It’s not too terribly often that we see national TV production crews here in Northwest Arkansas. Lucky us, then, when the news started to spread that The Food Network was coming to town!
You could almost hear the squeals of joy from foodies miles around when all reports seemed to point to a multi-day food truck extravaganza in Fayetteville, AR. In our house, plans were made to venture south for the Saturday morning farmers market and a brush with TV greatness.
There were five trucks left in the race for the stop: Pop-A-Waffle, Seoul Sausage Co., Nonna’s Kitchenette, Mama’s Grizzly Grub, and Coast of Atlanta. Four of the five were set up within pretty close proximity of one another on the square. The fifth was nowhere to be seen (we finally caught a glimpse of them in a parking lot on our way out of town). So… we cruised the four we could – looking for menus and trying to judge the lengths and speed of the lines.
We decided to split up so that we could try food from two different trucks without standing in line for two hours. I took Pop-A-Waffle and my husband took Seoul Sausage. And then… we waited. And… waited.
My chicken & waffle experience was about 30 minutes from the time I hit the line until the time I received my order. Walked over to the Seoul Sausage truck and proceeded to wait another 20 minutes in line with my husband (needless to say our chicken & waffle got cold as we continued to wait).
Once we had our food, we found a shady stoop to sit on and divvied up the goods. The chicken & waffle from Pop-A-Waffle – even cold – was pretty great. I’m really not sure the last time I had a fried chicken leg, but the crispy breading rocked. Better than that, I loved, loved, loved the flavor of the waffle and was quickly wishing for more. Luckily… there was more food truck fare to distract me!
The flaming hot rice balls from Seoul Sausage were gooooooood. Crunchy on the outside with lots of good things (including kimchi) going on inside. And that sauce drizzled over the top? Could I have a vat of that, please?
Overall, it was a great experience and I’m so happy that The Food Network brought the tour to town. We’ve got some great local food trucks, but it’s nice to get to try something that you wouldn’t normally have access to. And I’d be lying if I said this didn’t have me dreaming all over again about opening up my own. 
If these guys come to your town, I highly recommend you get out and enjoy the experience!
