Pennypackers Fine Food

I went to this truck in Dewey Square. I would not go back and rather choose a real operation like Bön Me or Clover… or Cosi or Pret. NOT PENNYPACKERs. Their food truck just does not work well.
I was 1 of 2 people there at 1:30pm today. There were more people working in the truck. The problems just began:
(1) 11 minute wait for a sandwich. Bön Me turns a dozen orders in 5 minutes…
(2) Fried chicken was not great — crust can’t stick to chicken. The chicken tasted like rubber. And the flavor was a mix of egg wash and bad soy sauce.
Long wait for just blah food. $ 9 gets you a good burrito or salad.
Sorry.

This review is for the food truck.
Smashed potatoes. They are one of the best things I have eaten all year, full stop. Crispy, perfectly cooked potatoes with taleggio [sic] cheese, jalapenos, and olive oil. Slap your momma good.
Lamb sandwich — Great roll, but lacking fillings and flavor for $ 11.
Overall, Slightly pricey, for lunch everyday, but totally going to be a treat yourself stop for me going forward.

I got takeout so my review is purely about the food, but OMG YUM! I got the beef drip sandwich and it was nothing like what I was expecting, but so so so delicious. It tasted like Korean BBQ with sriracha mayo and mint. Sweet, spicy, sour, amazing. But the best part was the bread. I THINK they get their bread from Forge in Union Square, but could be wrong. Either way it’s incredible bread. I would definitely come back.

OMG! Just go. The porchetta is the best thing you have ever had. I had their amp-​ed up version of a French dip today. Probably the best sandwich I have ever had. I know personally that Ryan is also a great supporter of people in need in the community. Also bought some gumbo today, can’t wait until dinner.

The porchetta’s amazing to the point where I’ve neglected the rest of the menu. I just wish the place was open later since I often can’t get there in time after work.

Friendly service. Very fast. Nice food choices. We had soup and salad. No meat. The salads were good and plentiful, but very salty. The tomato soup was fantastic. From this first experience, this place has potential to make me a fan, but not yet.

These guys make excellent gourmet sandwiches. They’re open standard deli hours. They also send trucks throughout the city. High end food. Not super cheap. But I am always impressed. Check them out.

Got the Porchetta and Grilled Chicken Reuben for lunch. Not a very large sandwich for $ 9 and no sides. Porchetta was a tad salty, but the crispy pork skin was quite yummy and there was A LOT of pork. Service was a little slow, but the guy was friendly. Not much seating.

I had the porchetta and I didn’t know what to expect so I asked them to load it with extra meat and some peaches, YES I SAID PEACHES!
I am officially a glutton now for asking those fine folks to give me too much of a great thing. The people who run the truck are simply awesome. They’ve got a phenomenal attitude and love what they do. I nearly got the grilled peach and mozzarella sandwich, however I couldn’t turn away the pork, so I customized and they were so happy to help me find my middle-​ground.
Once I opened the lid to my delish-​dish, I knew I had stumbled upon some people who finally understand me. Salty-​porky-​goodness on a bun sprinkled with slightly roasted peaches made the inner fat-​kid in me cry a little. Yes, Pennypacker folks, you did this to me. Feels so naughty, yet so good. I will return again next Wednesday.

I’ve only had the breakfast sandwiches, and the porchetta. The breakfast sandwiches are very good, the porchetta sandwich is OMG freaking to die for. I’m so in love with that sandwich.

Delicious chicken sandwich and perfect vegetable soup! I was under the weather and this comfort food was exactly what I wanted. Prices are a bit high but that wouldn’t stop me from returning. Somerville needed a fine sandwich shop just like Pennypackers!

Thought I’d give it a try … Man am I glad I did! Great food that’s different with great melding of flavors.

Excellent place to grab a snack. Its filling but light at the same time! Get the porchetta sandwich and this radish/​split pea salad — they usually have soups and those are great too. A must try here is the pickled vegetables (which you should honestly get instead of the salad). Finally, get a bag of the duck fat tarot chips. You won’t regret it!

— Streetparking only
— Love that’s it’s an open kitchen you really get to see them making the food.
— Limited seating available. Most people do take out anyways. Not a place to dine for BiG groups.
— Menus are subject to change bc the owner or cook like to try out new dishes.
— The first time I tried penny packers was actually from a foodtruck. I loved it so much that I wanted to check out the restaurant in Somerville since it’s difficult to track down the foodtruck. Let’s just say I’m totally obsessed with their food. I love everything that I had try so far… its full of flavors.
— The sandwiches are pricey but definitely worth it because the quality is there. Now I just wish they open one in boston so I don’t have to drive so far when I have the cravings.

