It is the new year, and many of us have resolved to eat better, walk more, and take better care of ourselves. Walking up to a food truck by a bar might not sound like the healthiest option for lunch or dinner, but hear me out for this, and I promise you will be pleasantly surprised when you visit Ate-o-Six, the newest food truck to roll into town with no plans to leave anytime soon.
About Matthew Pope
Matthew Pope, originally from Corpus Christi, came to Johnson City every holiday to visit family. “This is home for me.”
“I did agricultural flying and taught flying, and I worked in groundwater conservation for the past three years.” In that time, Pope was not in a healthy state of body, and so he lost 90 pounds thanks to a friend who helped him.
“While I don’t follow a particular diet or remain exclusively-gluten free, I try to avoid sugar now, and other processed foods that are not going to be sustainable over a long period of time. And I want to bring that food option to other people and make it accessible,” Pope said.
So he focuses on improving meals as possible by substituting un-healthy ingredients for better, more nutritious ones without sacrificing taste and texture.
“Most of my food is gluten-free, like the chicken tenders and steak fingers, except for my gravy. I can’t sacrifice flour in gravy because I am from the South and I just can’t do it. And the fish is grilled with butter and salt, but it is fresh and high quality, and tastes great while avoiding over-processed and artificial ingredients,” Pope said.
Pope does not want to be labeled as a “health-food” business. While the food is focused on nutrition and balanced ingredients, taste and texture is so important and not compromised ever.
“I come from a big food background. My dad was really into competition
barbecue, and I have some items on the menu that reflect that, like the pork ‘smoasted’ sandwich,” Pope said. He loved to watch his family cook on trips and for the local youth church group.
“My mom is an excellent cook, and she is really my biggest motivation to do something like this and to do it here in Johnson City,” Pope said. “I want her to be involved and active as long as possible, and she is here helping me almost every morning.”
Her recipe for a shrimp salad is featured on the menu as well.
Pope is ready to establish roots in Johnson City, and has set up this business to make that a reality. “There is a lot of passion in this business, and I am ready to see how it evolves and how I can give back to such a beautiful part of Texas that is this area,” Pope said.
About Ate-o-Six
“My dad was a funeral director from the 50’s through the 70’s, and met my mom who was a nurse. His regular handle was “8-0-6” or ‘Deep Six,’ because he was also an undertaker. He passed away when I was 10 years old, and every-time she saw 8:06 on the clock, she thought about him,” Pope said.
“So when I was trying to think about the name for this truck, I was going back and forth and suddenly, I had it. I knew it couldn’t go by any other name. This whole truck revolves around my parents, and now the name reflects the part of my life that my dad influenced up until today,” Pope said.
The surf and turf menu
Pope advocates for simple recipes with quality ingredients on each menu item. He wants control of what goes in each recipe, down to the sauce.
“I make all the sauces and keep them sugar-free. That’s all the dressings, tauter sauce, ketchup and ranch. I have total control over what goes in each recipe that way, and I want to see what people think as they try these. I want people to like what they eat.”
“Since we are by a bar, I thought we needed to have a bar-food item, like hot wings. So I came up with this fried chicken with a Southern touch,” Pope said. The chicken is coated in corn flour, fried, and drizzled with homemade buffalo sauce, served with a pickled jalapeño, chunks of dill pickles and homemade ranch.
He prepared this for me as we talked, and I can’t wait to savor that sauce and tender fried chicken again, maybe with a Shiner this time. I definitely recommend this.
I also sampled the pork “smoasted” sandwich, which is so delicious and a must-try. Pope roasts a smoked pork loin and serves it on a toasted bun with spinach, tartar sauce, and pickled sweet white onion, which was a subtle highlight of the flavor blast that came in each bite. The pork was thick sliced and tender, and made for a hearty sandwich.
The Texas caviar was made for New Year’s, and has been a hit ever since. It used to be Texas hummus, but wasn’t as popular. Pope tweaked the recipe, and made this vegetarian blend of beans, jalapeño, onion, lime-and-garlic vinaigrette, topped with queso fresco and avocado accompanied with homemade chips made to order.
As for the surf section, Pope offers a po’boy with homemade tartar sauce and cocktail sauce with a choice of fish, shrimp, or combination of both.
The fried gulf seafood baskets also come in a choice of fish, shrimp or combo, and are accompanied by Ate-o-Six recipe hushpuppies. These are prepared with a gluten-free flour (alternative to wheat flour) and cornmeal blend, with sharp cheddar cheese and jalapeño incorporated into the Southern staple. The result is light and fluffy.
A crowd recommendation was the grilled seafood, which was an idea offered by a regular customer. Pope is ready to continue to evolve and grow the menu based on what customers want to see.
“A lot of people are very excited about the idea of delicious and low carb meals, and I added a new fish salad menu item based on that. So far, it has been a hit with customers,” Pope said.
My next item to try will be the all-day roast beef sandwich, which is cooked in a sous-vide technique for 24-48 hours, and browned on the flattop.
There are more items on the menu, which you can find on the Ate-o-Six Facebook page, @ateosixprovisions. Call ahead to make sure Pope is stocked up on your order, because items sell out frequently. The number is (830) 225-4345.
Ate-o-Six is located at 105 US Highway 281 in Johnson City TX, by the Tapz32 beer garden and wine bar.
