When Detroit’s River Days festival kicks off this weekend (21 – 23 June) street-eats fans will have reason to celebrate—130 of them, give or take a few.
The World’s Largest Food Truck Rally travels from Florida to Michigan and west to California. Image by Generation Entertainment Florida/World’s Largest Food Truck Rally
A Tampa-based mobile event called the World’s Largest Food Truck Rally is rolling into town, and it’s bringing along plenty of company. Trucks slinging everything from pierogi and Philly cheesesteaks to tots and tacos are expected to make the trek, including the cheekily named Bacon Me Krazy, in from Missouri, Ohio’s Cupzilla Korean BBQ, and Humpty’s Dumplings of Pennsylvania. Local talent will be in attendance as well, with vendors like TruckShuka Detroit and Conchy’s Empanadas representing the home team.
“We already have the Guinness World Record, so we kinda just do it,” says Jeremy Gomez, owner of the World’s Largest Food Truck Rally/Generation Entertainment Florida. The company broke the record for largest parade of food trucks back in 2014, when it drew 121 participants to the Florida State Fairgrounds on 29 March.
Some 130 vendors are expected to turn out for the Detroit event. Image by Generation Entertainment Florida/World’s Largest Food Truck Rally
Interestingly, this isn’t the only mobile vendor–oriented achievement up for grabs. The record for largest food truck rally currently belongs to the Penang International Food Festival, which hosted 158 trucks in Batu Kawan in 2018. “Fun fact: The other one didn’t exist at the time. My event actually had 208 food trucks…which is 50-plus higher than the one in Malaysia,” Jeremy says. “We usually just go for both of ‘em.” But while it’d be nice to hit a new personal best, it’s not the driving motivation here. “Setting the world record was never the reason for this event, it’s just a possibility,” he says.
Headquartered in Tampa, the company does lots of hometown events. Image by Courtesy of Generation Entertainment Florida / World’s Largest Food Truck Rally
Technicalities aside, the three-day River Days festival offers ample opportunities to sample the wares. “My personal favorite is a lobster roll from Rockstar Lobster, coming all the way from Tampa, Florida,” says Jeremy, who also suggests trying one of the “awesome” burgers from Renegade Burger Co. It’s a fiver to get in the gates, with a US$3 food voucher to offset the cost. In addition to the eating, there are family-friendly events and attractions of all kinds, from sand sculptures, Jet Ski demos, and yoga on the waterfront to magic shows, science presentations, and a kids’ adventure park with obstacle courses, bounce houses, a zip line, and more.
If you don’t manage to catch the party in Detroit, the World’s Largest Food Truck Rally travels from Florida to Michigan and west to California for 20 to 30 events a year, including concerts, food fests, and pro-wrestling shows. (The company also owns Generation Championship Wrestling, a league that says it’s the only pro-cannabis sports entertainment company in the country.) But the Motor City tends to generate the lion’s share of the buzz. “Detroit seems to get extra attention,” Jeremy says.
The post More than 100 food trucks will take over Detroit this weekend appeared first on Lonely Planet Travel News.