never-​ending quest to try every truck in «So Cal»

No need for the side order of fries as the fries are INSIDE the sandwich.
Hadn’t paid too much attention to the menu so I didn’t realize this when I ordered my combo.
Yummy sandwich. Ask for the horeradish aioli ON your Roast Beef sandwich. Zingy horseradish is a must for me when I order Roast Beef so Meet ‘n Potatoes delivered.
I had to Google the truck to find it on Unilocal as I was searching for meetandpotatoes or Meet and Potatoes. Silly me it was Meet ‘n Potatoes all along.

I was in DTLA and had every intention of going to GBOT. By the time I found parking, I noticed «Meet n’ Potatoes» while waiting to walk across Hope and quickly changed my mind. (Yes, I have ADD… it’s both a blessing and a curse!)
The first item I wanted was the #4 which was the sammie with Kielbasa sausage but after placing my order, was told they didn’t have any on the truck. While a minor disappointment, went with their «fan favorite» #1 Pastrami and for $ 2 more added fries and a can of coke.
My wait was under 10 minutes which allowed me to take some pictures and return some work related calls so when my number was called, was eagerly looking forward to diving in.
I first tried the fries to see if they would pass the Lucy Y. test and I’m happy to report, that not only would she like them but are better than FrySmith as well. You can imagine how excited I was knowing that these same fries were in the sandwich.
As I peeled back the paper saw it was packed with not only those fries but packed with coleslaw, packed with tomatoes and packed with not one but TWO thin slices of pastrami. Really? I give my 7 year old daughter three slices of bologna when making her lunch in the morning. For those of you who prefer quality over quantity, don’t be mislead. The pastrami was rubbery and lacking flavor. If I spent any more time chewing it I would have had to add extra quarters in the meter.
Friendly service and really wanted to like them but if their «fan favorite» is a bust and you don’t have other items on your menu, um, you probably won’t see me next week