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| - At last--a food truck that has it together! I was starting to lose faith in the PGH mobile food scene, but fortunately, the Mac and Gold Truck restored it! Given that mac and cheese is my favorite comfort food, and having seen the positive reviews for Mac and Gold, I'd been wanting to try this truck for a long time. After having no less than three near misses (one of which was at an event that it was supposed to be at, but failed to show), I was finally able to try it out this week at Food Truck Wed. at Biddle's Escape with CM, who lives nearby. Fortunately, after long anticipation, it didn't disappoint!
We arrived at 5:30, right around when the truck opened for business. At that time, there was already a line of customers, but it moved pretty quickly (esp. for a food truck!). CM got in the line, which stretched almost to the entrance of Biddle's, and I went to look at the placard with the offerings, which wasn't visible from the line. Right then, one of the Mac and Gold employees asked the people in line to move so that the line didn't block the entrance to Biddle's, and moved the placard so it was visible to people in line. This, in and of itself, was indication that this was a well-organized food truck. I normally wouldn't make a big deal of something so minor, but my experience with other PGH food trucks has shown that most are much less organized, and my experience with them has suffered due to long waits for placing and/or receiving orders. At Mac and Gold, CM and I only spent about 5 min. in line, and then another 5 min. waiting for our order. Hooray!
For our orders, I decided on the crab, artichoke, and spinach mac and cheese ($11), and CM decided on the club mac and cheese, which came with turkey, ham, and bacon ($9.50). Because we were there for dinner, CM and I decided to get the large portions, which worked out quite well, since they were like dinner in a box, and were extremely filling (we both felt full after eating 3/4, but finished our portions). In addition to the stated ingredients, each came with a generous helping of cheese sauce and was topped with seasoned panko bread crumbs (yum!). The noodles were cooked to a perfect al dente consistency, and the main ingredients lent interest in texture and flavor. Both were good, but I actually preferred CM's club mac, which seemed more savory--likely due to the inclusion of the magic ingredient, bacon. We both felt that the cheese sauce was a bit on the bland side, but I'm guessing this was intentional, so that it could serve as a base for a variety of specialty versions, without overwhelming the flavors of the main ingredients. The truck offers condiments, including malt vinegar (likely for fries, which were offered as a side), Sriracha, and Frank's Hot Sauce, the latter of which I took advantage towards the end to jazz up my mac. (Surprisingly, salt and pepper, which probably would have worked just as well, weren't offered.)
Overall, CM and I were quite pleased with the mac and cheese that we received from the Mac and Gold Truck. To my surprise, CM told me he prefers Harris Grill's mac, probably because the sauce is more flavorful. Personally, I disagree--I think Mac and Gold's mac and cheese is better than Harris', though there is room for improvement in terms of the flavors of the sauce and main ingredients. We did feel that the price was a bit on the steep side--but given that the crab mac contained real crab and not krab (thank goodness--I hate imitation foods!), that the club mac contained a generous helping of meats, and that the portion was so filling, I don't think the markup was too horrible. Mac and Gold is definitely a cut above the other food trucks I've tried in PGH--I'd say it's one of the best in the city, for sure. So, if you see it in your neighborhood, be sure to stop by and try it out!
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