the title says quite a lot; civic center eats is a few things.
1. it is hipster. stand alone food trucks are what i would consider hipster. put 25 or so of them in less than one square city block and you’ve got hipster on steroids. add kenny lee young to the background and you just got more hipster. more chic. more vogue- whatever you want to call it. and by no means is the hipster allocation a complaint, simply an observation. most of the people that I have talked to inside of the food trucks are former new yorkers who hated the competitive edge of the food truck scene out east. they’ve moved here and made the food truck movement what it is- truly something new and different collaborative and enjoyable. frankly, they are the hipsters in hiding.
2. it is professionals. people, and rightfully so, (unlike myself) don’t drive from outside of the city to have a lunch at civic center eats. it’s a bunch of business people, who have decided to take a walk down to civic center park during their lunch (or as the title and guide to hipster life would recommend, their third small portioned snack of the day) break.
3. it is diverse. in food options, that is. argentine, venezuelan, pizza, cupcakes, indian, biscuits, etc. you can find it all at civic center eats. and i think that is what i liked best about it. there really is something for everyone. give everyone a time limit of 10 minutes and meet back in the middle of the trucks and pull up to a table to each individually enjoy what you’ve got for lunch. no more of this “where should we go to lunch today… it has to be somewhere where we can get chicken nuggets, pizza, alfredo and a steak…” this is the perfect place to take a good friend for lunch. walk around, figure out a couple things you want to try, have your friend do the same and then split what you each want. you’ve just turned a meal into a wonderful sampling of foods from every different reach of the palate.
4. it is community. proceeds benefit the civic center park conservatory. school groups play in the yards near the capitol. a local artist accompanies the buzz of the lunch hour. most of the trucks source their food locally. others, organically. civic center eats is denver.
5. it is delicious. what did i have?
you can never go wrong with an arepa- so i did what no food truck wanderer should ever do. i ordered something i’ve had before. an arepa (la original, $7.50) from the quiero arepas truck. its just soooo good. black beans, avocado, platains, and a cilantro-lime sauce all wrapped in a corn shell tortilla thing.
then, i of course HAD to get an alfajor ($3, including my tip) from route 40 – one of the trucks that i tried a couple weeks ago at the farmers market.
AND just for kicks and giggles, i had to get a cupcake from the denver cupcake truck to go. not only did she have a wide variety of cupcake flavors on her menu, she also had a special menu of the day hiding out on the blackboard on the inside back wall of the truck. pumpkin and java chip were the two options today. now i’m not normally a pumpkin person, but in the spirit of the newly arrived season, i gave it. and i’m really quite glad i did. the cream cheese frosting and the pumpkin cupcake ($3) were to die for. FALL literally IN MY MOUTH.
6. it is pricey. i can’t go without mentioning it. its a little spendy (prices mentioned above). but what do you expect? it’s mostly local and organic food coming from a truck with a fancy facade and a gas guzzling engine. and its fun. and it only has to be every once in a while that you treat yourself to lunch from a truck. so just go, enjoy.
i’ll go again with anyone who wants to go on the last day for the season- THURSDAY, september 27th from 11am-2pm! happy exploring, happy snacking!
one small grain 