In August 2010 Boston has it’s 1st EVER Food Truck Festival and I had the pleasure of attending. Held in the SoWa South End Market area this event left food trucks busy and sold out of many of their popular products. Who knew a year later the idea of food trucks in Boston would become so popular that now we would have showdowns between New York City! Awesome!
With over 40 food trucks and counting, Boston’s community for food trucks is well respected throughout the city. With that being said starting last year, October 13th to be exact, the city showcased it’s 1st Food Truck Throwdown where Boston and New York battled it out on what city offered the better food truck. Last year New York took home 5 out of the 9 categories and won best food truck overall. It was time for a REMATCH. This year the throwdown took place on the Greenway near the financial district on a sunny, yet breezy “derby” day Saturday, May 4th. With qualified judges and the opinions of the people trucks were ready to rumble. With their food in the kitchen that is.
Being that I love food I knew well in advance lines were Not for me. I purchased the V.I.P. package for $65 and it was WELL worth it! I got to “sashay” myself to the front of any line all day long and grab 5 FREE bites from any of the food trucks. Yes, I felt like a Food Truck Queen. The five trucks I decided to try out were: Paris Creperie (BOS), Roxy’s (BOS), Big D’s Grub (NYC), Momos & Buns (NYC), and Uncle Gussy’s (NYC). Being I live in Boston and have a “food truck mission” up my sleeve I thought why not give more New York Trucks a try today. What do I have to lose?
I thought dessert would be a great start so first I went to Paris Creperie where they, “Bring Paris To You” through their version of the tasty street food. Their dish of choice was the S’mores Crepe. A campfire sensation! Each bite made me want to pretend I wasn’t in public and eat non-stop with the melted marshmallow covering my cheeks. Had to come back to reality each time. The graham cracker layered in made the crepe seem more like a dessert pie, which I really did enjoy. The crepe itself was thin, perfect, and light. Good job team.
Swinging out of Boston for a bit I walked over to Big D’s Grub featuring, “good food with bold flavors influenced by Guyana, the American South and China in the spotlight” as the website claims. Here I had the Spicy Chicken Taco with Old Bay Fries. I must say, I’m gonna start placing Old Bay on ALL my fries from now out. Talk about adding flavor to something so simple. Matched with the spicy mayo, winning combination! My chicken taco, topped with fresh cilantro on a soft tortilla was tasty as well.
After shaking up my pallet I thought why not get back to basics. Basics meaning, a grilled cheese sandwich. I went over to Roxy’s, Gourmet Grilled Cheese truck where their special was the Green Muenster Melt Half Sandwich which contained Muenster cheese, homemade guacamole, and applewood bacon. This was DEFINITELY a turn for the better when it comes to grilled cheese. Next time I order one of these babies, I’d like my bacon on the crisper side so I can get more of a crunch. The cheese was nice melt, the guac rubbed my insides and made me smile. Yea, it was a beautiful moment. I remember when Roxy’s wasn’t even a truck and they were at the 1st Food Festival getting their name out there. Now they’re doing quite well. So well they took home this years’ Food Truck Fan’s Award.
Next stop was Momos & Buns, a mix between Chinese foods dressed with Indian Sauces. Here I got the Chicken Momo, hand rolled pan fried dumplings. Can you say delicious? I felt the 4 dumplings I received were a tease. Infused with chopped ginger and cilantro these snacks were awesome.
I had the pleasure of meeting Vik Lulla, part owner and chef of the truck, for a brief moment and found out some insider information. There are two locations being negotiated as the future home of Chinese Mirch, the foundation of Momos & Buns. One location in the downtown Boston area or one in Brookline. Which will be victorious? Either works for me. But until then Bostonians can venture to Framingham for some great momos and buns at Chinese Mirch. I got to try the savory Chicken Tikka & Mint Chutney bun. So good. The texture of the bun itself was soft and chewy while the chicken blended with the sauces was fabulous. I’ll get to Framingham sometime next week.
My final stop on my V.I.P tour was Uncle Gussy’s, Greek food on the Go. The pita with choice of meat was my choice so for my protein I went with Lamb. It only seemed right. Right it was! The tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce) and grilled onions were PERFECT with my flavorful, thin cut lamb. Wrapped in a soft pita this meal was perfect in completing my food truck showdown experience.
I left the throwdown full, happy, and excited that I got to partake in such a great event brought to Boston by Kickass Cupcakes. Boston won overall food truck this year (as it should) with food truck Pennypackers being Victorious. Granted I didn’t get to try their goodies, I’m sure I can find their schedule around the city, or use Roaming Hunger on my phone to get my desired food truck fix.
PlaneTastebuds 
Hi! It’s Olivia from SGI Youth Meeting. This looks like such a fun event! I e
It was! I can’t wait until they do another next year. They had something in RI a couple weeks back with one of the same organizers but I couldn’t attend.