#tapas bravas

Well, it wouldn't be long before Austin Food Trailers' gaze turned to another exciting Trailer Food Tuesdays event. The May 2014 edition takes place on May 27th at, as always, the Long Center. While the structure of the Austin trailer food happening is pretty entrenched at this point, the individual trailers are always a toss-up. As is any live music, and of course the crowd of people will always be shifting and changing in a great, diverse city like Austin, Texas.

Trailer Food Tuesdays' actual words are probably the best source for all information on the events occurring on the 27th.

"Join us at the Long Center May 27th for the next Trailer Food Tuesdays presented by Real Ale Brewing Company!

Live music by Doug Strahan & The Good Neighbors from 6p-9p! Our friends at Camp Gladiator will return with a free workout at 6:30p, just bring a mat & water.

Trucks & Trailers: The Peached Tortilla Whole Foods Market GoodPop Cow Tipping Creamery SLAB BBQ OMG Cheesecakery Rosarito Foodtruck mmmpanadas Lambert's Foodapalooza Regal Ravioli Stony's pizza Tiger Lily

An assortment of refreshing brews from Real Ale will be highlighted in beer pairings with special menu items from Whole Foods Market Truck, SLAB BBQ, and The Peached Tortilla. Stay tuned to www.trailerfoodtuesdays.com or @TrailerFoodTues on Twitter for event updates.

All you need is your family and friends, a blanket, plus an appetite!" - Trailer Food Tuesday Website

Tiffany Harelik is one of the most ambitious and important figures in the Austin food truck community. Clearly, TFT is one of the most effective public showcases for many of these trucks (and other assorted Austin businesses). It's frankly hard to imagine the spring and summer seasons without the event at this point.

Some of these trailers are less well-known to the readers of Austin Food Trailers. Rosarito Foodtruck, for instance, is a new truck name in the community. Lambert's Foodapalooza is also worth a look. How do they describe themselves?

"Lambert's Foodapalooza is pleased to announce the Foodapalooza Mega Bus serving gourmet truck/bus food. Now serving Austin!

Lambert’s FoodaPalooza Mega Bus is a multi-concept Gourmet Food Truck that serves the Austin area for corporate lunches, lunch deliveries, private caterings, events & festivals. Our FoodaPalooza Mega Bus has the capability to execute six different Food trailer concepts, all which will be their own trailer at our Foodapalooza Park in 2015!

We are happy to offer customized breakfast and lunch options. From serving straight from our Foodapalooza Mega Bus to white linen table-scaped buffet, hors d’oeuvres after five o’clock, dinner and late night caterings, we can custom tailor a catering solution to fit your needs. Our team has over eighty years of food and beverage / catering experience and can deliver on our promises to make your event special."

Tiger Lily is a new name from some old friends. A Southeast Asian food truck operating at 1905 South Capital of Texas Highway (The Midway Food Park), Tiger Lily was established by the folks behind perennial Austin food truck favorite Tapas Bravas. Here's Austin360 with the scoop:

"The owners of Spanish food truck Tapas Bravas open Tiger Lily today at the Midway Food Park (1905 Loop 360). The truck serves Southeast Asian street food inspired by the owners’ travels. The menu includes sweet and spicy pickled cucumber ($4), Vietnamese chicken wings ($9), Asian street corn ($6) and an assortment of bubble teas. The trailer is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m."

What are you looking forward to most at next week's Trailer Food Tuesdays? Austin Food Trailerscan hardly wait for the smorgasbord of great Austin trailer food.

Although this particular Austin Food Trailers writer isn't a member of Junior League of Austin (on account of being, well, male), luckily the organization's Sunday, February 23rd event at the Midway Food Park was not an exclusive, private event. It was, nonetheless, fascinating and delicious.

The fascinating portion was provided by two guest speakers arranged by JLA organizers. Tapas Bravas co-founder Alex Hord started the conversation, explaining how he and his business partner run Austin's most prominent Spanish cuisine food trailer. Hord is a lively speaker and described the many travails ("we know several city health department officials by name") and triumphs (he just finished a six-week vacation to Asia on a business-related menu item trip) of manning a successful Austin food truck. Also worth nothing: Hord handles the business side and his partner handle the food preparation and menu.

Up next was a slightly different take on the Austin food truck proprietor experience. Bob, of Bob and Mike's Chicken, offered a veteran angle on his line of work. Bob went into deeper discussions of how Bob & Mike's fits into the Midway Food Park, activities that take place at the Park and the nature of existing in a food trailer park. For this listener, his most interesting point was on the particulars of a roadside food trailer parks like Midway (which, located at 1905 South Capital of Texas Highway, sits alongside a major highway). For instance, bad weather days - like the day of this article's writing, February 26 - bring business way down for Midway. However, food parks located near an urban center, apartment building or business - think of where Cow Bells sits off Riverside Drive - actually see increases in patronage on muggy and rainy days.

