East Side Kings

So delicious.
How come now one in SF has thought of beet fries?! They were just amazing and I have no idea how they taste so good and they’re still gluten free! We also had the Thai chicken karage and poor qui’s buns, but damn those beet fries just stole the show. Our Thai chicken karage came in at a close 2^nd since I loved all the garnishments it came with (basil, cilantro, etc). Sadly the pork buns didn’t even place. Since the other two were stunners, we’d thought Qui’s buns would be unique, but they were your avg pork belly buns.
I will say that we were here on Friday night (before the cold front came in) and again on Sunday night and what a different the weather makes here in Austin! Friday night was packed and Sunday night was a ghost town. Not because it was Sunday night, but because it was below 30 degrees! Everyone had to order their food and take it inside!
And as if I hadn’t mentioned it enough, I’m still dreamin about those beet fries.
TIP: GET THE DAMN BEET FRIES! Unless you hate beets.

the steamed pork bun tacos are just fantastic. $ 4 hot saki. yum. rice was not very good on any standard but the brussel sprout salad was a winner!

We went out of our way to track down this truck, which I suppose would be our first mistake. Second mistake was ordering 3 items for 2 people who were already pretty full from BBQ earlier in the evening. Third mistake was not having some beer beforehand… I’ll bet the spicy fried flavors pair much better with a side of beer.
We got the beet fries, brussel sprout salad, and thai chicken. Since we got it to go, we got everything dry (sauce on the side). This allowed us to see what ESK is really great at — making sauces.
The beet fries were good. A little on the spicy side (wish I had known — I would have ordered them less spicy) but they were good — my favorite of the 3. The creamy sauce was delicious. But honestly — they just deep fried beets and then coated them in that japanese spicy futokake stuff, and then provided a sauce — I don’t know — they didn’t seem worth the $ 7.
The Thai Chicken karaage was just fried chicken (that wasn’t battered or fried especially well — I’ve had good chicken karaage and this was not anywhere close) with a sweet chili sauce. Definitely not worth the $ 8 we paid for it.
The brussel sprout salad was okay — I love brussel sprouts and these were fine — a little bitter but not too bad. There were bits of basil that provided some freshness to the salad. But again, not really special and not worth $ 7.
I was sorely disappointed.

You should totally go. I want to go back; I desire to go back and taste it all again. I went with my good buddy just before a Lindsey Stirling show across the street. We were able to even bring our food into the nearby bar and order beverages. I think there are several of these trucks.. .? I went to one on Red River by Cheer Up Charlie’s.
The food was outstanding. I don’t recall the menu being too expansive nor should one expect it to be from a truck. The items were definitely unique and very flavorful. It wasn’t too slow nor too expensive. Waiting in the hot Texas laser-​sun is tough in the summer. But, no one died.
Staff was minimal; they seemed either busy or aloof or pretentious. I can’t tell in Austin because everyone is like that. How clean is it? It’s a truck. You’re outside and they don’t let you see inside. As with any truck, the atmosphere is really just the street. Personally, I love that and would much rather hit a truck than a sit-​down/​indoor place.
To sum up: it’s a truck. If you like trucks this place is a for-​sure. Even if you’re on the fence about trucks, give it a shot because the food is crazy good and you can bring it next door to mix with drink.

Two words – beet fries!
Being able to snack on some beet fries while I enjoyed a beer from the Draught House made for a perfect Friday evening.

Happy to find out that East Side Kings is a regular pop-​up food truck at the Draught House. Great beer, great food, and great ambiance? Score!
Some friends and I started with the beet fries and Brussels Sprout salad. I was actually a little disappointed with the beets after hearing all the type. I thought they would be crispier. The Brussels Sprout salad was out of this world! Fried sprouts with a sweet and spicy sauce, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, basil, and mint. So many delicious flavors melded into a delicious dish.
I ordered the Thai Chicken Kara-​agé, fried chicken pieces with the same delicious sweet & spicy sauce, herbs, and onion. The chicken was perfectly fried and didn’t get soggy with the sauce. I was happy with my order. My friend ordered the Poor Qui’s Buns and didn’t share my sentiment. There was practically no meat at all on the pork belly. Yes, I realize that pork belly is essentially fat, but there should be some meat, right? My other friend ordered the avocado buns, which he enjoyed.
Overall, you can’t go wrong with most dishes. Just beware of the Poor Qui Buns.

Grabbing a beer at the Draught house and grabbed some ESK as well. Had the special: spare ribs, with sliced daikon, friend kale chips and cauliflower. Out of this world, needs to be a standard dish. Flavor, spice, and crunch spot on.

Two words. Beet Fries. But don’t stop there. The Thai Chicken Karaage is delicious and just the perfect amount of spice. The Pork Belly buns are also insanely good and it if you don’t like brussels sprouts, try their version. You won’t be disappointed. I love that ESK is now at The Draught House too.

This was my East Side Kings first experience. I took an out-​of-​towner friend to Draught House for a beer and a look at Austin’s craft scene. ESK was parked by the garden, and my buddy recognized it from a FOOD magazine. Cool. Chef Qui has a reputation. We ordered the Poor Qui Buns and the Brussels Sprout salad. The flavor was great. You can’t go wrong with pork belly and/​or brussel sprouts and bacon. The only minor issues were with presentation. The pork was cold and the sprouts were a bit oily (I prefer crispy). I’ll definitely try them again (and maybe up my score).

WOMP… WOMP! Pretty lame presentation and taste in comparison to the explanation of dishes on the menu. I honestly don’t get how the dishes we got «Black sesame ramen» and one of the «Special ramen» were made up. They tasted bland, had a funny smell aaaand ramen isn’t supposed to be over fountain drink ice cubes. To top it off, the brussels sprouts everyone seems to rave about, are a burnt and oily mess of yuck. Meh!

So happy that ESK has become a new fixture at the Draught House. It’s like having two of my closest friends get married!
Going to the Draught House has always been one of the greatest joys in my life. My dog, great beers, and now awesome food.
I don’t know of any locals that haven’t been exposed to ESK in way or another, so I’m not sure what I have to add. All the greats are represented… beet fries, karaage, pork buns, rice bowls… all outstanding.
Don’t tell the boys inside the Draught House, but more than once… I’ve come down here and grabbed food without grabbing a beer! Shhhhhhhh…