JuiceOver

Luis & Rachael are the only juicers in town using a special Cactus in their creations at the JuiceOver trailer.   Their original intent was to market this special variety of cactus (juice) as an all-natural hangover cure, but they soon transitioned out of the night life market and into the health market.  Their best seller is their original formula (and trailer's namesake).  It contains cactus with green apple, lemon, ginger and orange.  It is a wonderful detox drink and has a light, tart, citrus flavor.   Cactus, Luis tells me, is a powerful anti-inflammatory and the only plant that has all twenty-four anti-oxidants in it.  Their original formula has helped alleviate joint and arthritis issues for Luis, who is able to work in the trailer for 12-14 hours/day.  The JuiceOver trailer is in a newly developing park on West 5th, close to Black Swan Yoga.  So after you get your Om on, head over to the JuiceOver for some added detox.

  

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.

Snow Cones! part 2: Sweet Caroline's

Let me tell you about David Mebane, born eating snow balls in New Orleans, who's love for fluffy Southern ice has turned into a full-fledged fleet of trailers you'll be able to find sprinkled throughout Austin in the near future.  It's a family affair that started when his grandparents would walk with him up to the snow ball stand on Roosevelt Avenue after dinner.  One of the recipes for chocolate cream was contributed by David's aunt, who found the recipe in the rubble after she lost her home in the wake of Katrina.  A special recipe no doubt, she received it from a friend who had worked at Hansen's (popular snow ball shop in Nawlins').  Sweet Caroline's namesake is David's daughter (Caroline), and the Wild Weston snow ball is named after his son (Weston).  Since kids like to order by color (as opposed to flavor), Weston's preference is rainbow - therefore, the Wild Weston has Red (strawberry), Yellow (pineapple), and Blue (blue raspberry). 

The 'Pink Lady' is David's favorite - which utilizes a special nectar cream flavor.  In fact, the cream drizzled on top of flavored ice is what makes a New Orleans snow ball a little different than the snow cones we grew up with here in Texas.  Another interesting menu item from Sweet Caroline's that migrated it's way to Austin is the stuffed snow ball.  It starts with ice and syrup in the bottom, followed by a scoop of Blue Bell Vanilla ice cream, and then topped with more fluffy ice and flavor-dy goodness-sakes!

Eco-conscious, these guys do not use styrofoam.  Rather, you can carry your treat out in a chinese paper to go square container.  Now thats what I call Sno-Ballin'.  Check them out: www.sweetcarolinessnowshack.com

Snow Cones! .... Part 1

It's hot here in the capitol city and one of our favorite summer past times is to stop for a snow cone to cool off.  In efforts to provide you with the city's best snow cone, I took a quick text-poll to see what my friends' favorite flavors and trailers were.  The results?  Everyone loves the watermelon snow cone at Sno-Beach on Barton Springs Road. 

Jared Tennant Photography: JTpics.com

Now I'll be honest.  I've never ordered a watermelon snow cone.  The thought hadn't crossed my mind.  But now that friends from all walks of life are telling me it's their favorite, I'll be on a mission to find the best watermelon snow cone of the season.  My personal favorite has always been the creamsicle, and I can be found ordering it at the little stand in Tarrytown.  If your snow cone trailer doesn't have creamsicle, don't worry - you can create it using half orange and half vanilla flavors.  Here are some more of the local favorites:

• Fan favorite:  Watermelon from Sno-Beach
• Other Sno-Beach favorites: Blueberry, Tiger's Blood, Cherry, Mango, Blue Coconut, sugar-free Grapefruit, Strawberry
• Jim Jim's: Strawberry Lemonade, Mango, Watermelon, 
• Kasey's New Orleans Sno Balls:Strawberry & Banana with cream
• South Austin Sno: Sour Grape
• Moonieburger in Pflugerville: Watermelon
• Disch-Falk Field: Dreamsicle (that's from my UT-baseball-lovin' Aunt Tootie!)

Go ahead, sing it - 'The Heat is ON! The Heat is ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-on, the heat is.... ON!"