This weekend was the first annual Street Eats and Beats food truck festival. Let me say, I came hungry and I left anything but that! Here’s just a small taste of what was there.
1. El Corazon: Barbacoa burrito.
I may live and work in Portland, but up until Saturday, I had never tried El Corazon. Noted for their authentic Mexican options, I’d heard nothing but good things, especially about the fish tacos and burritos. Since the line was crazy long, a burrito off the specials menu was ordered: the Barbacoa. Slow cooked beef with sour cream, lettuce and cheese. Though I’m only warming up to Mexican food, I’ve been a burrito lover since high school when I used to frequent Chipotle. This blew it out of the water. When we added the extra spicy salsa, it gave the burrito the perfect kick that I was looking for. Spicy but not overpowering, it made waiting in line for almost 2 hours well worth it!
2. Kupcakes Inc. & Love Cupcakes: Vegan Margarita cupcake
The lines to get food were a little bit crazy, so dessert was next up. While my boyfriend waited in line for PB&Me’s wings, I went over to the cupcake truck. Found out that Kupcakes Inc. and Love Cupcakes got hitched, which means even more cupcakes to enjoy, since they both produce delicious ones! By this point, they were sold out of everything except the margarita cupcakes, which were also vegan. I’m personally not vegan, and I love nothing better than a medium rare steak, but the cupcake was great. I was a little bit skeptical about a margarita cupcake, yet they captured the sweet and salty composition perfectly. The frosting was sweet, and underneath there was salt, exactly like if you were enjoying a margarita with salt around the edge of the glass. It made waiting in line a little bit more bearable (and sweeter!)
3. PB&ME: PB&ME Wings
Like El Corazon, the line to get these was awful, but they had so many different options to choose from. Wings that took the essence of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches just sounded too good to pass up, so the waiting in line commenced. Along the way, the Gorham Grind’s food truck Flo was visited for an iced chai and a Rocket Fuel coffee. I eventually left my boyfriend in line and went to find us seats. When he returned a half hour later, there were four wings, lightly glazed in a thai blueberry jelly glaze, in a peanut butter sauce. I like wings as much as the next person, but have never been a peanut butter person. I blame wearing braces in 7th and 8th grade for that one. These wings were definitely unique. Even being a non peanut butter fan, I can admit that these were unlike anything either of us had ever tasted before. And I mean that in the best way possible. You’ll just have to try them in order to know what I’m talking about!
4. Small Axe Food Truck
This is a food truck worth noting, even though I couldn’t try anything that they had, because they ran out about 3 hours before the festival was over. If I see them in Portland, I’m hunting them down for the pork belly fried rice, because it sounds absolutely incredible. That’s taking Asian fusion to a whole new level!
5. Sweet Tomatoes Pizza Truck: Pesto Splash, Barbecue Chicken
Sweet Tomatoes came up from Boston just to participate in the food truck festival! Around 3:30, many of the crazy lines quieted down, so Sweet Tomatoes was only a 10 minute wait. There were quite a few options, including the classics, cheese and pepperoni, plus some specialty slices for $5 each. I ordered the Pesto Splash and a Barbecue chicken. Though my heart really does belong to Otto Pizza in Portland, the pesto was fresh, with flavorful tomatoes and parmesan cheese. For $5 they were some pretty large slices. Guess if I want to have them again, I’ll have to look for them in Boston!
If you didn’t make it this year, there’s a very high possibility that this food truck festival will be back and better than before for next year! Until then, enjoy the food truck scene in the old Port and around Maine.
