1st Riverview Food Truck Rally Hailed Success by Owners, Customers

Long lines and chilly temperatures didn't deter area foodies who came out en masse to sample the fare of 18 food trucks gathered Saturday, Jan. 14, at the first Brandon Area Food Truck Rally.

Nor were they put off by the lack of accommodations at the site. Hungry residents ate their meals standing up or sitting on blankets or bare ground around the Winthrop Town Center Pole Barn on Bloomingdale Avenue.

"It wouldn't be a food truck rally if you didn't have to stand up and eat," said Brenda Carley, who traveled from Apollo Beach after seeing a report about the rally on television. "I've never been to one and always wanted to try it. I'm psyched. I just can't decide what to eat."

The rally was organized by Tasting Tampa, the popular food blog.

Cristy Alvarez of Riverview who brought her son, Eli, to the event, was also undecided as she looked over the menus displayed by the various food truck vendors parked in a circle.

"I heard about this on the Internet and I've never been so I decided to come out," said Alvarez. "So far, all we've tried are the fruit smoothies, and they were great."

Heidi Capozza of Bloomingdale had been anxious to try the food of Lettuce Eat Healthy after reading about it in a vegetarian magazine. All of the food served at the hotdog cart is vegetarian.

Capozza finally settled on the vegetarian Italian sausage sandwich, declaring it "excellent! It was well worth the wait."

Voted one of the Bay area's top 10 new food trucks, Lettuce Eat Healthy owner, Jim Janolek, who operates out of St. Petersburg, said, like a lot of food truck vendors, he fell into food trucks as a second career.

Janolek was previously in real estate.

"I was constantly stressed and ended up having a stroke in my eye," he said. "That was my wake-up call. I decided to walk the Appalachian Trail and, while there, I came across a concession truck. The guy actually had veggie burgers. I was in heaven, and I decided right then to launch my own business."

That was a little over a year ago.

"It's the best thing I ever did in my life," said Janolek. "I needed a niche market so I decided to serve vegetarian and vegan foods. I've got a great regular crowd in St. Petersburg."

Jorge Sanz of Seffner was on hand with Gator Games, his mobile arcade. This was his first truck rally.

"I decided to offer the kids something to do while the parents are eating," said Sanz. "I'm selling wristbands for five bucks."

He also took the opportunity to sample the fare. "I just had a crab empanada from Mr. Empanada. It was fantastic."

Lynne Walther of Bloomingdale was anxious to try Jimmy Meatballs fare and was willing to stand in a long line for the privilege.

"I'm in no hurry," she said. "I'm just spending the day hanging out with the girls and thought this would be a fun thing to do."

Brad Lanigan brought his family all the way from Ruskin after seeing the food truck rally publicized online.

"The food's really good," he said. "I had a Monte Cristo sandwich from Wicked Wiches and now we're trying Just Smokin' BBQ."

Melissa Allen of Valrico raved about the mahi tacos at Keep ’N It Reel and the Gorilla Balls at Fire Monkey, a ball-shaped dish that included risotto, cheese and meat.

"The food at Fire Monkey was outrageous," she said.

Autumn Schneider of Riverview was on the way to her vet with her pet macaw, Max, when she spotted the food truck rally in progress. She said she couldn't resist stopping to sample the fare.

"I had some barbecue and a lettuce wrap, which was awesome," she said. "This is really neat and it's a great spot to have it. They should do this every week."

Food trucks available at Riverview's first rally included:

• Lettuce Eat Healthy
• American Wiener
• Cafe Rouge Express
• Fruit Smoothies
• Gone Bananas
• Fire Monkey
• Jimmy Meatballs
• Just Smokin’ BBQ
• Keep ’N It Reel
• Michelle-Faedos-On-The-Go
• Mr. Empanada Mobile
• Stinky Bunz
• This N That
• Two Asians & A Grill
• Wicked Wiches
• Dochos Hot Off the Press

Which food did you try? What did you think of the area's first food truck rally? Tell us about it in "Comments."