Eat Wonky Truck

Like any good foodie, I always research the food options extensively whenever I travel somewhere, even if I have been there before. There is always something new to check out. As with most major cities, Washington, D.C. has experienced a proliferation food trucks. In my research I happened upon the Eat Wonky truck, not because I was specifically looking for food trucks, but because I read an article deeming their whoopie pies the best in DC. The whoopies are actually made by Sweet Ladies Bakery in Virginia but if you want them without having to travel outside the city, the truck is your source. I tweeted to them inquiring about locations and times.

Once in DC, my friend Jon and I embarked on a mission to find food trucks on a windy morning, with Eat Wonky being the top priority. We located it fairly easily though when I got up close, I saw something heartbreaking. On the menu there was a line through the word “Whoopie Pies”  with a sticker that said, “Sold Out.” Did any of you see the Jimmy Kimmel video of parents telling their children that they’d eaten all of their Halloween candy? My reaction was pretty similar to those kids’. Ok, I didn’t burst into tears, but I was really hoping for a whoopie pie. The manager, Steven (on the right in the photo above), said they’d have more next week but I told him I was only in town for the weekend from Boston and he replied, “Oh you’re the one from Twitter.” Indeed I was. 

Before I could utter another word, Steven handed me a piece of paper and told me to write down my address. He would mail me the whoopie pies. What?! Talk about going above and beyond in customer service. Plus, nothing is more fun than receiving treats in the mail and I would finally get to try the whoopie pies! I thanked him profusely. We didn’t leave the truck empty-handed though. Jon decided to try out Eat Wonky’s poutine. The piping hot fries came with a nice helping of gravy and large chunks of real cheese curds. Jon had never had poutine but having spent four years in Wisconsin, he especially liked the excellent cheese curds.

Steven wasted no time getting those whoopie pies off to me. He even sent me the tracking number so I knew the minute they arrived at my doorstep, which happened to be yesterday. Sidenote: I had a wisdom tooth removed on Wednesday. Just one and it went pretty well. Afterwards I ate only soft, mushy foods… until the whoopie pies. I had to. Luckily they are fairly soft and cakey so it wasn’t too difficult. There were two flavors, chocolate and pumpkin, both with a vanilla filling.

They held up remarkably well in transit. The cakes were quite moist and sandwiched a hefty layer of sugary filling. The filling is shortening-based, which is one of the traditional whoopie pie fillings (you can learn more about whoopie pie history here). Though I seek them out often, I actually haven’t had that many whoopie pies in my lifetime (especially compared to other pastries). I’m usually shortening-averse but I didn’t mind it in these. I will always be partial to buttercream or cream cheese frosting in general, but the sugary filling was fluffy in between the two cake layers. The chocolate had a mild cocoa flavor whereas the flavor in the pumpkin cakes was much more pronounced. The latter was my favorite of the two. The texture was downright pillowy and the sweet frosting was a nice contrast to the lightly spiced pumpkin cake.

If you’re in DC and have a hankering for either poutine or whoopie pies, definitely seek out Eat Wonky. You can check their tweets to find where they are.  A million thanks to Steven for ensuring that my whoopie pie quest did not go unfulfilled.

Eat Wonky
various locations
Washington, D.C.