Maximus Minimus

With a name like "Maximus-Minimus", who wouldn't want to try it? I've actually never heard of this mobile restaurant before, until I went online and came across this Seattle restaurant posting about this eye-catching "thing". You ready?

The Maximus-Minimus mobile was found at 2nd & Pike downtown yesterday around lunchtime. I'll post their website at the end of this blog, if you'd like to check out the menu, locations, and read a little about this metal pig on wheels.

When I first approached it, I was pretty excited. I took a picture of it from across the street because I thought it's definitely different. There aren't too many mobile restaurants with snouts, ears and tails. The "automobile" definitely drew a crowd, many with cameras (I had to come back about an hour later because they were too busy).

I first took a look at the very simple menu. They basically serve a bbq pulled pork sandwich with either the "Maximus" (spicy) or "Minimus" (sweet) sauce. Yes, I did try both. First I got the "Minimus" sauce with the Bleecher's Flagship cheese. The people that worked there were friendly and quick to take and make my order. They used a wireless touchscreen "PDA" to enter the order into their system and passed on to the chefs inside the pig. It took only about 3-4 minutes to make. I was busy admiring the metal pig, taking pics, and chatting with the "host/hostess" and locals, so I didn't really keep track of the time....but it was pretty quick. When I got my sandwich, it was just as expected. It was basically a pile of tender, tasty bbq pulled pork with some grated Bleecher's cheese on top. I think it was all sitting between a couple of slices of ciabatta bread.

Yes, it was a little "greasy", but it's bbq pulled pork! The taste and texture was great. I ate the first sandwich pretty fast because I didn't really eat anything most of the day, in preparation for this. Next, I ordered up the "Maximus" with the spicy sauce. It's equivalent to 2-stars in a Thai restaurant. I'm not really a big spicy foods guy, but sometimes I don't mind if it's a good dish. Although I liked the "Minimus" sauce (the sweeter one, made out of tamarind and honey/molasses) better, the "Maximus" was still equally tasty. There was a little bit of a kick to it. I opted not to get the "beet" chips on top.

Alright, now it's time to rate this "restaurant" using my 5-doughnut system. And we're off....

• Service, 3 doughnuts= Friendly, prompt service awaits you.
  
• Atmosphere/Location, 2 doughnuts= I'm a big city guy, so the atmosphere was fine since it was pretty much just downtown city life all around. They had a nice little table for those that wanted to stand up and eat next to the metal pig. The location was in a weird spot though. It was located in a pay parking lot. So, unless you wanted to dish out $4 just to park there for only half an hour (yup, there was even an attendant waiting there to make sure people weren't just parking & not paying just so they could get a quick bite), you have to drive around the city just to find a parking close by. Since it is only one block from Pike Place Market, it did draw a lot of people/business.
  
• Food Presentation, 2.5 doughnuts= not too bad for a pulled-pork bbq sandwich. There's not much you can do with that. However, the grated Bleecher's Flagship cheese, along with some chopped sprinkled greenery gave it a nice touch.
  
• Taste, 3.5 doughnuts= Nice, tender, juicy, delicious pulled pork really hit the spot. The sauces added an even better eating experience. I should have tried the "beet" chips and one of the interesting drinks (ginger lemonade or hibiscus).
  
• Cost/Value, 3 doughnuts= Not a bad value, if you only get the sandwich. It'll come out to about $6 for the sandwich, which is very satisfying and filling (for most people.....not like a freak of nature eating machine like me; How am I not like 300 pounds?).
  
• Originality, 4 doughnuts= Come on.....look at the picture! While there are other mobile restaurants in Seattle, how many mobile metal pigs are there in the city that dish out delicious bbq pulled pork sandwiches with original sides and accompaniments?
  
• Overall, 3 doughnuts= I had a fun experience finally checking out Maximus-Minimus. Just seeing this metal pig was pretty cool. The food was great and the visit was even better.
  

If you want to check out this mobile restaurant, look on their website at: http://maximus-minimus.com/ to find out where they will be located. They even stop by the Sounders and Mariners games for the hungry sports folk. There will be other mobile restaurants nearby as well, so choose wisely. Although, you can't really go wrong with any of them (see my other reviews). Have fun eating!

-N