While there are differing opinions on the food truck scene and whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing for the New Orleans restaurant industry, I am personally and selfishly, totally behind it. The beauty of the food truck is anyone with the gusto to invest in a truck and the creative juices to appeal to hungry passersby can make it. Even more beautiful is that once they “make it,” they can move to the next big step and actually move into a big-kid kitchen and a creatively decorated space they can call all their own (without wheels).
1000 Figs is the creative brain child born from the drivers of the popular food truck, the Fat Falafel.
Image 100% taken from the 1000 Figs site.
Thanks to the growing support (and fan base) of the truck, the couple behind the wheeled chickpea vehicle was able to move into a small space just off Esplanade avenue. With a real kitchen, and actual tables for guests to dine on, 1000 Figs serves the same enchanting Falafel plates and then some.
The Boy and I were able to go on a whim as a last minute food source before some very white-bread-popular-cover-band-dancing at Starlight Racing at the Fairgrounds. The tiny space is crowded very quickly and can be a tight fit on any popular dining night.
Luckily, they are conveniently located next to Swirl and we were able to wait it out with the lovely wine bar’s regular Friday Night Free For All.
After purchasing a delightful bottle of Black Slate Porrera, we sat at the small wooden table where the silverware is conveniently stored in your own personal silverware drawer. Although there was a slight struggle to come across a wine screw, the wine was poured and the ordering commenced.
To start was the slow braised lamb served with a cucumber salad and yogurt. We had to order it because we had a great wine that went well with the dish and, well, we love lamb (most meat, actually, but lamb is up there on the love scale). The lamb was tender and full of intense Mediterranean flavors that were cooled with the refreshing yogurt and bright cucumber salad. It was a great start for us, but then we moved on to our next dish because we are fat like that.
Slow Braised Lamb
The Kale Salad with Squid was the healthy part of our meal. Not that what we were eating was unhealthy, but it’s kale and we are suckers for the straight up green stuff. The light lemon dressing was the perfect acidic partner needed to match the deliciously meaty seared squid that we may or may not have been fighting over.
Kale and Seared Squid Salad
The Falafel Feast- A feast indeed!
After going through the first two entrees, we obviously had to hurt ourselves with the Falafel Feast which features Falafel, hummus, baba ghanouj, yogurt, pickles, slaw, house salad, tahini, cilantro chile sauce, toum and flat bread.
No, we were not able to actually finish it all, but if we did have the physical ability to do so without severe injury, we would have. The feast was designed as a signature to feature what 1000 Figs does best. It did not feature figs, but the standard Mediterranean dishes were obviously carefully perfected over time and they were able to please the two of us. The rest of New Orleans seems to agree with us that The Fat Falafel food truck has succeeded in their brick and mortar aspirations and we are behind them!
nolafoodette 