Some are from trucks and some are from stands, but all five of these grab-and-go food finds can fill a hungry void in the midst of a don’t-feel-like-cooking heat wave.
1. Peking Pork Tacos from Port o’ Call, Fridays at Woodland Heights Baptist Church, $6 for two: Port o’ Call food truck sallies forth with roasted and deep-fried pork, filling two flour tortillas, which are then painted with plum sauce and notched with scallions and cilantro. Move over, Peking Duck.
Jay Paul
Don't feel like cooking? It's OK. These tasty bites will fill you up without slowing you down - no stove or cookware required.
2. Ice Cream Sandwich from Greenleaf’s Pool Room, Saturdays at South of the James Market, $6: Greenleaf’s makes a king-size ice cream sandwich. Try the strawberry shortcake, where teensy strawberries fleck homemade ice cream that knifes through dense squares of coconut shortbread. It’s a frozen Excalibur, piercing ice cream cravings with righteous deliciousness.
3. Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich from Barham Seafood, Thursdays at the Powhatan Farmers Market, $8: A fried jumbo soft-shell in a naked bun, pooled over cocktail and tartar sauces. Like a Virginia summer, this simple, seasonal treat is easy to love.
4. Grilled Cheese from Mosaic, Wednesdays at Huguenot Road Baptist Church, $9: Ask a Southern cook to name their secret ingredient and the answer just might be mayonnaise (or bacon). I think it’s both in this pimento grilled cheese with molten Gruyère, finished with bacon and tomato. If you want a richer ingredient stack, you’ll have to put foie gras between that bread.
5. Chicken Gorditas from Taqueria El Tacorrey, daily at 5348 Hull Street Road, $7: Tacos are king at this permanently parked food truck, but have a gordita, too. Chili-spiced shredded chicken goes screaming into your mouth, until sour cream coolly loves it down.