Rethinking fast food: Houston food trucks bring more to table

Outside of school, most of us work, have a busy family life, are involved with campus activities and have a demanding social life on top of it all. Grabbing food on the go is usually the quickest and least expensive way to fill our growling bellies, but ordering a numbered meal or choosing something from the dollar menu is not always the most satisfying way of dining.

Houston is following the trend of New York City, San Francisco and Austin in that food trucks are now located on street corners throughout the city. Street food has always been thought of as hot dogs, pretzels, and pizzas, but many great food truck entrepreneurs have taken it up a notch. The food trucks around Houston offer treats like epicurean cupcakes, po-boys, gourmet frozen ice, Vietnamese noodle bowls and Korean barbecue tacos.

Food trucks are also a cheaper way to open a business because starting a restaurant is a risky and costly venture.

Houston is already overpopulated with restaurants and bars, and instead of pouring money into a location that has already seen three different restaurant ventures, buying an old truck and jazzing it up simply makes more sense.

Not only is the food on these trucks amazing, but the way the trucks are designed is something interesting in itself. Hey Cupcake! sits on the corner of Washington and Shepherd while its pink and silver paint glistens in the Houston sun. Mexican taco and Korean barbecue truck, Oh My Gogi!, places itself outside of Brian O’Neil’s, and beams colors of yellow and turquoise.

Many of the food tucks sit in front of pubs and on busy street corners, but no matter what side of town you are in it is a sure bet that one is near you.

One would think that these food tucks fight it out for street corners, but with so much variety the food trucks are a community within themselves. And besides, just think of the business generated by the night owls on Washington that need a greasy meal after dancing into the wee hours of the morning.

Houstonfoodtrucks.com details each food truck by updates and whereabouts daily — sometimes even hourly. You can find a link to each truck’s web page and be directed to their social media sites as well. Twitter is the main outlet that these trucks use to get the word out about their daily specials and location for the hour.

Taking a look at the website can help you decide which new meal you should try for dinner. The website also offers tools for you to tweet about your favorite truck, give feedback and make recommendations for fellow Houstonians looking to grab a bite on the town.