This past weekend The Big E Fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts played host to the 2015 New England Food Truck Festival. When we went on Sunday we thought we’d arrive right at noon when they opened. It was already packed.
The lines were l.o.n.g.
The sun was h.o.t.
The kids were h.u.n.g.r.y.
You get the picture….There were lots of trucks, although, if I’m honest, not as many as I envisioned in my day dream of a food truck festival. I was hoping for loads of Boston food trucks, things we didn’t see often. Foods that were unusual. It was a mix of trucks from Connecticut and Massachusetts serving fairly safe choices. Many local. The people I eavesdropped on overheard talking seemed really excited about the entire thing. Many of them (based on my listening in) having never eaten at a food truck before. Western Massachusetts is a little behind the times when it comes to food trucks. Food trailers…you see every now and then. At fairs and festivals. But not usually on the streets as you would in a big city.
I was there with two hungry kids. My choices of which long line to wait in were limited to ice cream or grilled cheese. They were not feeling adventurous because they were starving. So grilled cheese it was. Say Cheese serves gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. The truck with the longest line. LONGEST. We ordered the Cheddar Baby (grilled cheese plain and simple for kids) and a Friggin’ Goat (Goats cheese, fig and arugula). It was a long long. It was not too bad of a wait. The sandwiches came out quickly considering how many orders they must have had. They were delicious. We love our grilled cheese in this house. These were really good. Now we know why the line was so long! I’ve not seen the Say Cheese truck anywhere before. New this summer, we hope they get lots of business because their sandwiches are so good!
On our hunt for desert we spotted our favorite ice cream truck! Batch ice cream out of Boston. They had lots of flavors, but we settled on Caramelized Banana Walnut. It was gigantic. Luckily it was served in a cup because the hot sun was melting things very quickly. Oh how we love this ice cream…(and their concept…and their packaging…) If you haven’t tried it yet you can find it in certain markets. We have even seen it at Stop & Shop in Westerly, RI and Fresh Acres in Springfield, MA. Find it! Try it! It is so good.
On our way out we wished we had more time, more shade and bigger bellies. It was fun and we really hope the event grows because the people of Western Massachusetts are ready for more food trucks!
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