Suzie Q’s Lunchbox

I visited the mobile food truck on Clay/​14^th in Oakland. I looked over the menu before I headed over and had my heart set on Mac & Cheese. When I got there, I was happy they still had it on the menu. It was $ 6 for a pretty big sized cup… reminded me of the cups icecream is often served in. I asked for the bacon topping because, well… I LOVE bacon!!! I was so excited with my big ol’ cup of Mac & Cheese as I walked down the street… but I was really disappointed. Maybe it’s just my taste buds, but there was nothing special about the flavor. It was white cheddar and it was bland and the noodles were super mushy. I thought my beloved bacon would save the day, but it was caramelized or something and I was looking for a savory and not sweet taste. I ended up throwing most of it away. =(
I really wanted to love it because Mac & Cheese is one of my fav comfort foods, but I instead I wanted my $ 6 back… maybe I will try something else on the menu next time, but with all the food trucks competing for business, it’s unlikely.

Out of all the trucks at Alameda’s OTG, this was the only crew adorning whites. Chef whites, for those of you unfamiliar with the jargon of the food industry sub-​culture. There was a line that formed at their window-​step long before they started to take orders, so I followed suit like any patriotic American and gave in to peer pressure without question. The beauty about food truck pods is that you can usually try something out, and if you’re not pleased, walk away reasonably unscathed financially, and mosey on to another truck that’s a sure bet. Luckily, that was my experience.
At $ 10, their Oyster Po’ Boy is a miniature version of the real po’ boys. Roughly three to three and a half perfectly fried, satisfyingly crunchy oysters, sitting on a semi-​similar in texture Nola bun. Also, with (cold) bacon bits and (room temp) slaw that had so much mayo it was making me nauseous. The slaw ladened side of the bun started to disintegrate long before I half-​way consumed the damn thing. There’s good messy, which is intentional, and there’s bad messy, like the walk of shame after a Saturday night in the dorms.
Gumbo, $ 7 of sausage broth. The description on the window said it had rice, as traditional in any gumbo with its bottom layer of rice, but this had no rice. Ok, in all fairness, it had two miniature quenelle football shaped clumps of rice. No exaggeration. It was supposed to have chicken, where? It had a generous amount of sausage, but the broth wasn’t a tight consistency. It was more loose than me when I got my first apartment at 18-​years-​old. It had amazing flavor, don’t get me wrong. But, as with everything, sometimes the negative just outshines the positive.
You can thank the media for that. Or, the bustlin’ Suzie Q’s crew.

After going there twice, I’m convinced that this place is awesome…
Oyster Po’ Boy Sandwich: Wow!
Softshell Crab Sliders on a «sexy» bun: very sexy
Mac n Cheese w/​bacon: fabulous
Jambalaya: really good
Bread Pudding: Bourbon-​ey deliciousness
Black Velvet Cheesecake: really good
Sweet tea: not too sweet (some people may see this as a problem, not me)
Go Suzie Q!!!

Went to Suzie Q’s Lunchbox last Sunday at the Food Truck Crush in Larkspur after literally trying to get there for months! So glad that after the months of anticipation, I had a great time and the food didn’t disappoint.
My bf and I ordered a bunch of food:
— Po’ Boy Sandwich: AMAZING!
— Soft-​Soft Crab Sliders: AMAZING!
— Mac-​n-​Cheese (w/​bacon): AMAZING! (but glad we ordered when we did, when we went up to order dessert, they were out of bacon and the bacon MADE this dish)
— Jambalya: Good… I think I’m not a fan of jambalya in general and should have gotten the gumbo instead
— Bread pudding: OMG! AMAZING! The sauce on this leaves me speechless.
— Black Velvet Cheesecake: Yummy and delicious and worthy of 4 – 5 stars on its own, but after the bread pudding, well, I only want the bread pudding
— Sweet Tea: This is the only not-​so-​positive critique I have… It wasn’t sweet :(It definitely wasn’t Liptons from the box unsweetened, but it’s so hard to find ‘sweet’ sweet tea on the West Coast like you can in ATL or Texas and I was hoping for ‘sweet’ sweet tea to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Next time, I’ll try ‘Randy’s Candy’ (If the bacon in the mac-​n-​cheese is an indicator, I’ll love it). I won’t be surprised if I dream about the Po’ Boy and bread pudding before my next visit.

Q’s was at OTG in Alameda last Saturday. Randy’s candy had nice seasoning however should be called Patty’s fatty. I guess that’s too be expected of pork shoulder though. Pulled pork sandwich was okay, but the bun didn’t hold up to the meat, sauce, and slaw. Also the sweet tea wasn’t sweet and they ran out if mac and cheese with bacon sprinkles right when I got to the window. This wasn’t the best first impression, but I might be back to try something else… maybe soft shell crab sliders or the oyster po’boy, they were out of that too.
Oh a side note, they were friendly however the dude at the pick up window commented on my name saying, «you don’t look like a Mace». Really, what does «a Mace» look like!!! Maybe he was looking for me to spit hot fiyah in his face.

The awesome menu options drew me to Suzie Q but it’s the fantastic customer service and incredible food (most notably their bread pudding with Grandma someone’s burboun sauce) that will keep me coming back over and over and over again.
I devoured the soft shell crab sliders. The fact I wanted 10 more was due to the deliciousness and not the portion size. As I was waiting I spied their bread pudding shooter… um totally up my alley. The chef inside the truck must have seen me salivating and graciously offered me a free sample. It was the highlight of my day.
Thank you to Suzie Q for a great experience… I will see you again soon!!!

Food Trucks can be «call for a quote». I always approach them with caution. Because of this, I took the time to talk to Suzie (yes she is there) and her crew. First off, these people care about their food — deeply. The Sous Chef spoke almost lovingly about their Muffuletta sandwich — which I ordered and very much enjoyed. It had a generous portion of sliced turkey, ham, salami, and Mortadella with melted provolone & jack cheeeses and an olive dressing that had a bit of cajun spiciness to it.
By the way, they are now at 100 Wood Hollow Drive, Novato, CA from 11:30am — 1:30PM.

Suzie Q’s Lunchbox was an anomaly to me. i wasn’t familiar with their offerings nor strengths. upon their reassurances their pulled pork wasn’t dry, i ordered it. big mistake.
menu: jambalaya, mac cheese, pulled pork sandwich, muffa? (bunch of stuff on french bread, pizza like), etc.
locale: food truck crush-​larkspur (⁸⁄₁₂)
sampling: pulled pork sandwich (8)
–came with «suzie slaw» and bbq sauce. slaw basically cole, and bbq ly tasted bottled. pulled pork slightly dry and tasteless. all on a toasted hoagie bun.
–compare this pulled pork with rip whip;s nearby. their pulled pork (8) is smoked 14 hours.
–definitely pulled pork not suzie’s strength but something familliar and
it’s on the menu.
foodnotes:
–Q’s lunchbox strength is creole and cajun.
–probably would have ordered jambalaya or? if i knew
–rating based on actual experience, not what could have been.
.

Met them at Food Crush in Larkspur.
The oyster po’ boys were awesome. The oysters are popcorn battered!
The BLT has a nice thick slab of bacon, nice smokey, sweet bacon. The Rockafeller has a mélange of spinach and garlic with a nice hunk of swiss cheese. The bite sized sandwiches were $ 5, which seem like a good deal.
I’m picky about my jambalaya, so I didn’t try it, nor am I interested in it – the rice didn’t look dirty enough for me :)
Definitely a fan, looking forward to getting larger sandwiches from Suzie in the future!

Picked up oyster bacon po boys, jambalaya and mac n cheese with a couple of friends at the Food Truck Crush in Larkspur. Had high hopes being fans of New Orleans food. Unfortunately the jambalaya was mushy — exacerbated by the tomato sauce on top and mac n cheese was on the flavorless side. The po boys were ok — more oyster would have been better. I think there was 1 maybe 2 in each sandwich which by the way, for $ 6 at half a sandwich about the size of 4 inches and mostly bread with little filling is a bit on the outrageous side even for San Francisco.
We won’t be going back. The search continues for good Cajun food in the Bay area.

I don’t know how Suzie of Suzie Q’s Lunch Box managed to find us here in the San Francisco Bay. Perhaps Katrina’s winds were strong enough to send her to us. But regardless of the reason, it is our good fortune.
I discovered the lunch truck outside the Marin County Civic Center on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and visited it for lunch both days. The menu is diverse enough to offer any appetite something to tickle their tummy. My vegetarian friend enjoyed the soup and beans/​rice. I tried the pulled-​pork sandwich with cole slaw the first day and the grilled cheese and tomato soup the second. Both days I murdered her bread pudding. Do try the bread pudding if it’s on the menu.
She offers classic Cajun cuisine inexpensively and with a smile and friendly word. We’re lucky to have her here and you can follow the truck’s location on Twitter. In time, I imagine she’ll develop a big following, so catch her while the lines are still relatively short.