The Portland area is known for their food trucks, serving hot, delicious food prepared in a mobile kitchen. There seems to be one on every corner. Every once in a great while I will grab a bite from one of them. One of my favorites is The Dump Truck that makes a cheeseburger dumpling. According to Yelp, they are temporarily closed, as inner-city construction often disrupts these portable businesses. As a side note, while we were in Thailand, I could get a variation of this delicacy in the form of a Cheeseburger Spring Roll. I think this gives you a feel for my sophisticated taste in foods. I even had a Cheeseburger at Buffalo Wild Wings this week instead of my tradition wing order, and I thought that’s what I would get before last night’s Train, Goo Goo Dolls, and Alan Stone concert. However, my wife found a food truck, Bahn Mi Saigon, that served Vietnamese and met her need for easy chewing after undergoing oral surgery earlier in the week.

We patiently stood in line for what seemed forever, chatting with our friends. Sadly, the first artist, Alan Stone, had finished his set just before we finally ordered, and the Goo Goo Dolls had already started theirs, as we continued to wait for our rice bowls. It became a joke with the other people in line as we watched them slowly prepare each dish. In all, it was well over an hour wait to get our paper plates from a food truck! Cheeseburgers would have been a much more efficient dinner option, so maybe they need to re-think their place at an event much more suitable for fast food. It was indeed soft and tasty, but hardly worth the wait. The delay was reminiscent of the Tom Petty concert in Seattle where massive security line delays caused us to miss The Lumineers opener. 

Once we finally got to our seats, the concert was great, but it was near midnight when we got home, well past any retiree’s bedtime. I also bought some tickets for 93-year old crooner Tony Bennett, who will certainly be much more respectful of our earlier sleep routines. We did have great seats for the show last night, just behind the boxes. I often complain that seats are only as good as the people around you. There was no one standing in front of us and no obnoxious neighbors, but they had set-up a closed-circuit camera directly in front of me that blocked my view of the stage. I felt I should have gotten a discount for a obstructed-view seat and had to rely on the big screens to even see the lead vocalists for each band. It’s just another good reason to stay home.

The dogs were left behind once again in our late night absence. It was a little to long for aging Tinker, “The Poopingest Pup on the Planet.” She unfortunately lived up to her reputation before we had a chance to get home. At least her “poopsident” was limited to the tile kitchen floor. Despite the stinky mess, the pups deserved a long outing this morning before we met my step daughter and her fiance for breakfast at Sanborn’s in the quaint Brooklyn neighborhood where they’ve made an offer on a house. German pancakes are their specialty and we couldn’t resist at least sharing one in addition to our toast, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and eggs. So much for the “white diet!” The house they are buying will require a lot of yard work, but they’re young, able, and motivated. Their wedding is in November.

Ironically, while we were watching “Train” perform, I booked an “airline” flight to San Francisco to see my wife’s other daughter and her fiance before they get married in September. There has been a tremendous cash outflow this year in preparation for both of these weddings. It’s a good thing that my younger wife is still working for a few more years before she joins me in retirement. After all, neither event involves the affordability of a Food Truck.