Nana Queen’s Puddin’ & Wings

Does anybody know if this truck is still in business?
I haven’t seen them around lately.
Found them at the Century lot quite some time ago and tried their wings.
Based on that I’d try them again but I haven’t seen them since.
The ones I got were nicely spiced, perfectly cooked and very tender.
Hope these folks are still around…

i first tried the nana queens truck at the la food fest… yum. soo, being a huge banana puddin/​wing fan, i decided to go lookin for this yum yum truck. its always hard to locate a food truck, but hey thats half the fun! after a wee bit of checking the website and getting no where i gave up.
then, a few months later i went to the la car show and on my way out… VICTORY!!! nana queen was there! they had run out of everything though, and they were on their way out. i was sad. i told her about how i loved their food at the food fest, and that i had been looking for them. she winked at me and whispered (come back in 30 mins. we will make something special for you) so i did. they had made fresh mashed potatoes with cheese, lemon pepper wings, and a big ‘ol bucket of nana puddin just for me!!! NOM NOM NOM NOM!!!
so, like the evil person i am, i took my food treasures into the cafeteria, where people were lining up for tasteless chicken strips and bogus hot dogs on whithered buns. i was surrounded. «where did you get that food!!!» «nana queens. pink truck. out side. make left. leeme lone. im eating.» crowd goes outside. no nana queen. she left. i felt like a rock star.

One of the few trucks I had not tried before Food Network’s great food truck race started up that I couldn’t ever seem to run across them.
Well, I finally got this one off the bucket list and I have to say… meh. Which seems to be happening a lot more these days.
In the magic industry, it’s said that magicians are always looking for a new trick that can stump them on how it is done. And ironically, that’s the whole reason that they got into the industry. But as they go along it becomes harder and harder.
I think that’s what is happening here. The more of the gourmet food trucks that I eat, the fewer there is that truly impress me.
Take for example this one. While I’ll give them full credit that their pudding was pretty good, the problem is that that’s the extent of the goodness here.
I really didn’t get any good amount of service from them. The line wasn’t that long either so it wasn’t like they were doing a balancing act in taking new orders and being backed up in the truck kitchen line.
Not to mention the price. While I have no problem shelling out bucks for what is considered a good dish, this one just didn’t warrant the price tag it was packing. No way no how.
The wings. I think of wings as a sort of quick comfort food. It’s easy to eat and you can just grab your hotness to it and get it over with while being socially acceptable to just make a mess out of your hands and face with sauce.
Had the hot honey. which I sort of expected something else when I got it given my past with honey sauces. I have to say, these wings weren’t much better than what you would find in the freezer section. Not to mention they were priced about twice that. And for only a hand full of wings. Not worth it.
So over all, it was good for a once trying, but I highly doubt that I would come back to this truck if I do run across it again.

Only thing I had here were the wings and the pudding, I don’t remember much about the pudding, but the wings were decent so that makes them ok in my book. If I’m hungry and they happen to be there, I’d be down to order wings again :)

We were able to try the Nana Queen’s Truck when they were at the Century Truck Lot which occurs every Tuesday. More info here (
)
Anyway, my coworker and I shared the Banana Pudding they had. I thought it was good. Just a little too sweet. But I liked the vanilla-​y taste of this. And it went well with the bananas. And pudding of course.
The people who work here are real nice. They gave us free samples of another flavor we were thinking of getting.
I’d probably visit them again.

Like most, I recently heard about Nana on The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network. I’m not a huge fan of banana pudding but, since I was at the Long Beach Food Fest and so were they, I thought I should try their version.
Before I get into the pudding, I want to talk about the service. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t bad. It was just… unmemorable. The girl in the truck wasn’t really personable and I don’t recall a smile during the process…
Ok, time for pudding. I was a little perturbed because I wasn’t able to order the Oreo pudding pictured on the truck. Because of the Food Fest, they had a limited menu, so I ended up getting the Raspberry pudding.
I wasn’t wow’d in any way, shape or form. Ya know that 99 cent ice cream you can get at McDonalds with strawberry topping? Add bananas, Nilla Wafers, warm it up a bit and BAM! Raspberry pudding for $ 4 cheaper!
To be fair, I did not try any of the sandwiches or wings they offer so this is strictly for the pudding. I’m all about 2^nd chances but I’m not going to chase them down.

