Every second Friday of the month, Food Truck Bazaar makes its way over to Casselberry. Given that this Orlando suburb is my lifelong home, one would think that I would be a “regular”. In reality, I have now only visited twice. It is not for lack of want or lack of interest. It is simply two things working against the likelihood of my visit.
First, I am blonde. Although I consider myself to be relatively intelligent, I can often times be considered the reason for ditzy blonde jokes. On many occasions I would forget that a particular Friday was the Friday for Food Truck Bazaar. Secondly, let’s refer back to the first sentence of this post: “every second Friday of the month”. As many Florida Lifers know, I live in the ‘burbs, but work in the attractions area. Driving on I-4 East on a Friday evening is excruciating. So, although I may have overcome my blonde roots on a particular Food Truck Friday, the hellish commute has other plans in store for me.
Thankfully, this past Friday I was able to hit the road early and made it home in time to frolic among the food trucks. This particular occurrence of Food Truck Bazaar should have been titled “Food Truck Bazaar: Christmas Edition.” Besides the delectable dozen or so of food trucks tucked alongside Casselberry City Hall, local vendors, choral groups, performers, and dancers filled Lake Concord Park.
If there is anything negative about food truck rallies it is that my stomach and wallet can only handle so much. Husband chose to visit Melissa’s Chicken and Waffles first. This truck ranked high on my “must try” list. He ordered “The Buffalo”, no surprise there… this man would put buffalo sauce on everything if you let him. He impatiently waited for me to snap a quick photo before diving in. The sounds of satisfaction quickly escaped his lips and I managed to sample a bite or two. Melissa’s Chicken and Waffles did not disappoint and it will take a lot of will power for us to not become extremely frequent visitors.
My first stop, the C&S Brisket Bus, brought it! So many gourmet bbq brisket sandwiches from which to choose. It was a painful decision, I wanted them all. I decided to inaugurate the evening with something unique: “The Special”. I loved it! Being as I am not a foodie and this is not a food blog, forgive the vague description to follow. A soft French bread roll enveloped sweet, smokey pulled beef brisket which was topped with creamy horseradish mayo, sliced white onion, and crowned with sliced yellow beets (yes, beets and bbq). There… how’d I do?
Major conundrum! After our first round, we were stuffed! Off to the Cafe Cocoa Mo for some shots of espresso. We strolled the market of tents where local vendors and artists enticed patrons and offered unique holiday shopping solutions. Now at this time I would like to acknowledge that this visit occurred on Friday December 14, 2012 (the day of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary). As the workday ended, I questioned if I would be in any emotional state to go out and enjoy my hometown. But the severity of the event reminds us all that life is short and can be taken from us in an instant. And so, husband and I decide to enjoy our blessings.
As we browsed the market we took notice of the mass of families out together enjoying the evening and the holiday season. This is home. I know Casselberry City Hall very well. It has evolved over the years, each new city leader making their own mark. What a joy and what a blessing it was to be out with my husband on a beautiful Friday night in the middle of my favorite time of the year!
After we snagged up a few Christmas presents, we continued to sample more of Food Truck Bazaar. With hearing some decent buzz about Korean BBQ Box, husband and I shared a beef taco box. The flavors were authentic and fresh. The value for your meal is quite strong considering that each order comes with 1 spicy chicken wing, 2 pcs fried cheese roll, fried tofu with teriyaki sauce, and 1 pc of egg omelette roll. This is a great choice for fans of Korean BBQ.
It became time to indulge our sweet tooth. We strolled over the Charlie’s Bakery, a food truck begotten from a bakery considered to be an Orlando staple. Pie, pie, me oh my… husband ordered a key lime pie cup and I ordered a peanut butter pie cup. For us, the flavors were a little light, and slightly weak, but we enjoyed digging into layers of creamy, sweet pie filling.
We had our fill just in time for Santa’s arrival. The familiar sounds of fire truck sirens filled the air; Santa’s traditional Casselberry transport. He counted the crowd down from 10 for a short, sweet tree lighting ceremony. A free Christmas movie viewing shortly followed, but husband and I decided to walk off the calories and head for home. We are most certainly visiting again next month, January 11th regardless of any attempts by my blonde hair or horrible I-4 traffic to dissuade us.
Check www.foodtruckbazaar.com to see when they’ll be at a Central Florida city near you
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Great to know! Thank you.
For a non self professed foodie, you are very good at foodie goodness. Great post.. Thanks for the tag.
Well thanks, flattery is always appreciated and thank you for reading!
Did you happen to notice if there was much selection for vegetarians? I’d love to check this out!
Sorry to say, I did not pay particular attention, but I would guess that about every third food truck had a vegetarian or veggie only option. Foodtruckbazaar.com has a list of the trucks that participate and most trucks will list their specialties. Sorry for not having more info. We are going to the Casselberry one again on Jan. 11th, I will keep an eye out for veggie options then.
I went to a Food Truck round up in the “Orlando Milk District” the other night. It was quite fun.. Definitely a smaller selection from this one though. I will have to check it out! Maybe I’ll see you at the Jan 11th one!
That would be great. Will be there with husband and stepson in tow as long as work and traffic behave.