Food Truck Fare

Today in Court Square downtown the Mayor's office, in conjunction with the Beyond BBQ group, held our first ever Food Truck Fare to (hopefully) celebrate the passing of the new food ordinance that would actually allow us some mobile eating options.

Judging by the 800+ person turn out, I'd say Memphis is ready to join the ranks of L.A., Austin & Portland. Today's Fare featured about 8 trucks, with the most popular by far being Fuel's. Some say it was because they were the only vegetarian option, but I think it was because of the tacos.



Tacos and food trucks were just born to be together. I stood in line for about twenty minutes before moving on to the Crepe Maker in an attempt to make a healthy choice. The tacos pictured belonged to Chip, who is much more patient than I am.

The line at the Crepe Maker wasn't much better as it was the second most popular and there was one guy making one to two crepes at a time. Thankfully Mary ran over got us some emergency Kona Ice to eat while we waited. (It was so hot, that when I accidentally dropped ice on Mary's exposed toes, she happily let it melt there!)



I don't know why more people weren't at Kona Ice. I think it was mostly the result of people standing in line for actual lunch, first.

My opulence crepe was yummy--especially the grilled mushrooms--and was worth the wait, I suppose.



And since I ran and rode my bike to work today, I went ahead and had some YoLo too. (The #3 most popular truck.)



I think the best part of the Fare was seeing pretty much every serious foodie in Memphis all in one place. I actually had a woman half my age come over with a camera and ask if she could ask me some questions for her local food blog! It was surreal. I demured and pointed her towards Josh & Rob, who it turns out know how to rock a Food Truck Fare. They marched right over to the least crowded truck and ordered pork sandwiches and sausage links with a grape soda.




My buddy, Brandon, was also smart and got himself a hot link sandwich in under 5 minutes. Here he demonstrates the proper technique for eating with a monkey in tow.



Lest you think he made that adorable baby all by himself, I present to you the entire family.



I'd say despite the heat and the sometimes long waits, the Fare was a smashing success. I hope all of the foodies out today are home busy plotting awesome food truck start ups.