This truck intrigued me on The Great Food Truck Race because it was pudding and wings. So I was under the impression that the pudding was going to be so awesome that it would justify such a unique pairing. After finally trying the banana pudding, I know why they were the first to be eliminated. This is only a review of the pudding and not the wings. The pudding was good but not great. It maybe lacked a deeper banana flavor and a better contrasting texture. I wouldn’t wait in long line for it, but I’m glad I did try it.
On a more postive note, the truck is cute.

Nana, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to jump on the CG, LY and HC bandwagon. Yes, your pudding and peach cobbler are finger licking amazing. I treasured each and every bite and even considered buying another one to go.
As I was running to get back in line and took out my $ 4, I quickly noticed that I could get another meal for the cost of a peach cobbler. I decided to put my money away and instead walked over to Coolhaus and ordered a yummy ice-​cream sammie.
Looking through past pictures, I notice that the serving size of the pudding use to be a lot bigger and cost the same $ 3.84 (tax included). Nana, your pudding is amazing but I’ll skip your truck next time we meet.

Since I couldn’t make it to Nana Queen’s at Alpine Village tonight, Ciara G got me a puddin’ to go!
The pudding itself was good — lots of wafer cookies that had become soft and almost cake-​like after soaking up some moisture from the creamy pudding and banana slices. Sweet, but not overly so — and with good texture.
But…
seriously Nana, $ 3.50 + tax for a serving the size of a side of salad dressing? Just because I drop $ 20 without a blink on a dozen Paulette’s French macarons, doesn’t mean I’m that easy with just anyone!
Paulette is special… and honestly, as tasty as your banana pudding is, it’s just not special enough to warrant that kind of money.
I may come back to try the tacos — mostly because Unilocal bud Bill C. speaks so highly of them — but I think I’ll skip the $ 1-​per-​spoonful banana pudding.

Both my mouth and my wallet got into a fight over Nana Queen’s puddin’. The Original Puddin’ drew oohs and aahs from my mouth, but not before my wallet smacked it for encouraging the $ 3.50 (+tax!) price tag. I knew it was a tasty treat when I realized I started taking smaller and smaller spoonfuls to prolong the agony of no mo’ puddin’.
I wouldn’t mind the price as much if it weren’t for the fact that I can go home and make a decent puddin’ for a whole lot less than $ 3.50 per micro-​serving.

After seeing Nana Queen’s on Bill C’s AWESOME Food Truck list I kept them in mind as a «must try». I have seen them a few times on SaMo Blvd. but I was always heading in the opposite direction (probably on my way to Paulette) and by the time I made it back they were gone. Plus that was before I read Bill’s review raving about their awesome tacos.
So when I saw via twitter that they were to be in my hood I was super excited. I stepped up and read their menu and there were NO TACOS! What no tacos?! I was soooo sad):
I kind of get it as they were at a «semi» food truck «event». And most trucks at these type of things do limited menus to help with the flow of the lines. Even though I was let down I still gave them a try.
I ordered the Wings (Hot) solo which gave me 5 wings for $ 6.00 as well as their OG Puddin’ small size (only size avay actually) for $ 3.50. Tax was still to be added to these totals /​:
To be honest, right off the bat I felt the prices were steep. $ 1.20 per wing?! And then when I saw the «small» size of the puddin’ I almost had a conniption fit. It was a 12oz portion cup. You know, the size when you order a salad to-​go from anywhere and they put the dressing on the side in a separate container. Yeah that size. BURN!
Verdict:
Wings were good but I would have liked them a tad bit more crispy but that is just my preference when it comes to wings. I like when the skin gets super crisp. The sauce was not «hot» while I was eating them but left a nice heating burn that lingered around when I was done.
They also had 2 other sauce choices available: Mild or BBQ Mango
Puddin’…Well the slogan on their truck says
«Guaranteed you’ll scrape the bowl»
Well DUUUUHHHH bc I want more than 12 ounces and I want to get my 3 dollars and 50 cents PLUS tax worth. Forget scraping the bowl I am going to lick the 12oz portion cup clean.
SUPER GOOD Puddin’ btw but I wanted MUCH MORE for that price tag.
I did enjoy seeing the not-​your-​average soda choices at this truck. BC nothing compliments good ol’ puddin’ and wings better than a Grape, Cola or Black Cherry Shasta soda. Awesome bevie choices Nana Queen’s. Seriously!
Service was sweet and the guy chuckled and said «Thank You» when I gave him a «You’ve Been Unilocaled» card along with my ticket for my order when I picked it up as you never identify yourself as a Unilocaler until after.
I will totally return to give them a try again as I HAVE to try these Bill C. approved chicken tacos. Until then, Nana gets a solid A-​OK.

