Well, Food Network?

I wasn't sure anyone was going to hear my lone call into cyberspace last night... but wow, the power of the internet is really something! Nearly 800 people found their way to this blog so far, and it's barely been 24 hours!

No definitive answer yet as to exactly what happened, but it is at least comforting to know that I truly was not alone in feeling like I got run over with a food truck by the ending to last night's show.

One voice is still missing from the fray here, however... you guessed it... the Food Network itself. C'mon guys. I know you have computers over there.

If Nom Nom really had moved away from its parking space because it was too close to a fire hydrant (as opposed to having its final customer base blockaded by some stealth interns... or given directions to the Flatiron building via some of Daniel Burnham's other architectural legacies... in Chicago...) then surely you have some video you can post here to quell this - or any other - concern that's been posted. Feel free to stand up for your journalistic integrity anytime.

The Great Food Truck Race Conspiracy Theory?

Like millions of other people, my boyfriend and I watched the conclusion of Food Network's "The Great American Food Truck Race" tonight. The ending, however, left one glaring question unanswered:

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NOM NOM TRUCK?

I can't be the only person wondering about this.

When the Food Network routed the episodes through cities that really seemed designed to give some trucks an edge over others, I thought well, ok. When the "truck stop" challenges clearly posed challenges that favored one cuisine or skill set over another, I thought well, ok.

But as the series wore on, there were some things that started getting fishier than that 700 pounds of catfish...

For example, it seemed odd that the trucks kept coincidentally "finding" locations practically on top of each other. Maybe in a small Tennessee town, but even a relatively small city like New Orleans... to end up at the same tucked away bar? Hmm. Well... maybe. But when both trucks in tonight's final episode "happened" to pull into Union Square because there are "lots" of tourists there? Puh-leeeeeeease. More tourists than the Empire State Building, or the Statue of Liberty, or Chinatown, or the countless streets where the locals know to congregate for their favorite trucks anyway? On any given day, there are some ten million residents and tens of thousands of tourists in Manhattan. There are lots of people EVERYWHERE.

My heart sank. Undoubtedly, the fix was in.

The final straw (or bun, as the case may be...) : when the Grill 'Em All truck pulled away from its parking space first to find the Nom Nom truck was already gone... and both trucks only had to travel (maybe?) a dozen blocks to get to the Flatiron building... how is it the burger guys got to the top of the building first? (And even if they did, how is it the Noms were surprised to see them, since the guys parked their truck in front of the building?)

Did the Noms get lost on what is basically a straight-shot drive? Were they circling the building looking for legal parking? Maybe they turned on their cloaking device but just couldn't fire up the photon torpedoes in time to take out Grill 'Em All? Or perhaps it was actually something much more sinister...

My boyfriend tried googling a bunch of different blogs to see if anyone knew what happened here, but didn't find anything. If we missed it, our apologies. Please let us know. Otherwise, here's a brand-new blog asking the question: The Great American Food Truck Race: competition or fiction? If anyone out there knows what happened to the Nom Nom truck, or would like to post another comment or question about this program, please join the conversation and invite/tweet/etc other interested viewers to do the same!

And yes, FOOD NETWORK, THIS INCLUDES YOU!