Taken by themselves, words can be as meaningless as a random ordering of the letters used to spell them. Words like I, you, here and there don’t convey much to the listener. Yet, strung together in a structured form yields sentences and questions. Questions can be short and cause undue stress to the person being asked.
“What’s for dinner?” Normally, those three simple words arranged in such a way, can be extremely stressful to even the most able-bodied cooks, who in their quest to provide not just sustenance, but also a bit of flair, can feel the pressure of wanting to be original and thoughtful. But on Monday nights, that problem has a simple solution – go out to eat. But not just anywhere, but up to Palo Alto. But not just anywhere in Palo Alto, but to Edgewood Park in Palo Alto (1161 Embarcadero Road, 94303).
On Monday nights, Edgewood Park is transformed into a vibrant, noisy shopping center filled with hungry diners. When closing time arrives at 8pm, those hungry diners will feel full and will then be able to focus on the worry of what’s for dinner on other nights, but they won’t want to return to Edgewood Park on those other nights.
Monday nights at Edgewood Park have become known as Edgewood Eats. food trucks are the reason for the resurgence of activity in the shopping center and judging by the size of the crowd in attendance in late July, it’s easy to see the question of “What’s for dinner” is being answered.
On a Monday in late July, ten food trucks were on hand to serve the crowd that easily approached 400 diners. The menus were as varied as the names of the food trucks and the food was every bit as good. Food choices included Vietnamese from the Little Green Cyclo; Mexican from Sancho’s Taqueria; seafood (lobster, clams, soup) from the ShackMobile; BBQ from Armadillo Willy’s; cupcakes from Kara’s Cupcakes; a variety of food choices from Eat on Monday; Thai from the House of Siam on Wheels; Filipino from the WOW Silog Truck; Ice Cream and Karaoke from the Treat Bot; and Curry and Indian from Curry Up Now.
Faced with so many choices, it was impossible to choose the wrong food. But the smell of lobster and clams emanating from the ShackMobile, seemed to justify the line, that although long, moved along quickly. A “Naked Lobstah Roll” (lobster meat without mayonnaise served on a toasted bun) with chips and blueberry coleslaw didn’t disappoint. The lobster was cooked correctly and was delicious and very filling. It was served with a side of drawn butter that seemed unnecessary given the sweetness of the lobster meat. A cup of New England Clam Chowdah was hearty and good tasting too. The unusual part of the meal was the drink – a bottle of Maine Root Blueberry soda that was equally delicious and not overly sweet.
The food truck selection at Edgewood Eats varies, but some trucks are there on a regular basis. For more information on Edgewood Eats, visit their webpage: www.facebook.com/EdgewoodEats. For more information on the ShackMobile, visit www.oplobster.com.
