best little coffee trailer in texas

Patika Coffee is a small trailer downtown on Congress between 2nd and 3rd streets, and after visiting once, I'm convinced that it's the best little coffee trailer in the entire state of Texas.

Danny and I made plans to have a super-date (that's what we call dates that last an entire day) and I wanted to kick it off with some good coffee. You know, the kind that's way better than anything you could make at home. I didn't want to settle for something that would only satisfy our need for caffeine. No, what I had in mind was something that was enjoyable and that would start our super-date in the right direction, leading to a day that was rich in flavor. Naturally, I do what I always do and looked online for a trailer where all our coffee dreams could come true. I read on Yelp! that this particular trailer had the "best cappuccino" either in Austin or that some people had ever drunk (!), and we simply had to find out for ourselves if it was true. We both ordered one: Danny's a large with an extra shot, mine regular with soy milk.

As we waited the few minutes it took for our drinks to be ready, I mentioned that I had read on Twitter that at this trailer they use the A/C runoff water to quench the thirst of their potted plants. Genius! These mint plants were thriving in this hot Texas summer thanks to the simple set-up. The guy working said he uses the mint for mojitos!

Our cappuccinos were ready quickly, and they were beautiful. This is exactly how they should look! We took our first sips and our minds were blown. These were the smoothest, most delicious coffee beverages in the world. I didn't even want to put sugar in mine (but to just top off the experience, I did add just a half a pack of raw sugar... hey, it's how I like my coffee). They were hot enough, but didn't make me wait half an hour to take a sip without scalding my mouth. We took them to go, but they didn't last long! Danny had nearly finished his on the walk back to the car, and while I usually don't manage to finish an entire cup of coffee, this was too good to put down.

 

This was exactly the fuel we needed to start the super-date and we ended up having a wonderful day. I bet it all had to do with the cappuccinos. ;)

This trailer gets a 5 out of 5 without a doubt. Go there as soon as you can and take me with you!! And get an iPhone 4, these pictures are again from my phone. They may be just as good as my little camera.

Guest Review:

Coffee-or-liquefied happiness?

Little trailer. Big dreams. Patika coffee on 2nd and congress reminds me of the main character in "The little engine that could" at the end of the story: Still cute and lovable but now also strong and popular.

A small trailer-barely sleeping two if used for it's traditional function-in a downtown location, Patika would normally be a small niche provider, quenching the thirst and sleepiness of the financial district's early morning elite. That may have been the end-all of their services if not for one very important factor: It's the best fuckin' cup-o-joe I've ever had. You heard me, "Fuckin'". Shoot, I mean, "You heard me, 'Best...ever'.

Shocking to say the least, yes. But not unchallenged. I myself read a review, not unlike this one (Less provocatively written, sure), that said, in an annoyingly undetermined tone, "That was the best cappuccino I ever had." and I thought to myself...psch, you ain't ne'er been ta Guatemala! Well, allow this snooty reviewer to remind you that I have indeed been to Guatemala and basked in the aromatic glory of world class coffee, and, well, Patika's got 'em beat.

That cappuccino was so dang light and fluffy, I really could have died. I'll be going back soon and you should too. Or don't and let your life continue in it's current course of crappy coffiness. 

Love,
-Danny

kudos, iphone

Callie and I made plans to go to lunch (trailer style, of course) on South Congress one day, and we really had our work cut out for us when we tried to decide where to go. If there are 1600 food trailers in Austin, 800 of them seem to be on, or around, South Congress. Luckily, it was a Tuesday afternoon and the pickings were slim. I used a variety of online tools to help me find a trailer that was open and chose Crepes Mille as our destination. I met Callie at Dominican Joe's coffee shop, a typical place to find my friend, and we set out for our crepe fest. Upon arrival we both realized the 'cash only' sign required a trip to the Automated Teller Machine. Luckily, there is one on the same corner that charges the low, low convenience fee of $4. This prompted the conversation of how one could get themselves an ATM and start raking in $4 every time someone used it. If you have business advice for us concerning this, please contact me!

 

 

I have driven past this trailer a few times a week for the past year at least, and I always love seeing the sign. It's such a happy, hopeful, colorful sign! It fits right in with the rest of the South Congress vibe. The menu follows the same pattern of joyfulness and is helpfully broken down into savory vs. sweet and meat lovers vs. vegetarians. This is probably one of the clearest trailer menus I've ever read, to be honest, and I really appreciate that. It made the stress I usually feel when it comes to deciding on a meal far less debilitating. Since I had slept in till 11 that day, I was still in the breakfasty or brunchy mood and I ordered the vegetarian omelet savory crepe. Callie struggled to make up her mind, but eventually settled on creating her own easy crepe. She opted for the classic nutella and banana sweet crepe. We understood at that point that sharing would probably be our best bet, which is exactly how I prefer my trailering. I also got a Thai coffee since I can't seem to resist them once my boyfriend introduced us.

Now, I know crepes. I studied French in high school, visited a few French cities on my study abroad trip, and shared a room with a French girl, Manon, while I lived in Sydney. I have had some great meals tucked into those delicious thin pancakes, but this crepe omelet was out of this world. Everything about it worked and meshed together flawlessly. The egg, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions were all cooked and seasoned perfectly and it was as if the crepe itself was hugging it all together with love. I did end up splitting mine about half way with Callie... mostly since I ended up eating half of hers as well. The nutella melted so wonderfully inside that warm crepe and the banana actually added a nice touch (remember, this is coming from a person who is just recently starting to like bananas). The only thing about this meal that was better than the food was the great conversation and verbal processing we had going on. ;)

 

These crepes themselves are a bit different, seeing as their makers are Thai instead of French, but in my opinion they might be better. Don't tell Manon! I loved this place, but the only thing lacking was the atmosphere. We were sitting right on South Congress, but I didn't feel blown away by the ambiance. However, it was only a Tuesday afternoon and I might be expecting too much. Perhaps in the evenings it's a bit more impressive. 

Crepes Mille gets a 4.75 out of 5 trailers. I loved their food, the service was pretty quick, and the location is hot (in the good way and the bad way). I can't go all the way to 5 since the atmosphere was alright and I would have loved to chat more with the girl working. I will definitely go there again to try some of the curry crepes though. Maybe on a Thursday since there is a rumor that if you buy two savory crepes you get a sweet one free! Who's in?

Oh! Small detail: all the photos were taken with my iPhone 4 since I forgot my real camera. Impressive, right? Thus: Kudos, iPhone. 

Guest Review:

Since moving to Austin two years ago I've been wanting to eat at Crepes Mille on South Congress for several reasons. First of all, who doesn't like crepes except maybe communists and Paris Hilton. Secondly, I've heard friends suggest Crepes Mille many times so when Miss Shanks said we'd be dining at this trashy-trailer-eatery I was very excited. That excitement was met with equal apprehension however when I checked the weather and saw a scorching forecast of 105 degrees that day. No worries though, trailer-eatery-eaters... the atmosphere of Crepe Mille caters to Texas' scorching sun and they provide a comfortable, covered eating area. Another great things about CM's atmosphere is that it's located in the heart of South Congress; look North and be flooded with Texas pride as you gaze at the beautiful state capital or to the South for an overwhelming reminder that Austin locals are, welp, just plain weird :). As far as the food goes I ordered a "simple crepe" with Banana and Nutella which turned out to be pretty good, but I would definitely recommend the breakfast crepe (which Shalyn got) over mine. Overall I think Crepe Mille is a fun trailer eatery to share with friends who are visiting Austin and want to grab a quick bite while venturing around South Congress. I'm not sure I'll ever have a craving to visit CM for a random meal, but it's definitely a trailer eatery to experience at least once if you're a local Austinite.

Callie

banana backup

This is a secret, so don't tell...promise? This is a rainy-day post. One of those "I haven't been to a trailer in a while and feel like I should post SOMETHING so people don't create an angry mob to come kidnap me and force me to eat at a food truck so they will have something to read about while they sit in front of their computer at work" kinda things. So in reality, these events took place at some unspecified time in the past but are still relevant to the blog and therefore will be posted and treated with the same amount of respect as other posts. I'm glad we are all in agreement on this.

Bananarchy is a clever name for a food trailer serving frozen banana treats, don't you think? Well, this truck is all about clever. From its fantastic location right at Lamar and Barton Springs to the references to the multitudes of Arrested Development jokes, this trailer knows clever. My favorite part was the game of Bananagrams on the counter. We stood there chatting with one of the owners, trying to decided which revolutionary dessert we were going to order, and all I could do was play the magnetic poetry game with the letter tiles. "HANKS" was already spelled out for me... all I had to add was the S!

