Being an on-call substitute teacher has its pros and cons. One of the bittersweet parts is the fact that some days you just don’t get a job. This is a con because, of course, you don’t get paid, but it’s a pro because it’s a good opportunity to do things during weekday afternoons that you wouldn’t usually get to do. One of those things is visiting food trucks at their lunch stops.
The week of Thanksgiving, the school district where I work was on break the entire week, so I took full advantage of the opportunity to hit up some local food trucks that I don’t usually get to see during the week. My first stop was for lunch on Tuesday when I met up with my boyfriend to get some grilled cheese at Gourmet Rockstars. They are now spending every single day at the great mall in Milpitas, both for lunch and dinner. This was another one of my blogger fails where I got so excited about eating the food that I forgot to take a photo of it ahead of time. Luckily I’ve written about this truck before! I did manage to get a photo of my boyfriend’s cajun fries before they were devoured though.
Cajun fries from Gourmet Rockstars
From there, I ventured on my own to a new truck to the area (although from their website it appears as though they’ve been at it for awhile in L.A.), Mini Yums. They had a window that displayed all their tasty treats, making it even harder to choose than looking at a menu would be!
The Mini Yums truck
I narrowed my choices down to two, despite being full from lunch. I went with the brownie (I forget what kind of nut was in it) and the pumpkin cream cheese cupcake. I ate the brownie during my drive home and saved the cupcake for later.
Brownie from Mini Yums
The cupcake ended up lasting me for dessert after two separate meals because it was so big and sweet. You know me and pumpkin; I just can’t get enough.
Pumpkin cupcake from Mini Yums
The cupcake also came in a container that had a cute label with the Mini Yums logo on it.
Mini Yums indeed!
The next day I ventured out to try a new food truck on the streets, Thela.
The Thela Truck
This was the first food truck I’ve been to that didn’t include tax already in their prices. This wouldn’t bother me so much if their food stood out, but I’m sad to say it didn’t. I ordered the masala veg burger, which came with an entire container of fries on the side.
Masala veg burger from Thela
I was excited to try a veggie burger with an Indian spin, and all the veggies on it made me optimistic. Unfortunately, it was served cold, and despite the veggies it lacked in flavor. The veggie patty also fell apart easily, which is something I’ve never experienced with a veggie burger before.
Fries from Thela
The fries definitely helped. They were warm and plentiful, but nothing really stood out about them. Being a new truck, they might just need to get some of the kinks worked out. Or maybe I would have more luck with a more traditionally Indian menu option.
Afterward, I tried to hunt down the Project Cupcake truck but couldn’t find them. I found out today that that was because they only venture out every other week. Duly noted for future daytime trucking outings!
Speaking of today, I didn’t get a job today, so I set out to find some more trucks. This time my first stop was another meeting with my boyfriend at Small Time Cooks, a new truck I wouldn’t have known about if they hadn’t tweeted at me. They’re at the same location every day in Milpitas from 11-3.
The Small Time Cooks truck
Being a new truck, they gave us samples of their two veg options, paneer tikka masala and mushroom tofu tacos. I once again forgot to take a photo of our samples, but when I decided on the mushroom tofu burrito I did manage to take a photo of that!
Mushroom tofu burrito from Small Time Cooks
We were both impressed by how flavorful both veg options were. My boyfriend even commented that the tacos might be his favorite from a truck he’s tried yet! We hope to see more of this truck as they continue to grow.
From there, I made my way to another Project Cupcake location, determined to build my own cupcake this time. I found them at the Tivo offices in Alviso, and the owner was impressed that I had hunted them down. I chose a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting this time, but I think I chose the exact same toppings as last time. When you find something yummy, why not stick with it?
Red velvet cupcake from Project Cupcake
Many thanks to the food trucks in the area for making my days without work enjoyable!
Dude! They totally copied those pumpkin muffins from the Cowell College Cafe at UCSC!
They aren’t muffins; they’re cupcakes!
OK, I understand: I have to broaden my horizons beyond the 4 miles around home. Milpitas is a little too far to bike, but I’m completely jealous of all these great meals you’re finding up there.