Food Truck Adventures 6 - Oviedo Mall Food Truck Bazaar 2

On September 11, 2011, my food truck buddies and I journeyed once again to the Oviedo Mall for another Food Truck Bazaar.  Little did we know this would be the last one put on by The Daily City at the Oviedo Mall; the monthly Oviedo Bazaar has moved to the Lowe's parking lot (which is not far from the mall). 

In honor of 9/11, there was a firetruck there on display, and I thought this was a really cool touch.  Just a nice way to honor and remember this important date. 

Much like last time, our group had a tent set up, as well as some camping chairs, and we were ready to eat!

My first truck of choice was a truck that had come in from Tampa called Wicked Wiches.  Since I previously have lived in the Tampa Bay area, I have a soft spot for food trucks that come from there.  But what's even more awesome is that I was recently made aware that Wicked Wiches will be on Eat St, a show on the Cooking Channel about food trucks and other street food.

The menu at Wicked Wiches is extremely varied.  They had items like a Monte Cristo, Turdunken Smashballs, and Ratitouli.  However, once I saw that they had a bacon cheeseburger eggroll, I knew that's what I'd be ordering.

The bacon cheeseburger eggroll was ground beef, cheese, and bacon wrapped in an eggroll wrapper and deep fried, just like any other eggroll.  It was served in a hot dog bun (I'm guessing to make it easier to eat), and came with ketchup and yellow mustard on top.  Served with it on the side were Sweet Potato Chips.  This item was divine.  I have previously posted a recipe on this blog for cheesesteak eggrolls.  This item was a lot like those, except using ground beef, and had the addition of bacon.  And frankly, who doesn't love bacon?  I ended up eating the second half without the bun, because I didn't need all that extra breading.  The chips were really good, and had a caramel type drizzle over them.

The next truck I visited was the Yum Yum Truck.  Now, I've talked about them before on the last Bazaar, but they had a new item this time that I want to mention.  Cake Poppers.  Basically, cake balls on a stick, covered in Peterbrooke Chocolatier chocolate.  I don't need to say anymore (but I will!).  These little delights were melt-in-your-mouth fantastic.  I chose to get the red velvet cake pops covered in dark chocolate.  Simply delightful.

My next stop was the Gastro Truck, while I had just eaten at it two days earlier, and there were plenty of trucks I hadn't tried yet, I could not get their Mac & Cheese off my mind.  I didn't get to have it on my first visit, but was determined to have it on this trip.  I ordered a full order of this cheesy, delectable, pasta. It was worth the wait.  The bake their Mac & Cheese so it gets those great bubbly browned bits that I absolutely adore.  I will be eating it again.  One of my Food Truck Bazaar companions ordered the Apple Harvest sandwich.  She said it was incredibly good, and it definitely looked that way.  I still need to order their Pork Belly Grilled Cheese!  She also had their flavored tea of the day, and enjoyed it. 
Speaking of macaroni and cheese, one of my foodie friends purchased some mac and cheese from Mama's Fixins and deemed it to be scrumptious. 
The only male who made it out with us this time rounded up a bunch of items.  He ordered a fish taco from Winter Park Fish Co., a variety platter from C&S Brisket Bus, and a bruschetta grilled cheese (but I forgot where it was from!!!).   I tried the bruschetta grilled cheese, and I think that the fresh light tomatoes really complimented the grilled cheese. 
My last stop at this particular event was at the Batter Bowl Truck.  This is a dessert truck, and I was able to get these AMAZING push-up cake pops.  Their chocolate cake push-up pop with peanut butter icing was the best dessert I've had in a LONG time.  I also got a red velvet push-up pop that had cream cheese icing, and that was enjoyable as well.
This food truck event was a great one.  It didn't rain, I was able to try a lot of items, and the only line I really waited in was at the Gastro Truck.  And it turns out, one of the chefs suffered heat exhaustion and couldn't work, and that was why the food took longer than expected.  Hopefully the poor thing is recovered.
I cannot wait for our next journey to a Food Truck Bazaar.  Good friends, lost of good food, and (hopefully) cooler weather is a recipe for a great day.  Make sure you check out your local food trucks, and food truck events.  Believe me, it's worth it!

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!