I had thought we would see a slow down in events during the summer, but so far "slow down" means one or two fewer events -- the mass gathering of food trucks is still coming, with some new twists.
July 9 is Food Truck Day at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The Bacon Wagon, Salsa Limon, Fred's Wagon and Red Jett Sweets will be serving lunch, the Clay Wilson Band will be performing, and the museum will be open for viewing and sitting with your food truck lunch.
July 13-15 is Taste of Dallas, and this year, the food trucks will be prominently featured with the Taste Curbside event. The Butcher's Son, Nammi, Gandolfo's New York Deli, Tin Star Taco Taxi, Ssahm BBQ, Jack's ChowHound, and Rockstar Bakeshop will be onsite to offer up Tastes from the Curb.
July 20-22 launches a new monthly event in Dallas, the Midtown Food Truck Fest. This event will be held the third weekend of each month, at Valley View Mall. The Festival will be indoor/outdoor, at least during extreme weather, when the trucks will be parked under the JC Penney garage. Misters and fans will be cooling guests, and there will be activities for the kids. This event will run on Fridays from 5-9 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's worth noting that this event is being planned by a different group than the one that planned the Texas Food Truck Festival, also held at Valley View Mall back in May. The Midtown Food Truck Fest also has a Facebook page where you can follow along. The Festival website lists a lot of trucks but I am positive that this is merely a list of DFW trucks, and not the trucks that will be at the Festival, so check the website closer to the event to see if an accurate list has been posted.
The July event I'm most excited about this month is actually two events, happening simultaneously in Dallas and Fort Worth. The Texas Department of Agriculture's Go Texan program is kicking off its Restaurant Round Up by sponsoring food truck competitions in both cities on July 20. The food trucks are asked to create a dish, using Texas products and then will be judged on Use of Ingredients, Taste and Appearance. I am honored to have been asked to be a judge at the Fort Worth competition, which will take place at the Cowtown Chowdown at 2 p.m. At the same time, Dallas trucks will be competing in the Dallas Arts District.
The competition brings awareness not only to the Go Texan program but also the local food bank. I cannot wait to see what the trucks are cooking up for the event. The week after the event, the trucks will be featuring the items they entered in the contest for sale so be sure to visit the trucks from July 23-29 and Go Texan!
July 21, U.S. Food Trucks host another food truck festival in Addison, at Vitruvian Park. Beach Party Blowout will have 10 food trucks slinging tasty food, musicians pumping out some rad beats, plus volleyball and kiddie pools. So don the Hawaiian shirts, coconut tops and grass skirts and join the beach fun from 6-9 p.m.
Cedars Food Truck Park has announced that its grand opening will be July 28. The park, located at Dallas Heritage Village certainly has a buzz about it, as Dallas' first food truck park. At this time, we have not seen the line-up of trucks that will be at the grand opening, but as soon as I get that I will post the details.
On the third Tuesday of each month, July 17 in this case, The Village Country Club at 8308 Southwestern Blvd. in Dallas has a Food Truck Rally. Participants this month include Good Karma Kitchen, Rockstar Bakeshop, Nammi Truck, Ssahm BBQ, Three Lions, Rock and Roll Tacos, Four Seasons, Cajun Tailgators, and Easy Slider.
Street Food Wednesday, sponsored by the DFW Street Food Coalition, continues to happen every Wednesday night in the parking lot of Crate & Barrel at 3401 Knox St. in Dallas. The lineup varies slightly each week, but generally The Butcher's Son, Gandolfo's New York Deli Dallas, Nammi and two to three others are on site from 6-9 p.m.
Also on Wednesday nights, the DFW Food Truck Group sponsors the "Food Truck Experience" at Sigel at 5757 Greenville Avenue in Dallas. Trucks at this event also rotate each week. The last couple of weeks, Rock & Roll Tacos, Good Karma Kitchen, Jack's ChowHound and Cajun Tailgators have consistently been present. This is an event to double-check before you head out; if Sigels has a conflict, the Food Truck Experience is cancelled.
On the second Thursday of every month, July 12 this month, the Sunflower Market at 1800 Henderson in Dallas hosts food trucks for "The Parking Lot" event from 6-9 p.m. This is one of the larger standing events with usually nine or 10 trucks present.
Every Thursday night, U.S. Food Trucks join Addison's Vitruvian Park to host the food trucks. Usually the food trucks set up on the bridge on Ponte Avenue, although from time to time they have relocated to other areas around the park. Along with five or six food trucks, there is free beer and music. This is my favorite standing event because of the park location and plenty of room to sit and enjoy the evening.
That's the events list, as of today. Make plans and I will see you at the trucks!
