OC Foodie Fest - Anaheim Stadium

Photos: Paul Dabao

Friday night I got a text from my buddy Jayson inviting me to go with him to the 2011 OC Foodie Fest at the Angels Stadium. I was not really feeling it at first but the word "Free" came up and that's all I need to hear. I have heard about this festival last year but was not able to attend. It was the biggest Gourmet Food Truck gathering in Orange County, Anaheim to be exact. This is the second year and based on the attendees last year, the promoters decided to get a bigger location to accommodate the foodies (last year's attendees was well over 8500).

So we were off at 7:30am headed to the meeting spot in Fullerton to meet up with the rest of the gang. When we got there, Bert, Noel, Tony, Dabbielyn and Emily were in the parking lot and no sight of Nilo yet, as usual he is late but not that much, he is getting better and better in showing up on time. After a few instruction from the guru, we headed to Angels Stadium. We got there a little before 9:00am, our friend from Alpha Squad Kirby Q was directing traffic for the cars that are entered in the mini car show that was also part of the festivities. After we were situated in our spot, we mingled with the rest of the peeps that joined the car show. In the meantime most of the Food Trucks are already parked at their spot but there's more coming in. Also the stage was being set-up, a few local bands were billed to perform, the vendors also started to roll-in.

Before the gates open to the public, the gang decided to venture the grounds in the hopes of getting a heads-start from the rest. Since most of us were thirsty we decided to make the first stop at Organic Oasis, they blend some of the best smoothies out there, "a delicious delivery system for balanced energy and wellness while boosting mood and longevity". There were so many flavors to try so we decided to order different flavors so we would know what's best. Jayson ordered the Berry Banana, Noel and Emily ordered the Red Velvet, Tony got the Strawberry Banana, Bert and Dabbielyn ordered the Orangesicle and I ordered the Dragonfruit. Mind you I have never tasted this or any flavor from this truck. All of us tried the smoothies before my order came out. Again my order came out last, it happens all the time.Anyways when my order came, it was very purple, everybody started laughing and commenting about the color. It was kind of bright purple, it was nothing that we imagined to be. So after the taste test, we conclude that the Berry Banana was the best followed by the Strawberry Banana and Orangesicle. Thumbs down to the Red Velvet but nothing compares to the Dragonfruit, it was just downright Nasty!!! And to think that I also ordered the bigger size, there goes my $7.00 down the trash can. At least one of the good things about this truck is it is Solar Powered, great job guys.

Next stop was Dogzilla. I missed this truck last June when they were at Encore Meet and Greet at Five Axis. They were there to feed the hungry. Anyways, I have heard so much about this truck that I have to try it out. It turns out everybody wanted to order the wieners too. We ordered 3 Dogzilla Dogs and 1 Yakisoba Dog. The Dogzilla Dog consist of All beef frank topped with avocado, grilled onions, bacon bits, Furikake seasoning, Japanese mayo, and teriyaki sauce - served on a Hawaiian Sweet Bread, Yummy!! While the Yakisoba Dog comes with Spicy hot link topped with stir-fried Yakisoba noodles with cabbage, bean sprouts, green onions, Okonomi sauce, red ginger, finished off with Ao-Nori. Their own version of Spritzer, also a winner. DaYUUM!!!!!

As the gates opened at 11am, people started to go inside the venue and was searching for their favorite Food Truck. It was getting busy and the lines are starting to get longer and longer. We were supposed to have access to the VIP tent, that's where the free food, drinks, goodie bag and hang out area suppose to be. Word was the City closed down the tent for not having proper food preparation tray and so the freebies was gone. Everybody loved their baby blue T-shirt with a picture of a cartoon chef on it. People from the Car Show started to get irritated since the promise from the promoter was not met. So after a few minutes, the promoter came up with a voucher that can be use to get food from any of the trucks. Everybody seems to be happy again and off we go.Since it was pretty warm that day we decided to try Mustache Mike's Italian Ice. Again there were so many flavors to choose from. Good thing was they have samples so you can actually try before buying, good job Mike. Since we did not have enough voucher, the best way to do this is to share. So we bought 3 of these wonderful tasting Ice, the 50/50 Grind was really good, taste just like the Orange with Cream Ice Cream bar that you get from the Ice Cream cart vendor. We also tasted the Big Tasty, if you look at the color, what do you think it taste like. That's right the Big Stick. And the last one we tasted was the Watermelon.  DaYUUM!!!While walking around the parking lot, we stopped by Papa Murphy's Pizza for some samples. They also have a prize wheel and guess who won the T-shirts.

We headed to the next stop which was the Lobsta Truck, everybody was talking about this so we have to try it out. All of us ordered the sandwich, you have a choice or either Butter or Mayo, all of us ordered the Lobsta with Butter, there goes the calories. If you like Lobster then it is all good, besides that there is really nothing special about this sandwich, it was just the bread and the meat dunk in butter, no other condiments. And for $12 dollars a sandwich, you really have to love Lobster to get this, but since we have the voucher, it was worth the try. DaYUUM!

If you follow the TV Show called the Great Food Truck Race, I saw 2 of the Trucks that are currently competing in season 2, The Lime Truck and Seabirds. Tony wanted to taste something from the Lime Truck and so he ordered the Better than Roxy's Grilled Cheese. This thing is loaded, Crab. Lobster, Smoke Salmon etc, and it was only $5.00. What a deal.

By this time, everybody was really stuff, so we cool down under the Big A sign, got the chairs out and just lounge under the Water Misters, while listening to the sounds of different bands that came to play.

Since we still had some vouchers left, Jayson and I decided to go one last try before the trucks roll out of the stadium. We went to Long Board Ice Cream Truck, Jayson ordered "The Big O", this is the most popular treat according to the server. A classic combo with Cookies and Cream Bar dipped to Milk Chocolate and rolled in Oreos. Heavenly! Then I ordered the "The OG", the ultimate in Old School Sweetness. It starts off with a Strawberry Bar covered with thick Carmel, then dipped to Milk Chocolate and rolled in Peanuts and Crushed Waffle Cone. DaYUUM!!!!!

I think I gained about 10 lbs that day. In summarizing the event, overall it was a good show. There was not a whole lot of variety of cars that came, I think they only invited a few. Well you came for the food, not for the cars, right? That was just an added feature of the show. So many trucks with so many variety of food, of course we were not able to taste them all but for the ones we tried, majority pass the taste test. See you in the next food fest.