Food Truckin' It Part 3!

Here we are, folks. The end of a short, yet exciting, story has come upon us. As much as I hate to see this come to an end, I know that it has to. Reason being is that this was just a moment in my life. A good moment, to say the least. But just a moment. And that's really how I try to see life, a series of constantly changing moments. Some good, some bad. Some never seeming to end, and some leaving you thinking that you will never have a moment like that again. Wait a minute...isn't there some song where a chick is singing about a "moment like this" or some shit like that? Dammit, I think there is. OK, enough with this "moments" shit. Let's get to the food, shall we?

What we have is the Piaggio truck. Or Piaggio on wheels. Or Piaggio: Gourmet on wheels. I honestly don't know what their exact title is. A quick search on google, and all three came up. What I do know is that they are an Argentine taco truck and chimichurri is one of their claims to fame. When I first saw the name on twitter, I thought it said "pigeononwheels". What I hadn't seen was this truck at any featured spot locally. Let me break this down a little.

On twitter, certain locations will advertise on a weekly basis that food trucks will be at that spot. They will post address, time, and all attending trucks. I had never seen this truck going to any location remotely close to the area that I live in. To see it just a few feet away did pique my interest.

If you have been following the story, you know that I have already downed 2 sliders, some tater tots, and a hot dog. I'm pretty much at capacity. But a part of me kept saying "I may never see this truck again.". So, full belly and all, I walked up and started examining the menu to find something to try.

I don't know much about Argentine food, so I was up to try something new. They had "Chimichurri" all over the truck, so I knew that had to be on whatever I was going to get. What first caught my eye was their Argentine sausage sandwich. Sausage, chimichurri, in between french bread. That's it. Simple. So I ordered that, and the lady told me it would be a few minutes. No problem.

Then the second thing caught my eye. It wasn't food or prices. It was the people working on the truck. More precisely, their age. The lady that took my order looked like she was in her 50's. The guy working the grill looked to be close in age. Now, for the record, I don't hate old people. Sometimes they may slow you down or smell funny, but I don't hate 'em. It was just that it's certainly not the norm in the food truck world.

If you see who's working a food truck, 9 times out of 10, it's a bunch of twenty or thirty-somethings bouncing off the walls because they are hopped up on redbull, espresso, and possibly cocaine. To see some older cats putting it down was a nice change.

Have you ever been to an Italian or Chinese restaurant, and with a quick peek in the back, you can see someones grandma or grandpa in the back? I see that, and it puts me at ease because I know they been making whatever it is longer than I've been alive. Odds are you will be in for a treat.

To sum it up: Old folks in a kitchen is good. Old folks driving slow on the road is bad!

Where were we? Oh yeah, my sandwich! Here it is!

I sat down and took a bite. I then realized two things: This simple sandwich had a complex flavor and there was no way I could possibly finish this. I can't recall trying chimichurri before, but I knew I liked this green, garlicy stuff on this sandwich. As good as that was, that sausage was something else. It didn't come right at you, like an Italian sausage. It was subtle, yet the flavor lingered on the palate for a bit. I can't quite describe it, but is was very good. The bread was nicely toasted to round everything out.

It's things like this make you appreciate the little things. No frills on this one. Just good food.

My only regret is that I didn't have the room to finish it. Maybe next time.

Well, that's it. No more surprises, no unexpected food flying at you. It's been a hell of a ride over the past few days. I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing about it. But know that while this little journey may have come to an end, Food And Such Things isn't going anywhere anytime soon. So stop by often and leave comments.

Take Care and Happy Easter or Passover or whatever it is you may do that day.

J. Miller