Eat Wonky Truck

yeah, this wasn’t a good poutine — or wonky fries, whatever that was.
The fries were indeed pretty good, but the peanut based sauce was too liquid and didn’t help the curds melt on the fries. It also wasn’t salty enough, and the the curds weren’t the best. It did hit the spot, but for a place whose business model was based on poutine it was disappointing. I would never crave this particular dish, and this is coming from a guy who routinely orders fresh cheddar curds by UPS to make poutine at home — I tell you, mine’s much much better.
Looking for poutine in the DMV? Try Jimmy’s Old town tavern in Herndon VA. Closest thing I’ve found so far. In DC, the disco-​fries at Church key, while not exactly poutine, are pretty good.

YUM.
I wasn’t sure how I would like the Wonky dog. I was underwhelmed when I went to Wisconsin, excited about my first squeaky cheese experience, and finally partook. I felt a resounding «eh.» The combination of everything on the Wonky dog seemed a little weird, but I decided to give it a go.
THANK GOODNESS.
The hot dog/​bun combo was awesome in and of itself. The fries? Perfect. The squeaky cheese and gravy on their own weren’t anything to marvel at, but the combination of everything together was a beautiful, sexy, polygamous marriage. The squeaky cheese got just a little melty and the flavors combined perfectly.
While the lunch truck idea is generally to be portable, this would be a little difficult with a Wonky dog. I took it back to work and ended up using a fork and knife (and felt just a teeny bit of shame when one of the more attractive guys in the office walked by and asked what I was eating). I can’t imagine the mess that would be made trying to eat on a bench or on the go; it would be worth it though.
Next time Eat Wonky visits my work neighborhood (hopefully not too often; I’m pudgy enough), I think I’ll use a tiny bit of the wonderful Sriracha sauce that they offer as a condiment (they also have ketchup). I didn’t before because I wanted to see what it tasted like unadorned; I think it will be an excellent compliment.

I am a sucker for poutine. Poutine brings me back to my happy days in Vancouver, and because they’re few and far between. I must stop and have one whenever the chance comes up.
The fries were good. Crisp, the right size and freshly fried. The cheese and the gravy weren’t quite right. The gravy wasn’t hot and could be tweaked to have a bit more flavor. Maybe add black pepper.
For me the Poutine is a harmonious experience between the heat from the gravy that melts the cheese. And both, the somewhat melting cheese and spiced gravy adds to the tenderness to the crispy fries and that didn’t happen that night. Maybe it was the cold October night?
I’m a sucker for poutine so if I see them again, I probably will try hoping they get it right the next time. Wish me luck! Or tell me where to get my Poutine. Thanks! =)

Am I glad that the thick wiener nestled in my bun was generously sized enough to exceed the fit? Yes.
Am I happy that the fries had enough crisp and the bun had enough density to keep from getting soggy despite being covered with foil? Yes.
Do I love varying-​sized cheese curds enough to not mind that the cheese wasn’t particularly melty? Yes.
Was I comfortably full after eating my wonky dog? Yes.
Do I think that the gravy was too thin? Yes.
Did I have a pooptacular afternoon in the loo? Yes.
Would I get it again despite being unimpressed by a boiled hot dog and not very toasted roll? Probably. Faux-​poutine boner ahoy, maybe I’ll be happier with just the @eatwonky fries.

My mouth waters just thinking of those wonky fries. I wanted to try poutine after hearing people mention it on Degrassi and was ready to do Whatever It Takes to track it down (haha). But it looks like there are only two places in the DC area to get it. One is Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon, VA, and the other is the elusive Wonky truck. I’ve tried both and I like them equally well.
I also tried the wonky dog, and it was pretty good. But honestly, it’s too much for my arteries.
The gravy on the fries is perfect. It’s like an herb chicken gravy. The cheese is melt-​y and satisfying. I wish they would come to Arlington sometime.

It ain’t Montréal, but the poutine («Wonky Fries») comes as close as you will find in DC. Which, in itself, is enough to earn this place 4 stars.
Would I like more flavorful gravy? Yeah. But am I complaining that someone introduced poutine to this city? Hell no. Keep it comin’!

Lunch buddy and I were craving fries. Fry Captain was nearby! It was 1:00 pm… and they had just run out of fries. Sad.
Eat Wonky was also nearby, so we ordered up some gravy fries (no cheese curds for us, please), waited a minute, and BAM, they were done. I like speediness in a food truck.
The fries were a bit soggy, but they WERE soaked in gravy so what can I expect? The gravy flavor was good, I was definitely licking my fingers as I walked across 12^th Street back to my office. Seeing as this is all they have to offer, though, I won’t be back.

