Go Goa, Gobble

SPICY PORK CHILLY TO OMELETTE BATHED IN HOT GRAVY—TWO CARNIVORES CANTER AROUND GOA ON A NO-HOLDS-BARRED FOOD TRUCK TRAIL

- Sohini Das Gupta

Standing next to the graffitied food truck, I shift my gaze nervously. Between my palms rests a honey-spiced chicken poee (Goan wholewheat bread)—chubby, crispy, and ready to be ravished. Dribbling what looks like a tangy relish, it smells bloody fantastic. But how do I dig into it without being guilted by the sweet-faced canines that sniff and scheme for their supper around this vehicle? “O’ly area w’ere I might try ‘n dock poin’s,’’ sputters my friend and photographer, Sean Sequeira, over a jumbo bite of beef chilly poee. He is joking, of course. If packed-to-the-brim gobanos (stuffed poees) didn’t make Food Engine a winner already, the company of stray floofs ensures that it is one of the most fun stops on our trail. What trail? Glad you asked.

About eight years ago, wheeled kitchens emerged as Goa’s hot, new chow dens, a trend that has since evolved into a dependable feature of its bylanes. Youthful ventures from inside of whimsically can-sprayed vehicles, or the drive-in version of Goan mom-and-pops, these food trucks stand out from their metropolitan cousins. No hipster stands, and you certainly won’t be sent off with basic American burger plus shake. Instead, truck fare in the state is marinated in the gleaming pride of local culinary heritage, where family recipes of vindaloo and choris pao are replicated, and sometimes reinvented with a respectful twist. So after our 23rd fish thali of the month, Sean and I decide it is time for a food truck binge around North Goa, where we have parked ourselves.

FOOD ENGINE, VAGATOR