Column: MMM...Cow tongue

The list of while I do not like traveling could go on for days. I could go through ten trees worth of paper just describing why people on airplanes make me legally insane.

While the stress of traveling can be a little bit much with flying or sharing the road with people that never learned to drive properly, there is one thing I look forward to anywhere I visit. I love to be able to find some of the best local restaurants and to fill up to point I'm nearly sick.

When I get up from the table and can barely move or walk and buttons are starting to pop, the place must have been good. From Vegas to Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, anywhere I go I am looking to find something amazing to eat. Even on a trip in Southwest Montana, I like to find somewhere like Matt's Place in Butte where I know the food is going to be up to par every time.

This isn't always the easiest of things when we have the kids. It is most likely something to do with age, but kids love chain restaurants, especially those of the fast food nature. There could be a five star steak house next to a McDonalds and they would pick McDonalds. Although I have to admit I can't turn down an In and Out Burger, we usually try to stay away from the chain places to instead get something authentic.

One of my favorite places to stop at no matter where I'm at is at a food truck. These are hidden gems and have given me some of the best meals of my life, especially for Mexican food. I've got a lot of friends and family who are scared to try a food truck just for the fact it is not a restaurant. They are missing out. It's one of those situations where you shouldn't judge a book by a cover. I've been to restaurants that didn't look great on the outside and had the best meals of my life. I've eaten at fancy ones on the outside whose food stinks. Then there is Applebee's. It looks great on the outside and inside, but the food, oh my that food is horrific.

I once ate at a place that looked like a palace on the inside and even had divers jumping off of cliffs. Cool to see, but the food tasted like garbage.

I worked at a paper in Wyoming that had a food truck park in front of the building for the summer. They would use our electricity, and they even gave us a discount on food. This was a glorious summer.

While I would usually stick to the carne asada tacos, I tried calf cheek and tongue that summer and it was just as good. When the truck left at the end of the summer, we were all sad. We were like a bunch of kids at the end of the summer having to go back to school. The fun was over. We just wanted a few more magical days of playing outside and eating cow tongue.

I've often times dreamed of having a food truck, and haven't ruled it out as a future endeavor. As long as I don't have to drive in traffic with the truck, all will be well. I don't have a trip planned anytime soon, but I look forward to the eating and I'll just have to deal with the people.