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
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!