What the heck was that liquid on the wonky fries? Because there was definitely no meat or vegetable flavor in it, so I’m perplexed about why they call it gravy. It tasted like a block of salt was dissolved in water and then tinted a brown color. Thankfully, the squeaky cheese helped offset the sodium in the gravy.
I will say that the people working in the truck were pleasant, but that’s not enough to entice me back.

I have been wanting to catch this truck for some time now and finally did last night at the Truckaroo event (for those of you who missed it, they’re doing it again next month). The line was insanely long and it was slightly frustrating when I arrived near the window only to have a ditzy cougar cut in front and sweet talk her way into getting the two cops in front of me to buy her a hot dog. Then she sashayed away as if it was perfectly normal in her little universe to have life (aka hot dogs) handed to her without exerting any effort. But I digress…
I am no expert on poutine, but based on what I’ve heard (the Mister lived with some Canucks for a spell and has had his fair share of the stuff), this was not the most appropriate rendition. Still, it was good so I would recommend you judge for yourself. In fact, our buddy R loved the wonky fries so much that he surreptitiously ate most of my share. Now, the wonky dog, that’s a different story. I love the hefty portion. I love the toasty hoagie roll. I love the fries snuggling with the dog. And prices are reasonable, especially when compared to the exorbitant prices some other trucks charge for their food.
P. S. The whoopie pies are delish, don’t pass them up!

As a consolation prize for skipping a trip to Montréal this weekend, I picked up some Wonky Fries (fries with squeaky cheese curds and brown gravy). Maybe this isn’t authentic poutine, but they don’t make that claim… it’s definitely the best fries with cheese and gravy that I’ve had around here, and that’s something that I always get if it’s on a menu!
This batch of fries was really fresh and crisp, the cheese was definitely squeaky, and the gravy was thick and flavorful. The portion was really generous — heaped over the top of the container — which actually made it hard to eat while standing! But it was good to the last little bits of gravy, which I tried to scrape out with my fork. Yum.

I wanted this to be a chance to fall in love with Poutine all over again… but our couple’s retreat left me wanting something more.
I ordered the «wonky fries» — no hot dog. I am a traditionalist, I studied in Quebec I wanted «original». The fries were good and tasty, but the gravy tasted like standard brown gravy. Poutine gravy is a fairly dark in color, it is also super thick. The «squeaky cheese» is good though.
Thanks Wonky for drawing memories up, but leaving me desperate for a trip back to the Great White North.

Cheese lovers should definitely give this truck a try.
I’ve had poutine made by real Canadians (down in Dania, FL, a popular Québécois vacation spot), and Eat Wonky’s version — called wonky fries — is quite acceptable. I accompanied the poutine with a grilled cheese sandwich, which was definitely more «squeaky cheese» (it really does squeak) than one guy should eat in one sitting.

Oh yeah, I’m a big fan of the Wonky truck. How could I not be, they serve up one of my favorite dishes on the planet: POUTINE!
I really don’t give a crap about all the nutritional nay-​sayers. Eat Wonky dishes up good eats and is staffed by some of the friendliest guys I’ve had the pleasure of meeting since moving to the DC area. And its not like I go Wonky every day.
I work in food truck no-​mans land — they come close, but still to far to venture forth from work most days — but I do make exceptions for the Wonky truck. They keep the line moving (and there’s never much of one) and quickly dish up the yummies from inside. Poutine and a diet coke (yes, I realize the irony there — but its a sugar thing) is my usual order. The fries are perfectly cooked to soak up the rich brown gravy and be wrapped by the melting cheese curds. Heaven in a bowl.
About a month ago, bundled up so only my eyes and tip of my nose shown, I braved the blustery winds and bitter cold to try the wonky dog (always good to change things up). Before ordering I asked if there was any hope of them packaging my dog up so I’d have a prayer of getting it 3 ½ blocks back to the office still somewhat warm. With a friendly smile I was assured «No problem. I’ll hook you up!» Sure enough, not only did I have a great hand warmer for the walk back, but when I opened the sealed tin, the wonky dog was still steaming hot in its little cradle.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

I was craving some comfort food today and poutine is pretty close to the top of my list of all time favorite comfort foods. Eat Wonky’s poutine is pretty good, but crispier/​fresher fries would have made it perfect. The fries tasted like they had been double cooked to stay crispy longer, but if they hadn’t been covered with cheese and gravy, they would have been hugely disappointing. The most important requirement of poutine is that there is enough gravy and cheese to last all the way to the end and Eat Wonky doesn’t skimp. There’s nothing worse than a pile of poutine that becomes nothing more than a pile of French fries when you’re not even halfway through it. As for the price; I thought $ 5.50 was reasonable. Most other carts charge around $ 7.00 for the same amount of food.
I also tried one of their whoopie pies a couple of weeks ago. The flavor was Nutella, but it really tasted more like gingerbread. It was still a little cold from being refrigerated and the cake was really sticky. The filling was kind of sugary and gritty and reminded me of Curbside Cupcake frosting. I wasn’t a fan.
I’m looking forward to trying their grilled cheese, but I don’t think I could ever bring myself to eat a wonky dog (hot dog topped with poutine). The guilt would stay with me for a week.

