Eats and the Inevitable

I finally got to try the Gastro Cart in downtown Denver today, and ohhh yeah.

It’s just a little silver lunch cart on the corner of 18th and Curtis. They could be selling hot dogs. There wasn’t an awning, or a seating area.

But they’re working an angle, honey: it’s good food.

Run by two former line-cooks at Table 6, the Gastro Cart serves a menu that is (wisely) limited in scope. On the regular menu are chicken tacos, veggie tacos, a lamb gyro, and a side. There’s also a daily special. All this week, it’s the Haitian-style pork slider, with half the sale proceeds going to the American Red Cross for earthquake relief efforts. (Decent, right?)

The execution is incredibly low-budge. Specials are advertised on Twitter and Facebook. The menu is a photocopied quarter-page of white paper. Your pay options? Cash only.

The execution is also totally delicious. I got the special, the pork slider, and it was a really good little sammich. (With homemade pickle - cute.) Straightforward, but not simple-minded, not totally obvious. A surprisingly sophisticated combination of flavors.

I took one bite and thought, This could be habit-forming.

The Handsome Man and I are going back tomorrow for actual lunch.

I’m already loving this concept.

A movement towards really good street food. It activates my imagination: gastro carts and foodie stands on every other downtown corner, serving excellent, unfussy dishes at reasonable prices. Denver would become known for its sublime options for edgy corner dining. Our residents would come to define everyday eats as real food that supports local micro-businesses (and, preferably, local producers of produce, dairy and meat).

Let's face it - it’s only a matter of time before I find myself in a hairnet, guys. We might as well start getting our heads around it.