The second Taste of the Trucks hosted by the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation brought together both food truck staples and those new to the scene in downtown Phoenix on Saturday and Sunday.
People from across the Valley made their way to Roosevelt Row between Third and Fifth streets on Roosevelt Street this past weekend to sample a variety of foods, drinks and live music.
Event coordinator Meghan Olesen expressed hope that this event would bring the community together by activating the district in a positive way. Olesen said this year was certainly a step up from last year based on the growth of the event.
While last year’s event included 35 food trucks, this year, 50 different trucks were featured over a two-day period. Olesen worked with the Roosevelt Row CDC for five months getting all the trucks together.
Attendees were able to sample food from 25 different trucks each day.
A popular food truck at the event, Buzznbeez, saw recent acclamation when it was featured on the Food Network reality television series Eat St. for its soul food. Saturday, attendees waited in a line that cut across the vacant lot between Fourth and Fifth streets for its signature catfish and mac ‘n’ cheese.
Buzznbeez is not the only Phoenix food truck gaining national attention. J-Licious is an Oaxacan-French fusion truck whose specialty, the duck taco confit, has garnered much publicity for owner Jordan Kean.
Kean and her crew have been featured on the Food Network and Eat St. as well, yet she said Taste of the Trucks is one of the only events where they can actually get together with other trucks.
The ladies of J-Licious recently won first place for best salsa at the Arizona Taco Festival on Oct. 19-20, beating out the brick-and-mortar restaurant El Palacio with a recipe that Kean said she created in five minutes.
“We’ve just been rockin’ it ever since,” Kean said.
To go along with their success, Kean said that a reality show centered around the J-Licious crew is in the works.
On the other hand, some trucks at the event, such as The Great Pho King, are relatively new to the Phoenix food scene. Owner Mike Baum admits that this is not a huge moneymaking event for the truck but said that the benefit lies in the publicity the truck gets at large community gatherings like these.
Pho King opened this year and specializes in French-Vietnamese fusion with pho noodle soup as its specialty.
Another truck featured this year was Motomeals. Like Pho King, it is a new food truck with a focus on publicity. Owner Colin Garmany offers vegetarian and vegan options for his customers and all the food he uses is locally grown.
Garmany said that he appreciates the event because a lot of different cultures are brought together through the cultivation of numerous food trucks.
When he was given the opportunity to be a part of the event, Garmany said he was excited to partner with so many other people who are simply inspired about food.
Contact reporter at sajarvis@asu.edu
