Seize the Donut

Have you ever been to a Food Truck Rodeo? I didn't even know such a thing existed until recently. I mean, I knew food trucks were a thing in some of the larger metropolitan areas, mostly thanks to the now cancelled Happy Endings where one of the main characters had a food truck called "Steak Me Home Tonight", specializing in steak sandwiches. Sorry about the run-on sentence there.

Today I got to experience my very first Food Truck Rodeo. Sadly, no food trucks rode bulls. Also, no cowboys rode bucking food trucks. Nothing got roped or hog-tied. Apparently, this kind of rodeo is just a gathering of several food trucks and people roam up and down the street sampling each of the vendors. It was kind of amazing.

This is the early view from one end of the road.

There were many options to choose from. And I'll try to remember each of them in order... At the end of the street where I began, there was Carpe Donut. A friend of mine suggested that I try their donuts and critique them right here on Carp Dime. I tried their donuts. But, wait for it...

Next to the donut truck was Homestead Creamery, offering ice cream. Then there was the Noke Truck, Baum's BBQ, Toasted by Casey, and Rock & Roll Diner. I think there was a Benjamin's Franks somewhere in there, too. There were also a couple of breweries set up along with Attimo Winery.

Those were the facts. Here are the opinions...

I met some friends there and we did the initial walk, taking in the different trucks that had set up shop along Main Street. Our first wait in line was for fish tacos from Rock & Roll Diner. Viktor and Jamie split an order of these. I didn't get anything from this truck because, at the time, I wasn't quite hungry yet and I kind of had my heard set on a grilled cheese sandwich.

Jamie and Viktor before digging in.

Lucky for me, Toasted by Casey was right next to Rock & Roll Diner. That was the next line we stood in. And we waited quite a while. I'd say it was a little more than half an hour. And it was definitely worth the wait. A grilled cheese sandwich sounds like such a simple thing, but there are so many little touches you can add to enhance that simple thing. The cheese was warm and gooey. The bacon (that's right... bacon) was crisp. The bread was thick, golden and buttery without being so greasy that my hands felt disgusting as I ate. Pretty dang good.

Totally worth waiting for half an hour...

After this I split a dozen donuts from Carpe Donut with Viktor and Jamie. My critique? They were amazing. The donuts were freshly cooked as they were ordered. And while they were still hot, they were dipped in sugar and cinnamon. Carpe Donut gets the Carp Dime seal of approval. So does Toasted by Casey.

I checked and it's not a copyright infringement. They put an 'e' at the end of their 'Carp'.

And they're organic. So that means they're good for you.

BTW, at the Toasted by Casey truck, I ran into a fellow Bluefield College alum. I'm sorry to say I didn't catch her name. She recognized my patented Bluefield College sunglasses and identified me as a Ram. She apparently graduated recently and is now an admissions counselor at our alma mater. It's nice to make those random connections in the real world every now and then.

After Viktor and Jamie bailed, I stuck around to hang out with Sarah, Alison and Kara as they finished out their wait at Toasted by Casey. Sarah got the Triple Threat (at least I think that's what it was called). It was a grilled cheese with mozzarella sticks between the bread. It looked pretty amazing.

I tried to get a shot where the cheese was still hanging from her mouth, but I wasn't quick enough with my phone.

I followed the ladies over for my second trip to the Carpe Donut truck. Though I refrained from getting more of their deep fried goodness. But I did partake of Homestead Creamery's vanilla ice cream. It reminded me a lot of the ice cream they used to serve us in elementary school. You know, the kind in the little plastic cup that you had to eat with a wooden spatula. Delicious nostalgia...

What else can I say about this Food Truck Rodeo? It's a brilliant idea. I'd love it if Christiansburg would hold this thing more often. I don't mind telling you, I ate a little more than I probably should have. But I still didn't get a chance to try it all. That's why I need this to happen more often. You guys work on that problem. I'm gonna go eat another donut.