Madden's Street Cuisine truck in College Station
One lazy morning, Andrea and I ate lunch at Village Foods with Zachary. The Madden's truck and Chef Tai's were outside as well. We decided to try Madden's as eating at the fabled Madden's truck was the final obstacle in our way of completing the Deathly Hallows of College Station food trucks. Onward, ho!, to the review!
Andrea and I both ordered the Green Chile Burger as it seemed like the only appetizing item on their menu. Madden's' menu is rather limited, and their lack of specialty items or variety gives little incentive to be a regular customer. Bacon ice cream, though intriguing, is hardly a novel idea anymore. Madden's really needs to bring more innovation and variety to their menu.
The Green Chile Burger is composed of freshly-ground beef, avocado, roasted green chile, and cheddar cheese on a sourdough bun with a side of chile-cilantro fries. I'm not sure if they had suddenly run out of sourdough, but the buns Andrea and I received were definitely not sourdough. They were soft and sweet and quite good, actually, but that isn't what we ordered. The bread wasn't a problem, but they should definitely change their menu if this is a permanent change. I do think that this bread suited the burger more than a sourdough one would have. The rest of the burger is a complete blur for both me and Andrea. I remember seeing bits of green chile, but I couldn't clearly distinguish the taste. I think the butteriness of the avocado might have overtaken the green chile. Sourdough, as well, would have masked the green chile flavor completely, which might have accounted for the change. Andrea, more of an authority on green chile than I, said it was very unremarkable and added nothing to the burger. The green chile was too mild and bland. She has had much better green chile in New Mexico, and the Madden's green chile tasted badly in contrast to authentic green chile. I remember the lettuce was just shredded iceberg, which was a major annoyance to eat, as the lettuce kept falling out of the bun. And really, iceberg? Fo' real, honeybee? If you're going to call yourself casual gourmet cuisine, do not give me iceberg. Even frisee, the awkward lettuce, would have been an improvement from iceberg. Let Subway have all the shredded iceberg, and step up your lettuce game immediately, Madden's. The beef was really standard. It tasted fresh, but I really don't recall anything else worth noting about it. The fries on the other hand were quite nice. They were very thinly cut and crunchy, and the chile oil was a nice accent to an otherwise forgettable meal.
Andrea and I kept glancing enviously toward Zach and his delicious-looking double cheeseburger from Village Foods. I've yet to try it, but it must be good. He has ordered it every time I've eaten there with him. It looks so junky and unctuous and without pretension, but that makes it look all the more delicious. Next time!
We did manage to snag a few of his sweet potato waffle fries, also from Village Foods. Andrea liked them. They were sweet and spicy and very crunchy. I don't really like sweet potatoes (I get sick from them, and they're just not my thing), so from my single fry I was only able to note that they taste much better when warm. The last time I had tried one of these fries, it was cold and the oils had solidified throughout the fry. I felt like Paula Deen eating a whole spoonful of solidified lard or something.
