Inaugural Street Fare Derby Even Bigger Than Expected

By any measure, Saturday's Street Fare Derby was a massive success. Lines were long but the weather was pleasant and the beer was plentiful. We asked one one of the good folks from Geaux Plates if it was busier than expected, and they responded with something along the lines of "Hellz yeah." Just last week, they were told to expect to fill 500-600 orders. That estimate was upped to 1100 Friday night, and they ended up filling more than 1200 tickets. Doing the (very simple) math, that's more than twice the business they initially expected.

At the end of the event, we asked organizer Erica Correa the same question, and she responded with a breathless, "Oh my god, yes."

One of the downsides to this was that trucks and stands sold out quickly?for example, the Burrito Juke Joint had closed for good by the time we even got there?making it difficult to sample everything. Some of the highlights, though, included the parmesan and truffle oil fries from Lola Deux, the bacon and cheddar crêpe from Crêpes à la Carte, and the whatever-that-corn-thing-was from Baru. Folks trying to get away from the crowds could go inside and jam out to Papa Grows Funk and Kermit Ruffins (shown in the photo above), or they could just wander away from the food trucks and watch the horse races.

All in all, it was a great day of eating, drinking, and hanging out. But don't take our word for it:

Kevin Allman at The Gambit enjoyed it, too, writing, "There was some grousing about a cover charge and a few trucks ran out of dishes early ? which seems to happen at every food festival in this city. But it was a great day to eat street food, hear some music and watch a few races." [Gambit]

WWL has a couple handfuls of photos from the Derby. [WWL]

And the Times-Pic has the final word on the number of entry tickets sold (3,000) and the reason for putting the music inside (it might spook the horses). And notably: "And just as New Orleans' restaurants are world renowned for the quality and creativity of their cuisine, so the city's food trucks set high culinary standards, fans said." [TP]

· All Street Fare Derby Coverage on Eater NOLA [-ENOLA-]