#259: Chef’s on Wheels (Ft. Moksa Brewing)

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.

Websites:

Moksa: https://moksabrewing.com/

Chef’s on Wheels: https://chefs-on-wheels.square.site/

#258: 105 Noshery

Date: 9/10-11/2021

Location: 105 Noshery

Website: https://105noshery.com/

Can I be hyperbolic to start this out? OK here goes. I think I just went to the best restaurant in Roseville. Alright, let’s pack it up.  My job here is done.  WOW. This is what this has been all about. Well, let me take a step back. Mostly what this blog was aiming for was to find those under-appreciated hole-in-the-wall joints that were doing something special amid a sea of chain restaurants and shine a light on them, at least as much as one guy with a free WordPress website and a camera could. Along the way as I’ve experienced more and more varied cuisine, levels of service, atmosphere and culinary display it’s subconsciously become a search for the type of place that could shine bright well beyond Roseville and be worthy of of a must-visit list for visitors. This weekend I’ve found a new entry for this list.

105 Noshery. Seems this place opened not long after I went on my semi-permeant break in 2016 (at least that’s when they created their Facebook page). Incredibly, this place is within walking distance of me and yet I’ve been completely oblivious of it’s existence. I knew after a quick scan of the menu a little while ago that this needed the double treatment – breakfast + lunch/dinner. Originally I was going to kick off the re-launch with this one but the timing didn’t quite work out. I made a point to drive by here to take a peek on my way to Goose Port last week and the place was jammin’, both inside and out. They have a built-in covered patio area in addition to another outdoor area off to the right, coined the Nosh Club, featuring live music and serving the full menu on a first-come basis.

For my introduction to the Noshery I stopped by for an early dinner on Friday, arriving at about 4. It was pretty quiet but there were a dozen or so parties seated inside and on the main patio. I didn’t take an in-person at the Nosh Club tonight but based on what my drone captured when I left it was jam-packed by 6.

I was greeted as soon as I stepped inside. Although I had made a reservation earlier in the day, just in case, it was clearly not needed at this time and I chose to sit at the end of the bar. From here I had a nice view of the smallish dining room, the bar area and into the open kitchen. My Bartender, Sara, hooked me up with their large menu and a draught beer list immediately.

This menu is kind of intense. It kind of gave me Cheesecake Factory vibes, minus the tacky advertisements, with it’s 12 pages. I had spent quite a bit of time looking at both the Tue-Fri and the Sat-Sun menus this week. As far as I can tell the main difference is a much reduced breakfast/brunch offering during the week. Some pages are in a different order as well, but otherwise they are the same.

Menu Links (Week of 9.6.2021):
* Tues-Fri Menu
* Sat-Sun Menu

The menu is relatively straightforward. It does have a couple little oddities that tripped me up as I first read it though, such as these two descriptions of what comes with the omelets vs 2 egg dishes. I had to read them back and forth a couple times. They basically say the exact same thing, just worded a bit differently. It’s just weird to see these right next to each other.

Another thing that tripped me up was the heading that read “YOU MIGHT LIKE THE ITEMS BELOW, WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES 4…”. I forgot to ask if this meant these items were only available after 4, or something like that. If this is an idiom I’m not familiar with it. Google wasn’t much of a help other than perhaps suggesting it was a reference to Tea Time (they do have a decent selection of teas but this was not that section). But enough of this palaver, let’s get to the food.

I started with a Monkey Knife Fight Pale Ale from Tower Brewing (Originally a Rubicon Brewery beer, Tower  purchased the recipe some time ago.  5.6%)($5 [happy hour pricing = -$1].  I also ordered the Cast Iron Skillet Maple Bourbon Pork Belly Brunt Ends with Toast Points ($13).  I relaxed and sipped my beer and watched as the bar and kitchen activity slowly ramped up for the night and more staff came on duty.  The dining room gradually filled up and Sara was busy making drinks and answering phone orders like a pro until she got some backup in a barback-in-training and the GM, Justine (who wrote the cocktail menu according to an overheard conversation).

My burnt ends skillet was out in a little over ten minutes.  It was about a 6-8″ skillet stuffed with with incredibly tender pork, with a nice gradient of charred to non-charred pieces.  These were super flavorful and went great on or off the toast points.  I’ve never met a pork belly dish I didn’t love and this is no exception.  I learned my lesson from Goose Port and called it at about 60% complete on this one to leave room for my entree.

