Tassels and Trucks, Hooray!

Last day of high school: senior papers are turned in, the burden of lugging around a MacBook is gone and you’ve begun the search for dorm rooms decorations. The only thing left is to celebrate your accomplishments with friends and family. Within the hecticity of graduation season, look no further than the ultimate grad party lifesaver: food trucks. To take one thing off your party planning, I tested three popular local food trucks.

My first stop was Taco Republic, a taqueria on Mission Road. Their two trucks were parked around back — one big green truck used for larger corporate events and weddings, and a smaller orange truck often rented for graduation parties. I really liked the look of the truck with the orange color grabbing my attention. I also loved how the name is so big on the side.

Taco Republic is known locally for their street style tacos. The minimum cost to rent the trucks is $1,000 for 3 hours. The food truck menu includes most of their different types of street tacos, along with fresh salsa, guacamole, queso, fresh tortilla chips and much more. To quench your thirst, the truck also offers a limited selection of Mexican drinks like Jarritos, in addition to Coca-Cola beverages. 

The most surprising part I found of the food was the amount of flavor in each taco. I ordered three of the S&P tacos, which are served with chicken or beef, republic cheese, pico de gallo and lettuce. The beef was made perfectly with amazing flavor. I had soft shells which still had a little bit of crunch and was perfect to stand around and eat with friends without having to worry about it crumbling in your hand. The Jarritos — an all-natural, fruit-flavored soda — were super fizzy, but still had great flavor and the bottle kept it cold, making it taste 10 times better. 

 The only downside of the tacos was the meat juice mess, as the juiced spilled all over my plate, making me fear it would spill all over my clothes making it not ideal for a graduation party being all dressed up. However, the rich taste of the beef and the chips made up for it. 

The next place on the list is the local restaurant Burg and Barrel. Open Monday through Thursday, this truck is $1,250 minimum up to three hours, Friday through Sunday is $1,500 minimum 3 hours. It’s the definition of your classic bar and grill, with speciality burgers and fries. Burg and Barrel also has a limited menu that accompanies their food truck which includes soft pretzel sticks, french fry fix which are hand-cut fries, pepper jack queso, applewood smoked bacon and shredded cheese. I ordered soft pretzel sticks and the classique burger. Recalling the dry, over-salted pretzels with a side of congealed cheese served at Royals games, I was amazed when the waiter came out with a plate of puffy and soft pretzels with the perfect amount of salt and butter.

Next, I dove into my burger, which contained a beef patty with bibb lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickles. The medium-rare patty came out with the perfect ratio of pink on the inside, and the flavor of the red onion brought out the rich flavor of the meat. If one of your party guests is going through a vegetarian phase, they also offer burgers made of black beans or veggies.

However, adding an order of fries to the meal made it a bit too heavy with grease — not ideal for mingling between classmates and family. Not to mention it would be best to attain other options for drinks, as the truck only offers bottle water. 

For those who are looking to serve guests a sweet treat rather than an entire meal, Betty Rae’s offers a truck equipped with 15 ice cream flavors from the shop. The truck offers cups and cones, along with the option to turn any flavor in to a sundae or root beer float. 

After scanning the extensive flavors for an excessive amount of time, I finally settled on the fudge brownie — chocolate ice cream with brownie bits mixed in. I could tell the ice cream was made well as it had an even consistency, with no bite softer than another. Between the myriad of flavors and vegan options, everyone can find a flavor they really love and could eat for hours.

Although this would be my first pick to have at my party as it would brighten everyone’s day, graduation-party-hopping selves, it wouldn’t be a full meal, leaving you to look somewhere else or simply call it good with the ice cream. If people pay for the ice cream while at the party all they ask is $500. 

Although its impossible to decide a favorite, any of these trucks would be worthy to add to your graduation party planning.