Get Excited about the Gypsy Picnic!

Woohoo!  The *Gyspy Picnic is coming back to Auditorium Shores in Austin, Texas this coming October 22nd.  This 2nd annual trailer food festival will attract about 40 vendors all in one spot for you to come sample their best-selling food selections that won't hurt the pocket book at $3/item or less.  We are taking over an even bigger footprint in the park, so there will be plenty of room to romp and chew this year.  We are also better prepared to move the lines more quickly for the masses, so you won't have to spend your time at the park in line.  Mark your calendar to come to this free, foodie, dog-friendly event with live music on a beautiful Saturday in October (that doesn't conflict with a UT game!).  There is still time for vendors to apply online through August 11th; we can't wait to reveal who is coming!

VENDORS APPLY HERE NOW! don't miss the biggest trailer food festival of the year in your own backyard! We want to see you there!

*The Gypsy Picnic is produced by C3 Presents (bringing you such festivals as ACL and Lollapalooza) along with Trailer Food Diaries (bringing you all things trailer-food: cookbook, magazine, TV, exclusive Gypsy Picnic coverage).

Soco To Go

Sam Rhodes started the SoCo To Go concept as a lunch catering business in July of 2010 and grew into their beautiful blue trailer a few months ago last May.  With a background in the Finance, Sam's heart was always to have her own business.  Now she is providing home cooked meals to those sitting behind the desks that used to be her world when she worked in real estate accounting.  Her personal favorite item on the menu is the chicken fried chicken, which also happens to be a fan favorite.  Other best-sellers include her fried pickles, fish tacos, and jalapeno mac n cheese.  For a vegetarian modification to the fish tacos, try the fried avocado tacos with all the same fixin's instead.  Sam's menu is inspired by home cooked meals from her mother and grandmother in Victoria, Texas.  As such, everything from the SoCo To Go trailer is hand made from scratch, daily.  She still has a thriving lunch delivery business and is capable of providing large orders to downtown business groups - so give her a call and tell her Trailer Food Diaries sent ya!

Summer in a Cup - part 4 in the snow cone series

 To the left, we have.... summer in a cup! There are many sounds that remind me of summer: the locusts, the hum of the pool cleaner, the neighbors' lawnmower.  There are many flavors that remind me of summer too - and South Austin Sno has put all of the special flavors of summer in one radical snow cone that they are calling "Summer in a Cup".  This is their best-seller during summer, and contains mango, pineapple, and tiger's blood (which is a blend of strawberry and coconut flavors).  Then, they add a squeeze of fresh lime that really makes it a unique cup of snow.  Yum!

South Austin Sno is in their 7th season this summer.  The business started as a St. Ed's economic project, and has now expanded to two snow cone trailers.

License to Chill .... kolache snow cones! (part 3 in the snow cone series)

On my way to Taste of Dallas, we saw a cool trailer by the Czech Stop in West, Texas.  Naturally, I stopped in to get the story.  License to Chill was built from the ground up by three enterprising friends who recently graduated from West High School.  They opened this May (2011) with some pretty creative flavors.  Taking advantage of their heritage and what West is most popularly known for, License to Chill's best seller is the kolache-flavored snow cone.  Pick any flavor you want, and make it kolache-style by adding the sticky gooey sweet cream that they make in a criss-cross pattern over your snow cone, and sprinkle with posipka (Czech sugary froo froo).  The owners have their own suggestions for what to get under the kolache topping: red velvet cake, mango, and creamsicle rank among their favorites.