Love from the Food Trucks

Apologies for my absence -- I caught blogger's flu -- but now am back on my feet, sort of. So what's been new?!?

I took on a new job that takes me way out into the woods of Mexico City. In doing so, I stepped into the world of the uber-rich, where families not only have their own maids but their own cooks, au pairs, drivers, and teachers (me). The taxi rides there and back have been good for Spanish fluency, learning random factoids about Mexico City, discovering obscure routes that only taxi drivers know about, and encountering death on nearly every occasion.

We've also been kickin' it in Texas. Went to Austin to catch some of our favorite bands at Austin City Limits Festival. They pushed back the festival a few weeks, and instead of steamy-hot September weather, we got cooler temperatures and rain. ACL paid for new grass to be put down in Zilker Park before the festival, but you wouldn't know it since there's no grass left, just mud. For optimal musical enjoyment, we decided that hot -- even if it's over 100F -- is actually more pleasurable than rain.

RAIN + 10,000 PEOPLE = MUD

From Flickr ChrisGoldNY

Another wonderful discovery is that Austin, like many other urban cities in the United States, is embracing the roving food truck idea (I believe we have our Mexican counterparts to thank for this). If you follow food trends, you probably heard about the Kogi BBQ food truck in Los Angeles that only discloses their location by Twitter, thus fueling a mob and obsessive-like behavior to find out where they'll be next. Fortunately, Austin is not as big as LA, and food trucks are easily found, i.e. right across the street from where we were staying. Me So Hungry is a mother-daughter collaboration of Asian fare, and seriously, it was THE best vietnamese sandwich I've ever had. Something about the mayo and the sweet marinade of the pork. Oh my, I may never have another one so good, but I shall keep looking. Cupcake trucks were everywhere, but I think I'm over the cupcake movement. They're good, but I'd rather have something like a kimchi-laced bulgogi taco.

Once I got over this annoying depiction of a demure, overly sexualized Asian, I was able to enjoy the delicious fare.

From Flickr Ydnar

And, on a more somber note, we are experiencing swine flu season. We have friends all over Texas catching the swine flu. Most cases have been mild, and my friend keeps telling me to catch it now rather than later. So maybe that's what I'll be doing for the rest of the week -- trying to catch swine flu so I can get it out of the way. It's funny the conversations we've been having with family about this -- whether to get the vaccine or just get the flu.

Before I leave, allow me to amuse you with the new location of "God's room" at Nick's house**. Hindus usually set up a home temple in their houses, and the temple can go anywhere. God's room used to be an entire bedroom set-up, but my in-laws decided to convert God's room to a baby nursery for the expanding clan, and God's room was moved. To where??

Now to be referred to as "God's saloon"

Behind the swinging doors, you can find the temple atop the wet bar!

**Explainer: Referred to this way by Nick's mom, and used in the following manner: "Grandma's sleeping in God's room" or "You can put your stuff in God's room"