My First Food Truck Crawl

Austin, the foodie capital of the lone-star state.

When people think of Austin, Texas, most start naming off music or film festivals like Austin City Limits or SXSW. But a big part of this diverse and cultural city is the food. On S. Congress Ave and 1st Street you will find many food trucks- Greek, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Venezuelan- you name any style of food, it is probably a food truck. And I’ve yet to try a bad one…

I’ve been in Austin for about a month or so and haven’t had the chance to visit many places yet. After asking my aunt if she would like to join me, we embarked on a “food truck crawl” and visited a few shops and boutiques along S. Congress Ave.

The weather was mid-60’s and the sun was beating down on us, it was the perfect day to tour Austin. We decided to begin our crawl on S. 1st St. at “Torchy’s Tacos” food truck. Three food trucks sat alongside Torchy’s including a Trailer Park & Eatery dining area. From fried chicken to salmon, Torchy’s had every kind of taco you could imagine. After talking amongst ourselves, we ordered the Trailer Park taco- fried chicken, avocado, tomato, cheese, lettuce and avocado-lime sauce in a flour tortilla and two Topo Chicos. The sauce gave the taco great flavor but if I returned, I would definitely try the salmon taco.

The coffee addict that I am, I couldn’t pass “Holy Cacao” food truck without ordering a coffee to go. They offer organic coffee, homemade hot chocolate- vegan or regular, iced coffee, frozen hot chocolate and cake pops. Definitely recommend stopping for a cup o’ joe here.

Wanting to pace ourselves for the rest of the day, we headed to S. Congress Ave to shop. Parking on S. Congress is very odd- every parking spot requires you to back into the spot. After the car was parked, we walked into a bohemian boutique full of acid washed T-shirts, jeans and funky purses. If I had more money to spend frivolously, I would have definitely snagged a distressed skull v-neck.

If you are an avid antique collector, you must visit the store, “Uncommon Objects.” This unique shop is loaded with antiques from all eras on every inch of its walls- it is quite impossible to leave the store in less than two hours. From old Texas license plates to microscopes from the 40’s or 50’s, there is something to please everyone.

Another must-see is “Lucy In Disguise With Diamonds.” This eccentric costume shop is open year round with thousands of costumes to choose from. Costumes included Marilyn Monroe, Santa, Star Wars troopers, ugly sweaters, a can-can dancer and every Disney character, just to name a few. You have the option of renting the costume or buying it. We didn’t a costume but it was a great shop to browse.

Feeling ready to take on our next meal, we walked over to “Home Slice Pizza” and stood in line for a slice. Let’s just say we scarfed up the delectible pizza slice in less than five minutes. I will definitely return to try a different topping. There are two options at Home Slice- the original sit-down bar/restaurant or the take-out and beer to-go line.

Before we headed back to the car, we spotted Kendra Scott - a popular jewelry line that started in Austin and has since added stores country-wide. Every piece of jewelry- earrings, rings, necklaces, etc. have unique stones in different colors and designs. Definitely another place to stop!

Our final stop before we had to rush to a Christmas party was the “Four Brothers” food truck. The food is Venezuelan and it is full of flavor. After the Four Brothers arepa and tequenos were recommended, we ordered and sat down at one of the picnic tables. The arepa was delicious and huge in portion; marinated chicken, Venezuelan imported cheese, avocado, tomato, black beans and fried plantains were packed into the flatbread made out of ground maize dough.

The tequenos were amazing- they could have easily been my entire meal. The outer covering resembled a pie crust dough and the Venezuelan cheese inside tasted similar to mozzarella cheese but better and thicker. I will definitely return and order another batch of Tequenos and Arepa.

Overall, the food truck crawl was a success, but I recommend that you pace yourself. We were only able to visit three places (and split each dish) before our stomachs were begging us to stop. Here’s a few trucks I plan to visit next: Gourdough’s Doughnuts, The Short Bus and Pita-licous.