This is not what you think it is.
I know that some of you have come to think—and for good reason—that this blog site has become All Bourdain-All The Time. So, when you see the title of this post, you think—and for good reason— that this story is yet another shill for yet another episode of his weekly No Reservations TV show on the Travel Channel.
But, au contraire my fellow blogladites.
Rather, this post stems from two colliding events with the possible cataclysmic outcome that would replicate the coming together of matter and anti-matter.
Anyone who has caught a glimpse of his show knows of Bourdain’s love of street food.
As a matter of course, it is what makes Bourdain who he is, as I am sure the results of his latest colonoscopy would corroborate.
Tony has gone as far as dedicate an entire episode on the subject of street food.
Well, I learned last Friday on a local foodie blogsite penned by a dozen intelligent women—who happen to be beautiful—that Anthony Bourdain is coming to Sacramento next month, and I have to imagine Tony will be hitting the streets of Sactown looking for local street food opportunities.
But, an article this week in the Sacramento Bee newspaper revealed that the City of Sacramento has passed an ordinance, basically banning mobile vendors from the city streets.
Does this mean the end of the taco truck, as we know and love?
Here is a link to the wording of the actual ordinance in all its bureaucratic beauty, but the salient section, as quoted from the SacBee article by Chris Macias, is as follows:
“Mobile food vendors cannot stay in one commercial area for more than 30 minutes – and cannot operate after 6 p.m. from November through March. The trucks also cannot operate within 400 feet of one another.”
Wow, those two sentences raise at least two major issues of concern.
First, the taco trucks I patronize on a regular basis often have lines of people waiting to order their food that could not be served within that 30 minute time restriction. One local guy, alone, says his truck serves upwards of 600 tacos every day, according to Macias.
I could see people ordering their pastor burrito and then having to run alongside the van, like kids chasing after the ice cream truck, until their order is ready.
Second, what is with the prohibition of evening hours? Don’t those law makers ever go out drinking at night and come out of a bar with a major case of the munchies?
I mean, really, Beer Nuts, decade old hard-boiled eggs in vinegar, and grotesque green monster dill pickles only go so far.
Apparently, the City of Sacramento said there were some complaints about the noise from the vans, but the only loud sounds I have ever encountered are the accumulated growling of multiple stomachs anticipating the pending gastric delights.
I guess we were warned this was coming. The Sacramento News & Review did a piece on it over a year ago.
We just weren’t paying attention.
But, this goes way, way beyond simply the issue of taco trucks in the City of Sacramento, as told by Macias,
“The hottest new food trend literally rolls through the country, using Twitter and other social media to alert hungry customers.
From Korean short rib tacos at Southern California’s Kogi BBQ truck, to chicken tikka masala at Desi Food Truck in New York City, mobile food vendors are all the rage with the hungry masses.”
Apparently, one Kogi BBQ mobile food truck tweets its latest location to a reported 70,000 followers.
Certainly, there must be an app for that.
What are we to do now?
We can follow the old adage, think globally, act locally by going to a local website, where you can both sign a petition to save our taco trucks, and also, check out the map of taco trucks worldwide. While I cannot verify that they have every taco truck on the planet mapped, well, you gotta start somewhere.
Our neighbors to the north have developed another website that follows the mobile food vendors in the Portland, Oregon area.
Saving the taco trucks has even become a protest movement, of sorts, including the requisite t-shirts and slogans.
Closer to home, Woodland, CA, has a fleet of fabulous food trucks that I will put up against any Mexican menu establishment on either side of our border to the south. The picture below is an example; this one is usually parked on West Street, just north of Kentucky. Thank goodness for me, they are not subject to a maximum 30-minute restriction.
They offer a torta sandwich (yes, I know that is a redundant phrase) that I could eat every day of the week.
Hmmm-mmm, good.
Another truck, in front of True Value Hardware on the western end of Main Street, has killer pastor meat (similar to shawarma spit-grilled meat). And, no, contrary to taco truckaphobes, “killer” means incredibly tasty.
I will mention one more: the truck that parks on eastern Main Street, under the highway overpass, serves amazing adobada, and includes in a grilled onion that is as sweet as candy.
Anyone not familiar with the cuisine of these mobile Mexican food vendors, may not know that the fantastic food I mention is offered at a price that I find an embarrassment to the hard working folks that toil in the cramped quarters that must be at the comfort level of a scorching oven.
I mean, it’s so damn cheap.
Typically, I pay a buck for an open-faced taco that is loaded in my meat of choice and maybe four bucks for a burrito that is almost too much to finish—although, being the trooper that I am—somehow seem to manage just fine, thank you. (Burp…)
Having attended the Bourdain speaking tour in Salt Lake City, (thanks to the generosity of my wonderful sister) anyone planning on hearing Tony when he comes to Sacramento next month should expect a free-ranging question-and-answer session.
I would be very surprised if no one asked him what he thinks of the move by the City of Sacramento to prohibit the mobile food vendors, especially given their popularity in progressive cities throughout the country.
Anyone wishing to shed the “cow-town” reputation that some have of Sacramento might consider starting there.
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