When we were hanging at the bar at Blackfish restaurant in Truro last weekend (a common occurence in summer), co-owner Eric Jansen told us about his newest venture, Crush Pad, a gourmet food truck on Cape Cod, parked at the Truro Vineyards. The dishes are delicious (I’ve been to Crush Pad three times already) and the setting is totally lovely, very park like, with circular picnic tables and Adirondack chairs under big, old trees. The food truck is quite large, with plenty of ovens, burners, and prep space inside, which is good because I suspect they’ll soon be drawing a crowd. In addition to the dishes from the food truck, you can get wine by the glass a few steps away; Truro Vineyards recently got a license to sell individual glasses of wine.
The food truck menu changes daily, though you can get the Niman Ranch burger with goat cheddar or Berkshire bleu cheese and the Kobe beef hot dog anytime (both really yummy; Eric also co-owns Local 186 (check out my blog post from last summer), an upscale burger joint in Ptown). We had the onion strings the first time (never bad), along with tuna sliders with sweet Asian garlic sauce which was totally amazing. The local greens and tomatoes are fresh, as was the cucumber fennel salad. Other items on the menu when we went included fried cauliflower with capers, lemon, and Parmesan, lobster bisque, lobster roll on a brioche, prosciutto soppressata and fresh mozzarella on rustic Italian bread, Arancini (deep-fried risotto balls) with English peas, and eggplant and white bean spread with capers, pine nuts, and raisins. Not bad for a restaurant on wheels.
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Ordinary, overpriced for value. Ordered the Niman Ranch Burger medium rate. It came with the life cooked out of it and was more of a slider than a full sized burger. A dollop of goat cheese was included. String onions were good, but no better than other Cape establishments for example Liam’s on Nauset Beach which are excellent. The strawberry lemonade was the one outstanding item on the menu. The vineyard is beautiful, but skip Crushpad; pack a picnic lunch.
Hi Cynthia. Thanks for leaving the feedback. Too bad you didn’t like it. I’ve been about 12 times now and find it delicious. I agree the burgers can be overcooked, though usually they will tell you if they are too busy to do anything but medium. (And when they do, I beg.) I disagree that it’s more like a slider and when I get the goat cheddar it’s certainly more than a dollop; plus the bun is really good. I don’t know Liam’s… but it’s miles away. If I’m over there I’ll certainly try it. In the meantime, I hold to my opinion that Crushpad is an amazing spot to eat in Truro. Adore the whole experience.
I have no dog in this fight, but I agree with whomever is the vegetable lady writing this blog. I’ve eaten now at food trucks of all different stripes in Boston, NYC, SF, Chicago, San Diego, DC and Miami—-good and bad. I had some great food at Crush pad the other day (August 2014). It was well-prepared, imaginative, and the ingredients were very fresh. The larger trailer space (compared to the step vans used by food trucks, gives them more latitude for creating a range of dishes and more prep space. We asked for a medium burger and got a medium burger. The heirloom salad popped with flavor, and the pan-fried cauliflower with capers, lemon zest, parmasean cheese was good enough to stand on its own. Get a glass of wine and sit in chair under the huge chinese mulberry tree for a real pleasant dining experience.