Scott's Tots, Mustard Seed two more food trucks for fueling up in Maryville | Grub Scout
The Grub Spouse and I had one more food-truck park to knock out for the summer, but on the night we planned to go there, we found out it was closed. We hastily cobbled together a backup plan that involved visiting a food truck that has what we feel is the coolest name ever: Scott’s Tots. (For those who are unfamiliar with the TV show "The Office," “Scott’s Tots” was the name of one of the series’ most cringey episodes. And thus the brilliance of using that name for a food truck that serves tater tots.)
We found out the Scott’s Tots truck was at the Casual Pint in Maryville that evening, and since we were going to be in that area, we tracked down another food truck, Mustard Seed, which was going to be parked at Tri-Hop Brewery in downtown Maryville.
The logistics of this were unorthodox for us. We started at the Casual Pint and Scott’s Tots. Most of the menu is devoted to dishes built around tater tots. Examples are the Totchos (with nacho-style toppings), the NashChicken Tot and the Breakfast Tot, made with sausage, bacon and fried eggs. Other items include the Farmhouse Salad, a couple of mac-and-cheese dishes, a fried-chicken sandwich, a barbecue pork sandwich and a burger.
The Spouse ordered the BBQ PorkTot ($14). The tots are topped with smoked, pulled barbecue pork, Scott’s Tots’ signature cheese sauce, diced green onions and barbecue sauce. It’s served with a side of coleslaw.
We sat on the front patio, and I enjoyed a Bearded Iris IPA while The Spouse dined. Of course, I got in my share of bites. The tots themselves were pretty good, but the melted cheese sauce kicked them up a notch. The pulled pork and barbecue sauce were good too, but the question I kept turning over in my head was whether Scott’s Tots smokes their own pork or uses a prepackaged brand. My thought was that it’s the latter, but I could be wrong. Still, this was an overall decent eat, and I was particularly impressed with the coleslaw blend. That’s saying a lot coming from someone who doesn’t typically go out of their way to eat coleslaw.
Next, we motored to Tri-Hop Brewery, which is just a couple of blocks from the Blount County Courthouse. I tried one of their proprietary brews (another IPA), and The Spouse and I hung out on the front patio and played some cornhole while we waited on my food order.
The menu emphasizes Mexican cuisine, with from-scratch items that include a burrito and nachos. The brewery's Instagram page also suggests its catering service puts together charcuterie boards and dessert items. There were a couple of taco plates on the signboard that evening, including street tacos made with chicken and micro greens and a similar dish made with chicken and Hatch chile sauce. I ordered the latter and also got a cinnamon sugar tortilla for The Spouse to enjoy as a dessert.
When our food was ready, one of the proprietors brought it to our picnic-table seating. I was halfway through the meal before I realized that there was no Hatch sauce on my tacos. I brought it to the owner’s attention, and she acknowledged that she had indeed charged me for the Hatch tacos but mistakenly made the regular street tacos instead. She apologetically offered to make me a whole new meal, but I told her I’d be satisfied with just one Hatch taco to sample. She actually made me two more and brought them out when they were ready.
I enjoyed both variations. The soft flour tortillas had a little bit of stiffness to them, the shredded chicken was decent, and I liked both the micro greens on the original street tacos and the chile sauce on the Hatch variation. With a total of five tacos in play, I ate two and a half and saved the rest for my lunch the next day.
Scott’s Tots – 3.75 (food only)
Mustard Seed – 4 (food only)
These two food trucks make daily stops in Blount County and surrounding areas.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Food truck review: Tots and Mexican food are on the menu at two venues