Unquestionably the Best Tacos I ever had. Motha Cluckin or otherwise. This may have been one of the best meals I have ever been served. They are a wing truck, and I am not really a wing person, but these Chicken Tacos were so incredibly awesome, I am still in awe as I write this 6 hours later.
I can’t wait to go to sleep tonight so I can dream about these tacos. I need to invent a new language because there aren’t enough words in English to describe how good these tacos are. Incredible soft flour tacos shells, incredibly marinated chicken, delicious Cajun corn, perfectly melted provolone. Hot sauce so wonderful I want to disconnect from the water main and install hot and cold running sauce at all my faucets. (OK just in the kitchen). Onions tomatoes and a few bites of sweet pickle, And condiments so perfectly proportioned that I was unaware of the original players as they danced on my tongue.
And they were only 3 for $ 6.00; and they were good sized, and they were served by the friendliest people ever, and it was a beautiful day today, and they had a location with a large flower bed wall suitable for seating, and there were no lines somehow. and I feel like a 13 year old with my first crush, and I want to move across the street from where they park it
oops I forgot to mention, when I was done I went back and got some Nana Pudding and it was awesome too. Next time I eat the pudding first so I can keep the Chicken Taco taste with me the rest of the day,
«Gourmet Food Truck #18 on my never-​ending quest to try every truck in So Cal»

It is exactly what it claims to be, no more and no less. Chicken wings and pudding. The wings are pretty tasty, the pudding is SUPERB, and the sides are decent, too.
That being said, check the line, because the wait can be long. If you’re at a food fest, since they give you a ticket, wander off and try some other trucks while you wait.

Wow. Waited over 40 minutes in line (OC Food Fest, so I GUESS that’s not their fault). I paid $ 15 for a dozen wings and a pudding, and then they said «here’s your ticket, it’ll be about 40 minutes.» 40 MIN, for Wings!!! So… we decided to wait anyway. Long story short, after AN HOUR, we just requested our money back. The people who were next in line to pick up had the number 10 below ours, so could have been an hour and 15 min til we actually got it anyway. Awful.
Who knows if the foods any good, but if you can’t produce for a FOOD show, you’re probably in the wrong business.

Sorry Nana, I really wanted to give you a chance and like you, especially after your unfortunate luck on The Great Food Truck Race.
So I waited.
And waited.
And waited for an hour in line. That’s fine. I expect that at this event.
But as I waited I saw the pick up window get more packed and no one walking away with food.
I order and as I’m about to pay you tell me it’ll be at least 40 minutes. That can’t be right because I was in line for an hour and saw no one walk away.
No thank you.
But thank you for telling me before I paid unlike the people before me who had to wait.
And thank you, for inspiring me to make my own banana puddin’ from scratch tonight (I’ve gotta give in to the craving!).

Update: What’s with the incognito name change to «wings» on Unilocal?
Heard about Nana Queen’s puddin’ and wings, so I wanted to check it out at the OC Foodie Fest.
I waited 45 minutes (which I didnt mind as this was expected). After paying, I was then told, it would be another 40 minutes.
Ok, so I left to browse the booths at the different vendors and check on my son and hubby.
When I got back, it was an additional 20 minutes.
I ordered the hot wings, BBQ Mango wings and both the caramel and regular ‘nana puddin.’
I was postively salivating seeing the people before me walk away with their puddin’s.
All of us anxiously waited as our numbers were being called out.
Finally, I get my order and gingerly walk back to the eating area.
The wings didn’t seem unique. Yes, the sauce was finger lickin’ good but for the long wait, the wings were underwhelming. The spicy was well, too vinegary and not flavorful. The BBQ Mango was ok.
Overall, the wings were nothing to rave about. They were just ok.
Now the puddin’ was great. Just the right amount of sweetness and creaminess without that fake banana smell. The vanilla wafers were generous throughout.
It was delicious, however, the caramel version was just a tad too sweet.
For the ‘nana puddin’ alone, I would come again and even try the other desserts and I would have rated this truck higher. Unfortunately, the puddin’ alone didn’t compensate for the underwhelming wings.
Perhaps, the food is better when it’s not in as crowded a venue as the OC Foodie Fest.

