While visiting The Lime Truck a week or so ago (post coming) I picked up a flier for the OC Foodie Fest. It was last Saturday and was the ultimate foodie destination. In the parking lot of the Honda Center was Orange Counties first gourmet food truck event. There was a $15 entrance fee and the money went to support charities. We checked the list of trucks that would be in attendance and there were so many that we recognized and were thrilled that they would all be in one location! We had been contemplating driving to LA to try some of the trucks, but now we didn't have to.
I'm totally hooked on Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race ! If you've watched it, then you know a lot of the trucks are from the LA area. From the show The Nom Nom Truck, Crepes Bonaparte, and Nana Queens were going to be at the fest! Since the Nom Nom Truck is pretty much dominating the show I was dying to try one of their Banh Mi sandwiches. Garrett came with me and Brian, and he had seen the Don Chow truck on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and they were also going to be at the fest.
We pay to get in and are welcomed to a large parking lot full of food trucks and...lines. Lots and lots of lines. Long ones too. Our plan was to divide and conquer. Right when we walked in we spotted Don Chows and the Nom Nom truck. Gar heads to Don Chows and I make way to the fast growing Nom Nom line. Brian wandered off to see what else there was.
Don Chow Tacos is Chinese Mexican fusion cuisine. They say their "Chino-meets-Latino" fusion blends the best of both flavors. For the Food Fest they had a fixed menu of three tacos for $6. I honestly can't remember what three tacos we had, but they were delicious, and a nice combination of flavors. Definitely a visit again truck.
The Nom Nom Truck totally deserves to be winning every week on The Great Food Truck Race. After waiting an hour in line we got our turn. But while I was at the back of this very long line, a Foodie Fest worker came along and gave me Angles tickets for that nights game! Nom Nom had only Banh Mi”, or Vietnamese Sandwiches on their menu (they usually have a variety of other items) in chicken, pork or tofu. Sad though, when we got up their they had no pork, and I had heard that was their best. Not to worry though, their chicken was delicious. The sandwich was on a soft bread with a crusty outside, a creamy mayo type spread, vegetables and the most delicious chicken. I did have to pick of the jalapenos though. I'm kind of a light weight when it comes to spice. We ordered up three 12 inchers and we all finished every single bite. I even got my picture taken with the girl that does all the selling, but Gar's Droid phone failed to capture my moment! It was such a fun truck to visit and the two girls running it are lots of fun.
Brian ended up going to a pizza truck, called the Slice Truck, mainly because the line was short. But what wasn't short was the time it took to make the pizza. He was waiting for his order just as long as we were in line. And while the pizza was good, a nice thin crust cheesey pizza, I don't think it was worth the wait. In my opinion, a pizza truck isn't the way to go. It's not a fast food!
After that we walked around looking for a few other trucks to try. We had been there for so long already, and were tired and hot from standing in line. There was a bakery truck I wanted to try, but again a long line and a baked good didn't sound nearly as good as some of the ice cream trucks that were there. We saw the Nanna Queens truck and the Crepes truck. I was glad Nanna Queens had propane to cook their wings this time, (see episode 1) but didn't need to wait in line for any. And turns out the Crepes Bonaparte truck is based in Orange County, so we figured we could go anytime and not have to stand in that line!
We eventually decided to get dessert at the Cool Haus ice cream sandwich truck. It was your basic pick your cookie, and pick your ice cream dessert. Again, long line, and it wasn't moving. They kept closing the window and wouldn't take orders for like 10 minutes. Then I saw the girl get out of the truck with a container of liquid, walk over the the port-a-potty, dump the liquid and then rinse the container at the portable hand washing station. She headed back to the truck and I instantly wondered if that container would be touching anything that would touch my ice cream and cookies. Kind of a big turn off. And the window kept closing and the line didn't move, so after about 30 minutes we called it a day. No ice cream sandwiches.
Overall thoughts on the OC Foodie Fest: All the great trucks in one place-good. Long lines because of that-bad. What did my $15 get me? A chance to stand in really long lines, and I guess donate to charity. I don't feel the need to go to the second annual OC Foodie Fest. I would rather make the drive to LA and hit up my favorite food trucks with less lines. And you can only eat so much food at a fest! But I am glad we went, it was a really fun afternoon, and I definitely had some great food!
(Of all the days to forget my real camera. Thanks iPhone for getting the job done.)
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