Today’s post is not Roseville specific, since it’s a food truck! Chef’s on Wheels was a suggestion on Facebook recently. Today it was parked at my favorite brewery Moksa located in Rocklin, at the corner of Taylor and Pacific. With the weather not stupid-hot it seemed like a good choice so off I went.
A bit about the brewery first to get us started. They opened back in February of 2018, taking over the defunct Dragas brewery location. I was tuned in to this early on and have been part of their membership club thing ever since. They make a lot of IPAs (who doesn’t these days), with a roughly even split between West Coast and Hazys (my personal preference), and Stouts. If you think of Guinness when you think of stouts, these are not that kind of dry Irish stout. Rather they are big imperial stouts, often aged in bourbon barrels, brewed with all sorts of tasty things like coffee, vanilla bean, peanuts, cacao, and berries (to name just a tiny selection). When I say big imperial stouts, I’m talking ABV, which is on the higher end, often 10%+. It’s exactly up my alley and why I’ve been such a big fan since they opened.
Parking can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. They share a lot with some auto shops which use some of the lot for all the cars they are working on. Today was no exception. Since last year the front spots have been converted to an outdoor covered seating area under a tent. It’s nicely set up, even on hot days, with a number of large swamp coolers, plenty of seating and music piped outside. I set up in my favorite little corner right away, a sort of counter top made from a row of semi-permenant pallets on-end with a wood top, away from the crowds. Neither outside nor inside was too busy a little before 1:30. It filled up some more by the time I left an hour later. The indoor seating has shrunk slightly over the years as they stack more and more whiskey barrels to the ceiling. You can barely see the brewing tanks through them these days – a sign of more tasty barrel aged beers to come.
I started off by ordering a couple half pours and then went to place my order at the truck. Universal Layers (Hazy Double IPA with notes of tangerine cuties and pineapple)[8.2% 5oz $3.25] was nice and pillowy soft with bright hoppy and juicy flavors. Moksa Two (Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels for 16 months)[17.3% 5oz $9] is syrupy-sweet with a strong barrel finish. I saved this one for dessert.
On to the truck. I love the look of this this thing. All black, kind of beat up, paint peeling in some spots, with skull and crossbones inspired iconography of their logo with two chef’s knives. It reminded me a bit of this moment in 1977’s Slap Shot:
I can’t recall if I’ve ever eaten from this truck before. I probably have and it was probably right here at Moksa as they seem to come here somewhat regularly. Today’s menu consisted of a bacon cheeseburger, a seared tuna sandwich, a BBQ bacon dog and a grilled chicken sandwich, complimented with a number of side items. After going over the descriptions of everything carefully I settled on the burger and the sriracha peanut green beans.
Of all the food trucks I’ve tried over the years, there are a small percentage of them that hand out a pager so you don’t need to hang around the truck waiting to hear your name or order number. This is one of the VERY few that give you a table number and bring the food right to you. A nice touch that is much appreciated. The gentlemen that took my order delivered it to my quiet corner of the patio in about 10 minutes and even stopped by briefly later on to see how everything was.
After some quick photos I dug in. First off was the burger: The Bacon Cheese Burger (lettuce, tomato & onion with their signature 916 sauce)[$13]. This was a very soft burger in texture with diced onions and shredded lettuce that sort of melts in your mouth and goes down real quick. I thought it was fantastic. The 916 sauce is a type of 1000 Island sauce and the cheese was perfectly melted. The beef patty was nicely seasoned and did not rely on fancy ingredients but instead worked with the standard burger toppings for a delicious meal.
The Sriracha Peanut Green Beans (fresh green beans lightly fried in peanut oil, topped with sriracha, hoisin, garlic aioli and chopped peanuts)[$10] were not the deep fried type many restaurants serve with a dip. These came with a fork and every bite had a little of everything in it. Cooked al dente, the heat combined with sweet hoisin sauce was delightful. I demolished the whole thing and scraped up the last of the chopped peanuts, which added a nice little crunch.
Everything was great here. Food was solid and as mentioned earlier I love that they bring it right to you. Paired with delicious beer and great weather it made a fantastic lunch. Don’t sleep on Moksa if you haven’t been here. They’ve got a lot of good options on tap and a bunch to go in cans and bottles (dat Maple Magic…..drool). I had to order the fan favorite Pastry Mode before I left (Imperial stout with coconut, hazelnut coffee and vanilla)[12.5% 5oz $5]. Such a treat.
