The Bloated Belly

Wadi's World Street Kitchen food truck hits the streets

Serving everything from the taco to banh mi.

After three and a half years in business and numerous accolades and awards, brothers Saed and Sameh Wadi of Saffron Restaurant & Lounge are happy to announce their latest endeavor: World Street Kitchen (WSK), a mobile food truck. The cuisine served will be an exciting array of both traditional and new style street food from around the world. “I’m very passionate about world cuisine and it’s what I like to eat when I’m not cooking.” Chef Wadi says. “We are very lucky in the Twin Cities to have great ethnic restaurants and I’m excited to offer my take on international street food to the masses.”

The compact menu will change often with about 6-8 items ranging in price from $2.50-$6. Look out for the curried chicken banh mi, lamb barbacoa taco with cabbage, Middle Eastern spinach pie, and the salted caramel ice cream sandwich as regular staples on the menu.

The primary location will be on 5th Street and Nicollet Mall in Downtown Minneapolis for the next few months until the frigid weather hits, and will be serving lunch Monday-Friday. Next year, Wadi said, "St. Paul is on the radar."

WSK will also be available for private events and catering—that part of the business won't stop when the snow flies.

For scheduled location, menus, and catering inquires, check out the World Street Kitchen website (www.eatWSK.com), Twitter (www.Twitter.com/eatWSK1) and Facebook (www.Facebook.com/eatWSK1)

Village Farmer's Market, Chef Shack, etc.

By The Hack

Every day the Hack would read updates on The Chef Shack and other food trucks distributing their goodies at locations nowhere near where he worked, which is in an awkward spot in St. Anthony, sandwiched in a three-way (bringing it to a four-way?) between Northeast Minneapolis, New Brighton and Roseville.

But then he got a “Tweet” (yes, he's hip now) saying that Chef Shack would be in his neck of the woods! Like, a half mile away, in the parking lot of a strip mall he only know existed because Tea Source is there. See, every Monday afternoon, the Village Farmer’s Market sets up and, well, in come some food trucks. The Hack did not know about that. Despite working in the area for nearly five years. He likes to think he's aware of things. But, ya. Missed this.
 
The Hack climbed into his sheik Volvo wagon and drove down at about 4:30, and there was the Chef Shack truck, but also the Magic Bus Café and SHE Royal Deli, the mobile offshoot of SHE Royal Coffee on Hennepin Avenue (co-owner Samson Benti was in the truck).
 

So, thanks for the notice, Chef Shack folks. The Hack sampled the goat and summer squash curry tossed with a bit of the mango chutney, and deemed it tasty. He’ll swing by again for more samplings from all the vendors.