Charleston has turned into a food truck haven this summer between the weekly levee events and the Regatta festival. Let's take a look!

A Taste of N'Awlins - really good mac & cheese, plus some high quality jambalaya







Bayou Classic - jambalaya and an armadillo egg that had my mouth on fire. But I liked it enought to keep eating.





The Cake Corner - a cake shake! With a real hunk of birthday cake. Fun and whimsical







C&L Concessions - straightforward corn dog here. I wish there was some like honey mustard that comes standard with corn dogs.





C-N-C Concessions - fried green tomatoes; they're a classic for a reason. Just wish there was a dipping sauce.





CPD CPAA - haven't had a chance to try them yet!



Crouch’s Rockin’ Rolls - some new local pepperoni rolls that are fluffy and tasty.





Diehl’s Pig Shack - by far, the best set-up. Lovely space and a pretty good BBQ sandwich





Expressway Food/Fun on Wheels - I can't find this one!

Fliehman Concessions - huge steak sandwich with all the fixins definitely is the best bang for its buck.







Gambill Amusements - cotton candy and a giant lemonade: the classics









Hughes Concessions - can't find them yet!

JoJo’s Tacos - hefty tacos with all the toppings. More of an American style, but with some good seasoning!







Rockin’s Rolls Cinnamon Rolls - giant cinnamon rolls with icing; they'll be warm no matter wht so they're extra gooey.





Sherry’s Concessions - haven't tried this one yet



Wild Bill - purchase a too-expensive mug to hen get to try the sodas. But, you can get refills 





WV Mountain Ears - just a lemonade here - but a very tasty one

All Fired Up is Capitol Market’s teen barbecue challenge and a chance for the next generation of youngsters to prove that they’ve got what it takes!

Each team is led by a 11- to 16-year-old. Parents and friends may assist, but the menu and cooking must be let by each child.

Beginning at 1 p.m., contestants used a Capitol Market gift card to shop both inside and outside the market. At 2 p.m., each team began cooking and had two hours to complete their meal.

A grill, along with a pretty impressive pantry of items was provided for each team. At the completion, each team submitted their food to a 5-judge panel (including yours truly!). Prizes were be awarded for “Best Overall,” “Best use of Local Ingredients,” and “Most Creative.”  



Team 1 - fried green tomato caprese with balsamic; honey pork chop with grilled asparagus, zucchini, and baked potato with gouda cheese; grilled fruit with homemade whipped cream 







Team 2 - surf & turf with garlic cream sauce, green beans and potato medallions; Ellen's ice cream with caramel topping





Team 3 - scallops in brown butter; low country grill with kielbasa, corn and shrimp; grilled peach with Ellen's ice cream and JQD Salt







Team 4 - chicken street tacos with a summer salsa and garlic parmesan corn on the cob and cinnamon sugar tortilla chips



Team 6 - steak slider with horseradish sauce and side of grilled pineapple



Team 7 - Dry rub for pork loin, wrapped in bacon with a summer salad with a poppyseed dressing, corn with bacon fat, and a caramel apple slice



Team 8 - T-bone steak slices with homemade barbecue sauce, grilled romaine and peppers

Check out my latest J.Q. Dickinson Appalachian Mercantile box:

Evelyn's Elegant Edibles - Essential Spice Mix - This spice is great on pork, chicken, or tofu. Use as a marinade or breading. Evelyn bases her recipes on those of her Greek grandmother. Made in PA.

Ronceverte recently held a food truck festival that had a ton of new places I had never tried. Check out these:


Bandit BBQ - I ordered a portato here that was maybe the best baked potato I've ever had. It was huge and topped with pork, butter, sauce, cheese, sour cream, scallons, and it was perfection.






Greenbrier Dairy LLC - I've been wanting to visit Greenbrier Dairy, so I was thrilled to see they were offering ice cream at the event. I went with a coke float since it was portable. Now I can't wait to ty somee of the cheese curds and other offerings.






The Hungry Hillbilly - I kept it simple here with a hot dog, but sometimes simplicity is best. Not bad.






Flavor Mutt - All sorts of beautiful breads and goodies here. I took home a delish onion bialy.






Potluck - The Appalasian Bowl had rice, carrots, kale, cucumber, kimchi, pickled onion, pickled kohlrabi, sprouts, sesame oil and strawberry gochujang. This brought some heat, but still nice and refreshing for a warm day.








The Rolling Stove - This corn almost looks too good to eat, but I had never had it with the extra seasonings - outside of butter - and man oh man is it worth it.






When Pigs Fly BBQs - I was intrigued by the sundae, which had baked beans, pork, slaw and a pickle. It's like a portable pulled pork sandwich, minus the carbs. It was pretty good and fun to eat.








River City Sweets - Fruit pizza is one of my favorites of all time. So, when I saw this cookie, I knew I had to have it. Sweet but fresh - all tasty.








Poppy's Mobile Food Service - One of the most unique offerings waas this pepperoni roll-shaped gyro that was one of my favorites of the day. It had a great earthy flavor, plus a delicious, spicy sauce to go with it.






Doolittle Roasting Company - Last, but not least, I discovered a new-to-me coffee roaster from West Virginia. It's roasted in Hillsboro, and the artwork is completed by the roaster. How neat!



Some other folks who were there: Kobe Asian Fusion, Twisted Sisterz, and in subsequent events: Dawg Haus, Jimmy D’s Shuck Shack, The Waffle Wagon, etc.