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From left foreground, Kim Welch and Anna Lord and, back, Alicia Aragon and Amy Rein eat lunch under a pavilion outside the food truck at Talin International Market. (Greg Sorber/Journal)
Food trucks are not new in town, but until recently finding the trucks was tricky, and nearly all were “regular” taco trucks. Critical mass has been reached thanks to marketing from the entrepreneurial organization Steps ABQ. Each Wednesday over lunch, diverse menus can be sampled at the Talin parking lot. Other times of the week trucks can be found near the Journal Center on Masthead. The key to the food truck experience is the fun of following where your favorite truck will pop up, watching Facebook or Twitter for updates.
Usually four to six vendors amass for good eats and friendly competition. You can eat well at any single truck, or have fun and order a sandwich at one truck, a favorite drink at another, pausing for a sweet treat on the way back to the car. Other diners chat about their favorites, swapping stories about trucks’ plans for other locations or telling war stories about who missed a week because a truck was in the shop.
Start with dessert at Oz Patisserie, just because you can. Chef Gary Ele makes no pretense about what people like: sweet stuff. Every day there is something new, like toasted coconut soufflés or dulce de leche ice cream, to name a few recent hits. Crème brûlée is popular in any flavor he dreams up, but frankly you could say that about everything he makes, from chocolate to cookies. Can you say Red Velvet Moon Pies?
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Albuquerque Food Carts LOCATION: Talin International Market parking lot, southeast corner of Louisiana NE and Central, http://abqfoodcarts.com HOURS: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesdays; other days at other locations around the city NO ALCOHOL |
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Callie Toleman sports a no-nonsense name for her truck: Make My Lunch. She does, catering to healthy and frugal eaters – nothing is more than $8, most items are $5. Her cheese plate is a lunch nosh fixture, featuring local mustards, crackers, meats and cheeses. She crafts a mean homemade lime soda, and always has fruit available to offset her plate of bacon and blue cheese-studded Killer Nachos. When Callie’s not in attendance, you might see the green Good Food Eat Here truck, serving more vegetarian options than most brick-and-mortar establishments.
Just down the walk, Shay Patchell mans his Chopping Block truck, custom made in Mississippi to his kitchen specifications. From fish tacos to chile cheeseburgers, the right amount of care goes into each item. Nothing is too fussy nor too lowbrow; order a roast beef sandwich, as many of his male customers do, and find it surrounded by a gorgeous spinach salad.
Shay knows that getting most folks to eat fresh vegetables is challenging, and he loves to see those salads polished off with as much gusto as the sandwich.
Bill’s BBQ is often in attendance, but so far I’ve only heard wistful tales of his tender smoked meats.
The Zingaro puts its own twist on burgers and dogs, hoping to lure diners away from the other trucks. Often it succeeds with the Train Wreck burger, a fork-and-knife pileup of chile and queso. Topping my wish list is a creation you might think exists only at state fairs – a hot dog fried in green chile batter.
