Taco Trucks

Wow! I can’t believe it! The February 2010 Tour de Taco won the East Bay Express’ Best of the Bay 2010 award for: Best Bike Tour. (That said, I’m not sure how many bike tours there are in the East Bay, but heck, I’ll take it!) As the EBE writes: Sometimes when you hop on a bike, you just want to ride — around the block, through the neighborhood, until you get tired and find yourself lost and in search…

So after my last Taco Truck Tour, the good peoples at Oaklandish and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition connected with me and wanted to put together a sort of “best-of” taco truck ride for those who didn’t make it the other times, along with some new ones. And they even made this sweet art for it, too! I apologize in advance for not organizing one in December (holidays), nor January (work). But I hope I can make up for it,…

After the success of October’s taco truck tour, it’s time for another! Taco Truck Tour Numéro Dos: When: Sunday, November 22, 2009 Meet: 12:30 pm, Lake Merritt BART station (9th and Oak St., Oakland). Start: ~ 12:45 pm End: ~ 3:30 pm ish, Fruitvale BART station Twitter: @catacotrucks / #tacotrucktour Itinerary (follow along at Oakland Taco Truck Map 2007) 1) Tacos Alonzo at Foothill Blvd./27th Ave. 2) Tacos El Mazatlan at Foothill Blvd./Fruitvale Ave. 3) Tamales Mi Lupita at Foothill…

Amigos y Amigas, For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on a grant to produce a one-hour, bilingual radio documentary about the history of taco trucks in California. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve just submitted it to the California Council for the Humanities! Here are the opening paragraphs of our grant application: In California Spanglish, they’re known as loncheras. But in English, they’re known simply as taco trucks. Regardless of what you call them, most Californians simply…

Amigos, this weekend marks the premiere of the third season of CBC’s (that’s the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, folks) tech culture show, “Spark.” They’ve got a new time slot (Starting September 13: Sunday afternoons on CBC Radio One at 1:05/1:35 NT (4:05 PT) and/or Tuesday afternoons on CBC Radio One at 3:05/3:35 NT) and have been expanded from a half-hour to a full hour. Regardless of where you are, you can listen to the show — right now! — here, or…

Man, this guy is my hero. Why? Not only because he has a great podcast and has interviewed everyone from Ira Glass to Ted Leo. Not only because his podcast was picked up by WNYC and then PRI. Not only because he’s America’s Radio Sweetheart. Not only because his wedding was covered by The Grey Lady herself. But mostly, because his wedding was catered by, yes, a taco truck. The Times neglected to mention which truck provided the food. Because,…

I just got an email from taco truck lawyer Phil Greenwald: “The Judge accepted my arguments notwithstanding the opposition filed by the District Attorney’s Office. The Judge ruled the ordinance ‘unconstitutional.’” More at CaliforniaTacoTrucks.com.

Amigos, I’ve finally put together an online reference as to the precise legal nature of California and LA County law as applicable to taco trucks, and have provided some excerpts from last month’s LA County Board of Supervisors meeting whereby things got a bit more difficult for trucks in the unincorporated part of the county. Viva los taco trucks!

With origins in Mexico, a dash of Americanizations and a kitchen on wheels, taco trucks are the perfect metaphor for California. They represent cheap and quality street food that has spread from Calexico to Yreka and beyond. Anyone who loves an honest horchata, a good burrito and solid torta knows where to find these roving brigades of deliciousness. California Taco Trucks was started as a way for five Californians to explore this intersection and confluence of geography, culture, photography and,…

Owners of lunch trucks blast parking time limit: A county ordinance targeting food vending trucks took some heat Tuesday when a couple dozen truck owners and their lawyer came to the Board of Supervisors meeting to oppose it. The supervisors had given the ordinance tentative approval last week. But after the vendors’ protested Tuesday, the supervisors put off a final vote, which now could take place next week. One vender vowed to sue the county unless changes are made to…