DeRusha Eats: World Street Kitchen
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- World Street Kitchen in Uptown was born as a food truck, and is now all grown up.
"I love it man, I love it," said chef Sameh Wadi, 29. "It's awesome, it's everything I imagined it would be."
Wadi has another hit on his hands. First Saffron, then the World Street Kitchen food truck, and now WSK in uptown.
"It's just beginning," he said. "Just gotta keep your head down, and keep doing it."
WSK's menu includes Thai, Mexican, Indian, Middle-Eastern and American.
"It's not super authentic street food from India, or Vietnam, or the Middle East," he said. "No. It's a mishmash of all those things."
The key is high-flavor, high-technique food, in a super-casual, laid-back setting. Everything's under $12.
"I wanted to push the boundaries, push myself, learn something new, and try something else out," he said.
On the street, the Yum Yum Bowl became a cult favorite -- slightly sticky rice, a soft cooked egg, short ribs, and two dollops of WSK's "Secret Sauce."
My favorite is the MFC: Moroccan Fried Chicken.
"This is a Moroccan spice," he said. "The rockin' Moroccan. A lot of cumin, and smoked paprika in there."
The chicken tastes a little tempura, a little beer-battered, served on a homemade cheddar-scallion biscuit with a smoky feta spread.
What brings everything together? The carrot slaw -- carrots in preserved lemon, olive oil and cumin.
For under $10, it's big enough to serve two if you're willing to share.
For dessert, there's soft serve that will change the way you look at ice cream.
"It's America in a bowl," Wadi said.
A salted caramel soft serve sundae is Wadi's play on Rocky Road -- $5 of pure bliss.
"Food is exciting," Wadi said. "It's not a pretentious thing you have to sit and wait for."
