TACO TRUCK: High Street, Northcote, Melbourne
On a nice sunny day in the city, there can be few better things than sitting on the grass, with a beer in one hand and a plate of food in another, looking out at the life. There is a beautiful spot at the top of High Street, Northcote, before the drop towards Westgarth, in front of the parking lot of a church, where you can see the Melbourne city skyline out into the distance and be glad you are that far away from its bustle, right at this moment.
It’s a popular spot for food trucks and I’ve supped from a few of them during my nearly year-long stint in Melbourne. As I’ll be moving back to Sydney in under a week, my meal yesterday from Taco Truck was probably my last opportunity for a while. I’d had some tacos from them a month or two back, when friends came down from Sydney for the weekend to visit. I remember our disappointment when we were told that they were all out of fish, and our joy when we returned with beers and they had managed to find some stocks hidden away, and kept them aside for our return. That made our night, as we sat and ate, amongst a crowd of other eaters, as the day turned into night. As for the tacos – a mix of chicken and corn, as well as battered fish and coleslaw, with sides of corn chips and optional chilli sauce – they were okay, but expensive at $6 a pop.
Second time around and I was disappointed. I had the fish tacos again, basically fish and chips with a soft taco roll, mayo and coleslaw, and found it quite bland. The mere presence of tacos and those small bottles of spicy goodness do not a great Mexican meal make. But the vibe was good again, although the turnout lower. Groups of friends chatting and laughing, young couples hugging, older couples with tots running around, not perturbed by inclement bouts of raindrops. And another excuse to sit outside, drink beers, eat food and watch the sun go down in the distance, and think to myself, this is the life.
