Mami's Tacos

I moved to the Whispering Oaks neighborhood during the pandemic of 2020. As an austinite of ten years, the first thing we know to look for when moving to a new area is the local taco joint, and after a few months, I found one.

One day while heading to get a few cold ones to crack with the boys, I stumbled upon a yellow food truck tucked away in the shadows of a nearby gas station. My first thought was that this was another fabricated taco truck, and wouldn’t be able to satisfy my finely tuned palette for Tex-Mex tacos.

I was greatly mistaken...

I waltzed over to the truck window to order. I was greeted by an upbeat teenager who seemed to emanate good vibes as he moved about inside the truck.

“What can I get you boss?” he said with a smile across his face.

“Howdy, I’ll take a…” I looked at the menu, too many items for me to decide intelligently, so I ordered from the hip, “I’ll take two al pastor tacos and two barbacoa.”

“Corn or flour?” he returned.

“Corn” I answered. I was watching my figure, and two of the tacos were for my girlfriend - I promise.

“You got it boss!” he fired back, turning the POS machine back at me. I tipped generously as all Texans do and went on my merry way to wait for my meal.

The mami’s aesthetic was rich and welcoming. The truck was surrounded by a garden that sat beneath the canopy of a wooden pavilion. The seats looked thrown together from leftover patio furniture and sturdy wooden picnic tables. People were sat all around eating their food and enjoying the warm summer weather. I sat patiently, while I responded to slack messages on my phone.

After a few minutes, the teenager in the truck called my name. “Andrew!” I walked over to the window and received my brown paper bag. The aroma of cilantro, onion, and the scent of cooked meat erupted from within. Then he asked the most important question I had been asked that day - “Red, or green salsa?”

It only took me only a second to decide, considering that my favorite color was green, “Green, please.”

He reached to his side and produced two containers of green salsa and dropped them into my bag.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No problem boss! Have a great day,” he said.

I got in my car with the tacos, the six-pack from the gas station, and drove the short distance to my house. I ran inside once I exited the car, sat down at my kitchen table, and dumped the contents of the bag. To my amazement, the green salsa turned out to be “Doña” salsa, a mixture of blended jalapenos, olive oil, and salt - my favorite.

I gambled and opened one of the four unlabeled aluminum foil-wrapped tacos. It was an al pastor taco! I poured the doña salsa on top and went to town.

Needless to say, I ate three of the tacos, to the dismay of my girlfriend, and drank a cold one. I was in heaven. The experience was more than expected, which is why I had to go back the next day and share it on flockx with the taco community!

I learned a valuable lesson that day, “Appearances aren’t everything and a simple food truck can produce one of the best tacos you’ll ever eat in your life.”

Remember at the end of the day, google can’t help you find the best experiences in your city, or while you travel. It takes real people, sharing real-world experiences, to find the hidden spots that really make your day.

If you liked this story I encourage you to download flockx and share your own experiences with us on Twitter and with your community.

Cheers!

Andrew Riefenstahl is the Public Engagement Engineer for flockx, he has lived in Austin, Texas since 2013. He is an avid taco community enthusiast, a software developer by day, and a rock star by night.

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