SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Food trucks from all over New York State competed for prizes and honors at the Great New York State Fair’s fourth annual Taste NY Food Truck Competition, and when the judging and vote counting was done, creative twist on sliders, grilled cheese, tacos and barbecue earned the top prizes.
On Saturday, Lady Bug Lunch Box Food Truck of Syracuse took home top prize in the People’s Choice award for its mushroom steak slider. Roc City Sammich earned second place among fairgoers for its Southwest buttermilk fried chicken breast slider. A panel of judges voted the apple bacon cheddar grilled cheese made by Geneseo Food Truck, Cheesed and Confused, as number one.
On Sunday, a jerk pork taco, from Binghamton restauranteur, Pinkie’s BBQ, won top honors among critics on Sunday, while hometown great Toss n’ Fire’s hot honey pizza, earned the top prize from fairgoers. Tonzi’s catering from Auburn earned second place for chicken wing meatballs.
New York State Fair Director Troy Waffner said, “So much of the Fair is about the delicious food from New York State’s best restaurants and food trucks. People love the food truck competition and it’s one of our best events. Congratulations to our winners and to all of the participants, who made some of the most unique dishes I’ve seen. We look forward to continuing this tradition next year.”
Thirty-five food trucks from Upstate New York competed in the two-day event. Truck chefs submitted their best, most creative entrée for judging, using primarily New York State products. Trucks made samples of their chosen entrée available to fairgoers for $3. Fairgoers, who showed up in record numbers, then voted on which entrée they liked best.
This year’s fair smashed previous attendance records with 1.27 million visitors by the time it closed on Monday night.
The daily winners of the People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice awards received a $1,000 gift card to Aldi’s. The People’s Choice runner-up received portable generators.
Taste NY and ALDI sponsored the event. Taste NY is Governor Cuomo’s initiative, created in 2013, to promote the best agricultural products grown and made in New York State.
The New York State Fair, operated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August 21 to September 2, 2019. 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.
–NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
For more articles out of New York, click here.