On May 18 some, of the best food trucks in Florida gathered in the High Dive parking lot for the third Original Gainesville Food Truck Rally. The event was packed with ten vendors, a bar/lounge area and a lot of hungry people.
The DJ’s music and the intoxicating scents from the trucks blended together to form a backyard cookout vibe, as waves of customers happily waited in long lines to get a taste of the event’s unique creations.
One of the most out of the ordinary treats was the Kona Dog, a surprisingly sweet and spicy Hawaiian style hotdog. You can get it with veggie, hot dog or sausage meat, but almost anything would be good in this bun, with this sauce.
The bread is equal parts soft and sweet, and tastes nothing like your traditional hotdog bun. It’s then doused in pineapple mustard, and the meat is smothered with minced onions, making the experience feel more like a dessert than anything else.
There were plenty of other weird-but-tasty concoctions, like the Pelican Brothers chicken and waffle sliders, which were incredibly difficult to eat but still extremely satisfying. The sliders soaked up a lot of maple syrup, making it one big delicious mess of waffles, chicken and cheesy sauce.
After the out of the box hotdog and slider, it was nice to snack on something familiar and comforting. Sherri’s Pop-Up Popsicles was by far the smallest vendor at the event, but her display stood out the most.
An umbrella adorned with small popsicles lights surrounded her cart, and she excitedly chatted with all of her customers. On the event’s Facebook page, it said that this was Sherri’s first food truck rally, but she didn’t let her inexperience show.
The Caramel Sea Salt bar was creamy and savory with an ice cream-like texture that left me wanting more. I wanted to try another flavor, but my money was running out and I was getting ridiculously full. Sherri is a regular vendor at the local Union Square Market, so you can expect a follow up review on her Raspberry Avocado Lime bar in the near future.
If you missed the party this time around don’t fret, the Fourth Original Rally is planned for later in the summer.
