My childhood was different. Growing up in the 80s selling tacos in a truck shaped my life in so many ways. One doesn’t realize that one grows up in an environment that’s so different from the norm. I didn’t know it was shaping my life in the way that it was. And now that I’ve come full circle in my love for eating and talking about tacos, I’m able to share this taco love on a regular basis on my podcast.

Spending more than 10,000 hours in a taco truck, making, selling and eating tacos makes me think I’m a taco maven. Does eating 10,000 tacos make me an authority on them? Maybe, maybe not. No, I’m not a historian on tacos, I may not be a scholar on tacos either. But being a passionate taco aficionado who’s eaten over 10,000 tacos makes me a taco connoisseur.

I mean, who doesn’t love tacos? Tacos are the best comfort food in the world. Nay, I say in the universe! If aliens came in and tried to invade our planet and we offered them tacos, I think we would have a peaceful resolution; or at least get more time for a counter attack with spicy salsa!

Now, the area that we sold tacos in, East San Jose, was known to be a high crime area and many people would stay away from there. But I saw a different version of East San Jose. Selling tacos made me cross paths with some of the most friendly, approachable people you could ever meet.

And yes, we were lucky that our customers always came back for more. So many familiar faces that came back because they loved our tacos; and maybe they loved the regular chitchat with my parents too. 😉

We built connections. We built a following. Day after day, and year after year they came back. We watched the kids grow up. We watched lives change. So many lessons from the window of a taco truck, more on these later. Yes, I had an unusual childhood. I grew up in a taco truck world. I’m so thankful to my parents!