The Vegan Food Truck by Ste Martaen

I had the vegan mac n’ cheese from this place, and it was FANTASTIC.
PS: I’m an omnivore. If these guys cooked for me, I could go veg.

I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 10 years, and this was the worst veg fast food ever. I tried their black bean taco …
Ew…what is this? Tasteless paper-​like taco, black beans were bitter-​sour, and $ 7 for that small taco? Are you kidding me?
I couldn’t even finish it, throw it away into a trash can, it was bad that much.
The worst food truck at the campus of UChicago. So disappointed.

LOVE THAT MAC AND CHEESE! Wonderful creations that will make anyone start liking vegan food! The gourmet cheeses are amazing!

As a vegan in the loop, your lunch options are always limited. When I found out there was a vegan food pedicab that stopped by my office I couldn’t wait to try it. They make it easy to keep track of where they are/​what they have. I found the menu for today online and texted ahead and placed my order. The guy manning the pedicab was friendly and responded to my order right away, then I followed his status on Twitter and picked it up.
I had the Mac N Cheese and the Basil Focaccia Sandwich. The mac n cheese was the best tasting vegan mac n cheese I have ever had. Hands down. For $ 5 I got a decently sized container, and I am positive that I will be craving this again. The Basil Focaccia Sandwich was surprisingly delicious. It had so much flavor! Overall a great meal for $ 12. Not exactly cheap, but worth it for quality vegan food.

I must qualify my review since I’m neither vegan nor vegetarian but I am an adventurous eater. If you are a meat eater, don’t do what I did.
Had the BBQ wings and mac ‘n’ cheese. Both were just too rich.
Wings — The downfall of the wings was not the lack of meat. They had the texture of semi-​overcooked chicken, which I was fine with. They were cold and the sauce was just too sweet. I only ate 3 of the 6 wings that come in a $ 10 order. Maybe the sugar cane «bones» added to the sweetness.
Mac ‘n’ cheese — $ 5 for a medium tub and was pretty good.

I asked Laviyah to deliver lunch to Earth Pups a few times when we were out of the country. Julie and her staff were taking wonderful care of our chihuahuas for extended lengths of time, and we wanted to thank them with yummy lunches.
The ordering and transactions were very easily done through emails and PayPal. Laviyah would email the following day’s menus, and I would choose the number and the types sandwiches, etc. Then she would email the link to the bill at PayPal. Very easy!
Everyone was very excited when the food truck showed up and loved the food! I would not hesitate to order from Laviyah again. Thanks!

Yum! I have been eating from the truck for over a year now. They change up the menu day to day and also has different items for different seasons. Huge fan of the BBQ pita and the Chicago Cheesesteak. The spicy bbq pita is good too as well as the bbq wings… heck I love it all EXCEPT for the chicken tacos and chicken soup. The texture of the protein in those two dishes grosses me out, looks like intestines. The soul veg specials are always great, the sides are good too but the mac n cheese is just alright to me. They recently added cupcakes which are yummy! but $ 3 for a cupcake is insane to me so I only get them now and then.
They follow a schedule which they post on their site and usually update the twitter/​facebook as they go on the route. Sometimes there is diff trucks or a pedicab, etc but they do announce what they will be in advance. They will also go to specific locations on request as well. It’s a little pricey! but it doesn’t stop me from going at least once a week. They take cash[break those twentys if you can beforehand] but seems for most part they now take credit as well. :)

This is a review of the pedicab. The food is good for vegan options, or if you are feeling like eating fake meat. Often the sandwiches are too startchy, and the bread is not great quality. But again, good if you are looking for some fake meat.
Follow them on twitter for real time access if you can’t find him on the street.

I moved from Brooklyn to Milwaukee a few months ago. My vegan friends back in NY have been keeping me up to date on the new vegan/​vegetarian/​raw food restaurants that seem to be opening in NYC on a daily basis. While I have have fallen in love with the Midwest — all the trees, fresh farm produce, and all the friendly folks here, I get a little a sad missing NYC’s vegan culture.
After joining Vegan Milwaukee on Facebook, I caught one of there status updates that the Ste Martaen Vegan Truck was scheduled to roll into town. What? A vegan food truck in Dairyland? I checked out their itinerary and saw that they would be hitting my neighborhood. Despite my anticipation, I accidentally missed their window of time by a few minutes and, after commenting my disappointment on their Facebook page, they swung back on their way out of town! Super nice folks. Since it was the end of the day, the menu items I wanted to try — the Milwaukee chic’n wings and the Carolina BBQ — were sold out. (From the description, the wings sounded like vegan wings I used to LOVE served at Red Bamboo in New York.) I tried the BBQ chik’n sandwich and the mac and cheese. Steller. So so good. Can’t wait til they return to Milwaukee next month!

I took the train downtown from Arlington Hts to go to the food truck. I missed his first stop according to his schedule so I walked to the next one. I made it there in plenty of time-​and he wasn’t there. I text him and he said «sorry, I ran out of food and left».
I don’t blame him for leaving if he had no food left, but I have heard this from several people-​that he runs out. So I don’t recommend making a special trip to get his food-​you may not get it!

So I’m definitely hooked!
I am enjoying the thrill of the vegan food truck hunt
Today I had a slice of pecan pie and a buffalo chicken wrap. Who knew eating vegan could be so tasty! I have to watch it though because vegan/​vegetarian is not synonymous with low-​calorie-​ya heard me?! Makes me wonder if there’s some hidden meat in there somewhere…

So glad I tried the truck again.
First time around, I had the Fire Banger because it’s what was left, and bleh, I wasn’t a huge fan. But then, I’m rarely a fan of breaded tofu, and especially not of tartar sauce. Just goes to show, you can’t order something you don’t like and be upset when, um, you don’t like it.
On the second go-​round, I got the Carolina BBQ and mac & cheese. Now *that’s* what I’m talking about. My friends raved about the wings, too, both Milwaukee and Buffalo style. All the time, I flirt with going back to being a vegetarian, and it’s this kind of food that makes it seem so easy. Granted, just like the Chicago Diner, much of their best food is junk food, but even the healthiest vegan needs a break from the bark and twigs.
Bonus, the truck man is super nice. Here’s hoping I see him ’round the Aon Center more often.

My demise is imminent as I just tasted the Mac & Cheese from this truck and was forced to smack my mama it was so good!
Sir Vegan, as I call the truck man, rode the pedicab to my way and bestowed this new lover upon my hands as I gave him money in exchange for eternal life for my taste buds.
I just have to say, I’m getting effen tired of being deceived by this so called vegan places. I’m clearly eating dairy, and meat, and No, don’t say it, YES! PORK! I adore thee vegan eats. I ADORE THEE!

Chicago needs SO many more places like this!
I found out about the vegan food truck from my sweet friends who wanted to treat my fiancé and I to dinner at home one night. All they told us was that it’s all vegan and it will be at your door in an hour. Sounded good to us.
Little did we know just how good it all was going to be. Our favorite, hands down, of any vegan or non vegan we’ve had, is their mac and cheese. I don’t know what they do to it but it’s unreal. I also loved their wings, pretty cute how they stuck a piece of jicama (I think?) in the end like a bone. Except it wasn’t a bone, it was a vegetable, which is so much cooler.
Just started getting Facebook updates on their whereabouts… they may have a new stalker on their hands.

The vegan food truck is like a dream come true.
I work at Clark and Kinzie and the area is notoriously not vegan friendly. Steak places galore. My prayers were somehow answered and now every Tuesday and Wednesday I go to Clark and Lake or the Merchandise Mart to get me some traveling vegan goodness.
So far I’ve tried the chicken tacos and buffalo chicken wrap. Both were good but the buffalo chicken wrap tasted nothing like buffalo chicken imho. It wasn’t spicy, saucy or vinegary. Still good though. I enjoyed the dressing a lot.
What I’m excited about is trying everything on their menu. It rotates and they change things up so I feel like it’ll be awhile before I run out of things to try and by that time I’ll have found a few favorites that I’ll return to.