Food doesn’t quite get any better than this. The best ingredients, craftsmanship and recipes. One of my favorites of all time. YOU MUST GO.

Okay, everybody is all about this porchetta, HOLY HELL it’s amazing!
The cool thing is that the porchetta topped with various things throughout the year (pesto, balsamic, Carmelized onions etc. etc. etc.).
Other than this amazing baby-​sized sandwich, all of their soups and salads are also straight flavor. The watermelon gazpacho was the best I’ve ever had.
To top this off, those behind the counter are super nice and straight awesome!

My first porchetta was in Tuscany 3 years ago. I remember my first time with fondness. We heard about the Saturday open air market in this small town where this truck sold porchetta until they ran out — usually within an hour. We drove through the winding hills and found this magical truck. What a madhouse. Hordes of people pressing toward the front of the truck screaming in Italian. I don’t speak Italian. So I squeeze in and listen for 10 minutes while watching what people received for their utterances. I repeat the words associated with what I want and bingo — enough porchetta for 4 of us plus garlic roasted potatoes. What a greasy, salty, delicious memory — no cutlery or napkins provided. Who cares.
So imagine my shock to discover nearly the same delicious porchetta in my Somerville neighborhood!!! This stuff is great, people. I nearly wept after my first bite. It’s been 3 long years.
They sell half or whole porchetta to feed a group and I am doing that next time (except I’m not inviting anyone).

I had Pennypackers cater my backyard wedding this weekend and I am blown away by the experience!
The food (as you probably know) was fantastic. Everybody raved (and is still raving) about how great the good was! I’m a vegetarian, with vegan and carnivorous friends and EVERYBODY was pleased with the food. My carnivore friends said they were «surprised that we had such amazing meat selections!»
The menu was: Farm fresh salad (brussel sprouts, grapes. yum), Beef Brisket, Chicken quarters with a variety of BBQ sauces, Korean BBQ tofu, stuffed peppers, savory bread pudding (so. so. so. good).
They were also extremely professional. They showed up on-​time, cooked the food on the premise in their truck, put out the food, wrapped up the food, cleaned off tables, removed trash, brewed coffee, placed desserts out, cut the cake. etc. They literally did ANYTHING I asked of them with a smile! Not to mention they are such cool doods, we wanted them to stay and hang out with us!
The only thing is that since they are such a small shop run by two brothers; replies to e-​mail was not super fast. But, as long as you know this going into it you will NOT be disappointed.
I have turned people on to the Pennypackers food and I know a bunch of people who will be visiting the truck and the store after eating their amazing food at my wedding.
I’M SO HAPPY with them and you will be too! Thank you again!

I only got soup to go. I walked in on a quiet weekend late morning. The soup was so good. Beer and onion. The wait was so long. I don’t know what happened, I literally stood and waited for maybe 25 minutes. Just waited. Just waited. I saw a man cooking with a skillet and maybe my soup was in there. I honestly don’t know. I took the soup home and ate it. My god it was so good.
I wish this was a regular item on their menu. I think they must have been busy for some unforseen reason. Maybe they make soup to order? I doubt it, but I don’t care. It was good soup!
I will be back!

Confessions of a Unilocal CM: I never made it to the Pennypackers truck. It was always there, I was always elsewhere; people raved, I craved. Still, we never connected.
Then they opened up shop near the homestead, and a beam of radiant, porky light struck me in the brain and the heart and the stomach, and in its textured, savory, candied fruit kinda way, it looked me in the eye and said: «Eat me.»
So, I did. Hallelujah, I did.
The slow roasted porchetta sandwich ($ 8) falls apart, four-​punching the tongue with the salty chicharroń of a heavily brined skin, the bitter greens and the sweet acidity of the mostarda and agrodolce. We flirted; we danced; we made love. EQUAL RIGHTS! HUMAN/​SANDWICH MARRIAGE! Seriously though, this ‘wich is legit.
But let’s not ignore the more-​than-​spectating member of this lunch time menage a trois: the Blue Hubbard squash soup ($ 4, small). Calling it thick and hearty is a redundant understatement, and when topped with chopped walnuts, again this rich and balanced dish is a meal unto itself. It’s the Blizzard of soups — more than a stew, not quite a roux and far from anything you’d find in a can. If one taste isn’t enough, they’ve pre-​packed giant vats (ok, they’re quarts) of from-​scratch soups for just $ 10. Check the drinks cooler, beneath the infinite supply of San Pellegrino and Coke Zero (swoon)!
Not many seats, but don’t be fooled by the sterile space: these guys are food truckers and caterers. Their food will blind you before you can comment on the décor. Besides, you’re diving in to that brown bag behind some dark alley. Don’t worry — I won’t tell your other sandwich.