Food Trucks And Craft Beer: Two Upcoming Events That Bring Them Together

Around here we all go gaga for our food truck fests and our craft beer events. But do you realize that although you can usually find a food truck or two at a beer festival and craft beer at a truck festival, there are almost no events in the nation that actually give the two equal billing?

Well, that’s changing in our area, where we now have two food-truck-slash-craft-beer festivals to look forward to.

The first rolls up this Saturday and Sunday at the Tuckerton Seaport, a tourist-oriented nautical village at the Shore. The annual “Truck”erton Food Truck & Brew Fest brings 15-20 food trucks from around the East Coast, which is cool and different, and parks them next to beer vendors who’re selling brews from neighboring Pinelands Brewing, Spellbound, Firestone Walker, Beach Haus, Blue Point and more. As for the trucks, they’re carrying all kinds of goods, from bacon jam to Transylvanian Chimney cakes and the soup that inspired Seinfeld’s soup Nazi. Saturday hours are 11-9 and Sunday hours are 11-7. Admission is $8 for adults, which doesn’t include food or drink. Bring a canned good for a $1 discount or buy a two-day pass for $20 and get a mug and a free beer.

The next one happens at 11:30 am on September 13 and offers the city’s first beer and food truck pairing competition, to be judged by local beer connoisseurs (including me). The winning team gets a free trip to St. Lucia. The fest serves as the after-party for the City Of Hope Cancer Walk, a charity walk from Rutgers-Camden to Old City to benefit City of Hope, an organization that raises money for cancer and diabetes research, care and education. $25 gets you all-you-can-eat and drink, a Prosecco bar, a free cupcake, the Fralinger String Band, violinists, DJs and cheerleaders. Go team!