With the craze of food trucks sweeping the nation, the predecessors of these meals on wheels started out with the old style Texas Chuck Wagons, but boy oh boy how they have evolved. Now boasting brightly colored paints and designs along with a variety of foods ranging from delicious sweets to savory shellfish the humble food truck is humble no more.
Now mobile restaurants with paired down menus line busy streets in almost every major city and have become the iconic staple for those looking for some of America’s most tasty delights. No more are they merely burritos, burgers and fries as their early stages, instead now they are flavor profiles offered by chefs on wheels fusing high end finishes with street food convenience.
Which brings us to where Graham, Texas comes into the picture with their annual showcase of all of these delectable delights. It’s the Food Truck Championship of Texas, now entering the third year with some 40 food trucks in attendance each serving up their own unique take on crowd pleasing favorites.
I have to say that when I found out the big day, my mouth instantly started watering and I knew it was a must stop for me. It was kind of worrisome however when the forecast appeared to have more than just a touch of rain scheduled for the day. Turns out the powers that be must also be foodies because the band of storms predicted to slam into Graham most of the day seemed to bend on the radar and the skies instead opened up to sunlight.
I pulled up a little after 10 a.m. and already music echoed throughout the downtown corridor and the fragrances of food swirled through the air. I couldn’t wait for 11 a.m. to draw near and as I approached I began to chart my course for my first stop on my food mission, also awaiting the arrival of my friends for the big event.
By around 10:30 people were starting to serve, though some of the trucks started as early as 9:45 as demand began. I sped to get a lobster taco, which happened to be served as 3 and before I started I was already full. I must say that the walking around the event to see what is next is the biggest life saver ever as you burn off your food as you eat to make room for more.
By the time my friends had arrived our food crawl was on and from 11 a.m. to nearly 4:30 we grazed on a variety of cuisines, enjoyed live music and took a stroll around the many shops of Graham’s historic downtown. A day well spent indeed!
In total I spent around $35 for the day including my solo tacos, pizza I had picked up for my rotation of our food crawl, a shaved ice to beat the heat and a couple of waters. I could see how if tackling this as a solo mission it could add up quickly, but as a group it just seemed to make sense, more than I had ever known. So a special thanks to Sally, Jina, Emily and Ryan for spending the afternoon watching me talk into my phone and vlog!
It total we tried: tacos, grilled cheeses stuffed peppers, brisket sandwiches, bread pudding, falafel, amaze balls, chicken biscuits, milk tea with jelly, pizza, shaved ice, a Ruben, jalapeño jelly and Cajun balls. It was like an all day buffet of flavors like no other.
The only thing that made me feel a bit incomplete was missing out on trying the ultimate winner of the day, Gypsy Kit. Each time we passed their line was extremely long and by the time it died down they actually ran out of food to serve. This was the second championship for the truck in the three years of involvement in the big event so needless to say I am now going to have to flag down just where they serve up all this amazing flavor on the regular.
If I find another big food truck rally, guess where you will find me? Yep, right in the middle of it all more than likely with friends for the fun, food and festivities.