Shredded Chik’n Tacos — I don’t think a lot of people would like the taste of these tacos. It’s very peculiar and the texture of the «chicken» is like swished flat layers of tofu (don’t know what it is but there’s a Chinese dish that uses the same thing). One thing though, I wasn’t fond of the tortilla used.
The Bernstein Shebazzle — None of my coworkers got this so I’ll probably get this next time!
Buffalo Chik’n Pita — If you were uneasy about the texture of the Chik’n tacos, try this!!! It’s got a more «meat”-like texture and the sauce they put in with the pita is just absolutely delicious. I HIGHLY recommend this.
BBQ Chik’n Pita — Same meat-​like texture as the Buffalo Chik’n pita. It depends on what flavor you like, but I personally prefer the buffalo.
Soul Vegetarian Sides — The Mac & Cheese was DELICIOUS!!! The BBQ Delights were good but this was also a dish I don’t think most people would like by itself. I think what would have made this dish really good is if it were served with semi-​sticky rice.
Desserts — Luckily my coworkers ordered both flavors so I got to try and they were both yummy. The peanut butter mousse is a bit too rich for my taste and the chocolate mousse was light and had a little darker chocolate taste to it that was mouth-​watering.
! ! ! WARNING ! ! !
This food truck has many «trucks.» First, they have a little green truck, then they have a small one man carriage-​type thing and then they have a grey van with some animals on the side. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, they’re very hard to spot. (Note to the business: I’d recommend making your vehicles look more representative to the brand to avoid any confusion.) Furthermore, the drivers change often so where they park along each intersection ALSO varies. Very confusing, I know.

I really should have reviewed the truck months ago, when I first started following them on Twitter.
This shit is amazing.
Also, dude will go around the block, around the neighborhood, out of his way, whatever for you. He will come back for you. He leaves no vegan behind. Please give them all of your money.

The vegan food truck is definitely a GREAT addition to the Chicago area. Currently it runs Tuesday through Saturday — generally they offer lunch during the week and offer dinner on the weekend. The best way to find when and where they are serving food is by looking at the schedule (
) and to follow them on Facebook (
) — they send updates via Facebook during their route. You can also text message them and request they come to you — their motto is «Have Truck, Will Travel (312) 857−4393».
Now for the food — the vegan food truck is a collaborative effort between Soul Vegetarian (a local vegan restaurant) and Ste. Martaen (a local vegan cheese company). Soul Veg is like vegan junk food (not entirely healthy), but its good food for the soul! That combined with Ste. Martaen’s tasty nut cheeses makes for some tasty vegan meals! With that being said, I was instantly interested in trying the Chicago Cheese Steak. I give the sandwich a 3.5−4, it was really tasty and I really enjoyed most of the ingredients (seitan and cheese) although I wasn’t entirely fond of the bread. This seems to be a popular item, as I’ve seen others talk about it on their Facebook and in other reviews. I will likely try something else next time, though I would get the cheese steak again.
If you haven’t tried the food truck yet, I encourage you to do so! It’s definitely good and it’s pretty great that they’re mobile and can come to you!

Ste Martaen cheese is so good. I used to pick up tubs at Delicious Café but now a truck DELIVERS TO MY HOUSE. Not just cheese, but full fledged meals if I so choose. Vegan meals! Intricate and imaginative sandwiches, mac and cheese, desserts. New menus are posted daily on the website, and the truck location is updated on facebook.
Chicag has now tipped the scale of vegan awesomeness. I love food and I love this city and the vegan food truck makes me happy.

Four Easy Steps to (Vegan) Soul Food Heaven:
1. Add Ste Martaen as your friend on Facebook.
2. Tell them where you are.
3. Walk outside (and bring cash — no plastic).
4. Ingest the delicious (vegan) delights issuing forth from their magical food truck.
The menu rotates but on my visit they had a BBQ mock meat sub, chick’n tacos, pepper steak sandwich, and a lunch platter with chick’n parmesan, greens, mac n cheese and carrots. Everything was between $ 6 and $ 10 and the portions are on the large side. They also had a few kinds of desserts.
The lunch platter was amazing. Way too much food for one meal but it is easy to refridgerate for later. Somehow the mac n cheese was creamier than the kinds I’ve had that use dairy products.
I was really impressed that they made it out to Merch Mart even though I requested a stop just hours before. Not sure how it works if you are off the beaten path, but I’ve noticed that they seem to stop in the Loop, River North, Hyde Park, Logan Square Pilsen and Rogers Park a lot. Seems like they are willing to go where ever on a moment’s notice.
Chicago is lucky to have this, and I’m going to miss it when/​if I ever leave.

The SteMartaen /​Soul Veg Food Truck is like a magic vegan food fairy who shows up and blesses you with yummy vegan noms. You never know when it will be around but eventually it will be and you better catch it when you can. A bird tweeted that it would be near so I biked on over and caught them just a bit before they appeared. I ordered one of everything and ate for days. The tacos I snarfed up immediately, cheesy fresh goodness (those won’t keep well). The BBQ sandwich was killer, the soul veg meal is a no brainer. *bliss*