Grilled Onions

[Gone in 60]

Oooh, I've done events in Valdosta, and have smelled onions there.

The first signs of the return of my sense of smell is giving me very hopeful thoughts of one of the things that gives me great joy when riding a motorcycle - smelling everything around me. Yeah, sometimes its just the weed smoke coming out of the car in front of me, but in L.A., it also means lots of food smells. As you approach a particular restaurant, you anticipate what you're about to smell, and then wham, there it is.

Which presents what I strongly believe is one of the greatest paradoxes of mankind.... the L.A. Street Vendors.

The most enterprising street vendors will build a rolling griddle by taking a shopping cart, loading it with a propane tank and burner, and putting a large industrial baking tray on top of the cart. Then, they'll grille one of the most intoxicating things imaginable - hot dogs wrapped bacon, grilled onions and green peppers. They roam the streets, particularly downtown near Staples Center when the Kings or Lakers are playing. You'll ride down Figueroa, and the smell hits you through the helmet - onions and bacon. You really want to stop and get one, but you realize that you are about to purchase something that was cooked in a shopping cart, and put it in your body. Do you or don't you? How long is your ride home? Do you really want to chance needing to lose it inside your helmet a short time after experiencing such joy?

I think about it, then I picture my wife smacking it out of my hand, saying "You are NOT going to eat that!" It's easy to picture, because she's done it to me. Probably for the best.

The more elaborate vendors will pull a trailer to the curb, unload, and set up a long tent on the sidewalk with grilles, and make street tacos. The smell of chicken, carne asada, onions and cilantro hits you there. Almost as glorious as the shopping cart guys, and you feel a little more at ease - you're buying it in a tent, not a shopping cart.

The streamlined guys sell out of traditional taco trucks, and line up late at night throughout the city, with big red and green LED panels around the tops of the trucks, calling you to come and get it.