While Thanksgiving might be the official “great food” holiday, Halloween kicks off the season of abundance with tons of candy and more pumpkin-spiced treats than anyone knows what to do with. Instead of the usual trick or treating on Oct. 31, downtown Garner hosted an event called the Trick or Eat Food Truck Rodeo on Oct. 22.
During Trick or Eat, a multitude of local food trucks amassed on Main Street. The public was able to walk along the railroad tracks and try food from any of these food trucks while listening to live music performed by local artists. There wasn’t any “official” trick or treating during this event, but people were still welcome to come in costume and I saw at least one man handing out candy to kids at the event.
According to Trick or Eat’s Facebook page, this was their 4th year putting on this event, and it was their biggest yet with 14 food trucks and 3 craft breweries participating. The selection of food trucks included Cousins Maine Lobster, Curry In A Hurry Truck, American Meltdown, Gussy’s Greek Street Food, Tacos Las Gringas, Two Roosters Ice Cream, Dusty Donuts, Cockadoodlemoo Truck, Wandering Moose, King’s Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks, STUFT, Hibachi Xpress, Bam Pow Chow, and Barone Meatball Company.
I attended this event with my family, and we ended up buying food from several trucks, most notably the Wandering Moose and Dusty Donuts. The Wandering Moose had many hearty, meaty dishes such as the Smokey Bacon Mac N Cheese which had whole cubes of crispy bacon and the Moose Cubano, a pressed Ciabatta sandwich with slow roasted pork, bacon, melted Swiss/American cheese, Gulden’s mustard, and pickles. As a self-proclaimed bacon-fanatic, I can tell you that these two dishes were absolutely delicious.
However, the true star food of the day for me had to be from Dusty Donuts. Everyone loves hot, fresh donuts, but Dusty Donuts does you one better with mini-donuts dusted in cinnamon sugar. Donuts can also be ordered with various toppings such as strawberries, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and caramel, white, or dark chocolate sauce. They even had pumpkin spiced donuts drizzled in butterscotch for the fall season. Dusty Donuts actually visited William Peace for Student Showcase in 2016, which is when I was first able to sample their food, and the second time did not at all disappoint.
Trick or Eat is a wonderful fall event for downtown Garner, attracting larger crowds every year and bringing some life to the small shops along Main street. In a News and Observer article titled “‘Trick or Eat’ Food Truck Rodeo expected to bring out thousands again”, downtown development manager Mari Howe said, “Downtown Garner doesn’t currently have any restaurants, in the business district. One of the ways we have been trying to improve downtown is with events like this that bring alternative restaurant opportunities so people can have a place to eat.” All in all, the Trick or Eat Food Truck Rodeo is a great event for students and families alike, and I would highly recommend attending this event next fall.