I was one of the 8500 or so that flocked to the Honda Center this past weekend for the first ever OC Foodie Fest. Can you spot me in the picture below?

Well I’ll save you the effort.  I was the one that took this picture on top of the World Fare double decker bus because they were the ONLY non-VIP area all over the festival that had SHADE (note:  that I saw.  A reader has pointed out that Dogzilla may have provided a canopy as well).  But still. I’m certain that if non-food vendors were selling portable umbrellas at $5 a pop, they would indeed be coming away with a profit, because if there’s anything that I wished that I had at the OC Foodie Fest, it wasn’t another Dogzilla, and it wasn’t enough LFC from the Ludo Truck.  It was shade.  And maybe a tall COLD bottle of water that was $3, even though I was happily sold a tall LUKEWARM bottle of water at the same price.

But honestly, I’ve been a real food truck festival glutton this past year, braving the first annual LA Street Food Fest at the LA Center Studios last February, and then the 2nd one they just did at the Rose Bowl (Note:  both inevitably crowded but still had shade).  After surviving the first annual OC Foodie Fest, it got me thinking about writing my first ever “how to” article.

>>>A Survival Guide For the Uninitiated:  How to Survive A Food Truck Festival

1. (Try) to resist buying the VIP pass

VIP passes to any food truck event seem like a great idea at first, but if you take a step back, you may find that it’s really not worth it.  Why?  Well, take the OC Foodie Fest.  Paying $15 (at the door/$12 pre-sale) gets you a Gen-Ad ticket just so you have the privilege of being able to pay X amount of dollars to eat food off the trucks and mingle with a cohort of others.  OK, fine.  However, paying $50 for a VIP pass gets you (in no particular order of importance) a shaded tent area, early admission, goodie bag, a few specialized foodie treats, a drink ticket and a few other items.  The $15 is baseline and goes to cover the cost of organizing the event and renting out the space.  But are all those seemingly nice little perks worth the extra $35?  At the recent LA Street Food Fest, I bought the VIP pass for the early entry perk and nothing more, because I was worried that entering with all the “commoners” (aka Gen-Ad ticket holders) would severely delay me from enjoying the festival to its full potential, as it happened during the first LA Street Food Fest.  Well, after talking with a few of the “commoners”, they all seemed to have just as good of a time as I did, plus they were able to try the same food.

Moral of the story is: buy the VIP pass only if you absolutely must.  But don’t consider it a factor into whether or not you’ll have a good time.  Hopefully shade won’t be something that only VIPs get to enjoy (and pay for) at the next OC Foodie Fest.

2. (Serious) Food and local bloggers, consider inquiring about media passes

Honestly, this is something that I often forget about.  Even though I write for the OC Examiner and have actively been keeping up with this blog, I always forget to take a step back and realize something.  Food truck events like these thrive on social media, viral marketing and word of mouth that people like me (and you too) actively contribute to.  Often times, no one’s paying us to do it, and more often than not, we pay full price to go to these events, live tweet about all the happenings, go home, dutifully upload 50+ pictures of all the yummy food we ate (and that our friends ate, no doubt), write semi-lengthy articles on our experiences, how fun they are, and how we can’t wait to go back next year (hopefully).  Well folks, this may be your hobby, but you are providing FREE marketing for these businesses, and for the event itself.  Now more than ever, bloggers have just as much say in the popularity of local events just as publications do. 

Moral of the story is: If you take your blogging seriously, take yourself seriously and inquire about obtaining media passes.  At the OC Foodie Fest, the media pass was worth a free Gen-Ad admission ticket, plus a special media entrance to the event.

However, don’t you go abusing this would-be privilege.  If you have no intention of posting about the event, or if your blogger friend is saying “just say you’re a blogger so you can score a media pass like me”, well then consider yourself a cheapskate loser.  In fact, I will probably find out and call you out in front of EVERYONE at the next event!

3. Get there early

I made this mistake during the first annual LA Street Food Fest.  I thought, hey, it’s going on from 11am to 5pm, so, that means I can get there at like 1pm, right?  Sure.  But I just got assed out of a few key things like, say, Coolhaus running out of ice cream cookies, and the Ludo Truck line becoming so long, I had to stick around to the end just to sink my teeth into a much-talked-about LFC chicken ball.

Moral of the story is: this is not like the OC Fair, folks.  Trucks plan for X amount of orders of each item per day and once they sell out, they sell out.  If that happens to be at 2pm when the festival ends at 5pm, you can complain all you want, but you snooze you lose.

4.  Hydrate beforehand

Don’t underestimate the power of hydration. It helps you digest, stay cool, and yes, it even helps you to *ahem* taste the food better. And if you’re feeling a little parched, maybe consider forgoing your average run of the mill $3 bottled soda you’ll invariably be tapped to buy.

Instead, opt for an all natural, non sugary specialized beverage that one of the trucks is making. I gulped down a Cactus limeade from the Lime Truck and was refreshed and rehydrated in no time.

Moral of the story is: Well, “duh”.  But really, forgo the pricey drink tents for a specialized beverage sold right off one of the trucks.  Wouldn’t you rather be drinking Cactus Limeade off the Lime Truck and maybe a Mango Lassi off the India Jones truck rather than a Diet Coke?

4.  Prioritize

Fifty food trucks were at the OC Foodie Fest event which comprised of a mix of OC-area and LA-area food trucks. Realistically, foodie may mean “fatty” these days, but c’mon. Make a short list of 6 “must eat trucks”. Within the 6, try and focus on a couple of “tried and true” trucks, aka ones that you’ve had before and loved, and then try and fit in couple of “new, never been tried” trucks. I like to keep this mix going because of two reasons: one, you wanna support your favorite food trucks at these events and two, you want to try something new, right?

Moral of the story is: You can’t eat everything even though you’d like to.  But do your homework beforehand and try and figure out what you’re aiming for, and try and stick to that plan!

5.   Team Up

This would seem obvious.  But I find that 4 is the perfect number of people to tackle any food truck food festival.  Why?  Tag teaming.  The two of you wait in line for banh mi at the  Nom Nom truck while the other two try and score some red velvet pancakes at the Buttermilk truck.  Plus, parking is, and will continue to be a serious doozy, or $15 (as it was at the OC Foodie Fest).

Moral of the story is: Bring at least 3 friends, preferably the non-germ-o-phobes, so that you can try as many things as you can!  Also, strength in numbers.  Food truck festivals present the perfect setting to meet new tweeps in person and if those tweeps are crazy people?  Well then you’ve got 3 friends that have your back.  Or about 8500 witnesses if your friends are too busy stuffing their faces to notice!

6. Come prepared

This is really a mental note only for myself.  And you too, if you are the type to a) forget to charge your phone, b) forget to charge your camera, c) forget to go to the ATM, d) forget NOT to wear black outside and e) forget sunglasses and sunblock.

Moral of the story is: I need to smack myself across the face more often (metaphorically, that is)

7.  Remember the cause

We come to eat, no doubt.  But there’s tons of other stuff at these Food Truck Festivals that is worth checking out.  This can be anywhere from local artists, local musicians, local vendors and charities.  At the OC Foodie Fest, benefiting charities included ChildShare, Pretend City and Cart For A Cause!

Moral of the story is: It’s not all about you.  These festivals are put on to benefit us, right, but they are a great way to spread the word about incredible organizations and businesses that you might not have heard of outside the festival.  So do your due diligence and put down the hot dog for a brief second and check them out.

So there you have it. Enjoying great food in incremental heat with about 8500 other people trying to do the same takes patience, perseverance, and just a little bit of prep. Hope you all had as much fun as I did at the first ever OC Foodie Fest, and I am definitely looking forward to the next one!

Tagged as: Food truck, How To..., OC Foodie Fest