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My first mini Food Truck Friday

It was actually my first Food Truck Friday, ever! And mini is the way to go. I am not a huge crowd person, and this Food Truck Friday only had four trucks in a large space.

Rama Road Elementary PTA puts on this Food Truck Friday once in a while (I'm trying to get them to do more) to raise money for various student and teacher scholarships. It's a family friendly event, with face painters, balloon animals, and of course the school playground for kids to tire themselves out.

Jay Barron

jay.pato.barron@gmail.com

Not long after Lawrence and I arrived, the radio was turned off and Jay Barron walked up to the mic. His first song, This Land is Your Land, was sung in English and Spanish. It was very refreshing, and quickly made me want to talk to him about what he does. As he sang, someone brought out buckets, drumsticks, and other instruments. Jay invited kids to come and play. One by one, children started joining in. Eventually, the cuteness you see below had formed:

AJ (white shirt, on the left in video) ended up being Jay's hype man, and a great "quacker" for Jay's song, Pate de Hule.

Jay has been a Spanish teacher for over 25 years, and works in a private school in Charlotte - and judging by how he was with the children, he's a great teacher. He has a CD called "¿Como estas mi amigo?", and is available for purchase here (click the link), or I'm pretty sure by emailing him directly. The songs are great children's pop songs and could work to assist children who are learning Spanish. My 7th grader was very interested in it, and after listening to it, I know I'm going to play the songs for my grandson.

Jay Barron receives $4.50 of $5

Farmhouse BBQ

www.goodforyoubbq.com

Our first food stop was Farmhouse BBQ - I mean, where else do you stop in the south?
The line was long, and the couple behind the counter was very busy getting out orders, so I didn't ask questions. For the truck, they only had pulled pork and several sides, but what they had was tasty. I had the pulled pork (no bread) and a side of collard greens. The greens were interesting - I could taste that there was some added sweetness (I'm cutting added sweets for about a month). Although it's not something I would do with my greens, it didn't ruin them at all. They were still tasty, and I finished each bite. Lawrence got the same, but added macaroni and cheese. The mac and cheese was a white cheddar on Rotini noodles. It was creamy and seasoned well, and Lawrence didn't leave a noodle behind.

Farmhouse BBQ receives $3.75 of $5

GoGoKu Fusion Cuisine House(sorry, no more info)

Our next stop was GoGoKu Fusion Cuisine House. The line was extremely long on the ordering and pickup side, so we were excited to try (well, Lawrence was trying). They had rice bowls, Korean tacos, and other Asian/TexMex/BBQ mixes. Since we did just have dinner at Farmhouse, Lawrence decided to get the Korean tacos. 

So... where do I start. First, the tacos smelled divine. They had a cool looking relish on top, were a nice size. But... didn't find this out until about 20 minutes after ordering. After Lawrence ordered and received his number (31), I walked over to the pick-up window and heard a young man complain that he was #14, and still hadn't received his tacos. I started to worry. 

I went around to talk to others at the festival... finished my water and started on my way back to Lawrence. It's been a while, and I was wondering why he hadn't tried to find me. He was still waiting for his tacos. Most food was already leaving the truck, but tacos were taking forever. There was a person with #33 that was called several times, and the lady with #34 kept asking if the order was actually for her and not for #33... the worker on the truck was already frazzled, and this lady made her a little more frustrated. Plus the lady was trying to jump in front of Lawrence, who again, was #31.
After that small fiasco, Lawrence finally received his tacos. Although they smelled great, they were extremely juicy - not what you want with a soft taco. We had to dump a ton of excess juice out of the bottom of the tray.
It wasn't the best. The meat was chewy, and the relish was too sweet for my taste.

GoGoKu Fusion Cuisine House receives $2.00 of $5.00

(slow service, not great product)

We did end up getting a hot dog from JJ's Red hots ($3 of $5), and after listening to a little more music and talking to our neighbor, we decided to head home.

The food truck festival, although small, was great fun. I believe if they held them more often, it would be a go-to event for the people in the neighborhood that will catch the attention of other food trucks and vendors. 

Food Truck Friday receives $4.50 of $5.00

Tomorrow, I will post my review of the Carolina Clay Matters semi-annual pottery festival.

Thanks, all! 

Busy Mother's Day Weekend

I've been working hard for the past five weeks... first second shift, and now first shift. I am tired. And with the other events going on (proms, rehearsals), I haven't had time to go to anywhere new.

That changed this weekend when I decided I needed a break from the busy, and we went along to the South Carolina Strawberry Festival in Fort Mill, SC. There's always opportunity to find small businesses at a festival, and I found a few great ones. I didn't find many strawberries, but we did have a great time with what they had. 

Lawrence, Ahja, Janiyah, and I took advantage of the $5 parking and free shuttle from Nation Ford High School (our second driver, Rose, was great). As soon as we arrived, we were interested in funnel cake - one of the few items that contained strawberries. Lawrence and I mistakenly didn't take out cash, so we had to first stop at the ATM, then we were able go eat festival foods.

We ate dessert first - a simple strawberry shortcake with lots of whipped cream, then we found Beef o' Brady's , a chain burger place. Lawrence got a burger, and I got pulled pork nachos. Delicious. Hey, I needed to have my last weekend before my do-over diet starts be the best weekend ever...

Curly Girl Bath Soaps

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CurlyGirlBathSoaps

Our first small business stop was Curly Girl Bath Soaps, where we met Lynn. She's been making soap for a couple of years, and knows what she's doing! Her soaps smell amazing! And she has a great idea - these adorable soap sachets! They are the little pieces of soap in these little pouches, and they smell amazing! She also has fun names for her soaps - Squeeze Me Tight, Wishy Washy sample bag, and the one I purchased, Freud's Favorite - which is gardenia, Sigmund Freud's favorite flower.
Her prices are great (especially the sachets), and she is amazingly pleasant. It would be a treat to purchase more from her - which I know I will. 

Curly Girl receives $4.00 out of $5.00

The Madison Chocolatiers West

http://www.madisonchocolatier.com

So, there was this couple selling chocolate covered strawberries - one of the few strawberry sellers in the fair. Of course I had to stop. The Oreo and Snickers flavors were irresistible! Since it was very crowded where they were located (good for them), we were unable to talk to the people that were at the stand. It's a shame, because they were great, and when I pulled out my camera to take pictures, the lady gave me a couple of great poses!
You can order online, although they do have a disclaimer about when to order so your chocolates don't melt during travel.

The Madison Chocolatiers West receives $3.75 out of $5.00

Elesha Andrea Designs

www.eleshaandrea.storenvy.com

My final shopping stop (other than funnel cake) was Elesha Andrea Designs. She also has Little Rug Bug. She sells adorable jewelry and accessories for women, and shabby chic items and bibs for children. There were so many items to choose from. I fell in love with her pendants, and I just had to stop myself from buying more than one... the price didn't make that easy, but I was good. The pendants are not listed on either site (I hope they are soon), but they were all beautiful. Each pendant came with your choice of style of chain, including the offer of a ribbon.
The shabby chic headbands for girls and the bibs and burp cloths for babies were all very colorful and looked rather well made.

Elesha Andrea Designs receives $3.75 out of $5.00

We got home and slept for at least two hours after that trip! It was fun, and I would go back - IF they add more strawberries. 

The SC Strawberry Festival receives $2.75 out of $5.00

(better utilization of facility space, more strawberries)

Next week, I'll cover the nail salon I visited for Mother's Day, as well as the local food truck event. 

Thanks all!