Imagine, if you will, a Tucson food-truck festival where hot dogs, carne asada, crepes, Hawaiian shave ice, gourmet cheese steaks, raspados and all sorts of other delicious foods danced together while live music filled the air.

Other cities are doing it, and the response has been great. One of my personal favorites is the Off the Grid program in San Francisco, which amounts to a mobile food court where all sorts of small-time food vendors set up.

I know it would work. Look at the annual Tucson Meet Yourself festival, where people stand in line forever at food trailers, many of which only come out once a year. It’s an absolute blast, and joy of that caliber should not take place but once a year.

A couple local groups are talking about doing it—David Aguirre of Dinnerware Artspace has expressed the most serious commitment to it so far—and I for one can’t wait until something concrete emerges.

This article appears in Jul 7-13, 2011.

8 replies on “C’mon Tucson, We Could Totally Pull This Off”

  1. It sounds like something that could end up turning into a sort of Brazilian Carnaval. 🙂

  3. Meh, doesn’t sound all that great to me. The best mobile food vendors in town are the Sonoran hot dog vendors and they’re already out there working hard every day to make sure I can enjoy a hot dog wrapped in bacon and smothered in mayo anytime I want. Personally, I can live without waiting in line for a bunch of expensive, faux-gourmet lunch wagon food served by incurably hip, tattoo-covered 20-somethings fresh out of culinary school.

  5. Portland has “parks” all over the city where food trucks are “permanent.” It is a bit hit!

  6. I think it would be great fun! I hope it comes to fruition, we love our food trucks.

  8. I can’t stop thinking that the Ronstadt Transit Center would be just perfect for such a festival, but I’m not sure when the last buses run. The circular design and central location would work great!

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