There is now a vegan food truck that comes to Saarbruecken regularly. I first tried their food at the Altstadtfest this summer. It was the first “food stand” we saw at the festival, and Derek was quite surprised that I wanted to try it before checking out all the other offerings. But how could I resist trying the only vegan food truck in Saarland?
We shared a “hippy wrap.” The wrap itself is made from hemp seeds and (I think) local grain from the Bliesgau Biosphere. They roll it out fresh as you watch. It was very tasty. For the filling, they usually have two spreads to choose from. The first time we chose the avocado spread, which was basically a tasty guacamole. The wrap also had a (cashew? tofu? both?) sauce, lettuce, tomato, and maybe cucumber on it? Overall it was quite tasty and fresh tasting but not so filling. I would have liked a spread with a bit more protein in it, in addition to the guacamole. Still, we enjoyed it. Even Derek was won over, despite his initial scepticism — “a vegan hippy wrap??” He actually checked out all the other offerings at the festival, but then decided that nothing looked as good and bought us a second Hippy wrap to share.
On a later visit I tried the wrap with a different spread — an “oriental hummus” made with black beans. It tasted fine, but they also put some kind of sauce on the wrap, and there was too much of it — it made the wrap drippy and overpowered everything, so I had a hard time tasting the black bean spread. On a third visit they were offering a carrot tomato spread with herbs de provence and a lentil peanut spread. I didn’t try either but both sounded interesting.
Yesterday my mom and I tried their “veggie burger” of sorts. It was a patty made of potato and something else (maybe tomato? I forget) on a sesame seed bun with a slice of tomato and lettuce and some kind of sauce (beet sesame? I forget). The burger was quite tasty, and they didn’t overdo the sauce this time, but my mom said it tasted like “healthy junk food” and I think I agree with her. The bun seemed to be just plain white bread (although made from local Bliesga, and the burger was mostly potato. So again, the whole meal was a bit low on protein, and I would have much preferred a whole grain bun. Still, it was much tastier than any other veggie burger I’ve tried so far in Saarbruecken.
The food truck moves around. I think they are generally in Saarbruecken at the market in St. Johanner Markt on Wednesdays, in Homburg on Tuesdays, and in Saarbruecken-Eschberg on Thursdays. You can find their location on any given day on their website http://pinchefoodtruck.jimdo.com/food-truck/. The truck can also be “ordered” in advanced, for example for a work event or private party. Or you can hire them to cater your event. And yesterday the guy in the truck (the owner?) told me that they’re opening a proper restaurant in Bliegau soon. They’ll post more information about it on their Facebook page.
Update Sept 18, 2015: I was confused. I believe the vegan food truck I’ve tried several times now is actually the “World Food Trip” truck not the Pinche truck. And unfortunately the World Food Trip truck is no longer coming regularly to sb. As per a comment on their Facebook page:
Der Markt in SB ging leider immer nur 3 Stunden, für die der Aufwand zu groß war. Sorry! Die Stadt sollte ihre Marktreglungen und Zeiten in Zuge der Street-Food-Entwicklung nochmals überdenken. Wir würden dann sehr gerne nochmals regelmäßig kommen.
They used to come to the market in Saarbruecken, but according to the SB market rules, they could only stay for 3 hours, and it wasn’t worth the trouble. Too bad. I liked their wraps.
Derek has since tried the Pinche truck, which is now on campus on Tuesdays for lunch. He’s tried it twice, and both times he was very not impressed. What do other folks think of it? I haven’t tried it yet myself.
Hi, I’m delighted to find your blog. My partner and I are living in Weimar for the next 4 months and will be visting Saarbruecken. We will stop over tomorrow evening on our way to a 4-day visit to Chartre. We will stop again in Saarbruecken and spend 3 or 4 days there. I look forward to reading everything here. In the meantime, can you recommend a good restaurant for a vegetarian/vegan and her carnivore friends that will be open on a Sunday evening?