la educación de Señorita Pim
My friends have been rather worried about the gaping hole in my culinary education. “To hell with L'Arpège”, Malik said, “we are taking you Taco Truck crawling!”
So, the first time was a few weeks ago when my friend David from London was in town. After dropping off yet another friend who had been visiting at Oakland airport, Malik, David and I were on our way to meet the Melkors for a nice day in the wine country, when Malik decided to take a mini detour to give me my very first lesson in the Arts and Sciences of Taco Truck Appreciation.
For those of you who don't live around here, in California, Taco Trucks are something of an institution, particularly around the area where there are a lot of migrant workers. These trucks are a cheap and authentic way to get seriously good tacos and other Mexican food items for the adventurous souls.
My very first experience was at Rico's Tacos “Al Vapor” on International Blvd. in Fruitvale. I went for the Carnitas that was bubbling away in a large pot of boiling oil inside the truck, and also some Pastor (peasant style) that was on a shwarma-like vertical rotating spit. For a buck a taco, they were just delicious, though I would have preferred to pay a little more and get a bit more meat.
The second time, just yesterday, was also an impromptu visit. Dave, Ally, Malik and I were driving up to visit some wineries in the Russian River/Dry Creek Valley area. On the way, Malik spotted a Taco Truck in Geyserville. We stopped for a taste of pretty much everything they had, carnitas, pastor, pollo, carbeza, and carne asada. This truck was even better than the first one, especially after I asked for some extra hot sauce to pour all over the delicious meats. We washed down the yummy tacos with some sweet and tangy Mexican tamarind soda. All four of us were happily fed for just about $10!!. Life really is good.
I am sure my education will continue, but for now, for more info on Taco Trucks, check out the serious Taco Truck Connoisseur Ruth Lafler on Chowhound. Or for those in the wine country, 707 area code, take a look at Ms.Melkor and Rancho Gordo's Taco Truck finds on eG.
