Curry Up Now

Ordinarily, Indian food puts me in a mood of great tranquility and peace as the lovely mix of spices remind me of my East African roots where Indian spices are items of necessity. This past Friday at the South San Francisco food fest off of Gateway Blvd I was disappointed by Curry Up Now’s Chicken Tikka Masala Burrito.
Price :
I have contended that SF foodies have to pay more for food so the $ 8.50 for the burrito wasn’t a biggie for me.
Service:
I am automatically suspicious when my food is ready in less than 2 minutes from a food truck especially a food truck with a long line to boot. I am all about speedy service but you can’t tell me it took you 2 mins to create your burritos. That being said, we know now they are pre-​made and not that warm upon receiving your food.
Food:
The chicken used is dark meat. I know dark meat tends to retain spices and tenderness better but I am not a fan. The chicken was cut in huge chunks so when biting into your burrito you practically are choking on the sizes of the chicken within the burrito. In addition, curry sauce is made with a multitude of spices including a bay leaf but should be taken out of the stew prior to serving!!! Can someone please tell me why I bit into a whole bay leaf in my burrito? Last time, I checked I wasn’t a herbivore so wtf Curry Up Now?! I shouldn’t feel as though my food is a mystery every time I bite in or worry if I’ll choke on the chunks of meat someone was too lazy to cut into smaller chunks.
I suggest threading with caution whenever ordering from curry up now.

I can’t decide between 2 stars or 3 stars, so I am going with 2.5 :-)
I’ve driven down to the Brisbane truck for lunch about three times now. The first two visits were fine — nothing to complain about the food and service. The location is nice in that you can park your car in the adjoining lot and eat in there once you get your food. Today’s visit, however, left a sour taste in my mouth and I don’t know if I’ll be coming back to this CUN location.
I usually get to the truck around 11:30, before the mad lunch hour rush comes flooding in. Even then the service can be slow, but it ain’t getting any better than that.
I wanted to try the kathi rolls today but was told that they were out of the bread. I then attempted to order a few samosas, but they were out of that too. I don’t understand how they cannot have ingredients for some of the most popular items on their menu, and at such an early hour. I went ahead with a paneer tikka masala burrito bowl. Luckily that had THAT…
During my two previous visits I always paid cash, but almost everyone else in line paid with a credit card and had no problems. I took my chances today without cash, hoping I could use a credit card. The cashier didn’t know how to log into the iPhone credit card app and tried calling her boss numerous times to get the pin code to log in. It sounded like her boss didn’t have a clue either, so the cook joined the party and tried saving the day. She did this with a few people patiently waiting for their food in the Brisbane breeze (there was only one cook at that time). This circus went on for 10 long minutes, until they finally got into the app somehow. My credit card was accepted, which prompted others in line to take theirs out, only to be promptly told NO credit cards after me. You can just imagine the confusion among everyone right now. It was kind of hilarious. Some people stayed in line, looking confused, and others threw in the towel and left.
It took another 10 minutes for the cook to realize she couldn’t successfully log into the app either and that there were lots of people waiting for their food. She eventually prepared mine but never called my name out when it was ready. I was standing in the cold wind like a moron waiting and waiting. The cashier finally called me over and apologized for the shitty service and wait.
The food: The paneer tikka masala was much oilier than I’m used to. I thought I would get the same fillings that are put into the burrito (chutneys), but I guess not. The mango lassi was the shining star of the day, but come on, how can anyone mess that up?
In short, I don’t think it’s worth my time to drive from the city to this CUN truck location, especially if the two gals from today are going to be running the show from now on.

In lieu of a brick & mortar lunch spot, I suggested checking out the ‘food pod’ set up in South San Francisco Tuesday afternoon. Pods are 2 – 3 food trucks set up on set days, during set hours (11am-​2pm, in this case) to feed employees in the area. As we drove up to the Centennial Towers, I announced, ‘you know we’re headed into someone’s job just to eat, right?!‘
Technically, it’s the outdoor parking lot of someone’s job, but still… the lengths I’ll go to avoid traditional restaurant settings has reached epic proportions lately. Our warmish weather has made me weary of silverware, table cloths, & waiters. This parking lot was exactly what I was looking for! The intense 1pm sunshine made me thankful for my Neutrogena SPF 45. Benches served as our table.
Curious, but hesitant, I strolled up to Curry Up Now. I’d never even taken a peek at their menu, let alone sampled their goods. I ordered sexy fries ($ 8.) Love the name! Sweet potato criss-​cut fries topped with white meat chicken tikka masala & white onions. Slightly tart, very fragrant, spicy, tasty… but I could only take 4 – 5 bites. Even though the fries were 4-​stars good, I’m only rating the truck 3 stars because I’m not an Indian food fan & would probably not eat from here again. $ 8 for something I only want a few bites of is too steep a price… if they offered half orders, I’d reconsider.
Glad I finally tried this truck. Highly recommended for those looking for a Mexico-​meets-​India pairing, as the menu features Indian fare wrapped in tortillas!