if eating wonky is wrong, i neva eva wanna eat right.
$ 6 is all it takes to get you pleasantly full with wonky goodness. it’s delicious and sure is filling. not only am i delighted by the taste of their food, but impressed by how it holds itself.
the first time i had a wonky dog, i wasn’t able to eat it for at least 20 minutes after procuring it. «crap,» i thought. but when i opened my to-​go container, the waffle-​iron panini bun (or hoagie roll as they call it) was still strong. amazing! the jumbo hot dog is, in fact, jumbo, and it’s perfectly boiled. others have complained that the gravy is tasteless but honestly, i thought it was great. not runny, but not heavy, and totally made up for the lack of salt on the fries (which i appreciated). the squeaky cheese is squeaky, it’s true. and tastes so fresh! the only thing that my wonky friends skimped on were the amount of fries (hence the removal of a star). however, i remedied that buy purchasing an extra container of wonky fries.
i don’t know if it’s just me, but i feel like eat wonky is one of the more elusive trucks, so i don’t feel as guilty when i go all out with them because it doesn’t happen on a regular basis.

i tried this truck at the DC curbside cookoff.
it got high ratings but maybe it’s what i bought but i don’t think it deserves this high of a rating.
i got the gravy fries because we were missing some fried food.
the fries were so salty, the cheese wasn’t melted all the way, it looked like sticks of butter.
couldn’t finish, if i did, i was asking for a heart attack.

Just looking at a Wonky Dog gives me food guilt. It’s the kind meal you should eat in a dark corner, far away from judgment.
A jumbo hot dog, topped with fries, cheese curd (kind of tastes like pieces of fresh mozzarella) and drizzled with gravy, this monster is not for the faint of heart. Literally.
I must admit, when I sampled a few of the Wonky Bites at the Unilocal Passport to Adams Morgan event at STROGA, I thought the they were just okay. I was just so excited to have them at the event, pre-​truck to see what they were all about. Plus, the people behind the truck couldn’t be nicer folks, so regardless of my sample I was rooting for them.
When I finally had a chance to check out the real deal live in action, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of everything together. At the Elite event the hot dogs were a little cold and it was hard for them to serve the bites properly without all of their cooking equipment and I must say, it is much better served hot. I noticed this half way though at the Curbside Cookout, right around the time that I realized this was putting me over the top after eating at District Taco. I thought I could really handle it. Sorry Dad — I have failed our ancestors.
Definitely worth checking out but it’s not hard to know in advance if you will like it. The ingredients are pretty straight forward, so if you live wieners, curds, fries and gravy this may be the meal for you!

