Box Burger Truck was a newbie at today's Statehouse Market, a weekly farmer's market meets food truck extravaganza that takes place during the lunch hour at the Indiana Government Center complex in downtown Indy.
Based out of Greenwood, Box Burger is, you guessed it, a food truck with a strong focus on burgers featuring fresh, never frozen, black angus beef while offering many of the more alternative options you might find in burger joints. The beef has no additives and they also carry seasoned fries that are hand-cut from temperature controlled Idaho potatoes and they are fried in peanut oil. Both burgers and fries are seasoned with an in-house made seasoning blend that adds a light but flavorful touch.
The burgers come with a variety of topping options or you can essentially build your own with a list of toppings they had on their electronic menu that sat on the ordering window of their truck. You can also easily order a plain burger - their basic burger is actually a two-patty concoction, though you can actually order it halved. You should note that both options are $6.50 - so, unless you're being really faithful to your diet the economics will likely dictate you just order the regular option. They also offer cheeseburger options and I know I saw a breaded tenderloin on the menu. As noted they offer sides including potato chips ($2), fries ($4), cole slaw ($2 I believe) and a couple other options.
As I needed to have a quick lunch, I stuck with the rather basic burger plain - two patties on a fairly traditional bun that was nicely grilled up. While the world of gourmet burgers has made even the bun rather important these days, I was only slightly disappointed at the rather ordinary bun option here because it was prepared quite well.
I think the obvious comparisons for their burgers would be along the lines of a Culver's or a Steak n' Shake, with a thinner patty and crispy edges. However, I'd say Steak n' Shake has dropped in quality since they began stressing value meals and this is a better burger than Culver's. If I had to make a comparison, I'd go with the Elevation Burger as they have similar values in terms of their beef being more natural than the usual frozen crap.
I did not order a side item or a drink on this visit, though would likely try the fries in the future. I will admit that the $4 price tag seemed a tad much.Burger prices start around $6.50 - which I found to be reasonable, especially for a food truck, but the prices do go up. They also do have a variety of drinks - primarily soft drinks/water.
The employee I met was perfectly friendly and helpful. You order at one window, they give you a number and they call numbers at the other window.
If I have one beef, sorry I had to make one beef pun, it's that the line went rather slowly for people on a lunch hour or, in my case, a half hour. Part of the problem was that the digital screen with products/prices was rather small and you either had to get close to it or wait until you were within 1 person to actually read it. It felt like that led to a delay, not a huge one, but I heard more than one person mention it. The food delivery, on the other hand, was in rock star timing. They do take credit cards utilizing Square, another process that tends to slow down line movement.
So, for now, I'll stick with a 4-star rating. I was quite happy with my burger and would definitely order it again. I appreciated their friendliness and thought they were a welcome addition to the Statehouse Market scene. I'm definitely anxious to try their tenderloin, as well.
If you see them at an event, I'd definitely give them a try. read more