Around this time one of the owners, Randy, popped by to see how everything was going.  Very nice guy.  He was around for the rest of the night and was regularly making his way around mingling with the patrons and keeping an eye on things.

Next up I got a Jetronic Haze by Red Bus Brewing out of Folsom (New England IPA, 6.1%)($6) and ordered some tacos.  One of the chefs (THE chef?  He was wearing a different shirt than the rest in the kitchen) stopped by with the nights special, a sea bass dish that looked delicious, to show the bar staff.

My tacos came in about 15 minutes.  These are the Blackened Catfish Tacos (Sour Cream, Guacamole, 105 Salsa and Birria De Res Broth)($21).  They come on doubled up corn tortillas with a light slaw.

These were outstanding.  The fish was nicely seasoned and charred just right while being almost melt-in-your-mouth tender.  I gave the Birria De Res Broth a sniff and a taste and got a bunch of cinnamon right off the bat.  I ended up using a bunch of this sauce, which also packed a bit of heat with it, and it went fantastically with the fish.

Nearing Totally-Stuffed territory, I couldn’t leave yet without trying one of their dessert cocktails.  They all sounded really good, but I settled on the SPCA Float (CAS 1854 Vodka, Kahlua, Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, BJ’s Handcrafted Root Beer, Straus Chocolate Mousse [made with Straus Heavy Whipping Cream] Garnished Bittersweet Chocolate)($15).  They donate $1 to the Placer SPCA with each order of this float.  After a quick check on the ingredients I was told they needed to whip up the mousse.  I was happy to wait on this.  Not too much later Justine returned from the kitchen with a container and put this drink together, topping it with a few scoops of the mousse.

I’ve never ordered anything like this before.  It was a ridiculously tasty dessert that was like a rich, chocolatey root beer float with just a hint of alcohol to it.  Strange but amazing.  I appreciated how consistent it was from top to bottom.  Not like some drinks where all the alcohol is at the top or bottom and you can taste a clear difference sipping straight from the glass or through a straw.  This was a fine end to a great visit. 

But wait!  Saturday morning I had to come back to check out their breakfast options.  I was joined by a friend and we sat out on the patio, next to the water feature that wraps around the front.  Kevin served us and was on top of things throughout our stay with the occational help of another whose name I did not catch.

We got started with a tasty cup of coffee from Vaneli’s Roastery out of Rocklin.  I liked the oddly shaped saucers these came on.  Although I had pre-selected a starter and main dish for breakfast yesterday, I changed both at the last moment.  On a recommendation from Sara the night before, we got the shrimp & grits to start (Cajun Shrimp, Grits with Maple Bourbon Pork Belly Burnt Ends and a Poached Egg in Cast Iron Skillet with Toast Points)($15).

It was nice to get some bites of the delicious pork belly once more.  This was great.  The grits were flavorful on their own and needed nothing additional.  The egg was poached perfectly and the shrimp had a light Cajun spiced kick.  Although I really wanted to try the skillet cinnamon roll, I was very satisfied with this recommendation and don’t regret checking it out at all.

For our mains, my friend ordered an omelet, the Brie, Parmesan Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Swiss Cheese, Mushrooms and Avocado ($16), which comes with a small salad, choice of home fries, hash browns, sliced tomatoes or fried green tomatoes. As well as choice of sourdough, whole wheat, rye toast, daily biscuit, or Texas toast.  I had a bite of this and it was cheesy and packed with mushrooms and avocado.

I ultimately went with the Belgium Waffle [We proudly pour warm pure Dark Amber Vermont Hills Grade A Maple syrup]($11) instead of the Biscuit Slider Flight I had originally picked out.  I have been seriously missing my favorite waffle from Four Sisters Cafe which remains closed due to… *gestures broadly at everything*.  (update: 4 Sisters appears to be getting ready to re-open, yay!)  This was probably my only misstep here.  Let me say this, it was a fine waffle and honestly up there with the best of them.  I just don’t think anything holds a candle to the Four Sister’s waffle, which is simply on another plane of existence.  The jam this came with was outstanding though!

I wanted to give this place six out of five but I got nervous about tearing a hole in the fabric of spacetime; A perfect five will have to suffice ;).  I’ll certainly be back.

