Soup Challenge 8: Dylan Craver (Kindred) - Ocean 97 Mariscos Truck (Target parking lot in South Park)
Only a few soups left to go! For soup challenge 8, I met up with Dylan Craver of Kindred restaurant in South Park. We met a few blocks from Kindred in the Target Express parking lot at a food truck that I've never seen without a line of people waiting patiently for some mariscos. I myself had never tried out the truck but heard great things about their food so I was stoked to try some seafood soup.
Dylan hails from Sacramento and has been a chef at Kindred for 2 1/2 years creating all things vegan and delicious. Pro tip: Order the off menu nuggets! He mentioned not knowing about too many soup spots in San Diego but one that was convenient and delicious was the Ocean 97 Mariscos Food Truck just a few blocks away from Kindred. With every order, the cashier offers you a small cup of their delicious seafood stock or consommé. Consommé is something you see pretty often at Mexican seafood restaurants that offer seafood stews like siete mares (seven seas) or pescado (fish). Consommé is also pretty common where birria is served. The seafood version we enjoyed had shell-on shrimp and some small pieces of fish, herbs and veggies. Dylan ordered a large on top of our complimentary portions so he had a full stew on his hands!
At first taste I noticed no spice whatsoever so that was good for me, although the truck offered a good amount of hot sauce/salsa options as well as limes which I personally love to add to basically everything. I also got down on a shrimp tostada for lunch which was fresh, crunchy and offered the right amount of acidity. My consommé was hot, rich and had perfectly cooked pieces of shrimp. I worry that shrimp will be overcooked and then get tough or rubbery but these were not. The broth smelled phenomenal with the seafood aroma not overpowering the spices and herbs in the broth. The small cup before a refreshing tostada was a good balance for me, both acidic and mild. I love the fact that you can personalize the soup by adding heat or more acid depending on your taste. After the small but filling lunch I craved an icy cold soda which they had a good variety to choose from, all shoved into crushed ice just below the cashier window and damn that went down well!
"It’s a very simple and lovely soup, you can really taste the flavors of everything on the truck through that soup. It’s always different but very good and since they give it to you for free while you wait I just kinda got hooked on it." Damn it Dylan I could not agree more, food always tastes a little bit better when it's free haha! Thanks to the Ocean 97 truck and all food trucks for that matter and thank you chef for hanging out under a tent and eating some soup with me.
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