Since I wrote my last review, my life has changed. A lot. I have less time to stress about grades, friends, and homework in high school, because now, I’m preparing for the rest of my life. I’ve switched plans from going to a university in a small, quiet town, to one in one of the biggest cities in Texas. My family is constantly on my back about college preparations and life and my career and not becoming a failure after I graduate. With prom and graduation just ahead, my friends are all busy making preparations of their own, too. The mood is generally light and positive at this point in the year, but there’s sort of an underlying sadness that comes with the prospect of graduating; I’m preparing to leave everything and everyone I’ve known, for the (hopefully) bright future ahead of myself. In the midst of the chaos that surrounds my life right now, food is my solace. It’s one of my biggest comforts, and the only semblance of normalcy for me at the moment. So as I drove home from shopping for prom last night, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the food truck sitting right in front of my apartment complex.

Harbor’s Cajun Station specializes in–can you guess–cuisine straight from the heart of Louisiana. From the moment I stepped up to the truck, I knew that the food would be good. I could smell the spices, and the scent of fresh shrimp straight from the truck. For this reason, I opted for the shrimp basket. Without a doubt, this was the cleanest presentation of food that I’ve seen from a food truck. It’s not that the food I’ve eaten so far has been put together sloppily, but I was taken aback by how neatly the food was arranged, and how the colors of the basket complimented the food beautifully. If that much effort was put into how the plate was presented to me, I thought, the food must be even better than the presentation.

And I was absolutely correct in my assumption. The second I bit into the fried shrimp I ordered, I was completely entranced by the flavor. The breading had a nice crispness to it, and complimented the flavor of the shrimp beautifully. The shrimp itself was moist, cleaned well, and I could tell that it was fresh. I’m an avid connoisseur of seafood in general, but especially shrimp. It’s one of my favorite foods. I’ve had shrimp from both upscale restaurants and fast-food joints, but I can say without a doubt, the shrimp from Harbor’s is one of the best that I’ve tried in my entire life. I typically eat slowly, but I ate so fast that I had to stop myself before I ate all of the shrimp on my plate. Otherwise, I would be mindlessly eating and wouldn’t have a thought for the review I was supposed to write afterwards. The plate came with a side of french fries and a few ketchup packets. The fries were well-seasoned with what I assumed to be cajun seasoning. They were crisp and pretty firm in terms of fries; while I’m one of those freaks that prefers softer, flimsier fries, I still thoroughly enjoyed them.

As I finished my plate in the now-empty parking lot, I began to feel a bit sad. I came to the realization that this might be my last food-truck review as a high school student, and this is one of the things that made my senior year fun. Before I began to do reviews, I typically only ate at fast food restaurants or made something at home when I lacked the energy to leave the house or the money to buy anything. Reviewing food has given me the courage to test my boundaries, interact with people from all walks of life, and try things that I typically wouldn’t have. I will always treasure this part of my high school experience. I know it for a fact. Even though I’ll be moving to Austin in a few months for college, I know that I’ll try to integrate food trucks in my life however I can (which won’t be hard–Austin is a big city, and I’m sure finding food trucks won’t be hard). It’s comforting to know that wherever I end up, I’ll always have a food truck to bring me back home.