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August 2014

Food trucks + beer = happiness : my review of the "Truck"erton Food Truck & Beer Festival

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Saturday was a glorious day.  The weather was perfect.  The birds were chirping.  And I knew I would be heading over to the Tuckerton Seaport in a few hours to eat tons of great food and drink tons of great beer.  (Yes, I said tons.  Hey...it was Saturday.) 

The First Annual "Truck"erton Food Truck and Beer Festival went off without a hitch and I was so glad to be right smack dab in the middle of it all sipping some brews and listening to some tunes with a big fat pork belly sandwich in my gullet.

Truckerton collage

Now, let me give you a little backstory before I get into my shpeal about the festival itself.  

I have been living in Little Egg Harbor (which shares the same zip code as Tuckerton) for about 15 years now.  I was here when the Seaport wasn't.  I have enjoyed watching the transformation from their beginning stages to the beautiful, informative and wonderful place it has become.  I purchase a family membership every year for $40 which gets me, my husband and my two kids in as much as we want for the entire year.  We ride our bikes over at least every week or so to climb the lighthouse or play a quick round of miniature golf.  And on several occasions, we stop by our friends' the Harts restaurant Shorty's for some seriously awesome barbeque.

But Saturday was all about the food trucks.  

Here is info on all the trucks that were present.  I put astericks next to the trucks that we visited and sampled:

1 Potato Two. . . :  Home of the spudwich where they use a full potato as a "roll" for your sandwich!

 Ahh La Cart:  More than just a hot dog truck, Ahh La Cart serves up the area’s finest street foods made with vegetables fresh from the farm and breads that are baked fresh daily.

Tatostix

Cajun Jax: Alligator legs are just the beginning of this eclectic menu

Chillin’ Out:  Fun frozen novelties and creamy soft serve ice cream

The Cow & The Curd:  Award-winning food truck that specializes in Wisconsin Battered Fried Cheese Curds.  And yes we have a great selection of beers to go with that! Honors include Philly Magazine’s Best of Philly Food Truck, Philly Vendy Awards People’s Taste Award, Jersey Shore’s Food Truck Wars Guiltiest Pleasure Award

*Five Sisters: French-inspired Duck Confit with House Made Cheese Curd over Fresh Cut Fries, Gourmet Egg Rolls, Whiskey Tango Twist on a Pub Burger, Aloha Teriyaki Turkey Burger with Pineapple, Bacon, and Onion Rings, & Fat Sandwiches.  We ordered pork belly sliders with asian cole slaw, the Fat Philly sandwich (chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fries and cheesesteak all on a roll) and some Pig Fries (fries loaded with pulled pork and bbq sauce).  When I bit into my pork belly sandwich, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  It was so delicious.  That was my husband's second time ordering a Fat Philly, so you KNOW it was good.  And the kids devoured the pig fries before I got to sample more than a couple.

Pork belly

*Kevin’s Salad Station:  Jersey Fresh home grown specialties featuring the best of the Garden State. My kids were craving some smoothies, so we got a strawberry banana one and a mixed berry one.  You could taste each individual fruit within these fresh concoctions.  Again, they were gone before I had a chance at more than one sip apiece!  Smoothies

Oink & Moo BBQ:  Mouth-watering BBQ inspired by pit masters throughout the South such as barbecued brisket, pulled pork, and ribs.  Meats are smoked low and slow over distinctive hickory, cherry, and apple woods right on the truck

*Waffle De Lys:  Unique waffle cart serving up authentic Belgian waffles and savory waffles.  Try the Belgian waffles made with pearl sugar lightly caramelized on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.  Many of their toppings are imported from France such as salted caramel sauce, raspberry and mango fruit coulis, caramelized hazelnut crumbs, and chestnut spreads. My daughter opted for a waffle with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  From looking at the traces left on my son's mouth, I think he ordered the waffle bowl with ice cream and chocolate sauce.  But he was too quick and his mouth was too full when I asked him, so he couldn't answer me.

Zinna’s Bistro:  Serving up home-made Italian specialties with produce grown in their own garden and one of the most extensive menus of any food truck

And did I mention there was beer?  Because there was.  And guess what...