Justin and I finally decided to go with the most popular 'Afternoon Delight' option since it seemed to be the best frozen banana offering. I believe it would have won the gold medal in the all-around portion of the competition. This fair trade banana is dipped in all three (chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter) and topped with nuts and graham crackers. They kindly stick a spoon in the end of the banana for easy-handling. We had to get a whole-sie since the half-sies were all gone for the day, so we split this guy:

I hope I'm not stealing Justin's words when I say it tasted like a frozen candy bar treat. Like an ice-cream snickers or something. It wasn't an over-powering banana flavor, which I appreciated since I usually hate bananas. It had that popsicle-like quality of making my teeth hurt from being so cold, so I avoided taking big, center bites. I liked the outer coating of dessert better than the banana itself, so I stuck to side nibbles with little nugget of fruit included. Justin isn't a big dessert person (THANK GOODNESS) and started to peel chunks of chocolatelyness off like bark off a tree to eat just the banana itself. The both of us combined barely got through half of this monster, so unless you're ravenous I'd suggest going for the half-sie. Also, if I go again I will build my own and probably do a chocolate/oreo mix because that sounds really good to me right now. Having all the dips and nuts/graham crackers on this one might have been too much for me. Honestly... the shape was too much for us too. I don't know if we are mature enough to not giggle while holding and biting into these desserts. We definitely spent half our time sitting there laughing at each other/ourselves, but how could you not?! Life is funny. Especially when your treat is in the shape of a human body part. Sometimes you just gotta laugh.

I give this trailer a 3.5 our of 5 trailers, but this is considering my personal dislike of bananas (which kinda isn't fair to them). The treat was delicious, but too big and too expensive for me to make it a regular stop. The seating area is behind the trailer, away from the busy Lamar road which was nice and the owner was good-humored and sweet. I had fun, but I probably won't go unless someone else really craves a frozen banana.

Guest Review:

Ordering at Bananarchy, you just can't help but make an Arrested Development reference to the nice woman (and owner) working the booth. She has heard it all, and luckily has good spirits about it. We ordered the Afternoon Delight, and the maturity level of the meal just plummeted from there. After she handed us a huge frozen banana, dipped in peanut butter and chocolate and covered in nuts and graham cracker, we sat down and tried to decide just how to eat such a monstrous thing. I let Shalyn do the honors of taking the first bite, and we both laughed like 3rd graders. I had never had any sort of frozen banana before, and I was pleasantly surprised by its popsicle-like consistency. I am not a huge fan of sweets, and I think that hindered my overall enjoyment of the banana. The chocolate and peanut butter really overpowered all the other flavors that it could have had, and I was left feeling like I just ate a slightly healthier Reese's cup. Overall it was good but not great, yet on a hot summer day with the right flavor combos I think it would be awesome!

Green

concrete jungle where dreams are made

I have a very sweet friend/roommate that moved to NYC this summer for a fellowship with News21 and I have missed her like crazy. I started this blog after she left and have been sad that she could not join in on the adventures... until now! She visited a food trailer up in The Big Apple and wrote up a review for us. Cheers for my very first out-of-town guest posting! Love you, Abbey!

Guest Blog #1:

I had the pleasure of guest blogging for my favorite trailer reviewer while I was in New York City this summer. The place I picked was so nice I ate there twice, while I was perusing the Brooklyn Flea Market, which was one of my favorite hipster activities in New York.  (There are a lot in Brooklyn)

So while shopping for vintage maps of New York and old brass jewelry in Williamsburg, Milk Truck’s adorable color combo and delicious smells caught my attention. Milk Truck dishes up. . . ready for this? Gourmet grilled cheese. There were a million people in front of it waiting for cheesy deliciousness.  I ordered from the sweetest girl and sipped a cardamom iced tea while I waited, thinking how excited Shay would be if she were with me.  There was a good ten-minute wait but everyone in line seemed so happy. We all knew hot cheese was waiting on the other side of those ten minutes. That would make anyone happy.

My sandwich was heaven. I had the Three Cheese Grilled Cheese (why settle for one?), which was a melted mess of Gruyere, blue cheese and cheddar. With caramelized apples. On the best bread ever.  The second time I went I told myself I should branch out but I couldn’t resist. I had to share the amazing Three Cheese with my sisters, who were filled with love at the taste of it.  Milk Truck’s website says it just wants to make people happy and I think they’re successful!

I’m still dreaming of that sandwich. I didn’t have the milk shakes, but apparently they’re amazing (via the girls behind me in line). If you’re ever in New York, go to the Brooklyn Flea (and some other places in Brooklyn) and find Milk Truck. Don’t be scared of the line-it’s totally worth it!

http://milktruckgrilledcheese.com/index.html
http://www.brooklynflea.com/