Meals on Wheels

     During my brief stay in Austin I enjoyed some high caliber meals at world class restaurants.  But what caught my attention was the varied cuisine available city-wide from chefs who have abandoned the traditional brick and mortar sit-down establishments, instead opting to serve inexpensive, unpretentious meals created in the back of refurbished Airstreams or old school buses.



     What began in the early 90s with a mobile hot dog stand has now become a thriving enterprise.  Some official estimates calculate over 2,000 street food trucks in the Texas capital.   Not all of them are mobile, preferring to remain at a favorite location.  And some have even grouped together to form a food truck park of sorts, an Austin phenomenon.



     The cuisine is as varied as the people who make up the population.  Like bacon wrapped meatloaf?  It's available at Three Little Pigs.  How about a grilled sausage sandwich?  Go to The Best Wurst.  Looking for authentic Mexico City street food?  Just Google Chilango's. Is it Tennessee hot chicken what you want?  Drive over to Red Star Southern.  Or maybe sushi is more to your liking.  That's what they serve at Kyoten.  At Ms. P's Electric Clock you can find fried chicken with truffle mac & cheese.  Or if you want deep fried everything just head over to Lard Have Mercy!.

     Breakfast, lunch and dinner and dessert, too, are all available somewhere within the city limits.  Pork, beef, vegan, pizza, wings, frozen, custard, coffee, Korean barbecue, cupcakes, tacos, hot dogs and deli are all on the menu at places with names like: Cow Tipping Creamery, Arlo's, Belly Up, Ah La Cart, Maui Wowee Shave Ice, Little Fatty's, Hey Cupcake!, Kebabalicious, and Velveteen Coffee House.



So many food trucks, so little time...