Why Taco Cart Catering is Perfect for a Family Reunion

The focus should be on cousins, babies and grandmothers, not casseroles. With today's gourmet taco catering, everyone can be happy.

Who can forget the family reunions of our childhoods? It was a food fest for all - the result of a very busy lead-up to the event for mostly our mothers and grandmothers. Siblings and cousins consumed in minutes what they took hours to prepare. Here and there a lonely Jell-O mold made with cabbage, or a beet casserole topped with marshmallows, sat unloved and uneaten (and a bit embarrassing for the new daughter-in-law whose own family would otherwise gobble it up).

Those were the family reunions of yesteryear, for better or worse. Moms and grandmas today have less time to cook and bake - maybe dad is the chief cook at home - so making food for a special event might be intimidating to them.

Which shows how family reunions are evolving. Now the focus is more on socializing and less on culinary skills. Some families meet in hotels, or might have destination events, or at any of the popular American resorts and attractions. But if no one is cooking, what do families eat when they gather?

Outside of a traditional restaurant or banquet hall, mobile taco cart catering is one option. With a simple turnkey operation, the caterers can satisfy the dining needs of everyone - from cranky uncles to vegetarian nieces, dieting dads to ravenous and growing teens - with the broad variety of what taco catering has to offer.

A few doubters in every family exist (still pushing to make that bean dish smothered in mushroom soup and onion bits). What they need to see is this is not fast-food Mexican fare, but the modern - and some might say more authentic - version of tacos. That can include island-style black beans, slow-simmered carnitas, Jamaican chicken, grilled vegetables, seasoned and grilled tofu, as well as shrimp and tilapia (both also grilled and seasoned). Chopped cilantro, tomatillo or mango salsa, and zesty guacamole might top off the menu.

Aside from these options, which anyone can mix and match, mobile taco catering enables the family to select venues more creatively. No kitchen facility is required - the caterers are self-contained and can go anywhere a car can travel. That might be Aunt Linda's backyard, or a public park, or the family lakeside cottage. In parts of the American South, some reunions take place near the family cemetery plot; often picnic tables are provided, so why not bring in food that the whole family can enjoy?

What matters most is that no one has to bother with food details - shooshing flies away from pies, or worrying about mayonnaise dishes turning bad in the warm sun - but instead people can mix with relatives and focus on the conversation. Those hungry teens can have as many tacos as they want, as might the vegetarians, while cranky uncles might appreciate if a margarita bar is included.