Food Truck Adventures 2 - Oviedo Mall Food Truck Bazaar

Our set-up

Here we come food trucks!

On Sunday August 21, 2011, a group of friends and I set out to go to our first Food Truck Bazaar in the Orlando area.  While I had caught the food truck buzz a little bit earlier, it turns out that my friends were starting to feel the food truck love as well.  So we read up on this event - what people advised you to bring, how long the lines were, what kind of food trucks would be there.  The three of us in my car brought chairs; another couple that came with us brought a table, plastic silverware, napkins, drinks, and more chairs; the final couple brought a pop-up tent, which totally came in handy. 
It was a great set-up, and made a brutally hot (and at times rainy) day more comfortable.  After setting up our "tailgating" area, we went to explore the food trucks.  There were so many!  For me, it was like food truck heaven. 
Trucks in attendance included C&S Brisket Bus, Firehouse BBQ, Melissa's Chicken & Waffles, Tastebuds Catering, The Crooked Spoon, The Pupusas Truck, Korean BBQ Taco Box, The Travelling Gourmet, Big Wheel Provisions, Treehouse Truck, The Gator Truck,Yum Yum Cupcake Truck, The Batter Bowl, Jeremiah's Italian Ice, and many more.
We all picked lines.  Myself and a friend stood in line for Big Wheel Provisions.  I had heard they were vying for The Food Truck Race on the Food Network, and I wanted to try them.  Another group member waited at the Korean BBQ Taco Truck, which turned out to have the longest wait (at that time).  Two friends waited in line to get Island BBQ.  The Travelling Gourmet snagged the attention of one of our group members so he waited in that line.  Our final friend grabbed a place in line for brisket.  After purchasing our food finds, it was back to our tent to eat.
I ordered the Pork Belly Banh Mi as my sandwich, and generously gave a couple people from our group a taste of the pork belly.  I ordered a soft shell crab dish for someone else in our group, and he loved it.  I did get a bite of one of the little crab legs and it was pretty good, but I loved the mushrooms and rice that were in that dish more. My friend who stood in line with me ordered a chicken skewer with hoisin sauce and she absolutely loved it.  In fact, she still brings it up, saying she wants to go get it again!  The person who waited at the Travelling Gourmet came back with lettuce cups that had roasted pork and a black bean and corn salsa type topping.  I also tried one of those lettuce cups.  Not too bad I must say.  The friends who got the Island BBQ loved the meats (pork and chicken) that they ate, saying the sauce was great.  But they did not care for the rice that came with it.  My brisket friend thought his meal was great.  The beans (which I tried) were phenomenal, and the macaroni and cheese was pretty good as well.  He said his brisket sandwich was cooked well and he was happy.  Our Korean BBQ Truck eater said that hers was interesting and she enjoyed it. 
For some of us, round two was a must.  Two people headed off to the Gator BBQ truck, I chose the Pupusa truck, and a friend waited in line at The Yum Yum Cupcake Truck to get a dozen cupcakes for all of us. 

I had never heard of, or eaten a Pupusa before, so I think that's why I was intrigued.  The line was incredibly slow.  I'm not very patient, so that was the hardest part for me.    There was a banner on the truck that gave the definition of what a Pupusa was "A delicious hand-made corn flour stuffed tortilla Salvadoran style".  I had one of mine stuffed with only cheese, and one of them the "traditional style", which meant finely chopped pork, cheese, and a thin layer of refried beans.  My two pupusas came with a cabbage slaw (vinegar based) and a zesty tomato sauce.  I adored the tomato sauce!  I had a couple people from the group try the cheese pupusa.  It was my favorite.
The friends who got Gator enjoyed it.  I am not personally a gator fan, I don't enjoy the texture, but I did try a gator fritter.  They were served with a honey mustard type sauce. 
Cupcakes were our final culinary delight.  Our friend chose 3 red velvet cupcakes, 3 peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes, 3 s'mores cupcakes, and 3 chocolate on chocolate cupcakes.  I had a s'mores cupcake, and was given a bite of the chocolate on chocolate cupcake.  We all agreed that these were the right size for cupcakes!

I had a great time at the Food Truck Bazaar.  It was definitely too hot, and the rain was an annoyance.  So next time we decided we'll go when it's cooler, and drier, say in October or November.  Because I know for sure, I will go again.  I think the girls had more fun than the boys, but that's frankly because the girl's were more interested in the first place.  The Food Truck Bazaar's will be once a month in September, October, and November at the Oviedo location, and will also be once a month during those same months at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando.  Check it out if they are in your area!  The bazaar's are a great chance to try food trucks, try some new food, and meet foodie friends.  Just come prepared, with chairs, possibly a table, and possibly a tent!