I tracked down the Bombay Street Food food truck yesterday. It's as close as I'll get to any type of interesting travel or cultural experiences this spring break. Not that Port Aransas in the early 1990's was a hotbed of cultural experiences, but you know, we play the hand we're dealt.
I was excited about a little Bombay street food though. This purple truck with paisley flair draws its inspiration from the comfort foods "popular on the streets of Bombay, such as frankies, parathas, dosas and chaats," according to its marketing.
Proprietor Arul Rejah also owns the restaurant and food truck Bombay Chopstix, but this truck is different from the Indian-Chinese menu at those places. Rejah explained that at some point he wants to open an Indian-fare restaurant, but started with a food truck to get a good sense of what people like the most -- the idea being they'll concentrate on doing a few things really well, rather than a 100 different menu items.
Going into this situation with absolutely no frame of reference for Bombay street food, I'll have to say I was extremely pleased. The truck was lined up outside the Arts District with about four others and it was the only one without a line. Not always a good sign, right? But as I approached the truck, the owner explained they were sold out of chicken and something else ... which, caused most people to amble on to the next truck.
But, I ordered the lamb curry wrap and it was delightful. The lamb was trim and doused in robust spices and flavor, but not overwhelming. There were thick cuts of fresh purple onion and tomato, plus curry with a side of chimichurri sauce.
The thing that really captured my flavor-nation here, was the wrap, which was fresh buttery paratha. Rejah said they make the flakey, layered flatbread (from the Punjabi region of Pakistan) from scratch daily, just like everything else on the menu.
I couldn't see inside the truck as they were cooking, but I imagine the paratha spent some time on the grill before being served, because it was alive and toasty. If those were sold by the dozen, I'd buy several. Can you please sell those by the dozen? No, wait don't. I'll eat them all. Well, it is spring break... No, don't! Yes, do! No. Yes!
The lamb curry wrap was only $3. Keep track of the truck through its Facebook page, and they'll also be at the Snoop Dogg concert this weekend.
