My first encounter with food trucks in Edmonton was at What The Truck?!, and the food at Filistix was good enough that I wanted to try out their other offerings. Unfortunately, having the life of a university student, food trucks are pretty hard to come by since they like to park in the downtown core. Well, it used to be difficult.

Filistix - Lower Level Central Academic Building - University of Alberta - Edmonton, AB

Over the summer, vendors like Filistix, Eva Sweet Waffles and Fat Franks were given the opportunity to move into the cafeteria area in CAB basement on the University of Alberta campus! Freakin' dream for me! I love being able to have such a diverse variety of food available, instead of having campus dominated by the food chain giants like Tim Hortons & Burger King.

Since the beginning of the semester, I haven't had the time to check out the food yet, so I stopped by to pick up some lunch. I love what Filistix has done with their area in the cafeteria to make it lively and attractive. The green and orange is fresh and eye catching, and the menu is simple enough that it doesn't take much complex thought to decide what you want to eat. Trust me, after writing a midterm, your brain is so fried that you don't want to be overwhelmed by deciding what to feed your stomach with!



The current Fall/Winter menu is composed of three meat dishes, one vegetarian and their signature slaw. The full size orders are priced at $11, while the snack size is $7, which is half a portion of the regular. I chose to go with the "The Beef Eater" which is actually beef caldereta – Traditional Spanish/Filipino beef stew simmered with Tomato, Olives and Potato served over Jasmine rice with our Signature Slaw on the side. I am so inexperienced with Filipino cuisine - the only thing I know is pancit! So I was pretty excited.

The rice & stew were served piping hot, perfect for the chilly day it was. I liked that the stew was quite flavourful with all the herbs, but I wish it was a little saltier. When mixed with rice, I found that the stew wasn't strong enough on it's own to combat bland rice, so the flavour was a little washed out. Other than that, the beef was tender and potatoes were cooked to a nice softness.



The slaw was definitely the favourite in my little box. The cabbage was fresh and crisp, with that nice raw flavour. You know the taste you get when you're eating something freshly picked from the garden? Yeah, that raw flavour! A dried cranberry here and there brought a nice pairing of sweetness to the slaw.. but I do wish the dressing was a little thicker, to adhere to the cabbage better. My dressing got lost into the caldereta sauce.

All in all, Filistix is a nice addition to the food selection available on campus. I'll definitely head back to try out some of their other dishes over the next couple months!