Surely, though, the food spoke for itself. After the twin presentations, all attending Junior League members were given coupons for free samples from the assorted trailers at the Midway Food Park. Tapas Bravas and Bob & Mike's Kitchen were obvious choices, of course, but also participating were Coolhaus Austin, One Taco and Snollygoster's Sandwiches & Stuff. These were the following samples:

Bob & Mike's Chicken - chicken tender with green tea, a curry side and black bean/cornbread side. All were excellent - the tea refreshing, the side's delicious enough to be a main course, the chicken crisp and succulent.

Snollygoster's Sandwiches & Stuff - the biggest and most filling of the samples. A toasted 1/2 cheesesteak, fried pickles, potato chips and a dipping sauce. This wasn't the healthiest snack of all time, obviously, but it was still delicious. This writer is not the biggest fan of fried pickles; but that dipping sauce, though...

One Taco - this was truly a "sample" if there's ever been one. The miniature beef tostada was hard to draw a good sense of the trailer from. It also had that annoying habit of falling apart completely after the first bite. A less impressive offering. An actual menu item would be necessary to draw a proper opinion.

Coolhaus - a perfect dessert, and probably the healthiest possible serving size Coolhaus could give that was of any worth. Coolhaus' ice cream with a half chocolate cookie wedged inside was - it goes without saying - really yummy. These guys get dessert, and everyone reading it knows that.

Tapas Bravas - potato tapas drizzled with spicy red sauce. At this point, this writer was too full to continue, and the French serving style - one serving at a time - didn't help. Again, it's unfair to judge. The one potato that managed through was tasty enough, but it's not an appropriate size to make a judgement call on.

Austin Food Trailers will be heading back to the Midway Food Court, alone if necessary, to get a full meal from one of the great Austin food trucks living there.

Note: Widespread Dave's, The Seedling Truck and Dock and Roll Diner also set up shop at the Midway Food Park.

Is it the weekend again, already? We don't know about you, but for Austin Food Trailers the week just flew by. We barely had time to catch our collective breaths before looking forward to the many food trailer events and news items for this weekend! In a city as active and exciting as Austin, you can always be assured something is going on in our continually-expanding food culture. Read the following event write-ups and decide which fit your fancy this weekend and in the future.

The Go Texan Restaurant Round-Up, which started on Monday, comes to a close on Sunday the 28th. There are multiple food trucks and trailers on the list of participating restaurants. Big Fat Greek Gyros, currently holding court at 74 Rainey Street, is waiting for Go Texan Restaurant Round-Up patrons. Blue Dog Pizza, one of the food trailers at the South First Food Court at 603 W. Live Oak, can also be accessed in this contest. Also, be on the lookout for some of our favorite Austin food trucks! Bufalo Bob's Chalupa Wagon,  is consistently moving around, so check their Facebook pageto find their current location. Dock and Roll Diner at 1503 S. 1ST, Hot Dog King on 8th and Red River Street, Oyama at Break Point at the Boardwalk, 2201 1/2 Lakeshore Boulevard, Smokin' Rose of Texas, and Tapas Bravas on 75 Rainey and 1808 E. Cesar Chavez Street are all participating in the Round-up!

Hit up Break Point at the Boardwalk this evening for their Go Texan Party! They're going to have music, free beer, and of course, delicious food!  The trailers at Break Point include, Nina's Carnitas, Oyama, Wright Bros. Dairy, Rosie's Sno-Cup Fortunes, and Fullhouse BBQ.

The South First Food Court - remember them? They're at 603 W. Live Oak!- is looking ahead for a big event in August. August 17th, to be exact. They'll be putting on some music in the Food Court and the event is appropriately titled "Music in the Food Court." Acoustic singer-songwriter Andrew Blanton, whose bespectacled countenance has graced many a stage in ATX, is the headliner. Knowing Blanton though, there will be a few compatriot musicians helping out with the show at some point. August 17th is a Saturday, and the music will be ringing from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The food trucks in Austin Texas come with music more often than not! The trailers at the South First Food Court include, Blue Dog Pizza, Bufalo Bob's Chalupa Wagon, Verts, Bananarchy, and Nettie's Place.

Soon, North Austin will have a new food park to replace the sadly departed NATY (North Austin Trailer Yard). The Midway Food Park will set up shop at 1905 S. Capital of Texas Highway sometime in August. The date is still unsure, so stick around here as we get updates. The Seedling Truck is among the first Austin food trucks to sign up to be at Midway, a "family-style" food trailer park.

So, that's the quick catch-up on the Austin food trailer scene. If you'll be attending any of these events make sure to tag #ATXFoodTrailers if you're posting on Instagram or Twitter so we can share in the fun and excitement as well! You can see your's and other's delicious food pictures on our Fan Page. Also, please let Austin Food Trailersknow if there's a story you'd like us to cover. We're always happy to promote the Austin Food Trailer community.