I got to try this truck Saturday @ The Outdoor Cinema Food Festival and they were the stars of the night for me!
Surprisingly the wait in line was minimal and my food was ready fast! The prices were reasonable and the people working were really nice!
Now– I ended up ordering the garlic and Parmesan wings. I was skeptical because I am not really happy with most places I have ordered wings from.
Last time I gave a place a chance was Wing-​Stop who’s only job is to cook wings and they sucked… I mean they were just awful!
So needless to say I was not sure about how these were going to be. But my friend recommended them so I figured what the hell?
SO… I get my wings and they were delicious! I don’t know about some of the other reviewers because mine were nice sized and had meat on them! They were the best wings I have had in I don’t know how long.
Out of my 5 alloted bites for the night, these guys got 2 of mine. They were my favorite of the evening!
As for the puddin. I am not really into desserts and sweets, not to mention I only get limited bites a day. so I am not spending them on sweets. But they sound pretty yummy. Maybe one day I will try them.
But for now, I am hoping to see this truck come to the Valley because I will definitely come get some more food from them if they are in close enough range!

I only got one thing — the oreo banana pudding — so I’m hesitant to give a 5-​star review here. It was goooooood.
I don’t like wings in general, so I can’t speak to that.

I saw this food truck on Melrose and thought, what the heck? Wings? With pudding? But the sign advertising 10 different kinds of banana pudding caught my eye. I wandered over and scanned the menu. There was only 4 kinds of banana pudding (turns out they have a rotating menu).
I had a sample of their Cajun Corn. It was delicious! I decided to get their original banana pudding, and the lady inside the truck handed a good sized cup of the most delicious thing I’ve tasted in awhile. The cup was filled with thick, creamy pudding, what tasted like sponge cake (but could very well be Nilla wafers according to these other reviews), and chunks of banana. It tasted more like a parfait than a cup of pudding. My friend and I shared the dessert and savored it slowly on our walk down Melrose. What a perfect compliment to a sunny, shopping day. I am definitely going to start stalking this food truck.

And so, I got my pudding. Nana Queen’s, which started off a catering and selling its pudding at restaurants, officially launched on Saturday. They currently serve 4 kinds of pudding (with more in the works), 6 types of wings and will soon have sides such as macaroni salad.
Although I came for the pudding, I was starving and ordered a 5-​piece wings and fries to start (a $ 6.50 launch special). Nana Queen’s flavor choices are Buck Hot, Matty Mild, CC Lemon Pepper, BBQ Mango, Spicy Teriyaki and Jay Molly Green Onion Ranch, and I think it’s impressive that none of the flavors are what you’d expect from wings.
I ordered the Green Onion Ranch flavor. I’m not a huge wing fan, but these had a nice flavor (although some parts were more heavily seasoned than others).
However, it wasn’t wings that brought me to Nana Queen’s…it was banana pudding!!! Nana Queen’s current 4 flavors are O.G. (original, $ 4.50), StrawNana (with fresh strawberries, $ 5.00), Nana Oh’s (Oreo, $ 5.00) and CarNana (Caramel, $ 5.00). I ordered the O.G., Nana Oh’s and StrawNana pudding.
–The O.G. is banana pudding with chunks of fresh banana and Nilla wafers mixed in, all topped with whipped cream. Good food is all about the basics, and this original flavor was delicious and fresh-​tasting.
–As a general rule Oreos make any dessert better, and Nana Oh’s a perfect example. Pudding? Yummy. Pudding with bananas? Also yummy. Pudding with bananas and Oreos? In the words of Will Ferrell as James Lipton: «Simply scrumptulescent.»
–My favorite, however, was the StrawNana. With a generous helping of strawberries and crispy Nilla wafers, every bite of this was a delight.
I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the pudding cups – a good amount for $ 4.50-$ 5.00 per serving. When J and I left, we were absolutely stuffed and still had leftovers of StrawNana and the O.G.
Although Mac and Cheeza’s banana pudding is still tops in my book (their actual pudding is yummier than that of Nana Queen’s), in terms of price and variety of flavors, Nana Queen’s is a great addition to the LA food truck fleet.