Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:
I have been eating light all week, so even though we heard it would be most likely raining the first day of the two day 200 Food Truck Rally - I was NOT going to let that stop me! Luckily my Food Truck loving friend felt the same way!
First, a little annoyed because all the publicity for the past MONTHS for the event said it started at 11 a.m. on Saturday. So I didn't double-check the times released in the newspaper yesterday. Um yeah they changed the time to Noon. So we got to sit at the Fairgrounds - when it was NOT raining - for over an hour before the gates opened. Two seconds after we walked through the gates, it started raining. Such is life!
We weren't going to let a little water stop us from enjoying the day! Plus there were covered beer tents and a covered band tent plus the shelter of the expo hall with plenty of tables to enjoy your food. Rain or shine, my stomach was ready for some good eats!
As you may know from previous posts giving "tater tot duels", I love a good TATER TOT. (See my posts: Dueling Tater Tots and Tater Tot Duel: The Sequel.) So we had decided to first hit the "Hott Mess" truck as our very first food truck of the 200 Food Truck rally. And those smart food truckers at Hott Mess, they had tweeted where they were located in the fairgrounds so we were able to find them FAST! (Thank you for that!)
We went up and ordered an original "Hott Mess" and a Buffalo chicken Hott Mess. I gave my name "Lily" with the order and a gentleman who I am 98.9% sure was the Hott Mess Food Truck Owner said "My wife wants to know if you are @SouthTampaLily from Twitter."
I'M FAMOUS!
Outed at the Fairgrounds! Shush, don't tell the paparazzi! "Yes, yes I am @SouthTampaLily - NOW GIVE ME MY TOTS!" OK maybe I didn't say that second part. ;-)
Both tater tot dishes were fabulous but the Buffalo Chicken was my absolute favorite!
Next to the Betty Rocker food truck - bourbon bacon brownie and the "Lunchbox" special - vanilla cake with peanut butter, jelly and a Dorito (yes Doritos tortilla chips!) My friend and I both unfortunately did NOT like the bourbon bacon brownie - dry brownie, rubbery bacon bits inside and to me it tasted like cough syrup. Sorry! But we LOVED the Lunchbox special - it was like all the best parts of grade school in a cupcake. Delicious!
Next it was on to The Big Cheese Food truck. Which I swear was hiding - we kept saying "Big Cheese! Big Cheese! Where are you?" Finally we found it on the other side from where we started. You are NOT hiding from us, Big Cheese!
My friend had the pizza grilled cheese which had these thin, savory, non greasy discs of pepperoni that were to die for! I took a big piece out of my friend's sandwich and chowed down! Hey, what are friends for? I liked their POUTINE specials (so delicious looking, had to put it all in caps), the Mac and Cheese Pork grilled cheese and the make your own grilled cheese selections. Yum, yum, yum!
Then on to the truck I was really looking forward to - The Twisted Iron. I had their chicken & waffle. My friend had the S'mores waffle bites. DELICIOUS. The chicken was crispy, juicy, fresh and flavorful. The waffle was dense and held up to the chicken. The waffle bites were slathered in chocolate and marshmallow sauce - a gigantic decadent mass of s'mores delight - you need like 4-6 friends for this naughty dessert!
The rain and the winds started picking up harder, so we ate our Twisted Iron delights in the shelter of the Expo Hall. Rain was NOT going to stop us from trying as many of the great food trucks at the 200 Food Truck Rally that we could!
Luckily it is a two day event - tomorrow we want to try and check out:
- Disco Donuts - a local Tampa Bay DELICIOUS institution
- PAO food truck - Filipino food truck - their pancit noodles are the bomb!
- Heart & Seoul - 100% vegan Korean food truck -where else can you get Vegan Bulgogi?
- Fry Daddy - they have deep fried Oreos, Snickers, Twinkies and Rice Krispy Treats!
- Ninja Noms gourmet eggrolls - we are DEFINITELY having these!
- Mobile Munchiez - little stuffed rice balls are calling out your name! It's Latin-American-Italian fusion and they have pictures of Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos in the window of their truck! That alone seals the deal!
- Cake Bus - A CHICKEN & WAFFLE CUPCAKE - yes, you heard me!
- Hip Pops - pick a gelato popsicle, a dipper and a coating - 1-2-3-FABULOUS!
And there are so many more great food trucks - Killer Sammich, The Dude and His Food (best food truck name EVER), London Fish & Chippy, the ultimate pizza Humble Pie Wood Fired Pizza from Gainesville, Macarollin' gourmet mac & cheese, Lolo Ono Hawaiian Shave Ice, Not Your Ordinary Food Truck ($5 for kangaroo on a stick- I had kangaroo in Cairns - it's actually pretty delicious!)
There is also a stand that does drinks in hollowed out pineapples - I'm sorry I forgot your name - just look for the long line because they are majorly delicious and majorly popular! Curbside Chef has a red velvet pancake skewer with a quail egg! Come on people, that is crazy delicious sounding! SO MANY AWESOME FOOD TRUCKS!
The food truck rally goes through 8 p.m. Saturday March 29 and 11-6 on a much dryer, sunny Sunday March 30 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. (Parking $6 for cars, $12 for larger vehicles. No cover charge to attend the Food Truck Rally). I really hope you check it out. The food is great, supporting small businesses is great - it's just a Happy Belly Awesome time!
I have been eating light all week, so even though we heard it would be most likely raining the first day of the two day 200 Food Truck Rally - I was NOT going to let that stop me! Luckily my Food Truck loving friend felt the same way!
First, a little annoyed because all the publicity for the past MONTHS for the event said it started at 11 a.m. on Saturday. So I didn't double-check the times released in the newspaper yesterday. Um yeah they changed the time to Noon. So we got to sit at the Fairgrounds - when it was NOT raining - for over an hour before the gates opened. Two seconds after we walked through the gates, it started raining. Such is life!
We weren't going to let a little water stop us from enjoying the day! Plus there were covered beer tents and a covered band tent plus the shelter of the expo hall with plenty of tables to enjoy your food. Rain or shine, my stomach was ready for some good eats!
As you may know from previous posts giving "tater tot duels", I love a good TATER TOT. (See my posts: Dueling Tater Tots and Tater Tot Duel: The Sequel.) So we had decided to first hit the "Hott Mess" truck as our very first food truck of the 200 Food Truck rally. And those smart food truckers at Hott Mess, they had tweeted where they were located in the fairgrounds so we were able to find them FAST! (Thank you for that!)
We went up and ordered an original "Hott Mess" and a Buffalo chicken Hott Mess. I gave my name "Lily" with the order and a gentleman who I am 98.9% sure was the Hott Mess Food Truck Owner said "My wife wants to know if you are @SouthTampaLily from Twitter."
I'M FAMOUS!
Outed at the Fairgrounds! Shush, don't tell the paparazzi! "Yes, yes I am @SouthTampaLily - NOW GIVE ME MY TOTS!" OK maybe I didn't say that second part. ;-)
 |
| Hot Mess Menu |
 |
| Whether you are a Hott Mess or not, these TOTS are good! |
 |
| Buffalo Chicken Hott Mess and the Original Hott Mess- yes, that's BACON! |
Both tater tot dishes were fabulous but the Buffalo Chicken was my absolute favorite!
Next to the Betty Rocker food truck - bourbon bacon brownie and the "Lunchbox" special - vanilla cake with peanut butter, jelly and a Dorito (yes Doritos tortilla chips!) My friend and I both unfortunately did NOT like the bourbon bacon brownie - dry brownie, rubbery bacon bits inside and to me it tasted like cough syrup. Sorry! But we LOVED the Lunchbox special - it was like all the best parts of grade school in a cupcake. Delicious!
 |
| Get the Lunchbox special - how often do you have a Dorito in your cupcake? |
Next it was on to The Big Cheese Food truck. Which I swear was hiding - we kept saying "Big Cheese! Big Cheese! Where are you?" Finally we found it on the other side from where we started. You are NOT hiding from us, Big Cheese!
My friend had the pizza grilled cheese which had these thin, savory, non greasy discs of pepperoni that were to die for! I took a big piece out of my friend's sandwich and chowed down! Hey, what are friends for? I liked their POUTINE specials (so delicious looking, had to put it all in caps), the Mac and Cheese Pork grilled cheese and the make your own grilled cheese selections. Yum, yum, yum!
 |
| Pepperoni Grilled Cheese! |
Then on to the truck I was really looking forward to - The Twisted Iron. I had their chicken & waffle. My friend had the S'mores waffle bites. DELICIOUS. The chicken was crispy, juicy, fresh and flavorful. The waffle was dense and held up to the chicken. The waffle bites were slathered in chocolate and marshmallow sauce - a gigantic decadent mass of s'mores delight - you need like 4-6 friends for this naughty dessert!
 |
| The Twisted Iron Food Truck |
 |
| Chicken & Waffle with Maple Syrup and Honey Mustard - delicious! |
 |
| S'mores Waffle Bites with Graham bits, Chocolate & Marshmallow Sauce |
The rain and the winds started picking up harder, so we ate our Twisted Iron delights in the shelter of the Expo Hall. Rain was NOT going to stop us from trying as many of the great food trucks at the 200 Food Truck Rally that we could!
Luckily it is a two day event - tomorrow we want to try and check out:
- Disco Donuts - a local Tampa Bay DELICIOUS institution
- PAO food truck - Filipino food truck - their pancit noodles are the bomb!
- Heart & Seoul - 100% vegan Korean food truck -where else can you get Vegan Bulgogi?
- Fry Daddy - they have deep fried Oreos, Snickers, Twinkies and Rice Krispy Treats!
- Ninja Noms gourmet eggrolls - we are DEFINITELY having these!
- Mobile Munchiez - little stuffed rice balls are calling out your name! It's Latin-American-Italian fusion and they have pictures of Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos in the window of their truck! That alone seals the deal!
- Cake Bus - A CHICKEN & WAFFLE CUPCAKE - yes, you heard me!
 |
| Cake Bus Food Truck |
- Wine Not from Western NY and their wine slushies and ice cream! I lived in Buffalo for three years - I need some wine ice cream to make me forget all the snowstorms I lived through!
 |
| There are TWO Wine Not trucks at the 200 Food Truck Rally |
 |
| Everyone wants to be near handcrafted awesomeness! |
And there are so many more great food trucks - Killer Sammich, The Dude and His Food (best food truck name EVER), London Fish & Chippy, the ultimate pizza Humble Pie Wood Fired Pizza from Gainesville, Macarollin' gourmet mac & cheese, Lolo Ono Hawaiian Shave Ice, Not Your Ordinary Food Truck ($5 for kangaroo on a stick- I had kangaroo in Cairns - it's actually pretty delicious!)
There is also a stand that does drinks in hollowed out pineapples - I'm sorry I forgot your name - just look for the long line because they are majorly delicious and majorly popular! Curbside Chef has a red velvet pancake skewer with a quail egg! Come on people, that is crazy delicious sounding! SO MANY AWESOME FOOD TRUCKS!
The food truck rally goes through 8 p.m. Saturday March 29 and 11-6 on a much dryer, sunny Sunday March 30 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. (Parking $6 for cars, $12 for larger vehicles. No cover charge to attend the Food Truck Rally). I really hope you check it out. The food is great, supporting small businesses is great - it's just a Happy Belly Awesome time!
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