Local food trucks will take your taste buds on a trip — no airports to navigate, not much driving involved, just a short hop over the I-5 to Mountlake Terrace.

Hemlock State Brewing in Mountlake Terrace — located at 23601 56th Ave. W. — hosts a variety of food trucks, and the cuisines range from all over the world.

Starting Oct. 16,  the trucks at the curb will provide international cuisines from Venezuela and the Mediterranean coast.

Restaurant News managed to get in a visit to each truck and preview the dishes, along with an IPA brew called Shelter in Place.

Hemlock State Brewing first paid homage to the pandemic last March with this hoppy caramel brew, and it’s back on tap again.

Food truck Paparepas returns to Mountlake Terrace on Tuesday, Oct 19

Venezuelan cuisine incorporates familiar items used in many Spanish/Latin American dishes, such as frijoles negro (black beans) and queso fresco ( fresh cheeses). But I met several dish descriptions new to me, so will share my search results in descriptions below.

Tostones: Appetizers in the form of crisp, flattened plantains were drizzled with cilantro mayo, and kept my guys at bay as I opened the rest of the containers. The plantains are green or unripe in this treat, but there is a bit of sweetness to each bite.

Guava (Fried) Tequeños: Sweet ripe fruit is added to this iconic Venezuelan snack. They are cheesy breadsticks, made by frying pieces of salty white queso blanco cheese, wrapped with flaky dough in a characteristic spiral fashion.

Arepas are cornmeal cakes that originated hundreds of years ago in a region that now makes up Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama. Traditionally, they were cooked on a pan called a budare. But they can also be grilled, baked or fried. We ordered up two, but there are many more varieties. The fillings are all delicious.

Reina Pepiada Arepas: This version of arepas literally translates as a “Queen” who is “Curvy.” After tasting this delicious chicken salad and avocado filling, I can see repeated consumption would indeed fill out one’s physique. This is not a bland chunky salad of celery, cold chicken and mayo; this is comprised of roasted and shredded breast of chicken, with finely chopped onion and cilantro, and creamy avocado dressing the interior of the cornmeal cake. Confession: I did not share!

Domino Arepa: This vegetarian version combines well-seasoned black beans and fresh cheese tucked into the warm cornmeal, and topped off with a cilantro mayo spiced with habanero.

Cheese Empanadas: another treat for our “non-meat” eater. The cheese literally oozed out of the lightly fried pastries.

The main event — Pabellon: This is the national dish of Venezuela, featuring traditional rice, meat and beans garnished with plantains. Pabellón means ‘flag’ and the rice, beans and meat is arranged side by side on the plate, to show the colors red, white and black of a tri-color flag.

Malta Polar is a traditional non-alcoholic drink from Venezuela and the perfect beverage to sip while enjoying all the delicious food.

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Zaytoona food truck offers a variety of Mediterranean fare, freshly prepared and absolutely delicious. Next stop at Hemlock State Brewing will be on Saturday, Oct. 16.

Meat was grilled to perfection, every bite well seasoned, moist and tender.

All plates come with hummus, tzatziki sauce, and a choice of fries or salad. Fries were the kind I like too — fat, steak fries.

I’d recommend a purchase of the tub of hummus:

It will save squabbles when the portion on the plate vanishes in a bite or two.

Chicken Gyro: Meats are finished on the grill, in the truck and this step makes a huge difference in flavor and texture. All ingredients in the item were super fresh — lettuce and onions still crunchy, bread soft and pliable, with the goodness wrapped together for easy consumption. Too easy, in fact! This gyro got gobbled up, before I had a chance to take a picture… but here is a link to watch them prepare this sandwich and you’ll see the care and preparation.

Falafels are so moist. definitely made by hand, the emerald green interiors peaks to the fresh ingredients and the taste is superior. Our plate came with a salad.

Arabic Style Shawarma is the best of all. A huge thin tortillas is loaded with grilled meats and veggies — lamb and beef, in our case — and then toasted on grill. Dip this into a special Zaytoona garlic sauce, between bites of the mixed salad.

Baklava: I grabbed a shot of the baked product, before it is cut and packaged. A treat for the eyes, the green pistachios top the layers of this pastry, and the honey oozes out. Yes, it is that good, and a bargain too. Each container held two pieces.

Treat yourself to an afternoon off: enjoy lovely sunshine, and great food.

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Demetri’s near the downtown Edmonds ferry terminal is offering a new fall afternoon specials menu. As opposed to a traditional late-afternoon happy hour (not currently being offered), this option is a perfect mid-afternoon treat for those who missed lunch or want to have an informal work meeting, or just catch up with friends and relish one of the best views in Edmonds.

There’s a $3 minimum beverage purchase required for all items and specials include $2 off all draft beers and well drinks, plus wine and drink specials.

 

Here are some of the food highlights:

 

Demitri’s Fall Afternoon Specials are available Monday-Thursday from 2-5 p.m.

— By Kathy Passage

A specialty gourmet food broker for over 30 years, Kathy Passage has in-depth knowledge on food and the special qualities of ingredients used in the exquisite products she helped bring to market. Kathy brings this unique perspective from the “other side of the plate” to writing about the food and restaurant scene in Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace.