Today’s mini Food Truck Eats: Cava’s Chris McDonald and Doug Penfold join El Gastrónomo Vagabundo

UPDATE: Organizer Suresh Doss has just tweeted that today’s event was just shut down part way through service. El Gastrónomo Vagabundo confirms it was due to a bylaw violation.

Ryerson students heading back to class today can look forward to an extra culinary boost to get them through the day: a mini Food Truck Eats pop-up truck just around the corner from campus. The truck will be in the parking lot northwest of Dundas and Church today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Joining the regular El Gastrónomo Vagabundo crew will be chefs Chris McDonald and Doug Penfold from Cava. Together they’ll be serving a mix of Asian and Latin American flavours: tom yum soup with rice noodles, chili caramel pork and prawns with green papaya and bean shoots, Korean barbecue wings, gazpacho made with vegetables from the Sorauren Farmers’ Market and various sweet treats from Xococava.

Although organizer Suresh Doss had hoped to settle on a single, permanent location featuring a few trucks at the same time, last-minute changes meant the event had to be split into two. To wit, a similar lunch-only pop-up is scheduled for next Thursday and will feature Gorilla Cheese and the debut of Portobello Burger, the only truck in Ontario to eschew meat and serve purely vegan and vegetarian food. Expect gourmet veggie sandwiches and wraps, salads and, of course, the company’s namesake portobello burger. We’re told the location will be on the west side of the downtown core. Follow #FoodTruckEats for updates and location announcements.