Bon Appetit says Ingrid's Lunchbox is a street cart named desire

Susan Troller  —  8/22/2008 3:37 pm

One of Madison's tiniest kitchens was named one of the nation's top food spots in the June issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

Ingrid's LunchBox, a bright red food cart seen most often on Saturdays at the Dane County Farmers' Market on the Capitol Square, got kudos for serving some of the best street food in America from Bon Appetit's restaurant editor, Andrew Knowlton.

The inclusion in the issue's "Hot 10" list of best street food vendors, which included carts in New York City and Charlottesville, Va., came as a surprise to Ingrid and Matt Rockwell, the young husband and wife who run the food cart. They say they have no idea how Knowlton came across their cuisine.

"We were amazed, and thrilled, of course," Ingrid Rockwell said. She said they did not know about the honor until Knowlton contacted them last winter.

She is the cook and her husband is the cart builder, handy man, support system and web designer for the cart and catering business they have been operating for about five years.

Matt Rockwell describes his wife, who grew up on a Deerfield dairy farm, as the creative genius behind a food style that could be characterized as "alt-country," or farm fresh cooking with a kick.

In Bon Appetit's brief review, Knowlton wrote: "At the excellent Dane County Farmers' Market on the Square, Ingrid Rockwell puts farm-to-table into practice at her tiny trailer."

Her culinary biography includes cooking for restaurants like Quivey's Grove, Upstairs Downstairs and the former Kosta's on State Street, and a year at the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University.

"I often look in Bon Appetit to see if any of my classmates have made it big," she said with a grin.

From her food cart, outfitted with a half-size convection oven, flat top grill, deli cooler and steam table well, she produces specialties like cheddar-and-chive baking powder biscuits, a delectable base for a fried-egg sandwich served with fresh spinach, sauteed red onion and horseradish hollandaise. Ingrid's fresh fruit crepes include a selection of seasonal fruit, whipped cream and creme fraiche.

Other crepe offerings for Saturday morning breakfasts at the market include an unusual cornmeal crepe stuffed with scrambled eggs, black beans, salsa, sour cream and a choice of pepper jack or cheddar cheese, and rhubarb crisp crepes. Later in the summer, she will trade apples for rhubarb, buying the apples from the farm next to the one where she grew up.

For more information on Ingrid's LunchBox hours and locations, her catering business that she runs from a commercial kitchen off the Beltline, and the menu that includes other specialties like Swedish meatless balls, go to www.ingslunchbox.com.

stroller@madison.com

Susan Troller  —  8/22/2008 3:37 pm