The Chase

My sister-in-law and I have a tradition of dining out once a week during the summer months. It began when I was teaching full time and summer was our opportunity to catch up with each other. We often adopted a theme for our summer escapades such as all ethnic restaurants or we selected eateries located in a certain area of the city. We have experienced hits and misses but without a doubt, all our choices have been an adventure. We lost a whole summer last year due to the wicked C-19. We are now vaxxed and ready to bust out of exile.

Our theme this summer is a stretch for us. We are not looking for brick and mortar establishments, rather, we are chasing the wheels. Food trucks to be precise. Although food trucks have been popular for quite some time in many regions, their trendiness is slowly gaining traction in our area. One truck serving tacos to the night crowd outside bars several years ago has grown to dozens of trucks roaming the streets, festivals and parking lots of our city. 

There is a learning curve with following food trucks. The biggest challenge is inherent in the nature of the beast. Trucks are mobile and finding their location on any given day is quite literally a moving target. Many of the food trucks in our area rely on Facebook postings. This can pose a bit of a hurdle for me as I long ago bailed out on this social media platform for a number of reasons. I am able to view Facebook postings without logging in but it comes with a maize of pop-ups and blocks and getting kicked off during longer sessions. Fortunately, I found a one-stop-shop FB group for many of our local trucks so that has become my guide for now. I am learning to check the postings frequently as they can change on a moment's notice. 

Our first food truck visit came about because I saw one on a street corner as I was running errands. Further research noted that this truck is somewhat stationary so it was an easy one to track down. Their specialty is Mexican cuisine so it was tacos for my sister-in-law and nachos for me. They had a couple of picnic tables with a canopy so our dining experience was comfortable and tasty. A good start to our food truck research.

We are learning a few things as we continue our chase. 

1) Carry a beverage of choice.--Often the drink options are limited so we tote our own water to accompany our meals. I do not like soda so I like to be prepared just in case.

2) Make a seating plan.--Many food trucks have few or no options for seating. I am not comfortable sitting on sidewalks or curbs. Eating in the car feels claustrophobic so that option is out. We now identify parks near the food truck and settle ourselves into a picnic shelter for our dining experience. We are discovering new parks in the process which makes it win-win.

3) Bring a roll of paper towels.--I am a messy eater and I often forget to pick up enough napkins to have respectable dining in the outdoors. We use the paper towels as placemats, napkins and clean up rags. 

We are early into our food truck chase but we are committed to experiencing as many as we can this summer. It is time to give back to the folks who fought hard to stay in business this past year and I am only too happy to get out of the kitchen on a hot day.