Eating as Escapism

Sometimes, the mundanities of life can be so overwhelming that you question if you are ever going to get out of that rut.  Critical bosses, relationship issues, looming budget cuts... times like this can be such a drag that everything just seems bland... redundant... fruitless!  For one of my buddies, Leadville Mike, life's sure been trying in that way lately: last minute required travel led to heavy money spent on a plane ticket, which led to a 2 hour delay on the tarmac due to weather in Colorado, which led to a missed connection, which led to a lost bag and misplaced phone... one of those crappy days for sure.  Then, upon returning back to San Diego, he was welcomed back to work with complaints, mounting requests by coworkers, client issues... all during an incredibly busy hump day, when he was working his butt off to get his monthly billing up.  As my mom used to say, he "just can't win for losing."

Needing an escape, Leadville and I decided to grab some grub after the work day, looking for something unusual to perk up his evening.  Lucky for us, Wednesday in the parking lot of Chula Vista's Archway Lounge marks the arrival of the Tabe BBQ truck! Now, Mike has always enjoyed new eating experiences and has never tried the Tabe (pronounced Tah-bay) menu, which presents a kind of "Asian/Mexican fusion mobile cuisine," so what better way to try and break free of the blahs than to make the trek over right after work.

Pulling up to the Archway lot, I have to admit I was getting pretty hungry.  The crowd seemed to be of moderate size, so luckily we didn't have to wait too long to put in our order.  I recommended to Mike that he try the OMG burrito, one of the "off menu" items at the truck.  Similar to a California burrito, it features one of their meat selections (a Korean-style marinated BBQ beef, a spicy marinated pork, or chicken in the housemade teriyaki sauce) or their portobello mushroom and onion veggie option mixed in with a heap of their 5 spice fries.  Also, they include their homemade Tabe salsa and their spicy mayo in the mix, which really brings out a bright flavor.  We ordered one for each of us, and added an order of the Tabe Asada fries, with the spicy pork.  A lot of food... sure.  But we were going to need a larger dose of "food medication" if we were going to serve that knockout blow to Mike's woes.


What really sets this truck apart for me, helping to make it more like a food "vacation" than just regular dinner, is the fact that the guys working there are always friendly, welcoming and happy to see you.  Unlike some similar trucks (with similar Asian/Mexican style food up in the LA/OC area), the service here is awesome and really adds to the experience.  Leadville noticed it, too, which was a nice surprise for him.  The food took awhile, thanks to a group ahead of us ordering six or seven containers of food, but the guys still checked on us to let us know that they hadn't forgotten us.  Besides, it allowed Mike and me to "process" some of those work stresses mentioned earlier and allowed us to enjoy the cool breeze of the early evening.

Once the food was ready, they handed us a couple foam containers: one was pretty heavy, containing the two burritos, and the other had a decent portion of those 5 spice fries, covered with spicy pork, melted cheese, and both the spicy mayo and the Tabe salsa.  I decided to cut to the chase and bite into the burrito while Mike handled some of the fries.  One of the things I appreciate about the burrito is the fact that it has such a unique, sweet flavor.  The beef is marinated in a sweeter, Korean style, and the Tabe salsa is actually not all that "salsa-y", since it is more of a sweet experience than a spicy one.  For those who don't appreciate the sweetness so much, this might not be their choice for them; but for me, after adding some of the spicy sambal they also offer on the truck to help kick it up, I think the OMG is one of my favorite mobile treats!  Mike seemed to agree, and you could see by the smile on his face that he was feeling the escape.  The fries were also very good, with the 5 spice on the fries adding that little extra complexity to whole thing.  And these were drenched in that wonderful mix of sauces, which added to the decadence of the whole meal.  Again, as with the OMG, Tabe asada fries can be a sweeter experience, even with the pork, but both Leadville and I had to agree that they sure did round things out well tonight.  Washing it down with a Cherry Fanta I picked up at a 7-11 on the way over, I couldn't help but notice that Mike looked like the cat that swallowed the Korean marinaded canary...

So, in the end, the trip to Tabe BBQ provided us with a unique opportunity to relax and take an epicurean adventure that delivered us from the pains of the day... kind of like edible Calgon, taking us away.  And I think Leadville said it best, mentioning that although it was only a brief respite, and we have to return the grind again tomorrow, this sure was a great way to escape from a hell of a day.

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