Totally Pretentious Food Truck Review: Lasagna Plus Gets a Big Minus

Last week, I registered for a super important off-site event. I told my bosses all about it, printed out the agenda, remembered to take my digital recorder and reporter’s notebook home over the weekend and looked up directions for where I was going. I sent a reminder email to my bosses and closest co-workers on Friday afternoon, reminding them that I would be in late on Monday morning because I had a super important off-site meeting.

This morning, I double checked the directions, left the house early and hopped on the metro. Then, I walked around and around the firmly locked (and large) auditorium in the 35 degree weather, trying to figure out how to get in to this super important off-site event.

Finally, after circling the large auditorium three times, I found a security guard smoking a cigarette outside and asked him how to get in. He said he was not aware of any event that day. While huffily pulling out my printed agenda, I caught a glimpse of the date, which was two full weeks from now.

Typical Poe Move (patent pending. Wait, do moves require patents or trademarks? UGH. Intellectual property rights are so confusing!)

And, because I did not want to show up to my super important off-site event carrying my Bloomingdales little brown bag lunch carrier, I did not bring my lunch to work today. So, when my co-worker T2 asked if I wanted to go check out the food trucks and grab lunch, I was on board (even though it was still freezing outside).

And that’s how we ended up at Lasagna Plus.

There weren’t a lot of trucks in Farragut Square. And, from afar, I only saw a small square yellow truck, so for a second, I thought it was my beloved CapMac. But since neither T2 nor I had ever heard of, let alone, tried Lasagna Plus, we decided to go for it.

They had several types of lasagna to choose from, including a Sicilian with ground beef, peas and eggs, and a Florentine with spinach and cabbage. Now, I don’t like eggs, peas or cabbage in my lasagna, so T2 and I split a mushroom lasagna and a classico.

The pricing was straight forward – $8 per lasagna. For $10, you could get a combo which includes your choice of lasagna, salad, chocolate chip cookie and a soda. The sodas were pretty generic, just Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite, I think.  The chocolate chip cookies was the only desert option.

Both lasagnas were horrible. Overcooked and mushy. The mushroom version reminded me of mushroom stroganoff, which I do like, but I don’t want my lasagna to pass for stroganoff. And the classico, which had beef, was slightly better, but tasted like bad buffet lasagna. The parmesan and the tomato sauce both tasted like they were out of a can.

Both lasagnas were oversalted, and I swore I reeked of garlic for the rest of the afternoon. Nothing fresh, appetizing, or good here.

T2 was similarly unimpressed. She said she would guest blog a review and it would say, “Don’t go to the Lasagna Plus food truck. Terrible. Ugh.”

I’d have to agree. The guys running it were very nice and the service was fast and friendly, but none of that can make up for the awful food.

I have to give Lasagna Plus zero tires out of four tires.