Sloppi Jo's - Great, unique truck food

As I mentioned before, I have fashioned myself into something of a food truck hunter.  They are a weird quarry.  Those that use social networking properly, are easy to find.  They have a website with an always-current schedule.  Or, they have a twitter feed with frequent tweets to identify where they are and where they will be.  Maybe they will just have a Facebook page, where they frequently post on their wall, and even respond to questions from other "friends."  Those that don't, are like the Loch Ness Monster.  Learned of via vague rumors and brief glimpses reported by untrustworthy sources.  There is really no reason for a truck to be hard to find, unless it doesn't want to be found.  I wish they would all learn this lesson.

Sloppi Jo's does a pretty good job of staying visible, at least as far as the internet goes.  I guess they'd have to, since one of their most common stops is behind the Palms Casino.  

I was able to track this truck down, and chat with "Jo" (I think it's actually Jolene) when I went out there.  

First, here's the truck.  Sloppi Jo's is one of the new trucks.  The old generation were white, with small lettering, which, from a distance, were undistinguishable from others.  The new ones have whole-truck designs, that make it easy to distinguish from any distance.  I guess I am saying that marketing/branding 101 principles are finally being applied to food trucks.

Let's talk about what I ate.

Here is my entree.  It is red chile, with grilled onions and a fried egg.  If you know me, you know I don't like onions.  However, I will eat them fried (along with about anything else).  To me, this dish exemplifies the beauty and evolutionary advantage of the food truck.  This is a non-standard dish.  Red chili, is not common.  You can find it at a mexican restaurant, but not many other places.  Grilled onion and a fried egg?  That's originality right there.  Taste?  Delicious.  As I was chatting with "Jo", she told me that she only buys fresh Hatch Chiles, from New Mexico, at least for her green chile dishes.  When she's out, she's out until the next harvest.  

What does this have to do with the evolution of the food truck?  The food truck has limited space and facilities.  So, to succeed, it has to make each dish count.  This dish is unique, hearty, flavorful and good looking.  Perfect food execution of the strengths of the food truck.  It is also quick.  Onions take very little time to saute, same with eggs.  Red chile is really a stew that was made before the day began.  So, you get slow cooking flavor, in minutes.

For dessert, I got a maple-bacon cupcake and got Amy a brownie-stuffed chocolate chip cookie (a chocolate chip cookie stuffed with a brownie).  I loved my cupcake.  It was a maple cupcake, with maple frosting and bits of bacon.  On top of all that, I think some maple syrup was drizzled.  It was a tad messy, but it was very good.  It had the same hearty and food-y flair as the entrees.  Amy said the brownie-stuffed cookie was good, but didn't blow her mind.  

I really liked Sloppi Jo's.  She's got a great vibe, a great truck and has some really, really good food.  Sloppi Jo's isn't just making truck food, she's making food that will summon the foodies.