Click here to see a full slide show from the Gourmet Food Truck Expo.
Is Palm Beach County hungry for a food truck rodeo?
Is a bear Catholic? Does the pope shit in a forest?
Based on last night's first-in-the-county Gourmet Truck Expo in the Boomers entertainment complex in Boca Raton, PBC foodies aren't just hungry for the food truck experience; they're willing to gnaw their own arms off to get it. Which they might have had to, since about half the 20 or so trucks that showed up ran out of food before the night was over, according to Expo organizer Jochen Esser.
How crowded was it?
The Airport Road access to Boomers was a
half-mile-long parking lot for much of the early evening, spilling what
Esser estimated to be at least 2,500 people from the real parking lot at
the Cinemark Theater door. Waits in line for up to an hour at popular
trucks like Nacho Mama's and Aaron's Catering weren't uncommon, nor was
finding out there was nothing left to eat when you finally got close to
the front.
Still, everyone seemed pretty excited about it.
"I had an idea it was going to be popular, but I was definitely surprised" at the turnout, Esser said.
That
turnout means there will definitely be more Expos, both at Boomers
(later this summer) and other sites around the county. In fact, after
noting this Expo's raging success, Esser said he's already been
contacted by several companies eager to host another on their
property, probably sometime in June.
When that happens, expect more trucks, more people, and one more indication that the local food scene is finally starting to grow up.
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