REVIEW: Freedom FEASTival launches food trucks for warm weather dining in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Freedom FEASTival, a new feature of the annual Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival, may not be the official launch of food truck season. But as wagons circled around Greene Square downtown on a sunny launch day May 3, it might as well have been.

As the Freedom Festival prepares to celebrate Independence Day with many of the same trucks at various events, patrons had a chance to sample menus for the quintessential summer holiday — many of which will be available around the city through the season.

Like the country Freedom Festival celebrates, Freedom FEASTival keeps in theme with the unlimited potential food trucks have in warm weather.

Here are a few recommendations to help you decide on your next bite.

1. Ribs from Midnight Smoker BBQ

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Full disclosure: I frequent this joint at NewBo City Market. Each time I do, I lock my focus on the brisket.

But, in usual fashion, it sold out quickly at Greene Square. So I had a good excuse to branch out and see if the same qualities applied well to their other offerings, too.

Immediately, a warmth from the peppery, Texas style bark doesn’t bite the way some barbecue seasonings do. It melds both sweet and heat together seamlessly in a way that would make it appealing to eat hot food on a hot day.

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Some barbecue joints focus on how tender and “fall off the bone” their rib meat is after smoking it for a million hours. The ribs here aren’t going to be the softest ones you’ll ever try, but they’re also not chewy by any means. They have enough structural integrity to stay put on the bone while you’re working on them.

A slight fat, neither greasy nor grisly, is perfectly marbled with the fair-colored meat underneath the black bark and sauce — whichever one you elect.

If you chew the meat slowly and let it linger, you may accumulate a new layer of sensations in the salt and seasoning as it interacts with the sauce.

2. Strawberry shortcake waffle from Wich-Uh-Waffle

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At first, I was asking where the strawberry was on this strawberry shortcake waffle. Despite the visible lack of red at a festival named after the red, white and blue, give this sweet treat a chance.

Tender to the touch, potent notes of vanilla in a fluffy, bubble-shaped waffle serve as the perfect lawn blanket for a ripe summer treat. Ice cream and whipped cream melt at two different temperatures into one like a soft serve, absorbed generously by the accommodating waffle they’re wrapped in like a cone.

Toward the end, you’ll find a few precious bites of strawberry. Next time I order this, I’ll request extra.

3. “Ten 4 Good Buddy” by Fizz Wagon Dreamsoda

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You may be wondering why I have decided to use precious print space (and valuable online server storage, for our digital readers) to write about a drink we’ve seen ad nauseam. Hear me out.

I recently reversed my prediabetes thanks to diet and exercise — and no thanks to this job. I felt it making a resurgence with this beverage, and let me tell you, it was worth every extra minute I’ll need to spend on the treadmill for this modified Coke.

With vanilla, lime and cherry, this particular drink managed to pack every good add-on into one beverage. You forget how well colas, especially Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper, blend with complementary flavors. But the beauty of Fizz Wagon is that your imagination is really the only limiting factor.

With summer approaching, this has every non-alcoholic beverage combo you could want. The best part is that with new revelations of the same old pop you’ve had your whole life, you don’t even need to feel the buzz of liquor. Sugar will do just fine.

This wagon is a case in point about why soda shops like “Quench It” and “Swig” are growing so popular in other western states, particularly Utah.

4. Brisket sandwich at Hatchett’s BBQ

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Since I couldn’t get my brisket fix at Midnight Smoker, I decided to give Hatchett’s a try, and I’m glad I did.

Weighing in simply at “large and in charge,” it didn’t take a scale to feel the heft of this sandwich both in my hand and in my stomach.

Matching a greasy shine to its weight, this meat’s texture comes in as a hybrid of shredded and chopped under an uber soft bun — what I’m guessing is brioche. The sauce is much sweeter than average, almost to a fault, with a slightly earthier smoke in the meat.

The edges of the meat, where the bark still is left, are much tougher than the soft interior. But the brisket endears itself more with each bite, as the depth of flavor in each shred reveals itself, letting each bite be a little bit different.

5. Tacos from La Reyna

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At risk of soliciting from readers the nearly age-old joke about Mexican restaurant proliferation in Cedar Rapids, I decided to take a second look at a vendor who has been here longer than the average Mexican restaurant.

La Reyna has a lot of decent options — some hearty, some novel. But I figured there’s no better way to test them than with the gold standard: tacos.

Corn tortillas drenched in fresh cilantro pass my first metric: lots of green. The onion gives a sassy bite that transcends language barriers.

The steak has a tinge of crispy, burned edges that are not only necessary, but quintessential to a good taco — the place where fat and salt find chemistry on the grill.

The chicken taco has substantially less seasoning, but has its place as a ying to the steak’s yang. Just add a little extra salsa, if need be. There are other meat options I didn’t try as well.

La Reyna, in some ways, embraces a “no frills” presentation. For many, that fits the bill well.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.