America's Test Kitchen Has A Food Truck Now

Boston Globe / Contributor/Getty Images
By  Allison Shoemaker

We love the folks at America's Test Kitchen. They wrote one of the best cookbooks of the century so far. They even helped us make millionaire mashed potatoes. Currently, they're making us wish that we had offices for The Takeout in Boston's Seaport neighborhood, because now ATK has blessed its neighbors with a food truck.

Boston Magazine reports that beginning today, the America's Test Kitchen food truck will be setting up shop outside ATK headquarters (located in the Innovation And Design Building in Seaport). Open Tuesday through Thursday, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., it will serve exactly one dish, rotating weekly. Those dishes will, of course, come from the deep ATK recipe bench, which extends to Cooks's Illustrated, Cook's Country, several cookbooks, and the television show.

Jack Bishop, Chief Creative Officer of America's Test Kitchen, explained the decision to open the bright red, very cheery-looking truck to Boston Mag: "The goal was to have sort of a public presence attached to the test kitchen... There aren't a whole lot of lunch options around here, and we love being here in this building, so we wanted to give back."

The first dish on the menu: Philadelphia Pork Sandwiches, featured in the current issue of Cook's Country. Other planned dishes include black bean burgers and shrimp tacos, and most will cost around $9. The goal, according to Bishop, is to feature things "that are easy to eat on a bench or small table... like sandwiches, wraps, salads, bowls, and chili and soups when it starts to get colder."

Being America's Test Kitchen, they also plan to change the menu according to patron feedback, which is easily given on an iPad provided by the truck. Here's Bishop one last time, with a quote that's of the purest, most undiluted essence of ATK: "We're continuing to evaluate recipes even after publication... If it doesn't score at least a 9 [out of 10], it probably won't be back on the truck."

The single worst thing about this truck is that it's not parked outside of my apartment building right now. And sadly, that's going to have to remain a pipe dream, as there are no plans for the truck to travel even to other parts of Boston, let alone Chicago.

Get out there, Boston! And if you've had the good fortune to sample the fine wares of this truck, let us know below.

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