The first time I heard about Grill of the Dead, I was heading downtown to meet my wife at the Spring 2014 edition of the Texas Avenue Makers Fair. She texted me: “I’ll meet you at the zombie food truck.” Silly autocorrect, I thought. Such an awesome thing cannot possibly exist.
As it turns out, Grill of the Dead does exist and, despite their wonderfully executed zombie concept, the most exciting thing about this new addition to Shreveport’s growing mobile food scene is chef/owner Brandon Jones’ cooking. As one Facebook commenter put it: “The burgers are to die for. And then be reanimated to eat again. Naturally.”
“I wanted to do something outside of the box, something out of the ordinary,” Jones told me as I devoured the pretty incredible Dia de Los Muertos burger ($8.50, tax included), which comes “doomsday prepped” with jalapeño cheese, cayenne-peppered bacon, a hot pickle and spicy mayo. “I figured: ‘Why not zombies?'”
The trailer itself is a thing to behold. Zombie hands reach up from the grill, horror movie-sized cleavers are mounted on the walls and a flat screen television affixed to the exterior of the trailer plays, you guessed it, zombie movies. But Jones, who made his bones cooking in local restaurants ranging from Johnny’s Pizza House and Mel’s Hot Wings to Bella Fresca and Superior’s Steakhouse, doesn’t really seem to want the truck to be known for its gimmick.
“My approach on food period is that I don’t want to skimp on quality. If you’re gonna pay $8 or $9, I want you to get what you’re paying for. I want people to come to the truck because the food is good, not just because they love zombies. The zombie thing is just a plus.”
I was doubtful that the food could possibly upstage the theme, but when Jones brought out my burger, my doubts were laid to rest like a walker being put down by a bolt from Daryl Dixon’s crossbow. The burger menu here is ridiculous. Consider the four-cheese cheeseburger called House of the Ched or the Bubba Ho-Tep-inspired peanut butter and fried banana burger called The King Lives. There are also Wings of Mass Destruction (“Add truffle oil and Parmesan to the buffalo to bring your taste buds back to life”), a patty melt called “They Got Barbara!,” and a sandwich called “Where’s Carl?”
For the week of April 27 (this week), Grill of the Dead’s upcoming schedule includes:
Thursday, May 1, 4-8 p.m. – Great Raft Brewing, 1251 Dalzell Street, Shreveport
Friday, May 2 after 9 p.m. – 1910 Market Street, Shreveport
Saturday, May 3 until 10 p.m. – Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, Festival Plaza in downtown Shreveport
Saturday, May 3 after 10 p.m. – Central Station, 1025 Marshall Street, Shreveport
