If you're not Tweetin', you're not in on the eatin' from the The Green House Truck. Every day the gourmet grub lunch truck tweets out highlights of the day's menu. This week, with the air feeling crisp and fall-ish, they're making lots of soups, all from organic produce. When they tweeted "squash soup," I made a beeline.
Owner Michael Siegel, a lawyer-turned-foodie, and chef Ben Hutchison park the converted 1980s catering truck beside the yellow deBoulle jewelers building on Preston Road, just south of Lovers Lane. They're there weekdays for lunch 11-ish to 2-ish (or whenever they sell out of food) and on Monday nights from 6-ish to 8-ish for dinner orders. By the time I got there just after 11 a.m., the guys were busy prepping a big order of soups, sandwiches and salads for a doctor's office up the street. But Siegel greeted me by name (and this was only my second visit) and asked if I wanted more watermelon gazpacho, which is what I'd ordered on my first visit.
Oh, yes. And some of that squash soup, too. At $5 for a big cup (and in takeout containers made of recycled paper), I wanted both.
These are some stylish, healthy soups, indulgent without being calorie-laden. The gazpacho, bright pink, cold and crunchy with bits of apple, melon and peppers, is so smooth you can drink it as a beverage. The squash soup, thick and golden, is pureed to a velvety cream. Perfectly seasoned. Absolutely divine. It tastes the way warm autumn afternoon sunshine feels.
In business since last spring, fulfilling Siegel's desire to "make healthy food accessible," the Green House truck serves a decadently non-fast-food menu of seasonal fruits, veggies and lean proteins, including bison burgers. Their fastest sellers are the thick-cut, grilled sweet potato fries. "Please tell me you're not sold out," pleaded a hungry customer as he hopped out of his car with a toddler in tow. He got the last order of the day. I hope he shared them with the kid.
