Chasing after Food Trucks in Austin, Texas
If there’s one thing to be said about Austin diners, it’s that they love their food trucks. The city estimates that by the end of the year there will be 1,620 mobile food vendors in operation. Some of the best and freshest food in Austin is served right off of these carts. Last week, I gave a presentation at a conference in San Antonio. After the conference, I took a trip to Austin to hunt for El Naranjo Mobile, an acclaimed food truck owned by Chef Iliana de la Vega and her husband, Ernesto Torrealba, that serves some of the best Mexican food in Austin. Chef Iliana is no stranger to UMass. She has been a guest chef several times on campus, and she is a chef-instructor at The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio.
With our own food truck—Baby Berk—roaming campus grounds since September, I figured that it would be a good idea to see how other food trucks operate. We can always learn something new. From San Antonio, it was about an hour and 15-minute drive to Austin. El Naranjo was supposed to be off Interstate 35, just south of 6th street. But when we arrived at Rainey Street, the truck was nowhere to be seen. Instead we found ourselves in a residential district lined with bars in homes and trailers in front yards.
It was only around 5 p.m., so we thought we were too early. To kill time, we chatted with a couple of University of Texas students. Soon, our adventures in the Austin food-truck scene were set into motion. The students told us about several other great food trucks around Austin. Later, a retired couple pointed us in the direction of G’Raj Mahal across the street. We started there.
G’Raj Mahal was a trailer with tables and benches set up outside. You order your items from a server; they bring out your food promptly. The coconut naan was simply amazing—good enough to eat on its own! I ordered kashkmiri with chicken, which was creamy with deep flavor. And the sagg was tasty as well. It was worth the $28 for food, and the service was fast (we got there just at the start of the rush). Overall, it was some of the best Indian food that I’ve had in a while.
Next, we walked back to Rainey Street to look for El Naranjo. Still, El Naranjo was nowhere in sight. We enquired after its location at a restaurant nearby. They told me it had moved to 12th street. It turns out that the food truck’s former location on Rainey Street will be turned into a brick-and-mortar restaurant because of the popularity of the mobile concept.
We finally arrived at El Naranjo, which was stationed on a parking pad with two other trucks. We could not wait to try the famous moles built around the smoky, earthy flavors of dry-roasted chilies and Mexican herbs, such as hoja santa. To taste the authenticity of the food truck’s offerings, we ordered the tinga verde tacos (shredded chicken in green sauce). They were spicy but also excellent and fresh. The heat from the green sauce made my eyes teary, and the cochintta (black beans with marinated pork and onions) was yummy. And the guacamole was the best I’ve ever had. I loved the friendly service and I was also able to snap a picture or two with the cooks in the kitchen. I thought I already knew a thing or two about Mexican food, but on my trip to Austin I discovered a new style of Mexican cuisine that I have to admit was unfamiliar to me. The bill came to only $15 with a beverage, and it was well worth it.
We completed our food truck chase at Osmo’s kitchen, located across from El Naranjo. It’s owned by a nice husband and wife chef team that graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. After a great chat with the couple, we learned that they are famous for Southern Louisiana cuisines like chicken & Andouille Gumbo and po’ boys. We were so full at this point, that I opted to just try the rice pudding as a finale to our evening feast. For only $2.50, it worth every penny, and it simply tasted great.
After visiting these food trucks with great-tasting, authentic food, excellent personal service, and a real sense of community, I have a good feeling of what food trucks can offer to a town and the people they serve.
This is Ken Toong. Thank you for keeping UMass Dining at the top.
Contact Ken at ktoong@mail.aux.umass.edu
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