If I eat at Wonky, does that make me a wonker? Because all of my British friends would find a bit of hilarity in that. Sadly, that’s the last bit of levity this review will feature, as the Eat Wonky truck is a failed attempt at an almost decent concept. Surprisingly, they managed to avoid many of the pitfalls that ruin the reputation of other trucks, including a special appearance at a Unilocal elite event, followed by an on-​time opening day, and quick service for each order. They even knocked off Fojol’s trademark blankets, although theirs are significantly less cool (
) than the old fashioned woven versions the Merlindians use. The real problem lies in the food, which is the whole reason you’re spending your money here to begin with.
So, just to prepare you, the menu is extremely limited. It’s all essentially centered around their feigned attempt at poutine, with a few minor exceptions that simply don’t include this portion. For the uninitiated poutine in its most basic form is fries that are slightly soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, topped with fresh cheese curds and a light gravy (generally chicken but sometimes veal). Here, you can get a hot dog, a «Wonky Dog» (
) which features the poutine on top, or a grilled cheese-​curd sandwich. The other options include poutine (which they refer to as Squeeky Cheese, which is just a lesser used term for the cheese curds), or just plain fries.
I opted for the Wonky Dog, as it gave me a chance to try 80% of their menu in one bite. There are quite a few problems with it, and I wish I could describe them without recommending you actually try it, but you almost have to in order to see how disappointing it is. Starting with the actual hot dog, it’s just a simple boiled frank, nothing special whatsoever. If you’re going to offer these, do something better than the crap the guys in the stand pull out of their nasty water; put the damn thing on a grill and give it some char. The bun was not toasted, and barely stood up to the weight of the hot dog and toppings, as well as getting soggy from the gravy. As for the gravy, it was pathetically weak. The core of good poutine is the gravy, in my opinion, and this one was little more than meat’ish flavored water. These cheese curds were passable, one of the few things they got mostly right. The fries were also a bit limp for my tastes, but I can see how that might have been done to make it easier to get a complete bite, although it seems like a huge sacrifice of texture. Honestly, this was just an epic failure and disappointment for me, because I often complain that places called things poutine even though they don’t follow the recipe for poutine… well this place followed it, they just screwed it up tremendously.
The best thing from the Eat Wonky truck was actually one of the whoopie pies they offer; however, they are simply resold from an actual sweets bakery in DC called Treet (
). I got the Nutella version (
), which was served slightly chilled, and would actually make me revisit the truck just to buy another for my wife.
The whoopie pies suffer from the same fault as all the other food though, price inflation. This probably has something to do with the fact they are simply reselling someone else’s produced food in the pie instance, but for everything else there is little excuse. The total for a Wonky Dog, Coke, and Nutella whoopie pie was $ 11, to which the guy in the truck commented «we should come up with some kind of combo pricing for that.» Yes, you should have, prior to opening your truck. You should also make better food, if you’re going to start self-​analyzing.
Oh, and stop spamming your business listing with fake 5 star reviews, touting some pipe dream of a successful operation that clearly is not the case.

Full disclosure No. 1: I am Canadian. And if we are what we eat, I am also ¼ poutine.
I’ve had all kinds of poutine. In Canada it’s widely available at the national national burger chains, particularly Harvey’s and A&W. One of Toronto’s top restaurants, Canoe, has lobster poutine on the menu!
The «wonky fries» version now available to us here in DC is a solid addition to the poutine family and an original one too. For me, it’s all about the gravy that brings/​melts the whole dish together – and Eat Wonky has good gravy!
The guys behind Eat Wonky also are brilliant at branding: I’ve never heard the names «wonky fries» or «squeaky cheese» in Canada before, but I think they’re a catchy way to convert the curious to try french fries with cheese curds! (You just can’t sell «poutine» in the U.S., as A&W tried a few years ago). By the way, I’ve also never seen a Canadian put poutine on a hot dog, and that’s definitely one idea I’ll be exporting back to The Great White North.
Full disclosure No. 2: I am Canadian. I have never had a whoopee pie before last week. Now, I’ve had them twice in one week. The first from The Red Hook Lobster Pound food truck that recently rolled into the District, and the second from Eat Wonky. And, the two kinds are completely different. The lobster truck’s is a simple, tasty, black & white cream pie, that reminds me of something we call «half moon pies» in Canada. But Eat Wonky is featuring a whole variety of pies from local bakeshop Tweet, with flavors like Minty Fresh Chocolate, Nuts for Nutella, and Peatnut Butter CHIPwich. I had the CHIPwich and it was delicious.
As I write this, I realize I’ve probably never eaten poutine in the heat of summer. For the most part, Canadian consumption of this staple is like a kind of winter fuel. And, I’ve also probably never had it served in a fries tray like Eat Wonky does. I personally think it must be served in a soup-​like container so that the gravy can go to work on melting the cheese curds and fries together into a «hot mess.»
Judging by the lines, it looks like Jeff and Minas are getting people to try this crazy Canadian concoction; and, they should be happy to know that if folks are craving them now, they’ve got a product people will line up in the cold for!

I love poutine! I had them in Vancouver and fell in love after the first cheese curd!!! haha!
I heard they are amazing in Montréal… but I haven’t been. I’ve had the poutine at ChurchKey also, so I guess you can call me a poutine fanatic. If its on the menu, you better believe that I’m gonna order it! So when I heard that there was a poutine truck headed to DC, I was soooo excited!!!
I went to the Wonky truck on its opening day! I only ordered the Wonky fries because Sauca was around the corner, and I wanted to try their sandwiches too. haha! (oink!!!)
The wonky fries were good, but not like the poutine I had in Canada. I also thought that $ 5.50 was a bit steep for the serving. I think the serving size should be priced at $ 3.50 and $ 4 max. I would have also liked the gravy to be a bit thicker and hot enough to melt the cheese curd a bit.
I’ll still track the truck and swing by if the line’s not that long. I’d like to try the other items on the menu as well.
So I’m taking one star off because I think they can add a little kick to the gravy and another star off for the price.
One big plus though was that they placed blankets on the floor for people to relax and eat on. I thought that was a nice touch!