Gypsy Picnic, Part 2: Hot Sauce and Ice Cream

That’s right: hot sauce and ice cream. Ok, so they were not part of the same dish. But I did have both of them at the Gypsy Picnic, which gives you an idea of the sheer variety of foods that were offered. Trailer businesses from around the city offered everything from Korean tacos to cake balls to kabobs.

After visiting the Hat Creek burger truck, a taco from Royito’s Hot Sauce was in order. With two separate lines – one for ordering and another for picking up orders – the wait for Royito’s Hot Sauce was a long one. Thankfully, Royito’s turned out to be well worth the wait. I ordered the migas taco, which came with chips and a cup of hot sauce. Interspersed with the migas were green peppers, tomato, onion and shredded cheddar cheese. The flavor combination of all these was great. What pulled the dish together though, both literally and figuratively, was the homemade tortilla. It was light and fresh and acted like a warm blanket surrounding the migas.

The hot sauce was very different from what I expected. A lot of the locally made hot sauces are vinegary. Others are so heavy on peppers that heat is the predominant flavor. Royito’s sauce was surprisingly sweet and reminded me of summertime. There was some fruit ingredient – peach or pear, maybe – that gave it a lightness I wasn’t expecting. The heat was definitely there, too, but was nicely balanced by the sweetness.

Ice cream sandwiches seemed like the perfect follow-up to a taco, so next was a much anticipated stop at CoolHaus. For those unfamiliar with CoolHaus’ sandwich method, patrons choose from several ice cream and cookie options to create an ice-cream cookie combination. Of the sample flavors available, I chose dirty mint ice cream (basically the same concept as mint-chocolate chip ice cream) on chocolate cookie and bacon on chocolate chip.

Both ice cream flavors were fully true to their ingredients. The dirty mint was like no other mint ice cream I’ve had before. The mint component was actual finely ground mint leaves! Talk about freshness. The bacon ice cream actually tasted like bacon, but not overwhelmingly so. Small pieces of bacon added to the sweet, buttery flavor and made for an interesting texture. The cookies were good as well, although for me they just acted as a platform for the real star – the ice cream.

Gypsy Picnic, Part 1

Austin City Limits. SXSW. Republic of Texas Biker Rally.

The Gypsy Picnic?

Add it to the list of events that help to make Austin unique. At the first annual Gypsy Picnic, Austinites braved long lines for the chance to sample delectable trailer foods of all kinds. It was crowded. It was crazy. It was sort of “state fair” meets “outdoor concert” meets “bring-your-dog-to-the-park day.” And I’m happy to report that the trailer tour was there, right in the middle of the action.

With dozens of foods to try, it was difficult to make selections. The Hat Creek Burger Bus was an immediate and irresistible draw. A $3 burger never tasted so good! It really hit the spot. The patty was thin but juicy and flavorful and topped with American cheese. It just doesn’t get any more classic than that. A little table of toppings sat next to the truck – a topping buffet if you will – with fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeno, mayo, mustard and ketchup. This made for a pretty thoughtful addition to an already tasty treat.

The young woman taking orders informed us that one of her team mates was making the second run of the day to get more ingredients to make sure no burger fan went hungry. This was about three hours into the event, and some of the other trailers had sold out. It seemed Hat Creek had managed their stock well. And as one look at the line stretching out from the truck made clear, this was no small feat. Congrats to Hat Creek for making a solid showing at the Gypsy Picnic!

Stay tuned over the next few days for more Gypsy Picnic adventures…