Dandelion Kitchen

Unlike some of the food trucks downtown, this place changes up their menu on a consistent basis (with a few solid but great menu items). I love how fresh everything tastes and the option to do a half sandwich/​half salad combo. Dandelion Kitchen sets the bar for tasty and healthy food truck food.

I finally stopped by the Dandelion Kitchen after walking past it for 3 summers in a row outside of my office.
For lunch I ordered the Grilled Ham and Brie with housemade apricot mostarda and whole-​grain mustard. I liked the ratio of ham to brie. I LOVED the perfectly toasted bread, by this I mean it was out of a cooking magazine perfection, it was light yet buttery and slightly crispy in all the right ways.
I was not a fan of the mustard, I know I’m not a mustard person so I asked for light on the mustard and it was still overwhelming to the brie and ham for me. Also, for $ 9 I don’t think I’ll be back that soon. Any food truck is a splurge when you realize they don’t have a building as overhead and you don’t have a seat or table to enjoy your food at.

I never thought to try this food truck until my co-​worker made me go one day. Normally located on Nicollet Mall outside of the IDS Center, the lines are long but the wait is worth it.
Recommend getting there earlier in the lunch hour to make sure you get the food you are looking for.
I highly recommend the goat cheese and beet salad, the vinagrette that goes with it is light and complements the cheese and beets well.
I also like the grilled cheese sandwich and the hibiscus-​ginger soda is a must try!
Can’t miss the truck, it’s the only one in that area and it’s bright yellow.

My favorite food truck downtown of the 10 or so I’ve tried. The roast turkey with fig and blue cheese sandwich is unreal. The line is the only downside. Salty Tart rolls = yum!

I was very impressed with their menu… Perfect for lunch… sandwiches and salads. Great quality local ingredients! I left satisfied being full without the guilty feeling. Only downside was the vinaigrette could have been a bit better…

My favorite food truck downtown, and that’s saying a lot since there are so many food trucks downtown. I love the BLT, they always use delicious tomatoes and that really makes a difference.
I’ve also had the grilled cheese, which is decadent, indulgent, and more adult with the three cheeses they use. I think Brie is one of them?
The fennel salad is also amazing with the roasted tomato vinaigrette, walnuts, and creamy goat cheese. Although I’m not vegetarian, I usually sub avocado for the chicken.

Had the grilled cheese here and it was too much to handle!
The thick toasted bread was oily and crisp on the outside, and the three kinds of cheese were melted to an ooey gooey delicousness. What really gets me is the honey butter they use which just makes it such a rich sandwich!
Because the sandwich is so rich, they serve it with a side of arugula and apple slices, and that sweetness from the honey was balanced out well by the bitterness of the arugula.
Def. want to come back for this again!

Hands down, my favorite food truck. Everything is so fresh and unique and wonderful! Love it all! You can’t go wrong. and that Basil Lime soda? The basil is so fresh and fragrant– I love it!

I should like Dandelion Kitchen more than I do. They do great things with their food and come up with really unique combinations, but every time I’ve been (granted, only a few times) I’ve waited for a really long time and anticipated a fantastic meal only to be left feeling ehhhh.
The lime basil drink, now that’s amazingly refreshing. Unexpected and unique. Four stars for that.
The grilled cheese (with apples and honey butter) should have been a home run, but wasn’t. It was a lot of bread (A LOT OF BREAD) and I think that made it tough to be super-​melty, which was disappointing. The spot of arugula salad on the side was phenomenal, though!

Unexpected quality food from a food truck. I have tried the BLT and the Curry chicken and both are excellent and creative. (The homemade soda is great. I’d say skip it to make this meal a deal as well)
You can easily tell that the ingredients are of great quality as you can actually taste the each of the components.

The other Friday I made a visit to Dandelion Kitchen, a food truck so blindingly yellow that it’s impossible to miss. The mission of the Dandelion Kitchen: to use only organic, in-​season produce from local family establishments for creative new takes on Midwestern staples like grilled cheese and BLTs. The lunchtime foodie looking for a quick, fresh gourmet fix will not be disappointed by a visit to the Dandelion Kitchen.
When it was my turn to order, the helpful woman at the counter told me that the BLT ($ 7.50) is probably the most popular item on the menu, and recommended I get it on crusty baguette rather than soft bread. I handed her a tenner for that and my soda, and she handed me a glass of ice to pour my own hibiscus ginger soda ($ 2.50) from the tap next to the window. Cute!
Service
They were friendly and clearly having a blast; once I ordered, it only took about a minute to get my sandwich.
Presentation
The sandwich is served wrapped in a cheery little yellow paper bag, and I found the pour-​your-​own-​soda station charming.
Taste
I’m still drooling just thinking about that thick, sweet and salty bacon…
Value for Dollars
I mean, it’s good, but it is just a sandwich and a soda for $ 10! Next time I go, I’ll probably skip the soda.
Overall Food-​Truck Experience
This truck is ridiculously popular, and with good reason!

So for Dandelion Kitchen, you just need to remember two words: grilled cheese. It’s AMAZING — three cheeses AND honey butter with apple slaw on the side? Shut the front door. Add a homemade soda to that (I especially love the hibiscus-​ginger) and you’ve got the best lunch downtown.
My only complaint w/​DK is the french bread for some of their other sandwiches. It’s seriously so hard that my jaw hurt from eating it. They also have an option to get brioche-​style bread, but sometimes I just want my basic baguette.

Yummy yummy in my tummy. The chef salads are absolutely the best and that hibiscus ginger soda makes everything go down so smooth. I try to get to this food truck early since the line is insane, but the truck workers always have a smile on their face, which calms me down and gets me ready to eat.
The chef salad, if you have not had it, is an explosion of flavor. Sometimes they have grapes, strawberries or pears as the fruit. The pistachios add a bit of crunch, while the goat-​cheese brie add the perfect amount of «umami». Throw in some chicken salad, corn, capers, and actual mixed greens, and you are ready for a feast. I’ve had a lot of salads in the cities, and this one is absolutely brilliant and tantalizing.
It would be nice to see them mix it up once in a while with the salad (and not just with the berries) so that I can see what other fun things they can do with veggies.

Hibicus ginger soda: whoa, ginger spice! Great! I came back other days and grabbed just a soda… I do wish we could use our own cups, but I understand that each area has its own silly regulations.
The ham & brie is a very well-​endowed sandwich. No skimping, even on the plump and juicy pears. Nicely wet and pliant cheese with thick slices of meat tucked between. Real butter toasted into the bread, coating your fingers with that fragrant, slightly sticky goodness and feeling so good twisting between your teeth.
They seem a bit pricey, but it’s not at all bad for the amount *and* being locally sourced. Somehow I was lucky and missed the long lines. (Ok, the conference didn’t let out for lunch until 12.30 at the earliest…)

Great concept, ok execution. Their bread ALWAYS tears at the roof of my mouth, which is a shame since I do like the flavor profiles of everything I’ve tried. Great salads and great use of local ingredients but I can’t get past the bread business.

Ok stuff. Cuban sandwich seemed about a buck pricey but for what was there it was full of flavor. The cool thing is that it seems like everything is being locally sourced so that’s probably why things seemed on the high end price wise. The basil lime homemade soda was excellent and all I was thinking was that this needs a little vodka or gin. Is it worth trying? Yes but I will look at other trucks going forward.
So I started this review right after lunch on my iPhone and then needed to wait to post it. Originally gave it four stars but it is a week later and I’m dropping it to three. Why? I swear that around two hours later I was hungry. I mean stomach growling hungry. For that amount of money, I better not be stomach growling hungry.
Just saying.

It’s official. Dandelion Kitchen has popped my food truck cherry and… it wasn’t as earth-​shattering as I was hoping for.
I’m not sure why I was expecting my trip to Dandelion Kitchen to be life-​changing (maybe it was all the 5 star reviews) but my expectations were through the roof. We showed up around 1 pm and the line was 10+ people long. Seriously popular. The gals working the window weren’t exactly rays of sunshine but maybe that was the stress of getting all that food out in a timely manner.
The sandwich I’d wanted to try had run out so I got the grilled cheese instead along with a lemon-​basil soda. The soda was solid, totally get the reviews for that. It was a bit sweet for my personal tastes but it’s freakin’ soda. What did I expect? And the grilled cheese. Never in my life did I think I’d say this about ANYTHING but there was too. much. cheese. The bread was coated in honey butter (fantastic idea!) but overall it was waaay too rich. I wish they’d had the caramelized onions in there but after looking at their website, seems they only do that at market locations. That would have been the perfect way to counter the mouthfuls of pure cheese.
Love the fact that they use local ingredients!
I’m sure I’ll stop by again to try something else. In the mean time, I’ll be seeing other food trucks.

Street food at its finest. I’ve been hitting up the food trucks this year to spice up my mundane downtown work days, and the Dandelion Kitchen just skyrocketed to the top of my list.
The BLT with avocado is so incredible, my words won’t do it justice. Just go there and see for yourself. The bread tastes like a still-​warm baguette just pulled out of the oven in a French bakery and their avocado and tomatoes are fresh and perfectly ripened.
I am stuffed, but I wish I could run back for a second!

I’m worried I’m going to get fat on delicious and environmentally responsible food from Dandelion Kitchen. Seriously, like I needed another grilled cheese in my life… buttered and toasted Salty Tart sourdough + melty local cheeses + sweet caramelized onions + a heap of cabbage/​radish slaw on top. Trust in this.
The line was about seven deep when Tori M., Julie S. and I arrived, and it didn’t take long before we were biting into those serious sandwiches.
I thoroughly lost my shit over the homemade basil-​lime soda as well. It’s just sweet enough, with a refreshing herbal tinge to it. There’s something smoother about it than mint. I’m kinda obsessed with putting basil in drinks lately, so this is my ideal summer beverage.
Also, Natalie is so nice. I’ve met her only once in person (last year) and she remembered me pretty much right away. Can’t wait to come back and try the ham and brie or the BLT with avocado!

Dandelion is back on the mall for season and my taste-​buds couldn’t be happier about the return of this trend-​setting lunch cart! I usually opt for my usual– Dandelion’s signature grilled cheese. Imagine a two cheese, sourdough sandwich topped with sweet caramelized onions and a tangy cabbage and fennel slaw. Is your mouth watering yet?
However, this afternoon something inspired me to try another savory sandwich, The Ham Brie… prepare yourself to be deliciously distracted. Imagine taking a bite into a warm melt– the salty ham and perfectly grainy hot mustard are the first flavors to hit your tongue. Next, your teeth sink through soft slices of pear, perfectly tangy arugula while the bite becomes enveloped in the creaminess of the sour brie.
Did I mention that they make they’re own sodas? The lemon-​ginger tends to be the popular favorite, but if you’re feeling crazy try the basil-​lime. You won’t be disappointed.
Sunny summer lunch hours mean long lines at Dandy, especially on Farmers’ Market Thursdays, so its best to grab a bite between 11/11:30 or after 1pm if you’re in a hurry.