The Shins: Know Your Taco: Part Deux!

TOP DOG
It’s been about a month since we last heard from our jilted friend Jesse Sandoval, and his expulsion from the Shins. And for those who found pathos (or at least interest) in his downgrade from the world of indie-rock stardom to the world of street taco vending, we have some good news. An update has been released on Sandoval’s truck, Nuevo Mexico – not by Rolling Stone or Pitchfork, but rather, by vendrtv.com, the web’s center for food served from shacks on the side of the road.

Dan Delaney has the ridiculous job of going around the country and testing out street food and, this week, his travels brought him to the door – I mean window – of Sandoval’s modest eatery. Instead of seeing a downtrodden Sandoval scooping ground beef into tortillas, we got a much different picture: Sandoval looks happy, and the food looks delicious. Most of the delicacies are made to order, and rather than being a cart jockey, Sandoval appears to be a fine cook.

Quality cart vending has become a full fledged sub-culture as of late, and since Sandoval has spent most of his adult life outside conventional living (and apparently has two generations of food carting in his genes), it’s something he’s taken to quite easily. Also, Sandoval has been a cook for the majority of his life, and even while with the Shins he would make meals for the band (how heartless are you, Mercer?), as well as for bands that were passing through town.

So the opening of Nuevo Mexico seems to have been a natural progression for the ex-Shin. Why doesn’t every town have delicious street food served by former rockers? Seems like a great idea to me – just as long as Fred Durst doesn’t open a ‘Limp Brisket’ somewhere.

Here’s a look at Nuevo Mexico:  http://vendr.tv/video/nuevo-mexico/

by Geoff Anstey