Last time we hit up CUN @ Brisbane it seems like they got the s**t together. Maybe a different van with a different crew, but super nice, good portion size, fast service.

I discovered Curry up Now about a year and a half ago, and I’ve had their Chicken Tikka Masala burrito so many times it’s absurd.
Quite frankly, I would have given them 5 stars, but I feel like the quality of the burritos has decreased since I started eating their food. Don’t mistake me, I still love their burrito, but it used to be AMAZING, and now it’s just great.
I’ve only had food from their food trucks, never been to the actual space they opened not to long ago. So this review is only for the food truck experience :)

Curry Up is one of my favorite food trucks, and definitely the best of the 20 or so trucks that come by Sierra Point in Brisbane. The deconstructed samosas (I get the paneer version) are delicious and flavorful, and the servers will make them spicy upon request. I viewed and caught a whiff of the «Sexy Fries» today and will be ordering them the next time Curry Up comes around.

I like Indian food but for some reason everything I had was sub-​par. The Chicken Tikka Massala burrito which had a kick to it but not the kick I wanted. (you know the kick that makes you want more spanking) I had to down the spicy taste with my Mango Lassi. The drink was good, but not great. I guess I’m not use to the thick gooey texture. I think by adding some ice cubes, it can probably taste really refreshing but sadly no ice cubes were within my reach. I also had the samosa. I guess I forgot to tell them to hold the grease because it was super dark in coloring, drenched with extra saturated fat. I guess if you can get past the first layer, then the filling was pretty savory. I may have to come back and try the deconstructed samosa cuz it’s looks really interesting appearance wise.

I drove by this place. I wanna try this place out. I got this tikka masala burrito.
Is very good. The price is not that high too. Nice.

Currycoma and curry breath are worth it when you’re eating Curry Up Now’s tikka masala burritos. For $ 7.50 you get one big burrito that for me lasts about 2 meals. When I first tried Curry Up Now the spice level was way over the top, like my lips are majorly burning and «I need milk badly» status. Fortunately, I think they realized the California crowd can not handle such heat so the regular spice has been toned down. And thank goodness because the burritos are so good that upon getting it from the truck all I want to do is scarf it down and before when it was so hot I just couldn’t do it. But enough of my weak sauce status. The burritos are great. They’re filled with spiced rice, tikka masala sauce, chicken (or paneer), and garbanzo beans. The seasoning is just right, and the tikka masala is the perfect balance of salty with sweetness. There’s a decent helping of meat inside and is not overloaded with garbanzo beans, I would say they do a pretty good job of mixing it all around because every bite has a little of everything. The tortilla’s they use are great and sturdy too so you’re not dealing with a messy deconstructed burrito when you’re taking it on the go. So good, have indulged in this probably more than 3 times.
X-​tra Special: Tikka Masala Fries! This combo kicks animal style fries and carne asada fries butts. Surprisingly delicious! The order is $ 7.50, could easily be your entrée, no way you could eat this AND a burrito — and has waffle cut sweet potato fries topped with cheese, chicken, tikka masala, and fresh onions. My order was smothered in sauce, the fries were almost unidentifiable. The tikka masala was slightly different than what you get in the burrito, I would say a tad sweeter, and the sweet potato fries add a little extra. While I liked the smothered sauce I kind of wish the fries had been on top or something so that they would have stayed crispier. They’re all the rave, give it a shot yourself.

I caught this truck on its second Monday stop in Palo Alto. I had the Chicken Tikka Masala burrito; my impression was that it’s based on a chicken burrito and has Indian spices. I agree with other reviewers that it’s good but not mind-​blowing, and that it does not taste like Chicken Tikka Masala that I’ve had previously. It was more yellow than orange-​red and tasted more of curry than what I’d recognize as Chicken Tikka Masala. Still good, still a good burrito, just not Chicken Tikka Masala in a tortilla. Perhaps I’ll order it spicy next time.

Indian food in a tortilla. How come we didn’t think of this a long time ago? I tried the chicken tikka Marsala burrito… and it was goooood. Great taste, super fresh, and generous portions for a $ 7.00 burrito. The line was 20 people deep, but it moved fast because they have 5 people working in the truck.

