I can't quite remember when I first heard about the Clover Food Truck, but I remember exactly the joy I felt when walking to work on my first day (back in May) I noticed that one of the Clover trucks is located directly outside the Government Center T stop!
It took me over three months to finally schedule time to check it out, but today, at 12:15pm, I headed out of the office with three coworkers to investigate the hype.
The Clover truck parks directly to the right of Boston City Hall, across from the Planet Fitness. When we turned the corner toward the truck we were surprised to see two other trucks parked there as well (Bon Me and Momogoose).
We walked straight back to the white, Clover truck to get a lay of the land.
The Clover menu is posted to the right of the service windows. Each item is listed in large print with the dollar amount directly next to it.
When you're ready to place your order, there are two staff members who stand in front of the truck with iPods. They write your order down on the iPod, which is somehow communicated to the team inside.
The girl helping us was very kind and answered all of our questions. She gave us a brief overview of Clover's mission. The truck serves all vegetarian food, which she explained is to help reduce their carbon footprint. As a vegetarian of fourteen years, I clearly support this!
For my lunch I selected the chickpea fritter, the rosemary french fries and the tarragon lemonade.
My lemonade got called first. I watched one of the Clover staff members pour the lemonade from a huge vat. I was skeptical when I saw the Mountain Dew-like color, but the tarragon actually tempered some of the usual tartness of lemonade and created a very cool and refreshing beverage.
The next item called was the chickpea fritter. This is a whole wheat pita pocket stuffed with chickpea fritters (squishy on the inside, crispy, crunchy and delicious on the outside), hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, red cabbage and carrots. I am not kidding you when I say this is one of the best things I have ever eaten. Moment of silence for the chickpea fritter, please.
The third item was the rosemary french fries. We actually saw the machine inside the truck that slices the potatoes and we watched one of the Clover staff members tossing the fries with the rosemary.
These french fries were out of control amazing. Just the right amount of crispiness and the rosemary adds such a flavorful touch. I didn't even need ketchup, the fries stand on their own.
All the girls I was with placed the exact same order, except one coworker decided to try the hibiscus tea. She said, "Hmmm, this tastes like flowers." Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but bonus points for trying something new.
Word to the wise, if you don't plan to eat your Clover treats right away, be sure to ask for them "to go" when you first order, otherwise they don't come in a particularly portable wrapper.
I can't wait to go back to the Clover Food Truck to try the other creations! I already have my eye on the egg and eggplant sandwich and the BBQ seitan sandwich. They also serve breakfast!
The Clover headquarters (known as the Food Lab) is in Harvard Square and there are trucks parked at Government Center, Dewey Square (near South Station), Kendall Square, and the Boston University Bridge. On weekends you can find Clover at the Museum of Fine Arts and the SoWa Market in the South End. For a complete list of locations and hours click here.
For up to the minute updates on what's on the truck, specials, and opening and closing times, follow Clover on Twitter @CloverFoodTruck, @CloverHSQ, @CloverGOV, @CloverDWY, @CloverBUB and @CloverSWA.
