Orlando Food Truck Bazaar an Outrageous Success

The Red Eye BBQ Truck

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As I approached the Orlando Food Truck Bazaar last night, just before the official 7:00 pm start time, I was amazed to see swarms of people already surrounding the trucks — which had started serving their tasty treats early to sate the starving crowd — and even more people hurriedly walking along the sidewalk to join in. The bazaar, put on by TheDailCity.com, put nine of Orlando’s most popular food trucks in one parking lot, hoping some people would show up to eat. The lesson learned last night should be, “if you cook it, they will come.”

Through the course of the night, several hundred people sampled small-plate delights, generally priced around $5, ranging from fish tacos and Yum Yum cupcakes to Korean BBQ tacos (from the aptly named Korean BBQ Taco Box) and foie gras parfaits and octopus from the Big Wheel Mobile Food Truck. My personal favorite was the lobster roll from Linda Bean’s truck (which was partnered with the Shipyard Brewery truck).

While the huge crowd meant long lines at every truck, and most truck ran out of food by the end of the 10:00 pm closing time, the camaraderie of the surprising many who were willing to stick it out was as strong as the food was delicious.

This was the first of what’s planned to be a bi-monthly event, and rest assured that the next bazaar will be equipped for a higher turnout. Among others, Tony Adams of the Big Wheel truck recognized the need to “work hard to make sure that we are all better prepared next time for the huge interest that's growing for Orlando's food truck scene!” I’ll still plan to show up early, just to ensure I can sample as much of the food as possible.

To find more tasty gourmet food trucks in your area, click here.

Tags: BBQ | dining | Food trucks | orlando