itinerant foodies

Last night, the Columbus chapter of Pecha Kucha presented the 17th incarnation of the Japanese-born event in a warehouse on the west side of the city. Pecha Kucha is a simple concept that is difficult to pronounce. In short, a dozen or so passionate people speak for 6 minutes and 40 seconds on a topic of their choice in front of a 20-slide powerpoint presentation they’ve prepared. Right now, Pecha Kucha exists in 412 cities throughout the world. (Maybe we can coerce Maya to present at the one in New York!) As someone who frequently misses being in school, I’ve fallen in love with the event; it’s like two hours of graduate school without the forms and work. As a semi-new member of the committee that puts the quarterly celebration of creativity together, I signed up to take pictures that document the event. I tried to get a variety of the goings-on of the evening, but it was (naturally) difficult for me to stray from the mobile food court set up in the parking lot.

For today’s Friday Five, I present: a few of my favorite food images from Pecha Kucha.

1. The Perfect Trio.

I spied a few fellow foodies tucked away in a corner, sampling the wares of Families Mobile Kitchen (the new chicken and waffles truck) and Mojo TaGo (a “gringo” taco truck specializing in Baja-style tacos).

2. That’ll Be $5.

I stalked the windows of the aforementioned chicken and waffle truck with my lens, hoping gals inside would pop their heads out. When I realized that they were too busy to spend their time staring wistfully out the windows, I became a little more aggressive; I placed an order and quickly snapped an image.

3. Blue Skies.

Earth’s Crust Pizza and Mojo TaGo become part of the landscape on a hot spring afternoon.

4. I’ll Take Two.

I never did get to try the tacos, but next time I see them out and about, I plan on devouring them. (Word is: they sold out before the evening ended.)

5. Caught In the Act.

I didn’t stick around long enough to learn whether presenter and food blogger Rachel Tayse Baillieul from Hounds in the Kitchen was sneakily stealing a bite from her husband’s plate of chicken and waffles, or if they had always meant to share. Either way, I know that face well. It’s the “No worries, I’ll only have one — or two — bites of that” face.

If you need some inspiration, a mental break from your normal routine, or just some good ol’ fashioned networking and noshing, check out your city’s next Pecha Kucha. And if there’s not one in your city, start your own.

Tags: chicken and waffles, Pecha Kucha, street food, tacos

This entry was posted on May 13, 2011 at 2:58 pm and is filed under Columbus, Ohio, Friday Five, In The Neighborhood, Shacks, Carts & Trucks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.