The Haute Wheels food truck festival returned this weekend with new entertainment, new trucks and a whole new day of edible festivities.
For the first time in its existence, the festival kicked off on Friday evening with a special "Truck or Treat" event for folks 21 and up featuring a DJ, a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, booze and, of course, some of Houston's favorite food trucks.
We headed out to the festival on Friday night to give you a sense of what to expect from the crowd, the venue and, of course, the delicious trucks.
First off, unless you get there right when the event opens, parking might be a challenge. The festival is held at the Houston Community College West Loop campus, which seems to have plenty of space, but it fills up fast. Carpool if you can, or ride the Wave shuttle from 1525 Silver Street.
Not all of the participating trucks were at the Friday evening event, but those that were provided more than enough food for hungry eaters, many of them dressed in Halloween finery for the costume contest. Beer and wine were also readily available, and I was pleased to see a strong showing from local Houston breweries. Also, the alcohol is not outrageously expensive. Woooo!
But if you still need more convincing, here are five scrumptious reasons to check out Haute Wheels:
5. Cupcakes on a Stick from Zeapod Cakery When I read the banner "Cupcakes on a Stick" flying above the Zeapod truck, I pictured something top-heavy and unruly, constantly at risk of toppling right off a spindly wooden dowel. I was way off. Zeapod utilizes unique plastic push-pop-type containers in which layers of cake and icing are stuffed like a parfait. Pop off the top, munch on some cake and icing, then use the little stick to push up more cakey goodness right into your mouth. It's far less messy and far less likely to fall on the ground than a regular cupcake impaled with a stick. I recommend the whiskey carrot cake and the orange creme.
4. Yucatan Bowl from Bare Bowls Kitchen Somehow Bare Bowls has managed to fly under my radar, but no longer. I officially have a new favorite lunchtime treat (if I can track down that rascally truck)! While all of the rice, meat and veggie bowls at Bare Bowls sound great, I instantly fell in love with the Yucatan Bowl, which features banana leaf-roasted pork, braised cabbage, pickled red onions, cotija cheese and fresh cilantro on top of locally sourced brown rice. The pork falls apart with a slight tug from a fork, and the combined flavors of the other ingredients are truly something you could imagine munching on on the Yucatan Peninsula. I also love that Bare Bowls emphasizes food from local farms that hasn't been tarnished by preservatives or other chemicals. Just fast, fresh and healthy.