40 food trucks compete at Great NYS Fair

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — How about a slice of German pizza with a side of taco fries? Maybe a bacon jalapeno macaroni and cheese fritter? Or how about a root beer float or blueberry sorbetto for dessert? These and many other creative offerings will be the stars of the expanded 2017 Taste NY Food Truck Competition. Forty food trucks from across the state—20 per day—will ring Chevy Court from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, September 2 and 3, cooking entrees using products made or grown in New York State.

Acting Fair Director Troy Waffner said, “We’ve expanded the competition into a two-day event so many more fairgoers can experience the diversity of food grown and produced in New York State. There’s a food truck for everyone, whether you’re a meatball lover or have a sweet tooth for ice cream.”

The following participants will compete on September 2:

Midnight Smokin BBQ of Rochester- Smoked Chicken Wings
Wolf’s Patio Pizza of Liverpool- German Pizza
Cruisin Cones of Camillus- Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich
Lady Bug Lunch Box of Syracuse- Spicy Popeye Grilled Cheese
Via Napoli Express of Liverpool- Esposito Pizza
The Good Truck of Ithaca- Pork Taco
Hofmann Sausage of Syracuse- Beer Bratwurst
Tonzi’s Catering Company of Auburn- Bacon Jalapeno Macaroni and Cheese Fritter
Hill Top BBQ of Johnson City- Pulled Pork Slider
Café 119 of Syracuse- Lemon Zinger
Stewart’s Root Beer Mobile Restaurant of Sidney- Stewart’s Root Beer Float
The Bite Box of Syracuse- Sweet Chili Chicken Slider
Cheesed and Confused of Geneseo- Pork & Mac Grilled Cheese Slider
Limp Lizard of Syracuse- Pulled Turkey Slider
Crunch Roll Factory of Buffalo- Buffalo Chicken Crunch Roll
Pascarella’s of Syracuse- Panzerotti
The Silo Truck of Ithaca- New York State Silo (Not So Hott) Fried Chicken
Let’s Roll Gourmet of Oswego- NY Apple Cheesecake Eggroll
The Louisiana Cookery of Buffalo- Shrimp and Grits
Chef’s Catering of Rochester- BBQ Pulled Pork Fries

The following participants will compete on September 3:

Mo’s Pit BBQ of Syracuse- Corn on the Cob
Shattuck’s Paddy Wagon of Liverpool- Falafel Tots
Toss ‘n’ Fire Wood Fired Pizza of Brewerton- Cuse Salt Potato Pizza
Bob’s Barker of Cicero- Bacon Cheese Hot Dog
The Chicken Bandit of Cicero- Korean BBQ Chicken Taco
Ponchito’s Taqueria of Syracuse- Smothered Nachos
Rob’s Kabobs of Rochester- Sweet Hot BBQ Chicken Kabob
Global Taco of Watkins Glen- Korean Taco
Come Fry With Me of Rome- Taco Fries
Sarita’s of Rome- Tomato Basil Fresh Mozzarella Empanada
Smoothies Plus of Rochester- Mango and Pineapple Smoothie
Cue-Dogs of Syracuse- Cheese Fries
The Cremeria of Syracuse- Blueberry Sorbetto
The Meatball Truck of Rochester- Meatball in a Cup
PB & J’s Lunchbox of Syracuse- Spinach and Artichoke Dip Grilled Cheese
That’s What’s Up of Syracuse- Smashed Potatoes
Gabriella’s Farm to Fork of Dryden- Fried Chicken Cobb Salad
Macarollin of Rochester- Surf & Turf Macaroni and Cheese
Salt City Truck of Syracuse- Pork Taco
Birdsong Café of Syracuse- Lavender Lemonade with Kiwi Bubbles

Fairgoers can purchase $3 samples of the entrees and vote for their favorites. These votes will be tallied for the People’s Choice award, chosen each day. A panel of food industry experts will sample entrées to declare a Judges’ Choice winner each day. In addition, new this year, the New York Beef Council will recognize one of the 40 competing trucks for “Best Use of Beef Products.”

The judges for the competition are:

Andrew Donovan of NewsChannel 9
Thomas Kiernan, executive chef for the Marriott Syracuse Downtown
Chance Bear, executive chef for the Lincklaen House
Margaret McCormick, food writer for the Syracuse New Times
Representatives from the New York Beef Council and Aldi

The competition is sponsored by Taste NY and Aldi.

Last year, 17 food trucks competed in the competition. Over 2,500 fairgoers voted for the People’s Choice award. The Meatball Truck’s Meatball Cup won the People’s Choice award and The Silo Truck’s Telekinetic Fried Chicken won the Judges’ Choice award.

Sara Caldwell, owner of Global Taco of Watkins Glen said, “We see the Fair as a great opportunity not only to serve thousands of people we might not normally meet, but also to check out what other food trucks in the region are cooking. We’ll be serving the Korean Taco this year, with shredded beef from Van Galder Farm in Alpine and Wixsom Farm in Mecklenburg, lettuce, cilantro, and green onion from Plowbreak Farm in Burdett, kimchi from FLX Wienery, and our own sweet chili sauce.”

Nick Sanford, owner of Toss ‘n’ Fire of Brewerton, said, “Toss ‘n’ Fire is thrilled to return to the food truck competition for our third year. We will be featuring our ‘Cuse Salt Potato Pizza with smashed Hinerwadel salt potatoes, mozzarella, cheddar and applewood smoked bacon. Our pizzas bake in just 90 seconds inside a 1000 degree imported wood-fired oven.”

Peter Causyn, president of Macarollin of Rochester, said, “Macarollin is proud to participate in the long-standing tradition of the Fair. We hope to meet as many people as possible during this year’s competition.”

Michael Tonzi, owner of Tonzi’s Catering Company of Auburn, said, “My wife and I have gone to the Food Truck Competition since it started and have always enjoyed it. We operate our catering business part-time and figured we’d give it a try this year. It’s exciting to be part of the Fair and we look forward to the competition.”

Ron Colangelo, owner of Come Fry With Me of Rome, said, “This is our second year at the competition. The Fair is attractive to us because it’s a day to spend with family and other people you care about, and it’s the last big ‘hoorah’ of the summer. We don’t normally do a lot in the Syracuse market, so it’s a great opportunity for us. Last year was our first time competing so we didn’t know what to expect, but we had a great turnout and are looking forward to another successful year.”

The New York State Fair, operated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August 23 to September 4, 2017. The Fair’s mission, reflected in its theme, “FIND YOUR GREAT,” is to showcase the best of New York agriculture while providing top-quality entertainment.

The home of the Great New York State Fair is a 375-acre exhibit and entertainment complex that operates all year. A year-round schedule of events is available on the Fair’s website. Find The Great New York State Fair on Facebook, follow @NYSFair on Twitter, on Snapchat at nysfair and enjoy photos from the Fair at Flickr.com/photos/nysfair. Also, New Yorkers are invited to send their ideas for the Great New York State Fair at statefairideas@agriculture.ny.gov.

–NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets

For more articles out of New York, click here.

40 food trucks compete at Great NYS Fair

Food trucks from across the state will use local ingredients in competition

Spread the word

Browse More Clips

MORNING AG CLIPS

CONNECT WITH US

TRACK YOUR TRADE

QUICK LINKS

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES