The fourth issue of Naptown Buzz is now available for download and print copies will also be available this month at select locations, while supplies last.
Naptown Buzz October 2011: Download PDF
food trucks
First Friday Food Truck Festival
October’s First Friday Food Truck Fest (phew, what a mouthful!) was back on October 7th in the Murat parking lot due to an overwhelming response to the first one in September. Presented by MOKB, Live Nation, Leinenkugel and NUVO, this month’s fest brought in more trucks, activities, art and music for your enjoyment. For a $5 admission, this event is a great way to start off your First Friday and experience some of Indy’s newest mobile dining options. While everyone is familiar with trucks like West Coast Tacos and The New York Slice (try a slice of The Rubes), we decided to try some new options that we had either never seen or tasted. You can check out the pictures thanks to my wonderful food model, Ryan Hickey.
Our first stop was to Chef JJ’s Big Green Bistro. While this truck is used mainly for private events, it focuses on sustainable items to bring the taste of Chef JJ’s Back Yard to different locations. For $10, we opted for the bistro box which gave us three different menu items in one serving: a pork taco, an Indiana Slider and palenta. All three were delicious and flavorful, and we finished off every last bite. The Big Green Bistro was a great start to the Food Truck Fest, and the only downside was knowing that you can’t find this food truck out on the streets of Indianapolis, it is available by reservation only.
Next, we headed over to Rollin Wit Da Roux per a recommendation that we had to try the special. I felt a little bit guilty, like I was cheating on my favorite truck, Some of This Some of That (which you should try the jambalaya there if you’ve never been). Da Roux serves the iconic classics of Cajun, Creole and Southern BBQ cuisine. Do not mistake this truck for a mobile Papa Roux restaurant, as we learned when Papa Roux himself cornered us by the truck and gave us a speech about it. Awkward! We tried the spicy blackened catfish with crab sauce and rice for $10. The fish was cooked to perfection and it had just the right combination of spice and flavor. This Cajun truck is definitely going to be serving up some delicious competition to Papa Roux and SOTSOT!
Our third stop was to Edward’s Dashboard Diner. We didn’t get a chance to taste anything here in September becau
se it was already sold out by the time we got in line, but we heard raving reviews of the famous tenderloin sandwich and we had to try it for ourselves. Edward’s Dashboard Diner is a mobile version of the famed Edward’s Drive-In, located at 2126 South Sherman Drive. It was recently featured on the Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food, and if it’s good enough for Adam Richmond, it’s good enough for me! For $6, we split a huge fried tenderloin sandwich that lived up to its reputation for being the best tenderloin in Indianapolis.
If you haven’t made it out for a Food Truck Fest yet, your next chance is from 5 – 9 p.m. on Friday, November 4. There will be live music and laughs provided by The Band of Beards. Also, the First Friday Food Truck Festival has teamed up with Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana by offering free admission to those who donate two or more non-perishable items at the event. Also, The Civil Wars will be playing that evening at the Egyptian Room, so check out a great concert after enjoying some food and drinks. You can get a ticket to The Civil Wars show at MOKB Presents.
Taste Of The Trucks 2011
Local marketing firm, Intelligent Designs Media, has teamed up with ten of the biggest food trucks in Indianapolis to launch the first-ever food truck festival in the city. The event, “Taste Of The Trucks 2011,” will be held on August 13th from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. at 61st and Broadway Park in Broad Ripple.
After reading about and experiencing the burgeoning food truck scene in Indianapolis, Intelligent Designs Media President, Steve Neville, and Director of Sales, David Butz, knew what they had to do: “Food trucks are such an amazing concept,” Neville said. “And when I saw that there were so many new trucks around the city serving up so many diverse foods, I knew I had to figure out a way to raise awareness of this growing culture.”
Their idea: an organically grown festival that is run by local businesses, supporting local businesses.
“We are all trying to make this festival as grassroots a festival as possible to fit the concept of food truck advertising,” Neville explained. “Food trucks in Indianapolis run their entire business through the power of word-of-mouth and, most importantly, social media. And if they can run successful businesses through these platforms, then we want to do the same for the festival.”
And, so far, the idea of spreading the word through social media is working. Within 24-hours of the announcement of the festival on Facebook, the event already had 110 confirmed attendees and the food trucks are spreading the word to their followers on Twitter.
“The buzz this event is generating is more than we could imagine,” Butz stated. “I think this will be a great opportunity for the community to experience local businesses at their best, and tastiest.”
The event is family-friendly and admission is free. The food trucks will be charging their regular prices for the food offered, with sodas and water also available for purchase. The trucks participating are: Scratchtruck, Mabel On The Move, Fat Sammies Ciao Wagon, Hoosier Fat Daddy, Duos, TheNYslice, Groovy Guys Fries, Scout’s Treat Truck, Tacos Without Borders, and West Coast Tacos.
Guests can RSVP their attendance on Facebook. Just search for “Taste Of The Trucks 2011”