We like beer

That's my friend Kate & I with a few "samplings":

3 Beards Beer Company had three beers to offer up and they were all very, very good.  I was partial to their Lumberjack black lager.  I would enjoy kicking back with a few of those around a nice fire on a cool autumn night.

I also tried River Horse Brewery's Hop Hazard American Pale Ale and Tripel Horse both of which were delicious!  The Hop Hazard was my cup of tea, ...er, beer...with its lighter coloring and taste.  My husband enjoys darker beers, so the Tripel Horse was better suited for him.

And I waited until I had tried the others to visit my favorite local brewery the Pinelands Brewing Co.  I sucked down 1 or 2 (OK, 3) of their Mason's Wheat beer which had a refreshing lemon flavor.  Perfect for the hot summer day!  (I actually tried this one before so I knew I was going to love it).

Valenzano Winery was also there offering many of their gorgeous wines by the bottle.  I didn't have any on Saturday, but have had Valenzano wines on MANY occasions... LOVE the Shamong Red!

I loved everything about this event.  Sitting in a lawn chair with good food, drinks and great music from a great band like the Billy Walton Band playing in the background is my ideal summer day.  I am already looking forward to next year to do it all again!  

When talking amongst my friends, we thought that one thing that could make next year's event even better would be some sort of competition... maybe each truck could put up their signature dish for rating and the winner gets a trophy or something.  I think that would be fun!

But we will of course be visiting the Tuckerton Seaport many times before to enjoy the sites, learn some things about the town we live in, and participate in their many upcoming events like:

  • - FREE Friday night concerts all summer long
  • - Maritime Heritage festival including classic and antique boat show- Sept 6&7
  • - 32nd Annual Ocean County Decoy & Gunning Show- Sept 27&28

Not to mention all the wonderful exhibits and activities for everyone in the family.

Whether you live close by or are traveling from far off lands (like all my blogger friends from Philly did!) you won't be disappointed with the Tuckerton Seaport.

By the way, check out my friends' reviews of the "Truck"erton Food Truck & Beer Festival on the following blogs:

 We're Parents?!

Princess Among Superheroes

A Grande Life

Real Mom Media

Real: The Kitchen and Beyond

Momma Lew's Blog

There's No Wine in Mom

Jersey Family Fun

Vegging at the Shore

 

**This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Tuckerton Seaport.  This program is in partnership with Real Mom Media (www.RealMomMedia.com).  All opinions are my own.**


Garden fresh bruschetta AKA: I have WAY too many tomatoes so I need to make good use of them

It's summer in New Jersey which means there is a bounty of my favorite summertime food - Jersey tomatoes - just overflowing with goodness all across the land.  

...and all across my kitchen counter.

... and table.

... and I think I just spotted some more trying to creep in the back slider. 

While none of us have had our fill of tomato sandwiches just yet, it's time to start thinking of ways to use up those plump red beauties before they attract flies.  There are so many awesome ways to use tomatoes.  Today I will focus on one way in particular.  Bruschetta.

Bruschetta may be my favorite tomato based food out there.  I love it however you give it to me.  But my favorite way to eat it is when it has full pieces of tomato (skins, seeds and all), chunks of fresh mozzarella and ribbons of fresh basil throughout.  Here's my recipe: 10487223_675868425838385_9110381649323562109_n

Garden fresh bruschetta

  • 3 ripe Jersey tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup diced white onion
  • 1 clove smashed garlic
  • 1/2-1 cup cubed fresh mozzarella 
  • 10 basil leaves cut into ribbons
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 tsp white vinegar
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • crusty bread sliced and toasted or cucumber slices

Mix the tomatoes, onion, garlic and mozzarella in a bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients (except the bread and cucumbers) and lightly mix together.  Put in a lidded container and refrigerate about 2 hours stirring occasionally.  Take it out of the fridge about 1/2 hour before you want to serve it so that it is not super cold.  Dollop about 2 Tbsps on a piece of crusty bread or a cucumber slice and enjoy!