#257: Goose Port Sports Bar & Public House

Small announcement up front here. In addition to email notifications and FaceBook I’ve fired up an Instagram account @eatingthroughroseville

Date: 9/5/2021

Location: Goose Port Sports Bar & Public House

It’s good to be back! I’m picking up right where I left off, which puts this at #257. Yesterday for lunch I headed down to Goose Port Sports Bar & Public House. I actually thought this place was a chain for a long time. Only recently did I go looking for some more info that I discovered this is in fact the only location. They’re located in a corner spot of one of the newest buildings on Vernon Street, almost directly across from the town square event area.

I arrived at around 20-to-noon on this Saturday. As I approached and took a couple photos outside, I thought it seemed pretty quiet. The patio had just a few people seated. Inside was a different story though. It was 80-90% full. Later I snagged some photos of the interior once it had cleared out a bit.

I had a choice of a couple spots in the bar area, one a window bench-type seat and another at the bar itself. I went with the window seat and was given a few paper menus to look over.

BREAKFAST:

DRINKS:

LUNCH:

A server came by and took a drink order while I was looking over everything. I started with a Disco Ninja IPA by Revision Brewing ($7.50) and she brought a water as well. The bartender brought these out and took my appetizer order while he was at it. I went with the GP Pickle Chips (House made battered & seasoned dill coins; $8.95) Just over 5 minutes later he returned to let me know they were out of those, so I quickly did a re-scan of the menu and picked out the Spicy Poke Nachos (Sashimi grade tuna, Serrano chili’s, pineapple, green onion, sriracha aioli, wasabi soy, sesame teriyaki, crispy wanton chips; $9.95).

I sipped my Disco Ninja while I waited for the nachos. It was very cold. A nice change from many places I’ve been lately that don’t seem to bother and chill their glasses. As mentioned the place was pretty busy, and I made it a point to take a look at my watch’s noise meter, which was registering a consistent 72-74dB. Just below the 80dB that can cause hearing damage after prolonged exposure. I had my own earbuds in which served to muffle the noise slightly.

The nachos arrived in about 15 min. This was a pretty serious plate. About 2-3 layers of chip were piled upon by tuna, pineapple, cucumber, cabbage and green onions, with a decent amount of the 3 sauces applied.

I really dug this. The chips were very light and crisp. I did need to use my fork to maneuver toppings into each bite a bit as the chips were somewhat fragile. The whole chilled pile was well distributed and it was easy to get a little bit of everything in each bite without much messing around. The pineapple was awesome, incredibly flavorful. Although marketed as spicy, these only developed a bit of heat that needed a swig of beer after a number of consecutive bites. The overall flavor of the sauces was on the sweeter side and reminded me a lot of the dressing most sushi places use on their little appetizer salads. I demolished about 80% of this thing and picked out the remaining tuna and pineapple before calling it quits. I had to save room for lunch, after all 😉

There was a lull in the service about here. I waited about 30 min before the bartender came back to check on me. I ordered another beer, a Mango Cart by Golden Road Brewing, a fruited wheat ale($7.50). I also ordered the GP Corned Beef Sandwich (House-made corned beef, sauerkraut slaw, swiss and pickles on toasted sourdough; $11.95) with fries. Although the extended time was slightly annoying it ended up being a blessing in disguise, letting the nachos settle a bit and open up room to pile on top.

The Mango Cart was crisp and light, which went well with the rich flavors in my sandwich.

This thing was epic. Between the perfectly toasted sourdough was a hefty serving of corned beef with tons of melted Swiss cheese, which stretched out with each bite like a cheese pizza commercial. The pickles (wait I thought they were out of pickles…maybe they use a different type for the chips) and sauerkraut slaw blended well with the tender beef for something that just melted in your mouth with each flavorful bite.

The fries were totally fine, nothing amazing though. They needed a bit of salt and ketchup. Not that I ate many of them, I was stuffed.

Thinking Goose Port was a chain did not help my expectations meet what I encountered. I was pretty impressed overall by the food here. Service could have been more present. I would give this place a solid 4.5 or 5 with more frequent check-ups. For now, 4 out of 5 is what I’ll settle on. It’s a nice spot in the middle of Vernon St, it’s patio nearly looking right down on the Washington underpass. When the weather is right this seems like a good spot to park yourself for some drinks and grub.

Website: https://gooseport.com/