Another of my favorite ‘food-​on-​wheels’ places!
Their Chicken Tikka Masala burrito is amazing — spicy and delicious. If you’re a spicy whimp, this may not be for you. Even if you order the mild, it’s pretty spicy, and I LOVE IT.
Also love their paneer and (when they have it) the biriyani burrito.
Follow them on Twitter so you know where they’re at — they even have an iPhone app that you can order food online and then bypass the line to pick up. I think it needs some work because the past few times I’ve tried, I still have to order at the pick up window.
I hear a brick and mortar is in the works soon for a spot in San Mateo — YAY! Then I can get my CTM burrito cravings satisfied whenever I want without having to find them somewhere on the streets of the bay area!

I got the chicken tikka masala burrito for lunch today and it was good but not awesome. Seems like I have always had a different tasting tikka masala then the one I got here. They should seperate the rice as well. All the sauce drenches into the rice when put into the burrito. I would probably try a couple other things from the food truck as well just to try them out.

«Do you Mexican food take Indian food to be your lawfully wedded food partner?» –Si!
«Do you Indian food take Mexican food to be your lawfully wedded food partner? –Haan!
The two consummate the marriage and later have a baby named Curry Up Now (CUN for short).
This is what happened in my dream when two of my favorite foods got together and did the mating dance.
You just can’t go wrong when you mix Mexican and Indian food to make a Chicken Tikka Masala burrito or Paneer burrito. This burrito is just too damn tasty. The flavor is on point with what I expect from Indian food. When you get a complete bite of the rice, tortilla, sauce and chicken all together, that is when you get the full flavor of the burrito. If you can’t stand spicy food, I recommend getting the regular spice burrito. The spicy option can be pretty damn spicy (make sure to have your choice of beverage in hand) but even that didn’t stop me from putting down the burrito.
When I’m not in the mood for one of their burritos, I go for the deconstructed Paneer Samosa. Just as the name implies, it’s a samosa, just deconstructed. That means you’re getting a plate of garbanzo beans, samosa wrapper, paneer, and their special sauce that brings it all together to complete this awesome Indian dish. The smell of it compliments each bite that you take, making you want some more.
Thank you Curry Up Now for always satisfying my cravings…

Came across this while looking for Indian food on Unilocal and were excited because (1) we have a food truck obsession after watching «The Great Food Truck Race», (2) it’s a place to get food in Brisbane and (3) the reviews made it sound phenomenal. Perhaps it was the high expectations, but we came away disappointed.
The Chicken Tikka Masala Burrito was good, but not heaven-​sent. The deconstructed samosa (beef) was mushy and incoherent, and the regular samosas were quite oily. The mango lassi had an interesting kick and was good. And as other Unilocalers have mentioned «regular» is spicy, so their food is not for those with GI sensitivities.
Restroom review: N/​A

Good stuff.
Paneer Tika Masala was a bit dry, but the Chicken Tika Masala is divine.
«Regular» is still pretty spicy. Only order the «Spicy» if you’re used to it, or extremely adventurous.
They post on Twitter, and from the looks of that, they’re out from San Francisco down the Peninsula just about every day.
Get there early, or pre-​order on line to avoid a long wait.

As I’ve explained to friends — the mood needs to be properly set for me to write a good, comprehensive review. Like a romantic evening things like lighting, temperature and ambiance need to all perfect. 5,000 or so tea lights, flower pedals scattered… err, anyway… well sometimes you just need to launch into it because I have to absolutely gush about how delicious and utterly satisfying my Paneer Kathi Roll was today from Curry Up Now. This is my…4^th time visiting… but today’s delicious $ 6 delectable fare had such character, such diversity of flavor and was so savory that I couldn’t help but just get this review out now within minutes of the last bite.
I’ve previously had the paneer tikka masala burrito and their samosas but this Kathi roll just blew me away. I couldn’t put it down — good thing it wasn’t larger. This place really executes — it’s amazing what can be done in a truck these days. While I love a nice extravagant indian dinner with 5 different kinds of naan, saffron rice, all kinds of curries etc. — this satisfies the fix abundantly especially at lunch time and right outside my office. Nicely done.

I’m not sure what they put in these masala burritos, but they are extremely addictive. I follow them on their website and try to catch them in Brisbane, SSF and OTG.

The only drawback from this place is that their Desi hot chicken tiki Marsala burrito is not very hot. I was hoping for some real spicy burrito but unfortunately I had to ask for a side Desi sauce to apply more on the burrito. Even after applying that on my burrito it still lacked the necessary heat. Other than that the burrito was delicious!
Their deconstructed samosa was interesting but you should just order the regular samosa as the deconstructed didn’t warrant the higher price

The truck parks out in front of the Wal-​Mart offices every Wednesday. My co-​workers and I have gone twice and it was excellent both times.
I’ve had both the chicken and paneer tikka masala burritos! Both are great!