Food truck review part troix: Nammi Cruisin Vietnamese Fusion

by Terry Eddington of Food Truck Connection

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It fuses good food and Nammi love for good times.

2011 was a good year for Dallas. Why? Because Teena Ngyuen and Gary Torres decided that instead of designing buildings, they’d set their sights on designing the perfect vehicle to bring the Banh Mi and their version of Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine to Dallas. The result is Nammi Truck. Teena says the Banh Mi is the Vietnamese equivalent of the American hot dog.

The Banh Mi (pronounced "bun mee") is the star on the menu. The ginormous 12” baguette is slathered with garlic mayo and piled high with cucumbers, pickled daikons (a white raddish) & carrots, jalapenos and cilantro, and your choice of meat. Oh, and for those people who say the cilantro gets lost in everything else … who cares? Look at all those smiles as people try a Banh Mi for the first time!

My favorite is the grilled pork. When you bite into the giant sandwich, the savory seasonings of the grilled pork tantalize the taste buds while the cool, crisp veggies add a smorgasbord of taste sensations ranging from slightly sweet to the bite of the pickled daikons & carrots and the spicy heat of the jalapenos. It’s a symphony of flavors and textures marching across your palate like a John Phillip Sousa song on the Fourth of July.

The BBQ pork Banh Mi features marinated grilled pork that is a sweet, hot sensation; a different complement to the harmony of the veggies. Pork may be "the other white meat," but the marinade and BBQ seasoning turn this meat an interesting red tone. If you like sweet BBQ, this is the choice for you.

If you are not a red meat eater, then check out the lemongrass chicken. The chicken is marinated to infuse the flavors, and mine was tender, juicy, and a more subtle fusion of the flavors.

Nammi’s got you covered if, like me, you think the baguette is a lot of bread. I like to focus on the "stuffing," and the Vietnamese Taco replaces the baguette with a corn tortilla and gets dressed up with a red cabbage sauté. This is a different take on the taco that you’ve got to try.

And it’s not exactly on the Atkins diet, but you can forego the bread entirely by opting for the Nammi rice bowl -- a succulent bowl of steamed white rice served hot so the aroma dances across your nose while the flavors tango across your taste buds. It’s a one-two punch you won’t want to recover from!

And you’ve got to have something to wash down all that yummy food. The basil mint lemonade is unbelievable! Cool, fresh, and not too sweet, it’s the perfect partner to finish out the meal. In fact, it is so good, I’ve been known to buy dinner from another truck (I have to, it’s my "calling!"), and still stand in line to get just a lemonade from my friends at Nammi J! If you’ve stayed with me this far, here’s an inside tip: If you want a little kick, ask ‘em to make yours a spicy basil mint lemonade, and they’ll add some sliced jalapeno. If you can wait, the "kick" is even stronger after it’s had an hour or so.

One of the dangers created by the plethora of great food trucks in Dallas is that you sometimes take them for granted. I’ve been to the Nammi Truck many times and can’t believe I’ve never shared the experience. I think of them so often, I was certain I’d blogged about them.

One of the most accessible trucks in Dallas, especially since adding a second truck in 2012, Nammi has a presence at every major food truck event and across the DFW area. To be safe, check their weekly schedule posted on the website or Twitter to get the latest on where you can find them and if, no, when, they run out of food. Just look for the truck with the longest line and join the crowd. It’s worth the wait!

Oh, and if you need another reason to like Teena and Gary, they’re responsible for bringing Cool Haus to Dallas. But that’s another story all its own. Look for my coming article on Eating My Way Through Cool Haus.

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