Event Review: OC Foodie Fest 2011

Written and photos by:  Kirby Quinto
Over the weekend a small group of us local import car owners were invited to a sure fire hit in Orange County called the OC Foodie Fest.  This event was the rally of the best of the best food trucks in Southern California.  The Foodie Fest is hyped up to be an astronomical huge hit of a show per radio announcements.  With live bands, hundreds of So Cal’s finest food trucks, beer gardens, giveaways, and a mass number of people to sell out the event fast.  This year’s event was also said to pass up the attendance from last year’s Foodie Fest that was located at the smaller venue of Honda Center.  

The event started out way too early for me.  I was up till 1 am to wake up at 5.  While my car is currently out of commission, I tagged along with my good friends and team mates Tim Baxter and Ian Tillery.  The event roll in began at 7 am.  There, we met with our event organizer and planner Jason Eshelman.  When we got there the event area was massive!  The Food Fest staff then guided us to our area under the “Big A”.  As the morning passed, our friends started showing up to display their amazing builds.  Man, did these guys turn heads rolling in!  

The event started in 2 different time periods.  The first wave of guests to the event were the VIP guests.  These people had the first crack at the food trucks, received extra swag, and other free amenities.  The 2nd group was the general public and their entry time was 12 noon.  During that time, there was a huge and I mean HUGE line.  The event looked really promising and appeared that the OC Foodie Fest was going to live up to its name and pass up last year’s event at Honda Center.  

Now as the day progressed and the Southern California heat wave started to make its appearance, shade seemed to be the area most sought after other than Dos Chinos and The Boba Truck.  Sure the event area was massive, but other than the VIP tent area that was closed off, the only shade available to everyone was under the Big A where our show cars were being displayed.  At first we loved it because everyone was there cooling off under the misters, but then more and more people came to our little sanctuary.  This is where the event takes the turn that hurt them really bad.  As soon as the massive line at the gate all got in, that was pretty much it.  Once people got in, they went about their way to get to the truck of their choice.  With the heat against the event, people left after they ate.  Not taking into consideration of the local bands that made an appearance or the independent boutiques that joined in.  Not being able to bring in water during a rare So Cal heat wave kind of bothered me.  Do they understand the liability that comes with people w/ heat exhaustion?  I guess not.  Trying to capitalize on not being able to bring a bottled water only to charge $3 per 16 ounce bottle was outrageous.  A couple of our buddies wanted to join us there later in the day, but to find out Angel Stadium was charging their parking fee.  So now you have parking to pay for at the amount of $10, then your entrance to Foodie Fest, and then pay for your food and drinks inside.  That would make me turn around and just catch these guys on their Twitter or at a free rally.  


The main highlight our friends enjoyed was the compliments we received from the guests of the OC Foodie Fest on our import cars.  It is still very rare to get complimented by the average Joe or Jane, so we really appreciate all the props on the hard work on our custom builds.  You guys that all stopped by and took the time to view our display made our day well worth it and we hope you guys will take the time soon to join us on any future import car events.  We are not all racers like the movies present.

My personal favorite that day is of course Dos Chinos.  I also tried the OC Food Truck.  Their Carnivore Fries are to die for!  I actually had 2 servings of that and yes my heart stopped twice.  LOL.  Next Tim, Ian, and myself raided The Boba Truck.  These kids were quicker than the ones at an actual boba shop.  They had an amazing mocha milk tea.  Good job guys.  All in all the event to me and my group was okay.  It did not live up to its hype and more than a few guests left in disappointment.  Hopefully if there is 1 next year they will take into account of the mishaps of the last OC Foodie Fest at Angel Stadium.  

Thank you to  Nilo Miranda, Bert and Noel Barnum, Jason, Ian, Omar, Darwin, Thomas, George, and Casey  for joining me for the day of mayhem, drama, and a hell of a lot of laughs.   Most of all thank you Jason Eshelman and his wife Debbie for allowing us to join in on the festivities.  Hope to see you all real soon.  


BTW, at the end of the day majority of us became sponsored by Aquafina, Pepsi, and Jarritos.  *wink

*more pics to be added 8/30/11