Amarillo – While Amarillo may be associated with the only color its creative name comes from, all you have to do is visit this Panhandle city to see that it’s full of flashy, vibrant, and inventive artisans. Chef Scott Buchanan at Yellow Cite Street Food is a great example.
“We call it punk-rock street food because we try to take our food, and just take it, as much attitude and flair as we can and push the envelope of flavor as far as we can and it works out good,” Buchanan said.
Scott grew up in Amarillo, but he did what most free spirits in the Lone Star State get the calling to do, He moved to Austin.
“I was living there during the kind of golden age of Austin, but then when all of California started moving there, then I got out,” Scott said.
Amarillo called him home in 2007 and he brought the skills he learned in the capital city with him.
“Amarillo’s been on the verge of cool for a long time,” Scott said. “You know? There’s kind of a cool underground scene here, but just hasn’t really popped. And it’s been on the precipice for a couple years now, and we felt like we could be somebody that’s gonna start a wave of bringing things back here instead of just taking skills, and leaving town.”
Scott met Rin, another Amarilloan, who also had an out-of-town adventure.
“She had just moved back from the Houston area so it was kind of kismet a little bit,” Scott said.
Together, they created Yellow City Street Food, got married, and had three kids.
“Oh, it’s crazy, it’s awesome,” Scott said. “A lot of people I know would think it’d be the worst thing ever to work with their wife that many hours in a day…but we really kind of get strength from each other. We vibe off each other really well, and she really pushes me to be the best person I can be, especially the best chef I can be. “
At Yellow City Street Foods, it’s about wowing the palate with peculiar provisions that pop, and it’s proved to please the population.
“I’m basically a hick from the sticks, and the little town I grew up in … Mexican food, or burgers,” Ricky Dean said. “We came to Amarillo and it’s like an awakening.”
All of this got started when Scott and Rin made tacos to sell at local bars. The response to those tacos was so terrific, it turned into a trade. We decided to take a bite out of what took them to next level and throw in some monster fries.
“We’re gonna do a little trio taco, some of our best sellers,” Scott said. “We’re gonna do our famous fish taco, our Korean style Bulgogi steak, and then our diablo shrimp.”
Oh, I’m excited to try this Yellow City Food Truck staple.
“This is our take on street food, and over here in Amarillo it doesn’t get any better,” Scott said.
Throw together the monster fries and we’re free to eat.
“The fish tacos are my favorite,” Lisa Campbell said.
I would say there’s definitely nothing fishy going on around here, this is great.
“We just love it,” Mary Dean said.
The fish has got an incredible flavor, very crunchy, good flavor profile, mixes together well with all those toppings inside of that tortilla. That is definitely different from any other tortilla I’ve tried before, almost like a pita bread but holds it all together well. It’s nice when you can keep a big taco all together. These flavors are all over the map, kind of like our show, you never know what you’ll get.
“I could eat their Remoulade Sauce with a spoon, it’s so good,” Lisa said.
For a flavorful stop here in Amarillo, the Yellow City Street Food is well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List.
“People just go out to eat and don’t really have high expectations of what the food is gonna be when it comes out, and so we set out to change that,” Scott said. “We want people to come in here and be changed when they leave here. “