Away from the gingerbread architecture and fine-dining of downtown is Green Truck: a modest midtown eatery whose sign describes it as simply a “neighborhood pub.” To say Green Truck is just a neighborhood pub is an understatement, though. It’s a classic concept with a contemporary take: burgers and fries for an eco-conscious era with the neighborhood at the heart of it all.
They begin with local, often organic ingredients – whole foods either produced in the bio-region or supplied by a Savannah company – and they combine them to make unique foods that you can feel good about eating. Almost everything that leaves Green Truck’s kitchen, began in Green Truck’s kitchen. From the pickles to the ketchup, they really live up to their claim, “home of the homemade.”
Green Truck also reaches out to its midtown clientele by keeping their food very affordable. Their massive burgers start at just $7 for the Green Truck Classic: a thick patty dressed in lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles served beside a grapefruit-sized demolition pile of fresh-cooked fries. Some of the fancier fares include the Trailer Park ($10.50): bacon, tomato, onion and “family-recipe” pimento cheese; and the Rustico ($10): gorgonzola cheese, balsamic caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and fresh basil.
Their flavor combinations run the gamut, but a Truck-made veggie patty can be substituted for any burger on the menu and is worth trying at least once, even if you’d usually get a grass-fed beef burger. The patties are a blend of walnuts, tofu, vegetables and spices – egg-free yet not too mealy. They’re fresh and healthful, but most importantly, they taste amazing.
As someone that hasn’t eaten meat in over 10 years, I’ve had a lot of veggie burgers (chiefly, a lot of bad ones), and this is one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had. Plus, the staff at Green Truck is so friendly and accommodating, they know what “vegan” means and can tailor your order accordingly. Though the vegan options at Green Truck are sparse (you know, because it’s a burger joint … ), Green Truck more than makes up for this with their quality of food and service.
Even when the restaurant is busy, turn-around on food is fast and the atmosphere always stays fairly relaxed. This partially owes to the Truck’s unpretentious aesthetic. The restaurant lives inside the white shell of a drive-thru, and its interior is what Waffle House would be, if Waffle House had style. (And a bar. With a lengthy, lengthy list of microbrews.)
Music comes from a jukebox with a quirky and constantly rotating list of tracks featuring artists like Devo and Radiohead. Apart from its retro chic, the cool thing about the jukebox is how it incorporates the customer into the experience – again, emphasizing Green Truck as a pub for the neighborhood.
The only drawback to Green Truck is that a lot of people already know Green Truck is a great place to eat – which means that seating is seldom immediate. At peak hours, the table wait can be upwards of an hour, and with bar seats on a first-grab basis, Green Truck might start resembling Thunderdome more than a restaurant. With that in mind, don’t forget to tip your server; they may well end up saving you from someone waiting for your table or vying for your barstool.
Green Truck
2430 Habersham St.
(912) 234-5885
Open Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
http://www.greentruckpub.com
