On Oct. 27, D.C. food trucks will collect at M St. NW, along with plenty of live music, free games, and an outdoor beer and wine bar.
The DMV Food Truck Association is putting together their annual Curbside Cookoff food truck festival for 2017, and it appears to be shaping up to be their best event yet. Ten fierce competitors – Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. food trucks – will offer festivalgoers the chance to snack on some of the best fast-food available in the region, all the while struggling to serve up the top dish. At the end of the night, the Golden Spatula will be awarded to the truck that presented the best food of the year. WHEN: Friday, Oct. 27 | 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. WHERE: 425 M St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20024
Established in 2010, the same year as the inaugural Curbside Cookoff, the DMV Food Truck Association is a trade association founded by 17 food truck owner-operators in the region. This group originally came together to successfully defeat the moratorium the D.C. government had previously levied on food trucks. Five years later, they successfully defeated a statewide ban on food trucks on public streets in Virginia, and they are currently tackling moratoriums in the city of Alexandria and Prince George’s County, Maryland.
While the DMVFTA continues the fight for cheaper, more accessible food across the region, they also provide food trucks with an indispensable resource for vending locations, corporate sponsorships, and catering opportunities like the Curbside Cookoff. This festival is without a doubt their biggest regular event, as D.C. food trucks become more popular and more prevalent with each passing year. Because DMVFTA vendors must register with the organization and meet their standards of practice, Cookoff attendees are guaranteed to have a top-notch culinary experience. This is a far stretch from the risky street food of generations past.
There are two options when it comes to securing attendance to the Curbside Cookoff, both available here:
- Purchase an admission pass that comes with a set number of food and drink tickets to exchange with the food trucks
- Sign up for a free entry pass, paying for food and drinks with standard currency at each vendor
If the admission passes are beyond your price range, it’s free to register for attendance and nose around the festival, purchasing anything that strikes your fancy with reliable cash. Keep in mind, though, that all drink tickets are valid for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, so these can help get you through the lines faster (no, festivalgoers, not every food establishment in D.C. has a Square reader yet).
Whether you’re attending as part of a group or looking to poke around the festival on your own, be sure to act quickly – ticket purchases and admission signups close on Oct. 13. The list of food trucks included in this year’s Curbside Cookoff will be announced soon.
Have you attended a Curbside Cookoff in previous years? Is there a food truck in the city that you think deserves the Golden Spatula? Tell us in the comments below!
