Stellas PopKern

I looked at the DC Food Truck list to see what trucks would be in my area today. I clicked. on Stella’s to read what they sell, etc. I then went to Unilocal.Yes, its that serious!!! So I went to the truck which was located in the NoMa area, outside of Harris Teeter. After reading reviews I was excited about getting some popcorn. I read that you can get samples so I tried the Zesty Cheddar. The guy got a glass cup with 3 pieces of popcorn and I reached for the cup, he moaned «uh uh» and his expression made me realize I should hold my hand out. You know it doesn’t hurt to speak! After all, without customers like me there would be no one to sell it to, no job for him, and no food truck. That’s just how it works. There was another lady on the truck and she handed me my back, smiled and said thank you. That was a little better. The popcorn was just ok. I got the butter one with Brazilian salt.

I’m a fan of Stella’s PopKern!
This truck was around my work hood one day and I decided to give it a go. The lady at window was very welcoming and told me that I could sample whichever flavor I wanted so I tried the chipotle cheddar and the salty caramel. Both were good but I think I liked the chipotle cheddar more – it definitely had some kick to it which I really like. I believe the chipotle cheddar is a special and the salty caramel is one of their mainstays. Their popcorn was freshly made and they explain that there are no preservations so it is best to consume right away – I heeded their warning and inhaled both bags. This truck is definitely worth trying out; I look forward to trying some other flavors.

I confess that I spontaneously decided to grab some popcorn from Stellas Popkern food truck on my way to one of the museums near the Farragut North metro. My receipt was sent to me via text and I ordered the small size salty caramel (for $ 4.95)which came out extremely delicious and had the right amount of caramel and salt taste. Additionally, the person handling my order was cheerful to me.

Well… I picked up a bag on a windy March day; the menu looked fantastic, the signs counseled patience (the line was short, fortunately.) I got the small (cheddar?) cheese and Old Bay. The flavoring was indeed very good… but the popcorn was cold. Not lukewarm — cold (and slightly damp/​chewy.) I know they’re not popping fresh for each customer, and there was some kind of prep involving my order, but to me the entire point of getting it fresh from a truck is it would be hot! If I wanted a cold bag of popcorn I’d go to a deli… it’s like ordering a fancy hot chocolate and they hand it over and it’s room temperature. I don’t care how great the flavor is, fresh popcorn off the literal popcorn truck should be hot.

I now realize that everything I knew about popcorn was wrong.
I have a pretty strict personal diet, which includes no chips (going strong for 2 years now) but I’ve always allowed myself popcorn as a special treat. It even got to the point that my wife would just buy the corn kernels and we’d have fun trying trying new flavors.
But man. Stella’s PopKern is on another level. I randomly saw them out in Farragut West and picked up a small bag of butter/​sea salt, and after the first bite I wished I had bought a large. The popcorn is so fluffy, and softer than what I’m used to. They’re also a lot bigger than what you’d get at the movie theater, so the small bag was more like a medium. It was a really good combination, not too buttery that you feel sick and not too salty that you need a glass of water. Oddly it wasn’t greasy either — I started eating it on the way back to my office and I didn’t need a napkin.
They have a lot of other flavors that I really want to try next, like the old bay or the white cheddar. Next time I see the food truck I’ll have to pick up more, even if they’re driving I’ll jump out in the middle of the road to get them to stop for me.

Dat corn, ya’lls. Buy all of it and put it in your mouth!
Stella’s PopKern truck has been making stops at Metro center, which is both awesome and horrible. Awesome because POPCORN. Horrible because MY WAISTLINE.
The popcorn, in short, is stupendous. Huge kernels (what kind of corn is this? From the land of giants?), fluffy and actually tastes like corn, rather than styrofoam.
I keep meaning to try the other flavors but I seem to be stuck with a (large bag) mix of caramel and butter/​salt. I can’t decide which I love better. I have no idea how Stella mixes the butter/​salt so that the corn doesn’t wilt from the butter, but still keep that intensely buttery salt flavor that I love. The caramel corn? Addictive, just sweet enough, with that yummy smoky caramel taste.
Is it expensive? Yeah, a little. Worth it? Absolutely.

Stellas, we need you on the west coast! I came upon the popkern truck as I was walking around DC, and thought it was so cool looking that I had to buy some. OMG, it was the best popcorn I’ve ever tasted and I think back to it all the time.
I saw that they have really cute tins, so I’m going to go online after this and see if they can ship to SF! Just one more reason to visit DC and I’ll go on the hunt for the truck when I get off the plane.
Oh, and the guys in the truck – super nice!

This popcorn is absolutely mouthwatering and worth a trip across town. Okay, many trips. Hey, don’t judge. So good! Cheddar, Salty Caramel, truffle, ginger, lime, chipotle, rosemary, etc. My personal favorites are Zesty Cheddar and whatever the more exotic daily specials are, including the more herby and spicy flavors. There are flavors here to please every palate. It’s high quality butterfly popcorn, which is light and fluffy, almost melting when you eat it. I’m giving you fair warning that this product is very addictive! Don’t compare it to that stuff that painfully jams under your gumline or leaves orange goo under your nails. You know what I’m talking about. The warm hospitality you will encounter while buying popcorn is the icing on the cake. There’s no shame in chasing a yellow truck. It’s a Pavlovian response!

Love their popcorn! I don’t know how they do it, but every kernel is perfectly popped! Flavors are wonderful — I particularly love the salty caramel. Their butter flavor is also amazing — every piece has butter, but it’s not soggy or stale. Worth the wait in line — do not hesitate!

Stella’s PopKern is for sure a hidden gem, like DC-​donuts (see my reviews to see my review for them), you find Stella’s while walking in the street.
When I stumbled on Stella’s PopKern I knew I would love whatever I bought from them, because:
1. I love Popcorn
2. The smell from the shop was amazing.
The service was great, I had my popcorn in less than 5 minutes and it wasn’t too expensive. I ordered their Salty Caramel popcorn and my mouth exploded from the deliciousness. The salt was there, but it was completely overpowered by the sweetness of the caramel and it was… perfection.
The only drawback if any, is that Stella’s PopKern isn’t around all year round, which is understandable but you need to go some time without it and fulfil your cravings with something else.

Delicious popcorn! I’m a big popcorn fan, and Stella’s does it right. The buttered popcorn is the standard but is so well done, the salty caramel makes your standard kettle corn look so lame by comparison. The staff is very friendly, and definitely knows their regulars by name. The only drawback is how long the line gets!
I wish they were around all year.

Stella’s PopKern has the best popcorn. The truck has several regular flavors (I am a fan of Zesty White Cheddar) as well as a rotating group of special flavors. The popcorn is fresh, tasty and bursting with flavor. You will not be dissapointed.

I don’t think I’ve ever had popcorn this good. My default is Zesty White Cheddar, though I love seeing that Stella does creative flavors as well. Stella is super nice too. Definitely one of my top favorite DC food trucks!

The best popcorn I’ve ever had, hands down. You’ll never go back to microwave popcorn (or probably any other kind of popcorn) again. My favorites are the Old Bay and the cheddar, but she has lots of varieties that I’m not adventurous enough to try.
Yes, it can be expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for.

Hello, my name is Sarah and I am a popkern addict!
So I have seriously lost count of the amount of times that I have had Stella’s now over the past year. I’d estimate 50 times, but there’s a real good shot that number is higher. I can’t help it but I am addicted to the white cheddar… there is just something about it that makes my taste buds water just thinking about it. The owner, Kristina, is seriously the most awesome person I have ever met! She practically feels like your best friend when you step up to the window.
I do branch out *on occasion* to try her special flavors or even just to change it up. The butter with sea salt is delicious and the white cheddar with old bay is good too — now this comes from a girl who doesn’t have a high liking to old bay, but yet I still manage to find myself sneaking some of my hubby’s white cheddar and old bay popkern when he leaves the bag on the kitchen counter (sorry sweetie!). I’d say my 2^nd favorite is the bourbon bacon cheddar that Kristina did for the Kentucky Derby… holy moly, I have never in my life had such a party in my mouth over popkern! It was just the right amount of everything — the cheddar was the most prominent flavor with a tad of smoked bacon and the sweetness of the bourbon. It was just a special flavor for about a week, hence the 2^nd place rating, but I’m hoping she brings it back occasionally.
You deserve a treat the next time you see the popkern and yellow truck! I recommend a large size of anything (you can mix up the flavors too!), because the small is a nice tease, but you will be thanking yourself for getting the large size and having more savory popkern goodness for later!

Yum! I’m definitely a fan of Stella’s. So far, I’ve tried:
— Salty Caramel
— Curry
— Sriracha
— Bourbon Bacon Cheddar Caramel
I love them all. Salty caramel is my favorite — it’s always served hot, not too salty, but with a great caramel flavor. Srirach is super spicy. The curry was a special and had great flavor. The bourbon one was also a special, and wasn’t too sweet, which is good, though I wished for more bacon and bourbon. But I still liked it.
The owner is amazingly friendly and sweet — I adore her. She’s also helpful with suggestions. Definitely a great food truck to try.

Game. Set. Match. This food truck vendor just catapulted me out of the park and gave my taste buds a swift kick in the butt. Total flavor party for your mouth.

This is the popcorn of popcorns, the popcorn for pregnant women everywhere, because no matter how you cut it, it will satisfy every and all cravings. Just know, if you are pregnant and you have a craving for popcorn, you will start paying rent to sit in Stella’s truck and follow her popcorn wherever it goes.
If you see this truck, buy popcorn immediately, salty caramel, white chocolate, basil. it doesn’t matter. If you don’t buy it, you will find yourself calling them at 2pm to find out where they are. Only to hear they have sold out, at which point you want to stab yourself in the eye with a pencil.
Good. damn. popcorn.

Salty Caramel is so addictive that if the bag fell out of an airplane, I would seriously consider jumping out after it… even without a parachute! Really… it is that good. I just finished a bag and feel like I am going through withdawl symptoms already :-P
Other flavors sound appealing… but I have yet to try even one of the others.
Short and sweet… just like a small bag of PopKern!
P. S. — Bonus for the side-​mounted fountain drink dispenser. Very good idea for food truck events.

Caramel Popcorn (⁵⁄₅ NOMs).
You don’t pop without the popcorn. Be ware this is very addicting popcorn! When you eat anything and everything caramel, there better be a lot of it. They didn’t stinge on caramel and really dumped a lot of it, just the way I like it. You can really taste the nomnes of it.
Basil Infused Olive Oil Popcorn (³⁄₅ NOMs)
Its good to have strong flavor, but sometimes its not. Basil was so strong that it simply overpowered all my seances. I’m not a fan of this particular flavor and won’t try it again.

I get all hot and moist (errrr…warm and fuzzy?) every time Stella rolls around to L’enfant.
I usually get the caramel and white cheddar which is her take on the famous Garrett popcorn of Chicago. It is AMAZING! But every single flavor that I’ve tried is absolutely delicious!
If you see the bright yellow truck, do yourself a favor and get in line!
Keep on popping, Stella! DC needs you!

Stella is great, popcorn is good, A-​Ok.
First off, I LOVE popcorn. One of my favorite snacks. Personal fav. flavor: air poped popcorn, warm melted butter, salted.
I wanted to try something only Stella could make, so I tried the Basil Infused Olive Oil with Ginger Sea Salt. It was definitely unique, better with each bite, but not so good I’d get it again.
It’s good, just not irresistibly so.

I was delighted to find that DC had such a huge food truck culture and even moreso to find a whole truck dedicated popcorn!
Popcorn is pretty simple but when done right it can be amazing.
I got their salted caramel and it has to be the best caramel popcorn I’ve had. Everyone loves Garrett’s in Chicago — I think Stella’s is better.
I also got their Mexican one, which was interesting — I probably wouldn’t get it next time, but that tumeric popcorn with ginger salt sounds amazing.
I brought them back to NYC the next day and they were still good. The woman at the truck was super friendly and helpful, she suggested re-​popping them by putting them in the oven the next day but I didn’t find that I had to.
Definitely worth stopping by if you’re in DC for a short time.

When Stella’s arrives at Mass and N. Capitol, you better believe myself and a handful of others in the office come runnin’ down to get ourselves a bag of the dark chocolate or the white chocolate with blood orange popcorn! Mmmmm, mmm! What a treat!
If you miss out on the chocolate, never fear, there’s sure to be another unique, creative, and innovative flavor that will surely satisfy those taste buds! The caramel, white chedder is a staple for sure!
She’ll regularly surprise you with new creations like a thai basil… we’ve got her working on a dill pickle popcorn… Can’t wait! Well done stella’s …you’ve hooked us! :-)

It honestly took me a while to realize Stella’s Popkern was as good as it gets.
The first time around I ordered something with lemonish olive oil and cracked pepper (it was so long ago I can’t remember the formal name of the flavor). I was so used to eating the Salt & Pepper popcorn from Starbucks (which I often eat two bags of at a time) which is packed with pepper flavor, that I was quite disappointed in the actual amount of pepper I tasted in my bag at Stella’s. I also had previously tried lime flavored microwave popcorn, which was a lot less oily than Stella’s. I ordered the large and could not finish the whole thing because the oil made me so full, and that is rare for me, because I eat-​lots (i always finish all my fries at five guys and good stuff eatery and I order the large size). Basically, I felt I could get a suitable alternative to this flavor at the grocery store. After my first visit, I felt that Stella’s was a-​okay.
My second visit to Stella’s was at Trucko de Mayo, where I ordered the Mexican spice flavor. I ordered a small this time, which was a better decision (though I was still fuller than I expected after finishing this size). This flavor was so amazingly delicious., though I forget all the individual spices that went in to the flavor. I’m a weakling when it comes to spicey foods, and the first few bites definitely made me hold back tears, and I started to regret ordering this flavor, but my taste buds soon toughened up, and this bag of popcorn was pretty much my favorite popcorn ever. At this point, I was officially a fan.
My third tasting of Stella’s was at Pasties and Popcorn at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. They were selling prepackaged bags of either caramel or a caramel white cheddar mix. I got the mix, and that white cheddar literally melted in my mouth. I’m usually not a white cheddar fan, but I will definitely continue to order the White Cheddar from Stella’s. At this point, I realized Stella’s was as good as it gets.
I think Stella’s mainly excels in offering so many original flavors that you can’t pick up at the store. I work in McPherson Square and though she visits Farragut weekly, I would totally walk to Metro Center to get my fix of Stella’s. It’s that good.

I promise, I’m not a stalker, but I did go to DC today (on my day off) and waited for this truck to show up! Please don’t judge me! LOL
I chatted with Kristina who asked if I previously reviewed her truck on Unilocal — she was very gracious and also receptive to my suggestion for a future flavor that I included in my review. I’m adding an update because I bought the salty caramel (large) for my kids and they LOVED it! Asked me to get more! I have to say it was a perfect combo of salty & sweet. I also got two small bags of the butter & salt so they could try that flavor too.
I love this truck! Can’t wait to try other flavors…