Billie D makes Fat Louie’s brisket an everyday meal

Anyone who hasn’t tried Fat Louie’s smoked brisket is definitely missing out. But anyone who has knows that you can’t eat this kind of food everyday. At least not without severe consequences to your waistline.

So what do you do when social media posts of that juicy brisket switch on the meat cravings… on Tuesday morning… when you’ve promised yourself a healthier week ahead (at least till Friday)?

Enter stage right my favourite salad ladies. The Dutch girls at the Billie D food truck know their salads. For a little under a year (at least that’s when they came onto my radar), they have been serving wholesome lunches at various locations around the island.

What distinguishes them from every other person out there competing for our lunch money is their attitude to salads. You won’t find iceberg lettuce and canned tuna here. All of their ingredients are lovingly sources and expertly combined to create salads that are tasty and satisfying. They follow a winning salad algorithm – a leaf, a protein, a grain or legume, plenty of veg, a delicious dressing and something extra – which sends you back to work nourished and happy and ready to take on the rest of the afternoon.

They keep things simple with one meaty salad, one vegetarian salad, one vegan salad and another with fish, and also serve soups, loaded hummus with pita bread and sweets as well as freshly made ice teas and lemonade – enough to keep you going for the entire day and still keep to your healthy mid-week plans.

I went for the Beef Boss. This is where Billie D have made Fat Louie’s brisket at thing for every day eating. Rather than pairing the juicy brisket with the fat-laden (but delicious) sides of fries and mash that you would get at the Fat Louie’s establishment, they turn it into a satisfying salad. It starts with a bed of romaine lettuce and wholemeal couscous and is then topped with red kidney beans, roasted red pepper and grilled corn. This is where the warmed Fat Louie’s brisket sits majestically and is then topped with spring onions, fresh coriander and spiced pumpkin seeds and comes with a side of coriander and lime vinaigrette.

I can’t seem to get through a meal without something sweet at the end and Billie D cater for that too. Though I’m sad that their lemon and poppy seed muffin is no longer on the menu (please bring it back some day), their spice cake is light and just sweet enough, with a hint of Christmas spices, to keep my sugar cravings down to a manageable level for the rest of the afternoon.

Billie D has occupied a place on my regular haunts ever since it opened and with their new(ish) menu, there is no chance of this changing any time soon. Like they say, they make lunch better than yo momma, so why get lunch anywhere else? 

What I ate

Beef boss

Spice cake

Total: €10.50, excluding drinks

Where to find them: Tuesday – Qormi, Wednesday – Ta’ Xbiex, Thursday – Gzira, Friday – Sliema

Tel: 99070805

Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 11:00 – 14:00