Great American Foodie Fest

My first and favorite food festive!
I loved all of the vendors and variety of alcohol offered during the weekend by Sunset Station. I had southern food for the first time and the vendors themselves were so sweet and their food was such a bargain!
I don’t have much to say besides I was impressed and Great American Foodie Fest will be my go to food truck festival in Henderson.

This is the first year that the GAFF came to Phoenix and for the most part, it was a good experience.
PROS:
*The festival was fairly small so it was easy to get around and have a chance to try out the foods you wanted.
*Rides and entertainment for kids.
*White Castle was there! Being an AZ native, it was cool to be able to finally try it out and many of the other attendees headed straight for it as soon as the gates opened. Clearly that was a hit.
*Re-​entry. I know some people were frustrated at not being able to buy a one day pass, but I liked that the wristband was good for the whole three days. The price for a three day admission was fantastic since it was about what I paid for one day at other food festivals.
CONS:
*No signs directing traffic. I followed my GPS which literally lead me into the festival area where the trucks were at. Nobody was paying attention and I probably could have just parked and nobody would have noticed or cared.
*Weather– obviously the event planners can’t predict the weather, but I would love to see the festival return in the Spring or early Fall when there is a very small chance that it will rain. We planned on spending several hours there, but left after trying only two trucks because it was pouring and forecasted to rain heavily on and off all day.
*Portion sizes– I would love to see the vendors offering scaled down portions to both lower prices and bit and keep people from filling up too fast. It’s a food festival, people want to eat and sample!
Being that this was the GAFF’s first year in a new area, I would definitely give it a second chance and hope for better weather!

We, ve been to every Foodie Fest since the beginning.
I felt it was too crowded, tightly packed with trucks and booths and entertainment area. It was way too loud especially by the stage, unfortunately that is where the tent with all the table and chairs was located. Having the eating area was the only plus. I enjoyed my food, the lines weren’t too bad when we were there but seemed to get worse as we were getting ready to leave. There didn’t seem to be as many trucks as other years either. We had a weekend pass and decided not to go back.

This was our first year going and we will be back. Lots of food trucks with a great variety. There is something for everyone! Everything from BBQ, burgers, ice cream, Mexican food, Filipino food, to cookies. You will not leave unhappy. The prices are pretty reasonable and having it at Sunset Station was a wonderful idea. Plenty of free parking and great for the area overall. Can’t wait for the next one.

With free tickets in hand, I figured why the heck not.
I hadn’t had much desire to attend Foodie Fest in the past but I was able to snag a few free passes for this year’s event and decided to give the festival a whirl.
We arrived around 6pm on Friday and the parking lot was pretty packed. We were still able to find a relatively good parking space so I felt optimistic.
The lines for the trucks were pretty long but moved quickly. I’m not a fan of waiting on food truck lines only to have to precariously balance my overpriced meal with one hand while trying to find a quiet corner to enjoy my food. This happened on more than one occasion at Foodie Fest, but I tried to maintain a go with the flow attitude.
Prices were steeps but I did enjoy quite a few of the food trucks we got a chance to try. Overall, I don’t see myself going out of my way to try the festival again, but it was definitely better than expected.

The vendors are starting to dwindle and jogaski and the maine lobster truck are the only ones still keeping this event alive.
The event this year was held at the sunset station parking lot which made me think «is there even enough space to hold this event?» It was incredibly cramped and lines intersecting with other ones. Another owner got frustrated with a jogasaki truck because their line was so long it was invading their space lol.
Jogasaki is the obvious star attraction but with jaburritos here, i don’t see them returning. Same with white castle and now with a restaurant here, there is no more white castle at foodie fest.
This event gets weaker and weaker each year with the venues getting smaller and smaller and vendors getting more and more dull. idk foodie fest, i think its time to step it up for next year

My husband and I have been going to every food truck festival we can since we have lived here. This was definitely our favorite so far.
The location was great for us since it was much closer to home than the other events. We thought parking at Sunset Station was easier compared to The Silverton, but about the same as The Linq (for those that arrived early).
The food truck selection was the best to date. The options were better and the quality was much better than in the past. Our favorite trucks were Cousins Maine Lobster and Waffle Love.
We also liked that we bought our wristbands on Friday and we were able to use them again the rest of the weekend.

Foodie Fest: four-​day event where food trucks and half of the Vegas population gather in a casino parking lot. Seriously, they need bigger space for an event like this. They had some interesting food trucks and I was ready to devour all the food.
$ 10 admission fee, but thanks to my awesome coworker I was able to get in at no charge. As soon as I went through the entrance, I see people munching on their food, rides and lots of food trucks! (is carnival/​rides really necessary? we are here to eat) Knowing that place was going to be cramped, I did some prior research so I knew, or I thought I knew exactly what to get and walk out with food peacefully. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned.
Cousin’s Maine Lobster was a big hit. My friend waited +20 mins in line for a tiny Lobster Roll. $ 16 for Lobster Roll that was probably about a size of my fist.
I had my eye on Chicken Katsu Curry Sandwich from Okamotoya. $ 12 for a sandwich was overpriced but I enjoyed every bite of it.
Lemonade! Seemed like everyone I bumped into had lemonade so I had to get one. $ 6 for 32oz lemonade, but $ 3 for refills. They put a whole lemon and lime in there! My strawberry lemonade wasn’t overly sweet like I expected it to be, but it got extremely sour towards the last few sips. No problem, I diluted it with iced water and it was fine.
Loud music, people, food trucks, and more people. I wish this event was a little more organized. Expect to spend at least $ 30 and consume 8,000 calories if you want to explore and enjoy different trucks. All in all, overpriced food and lots going on!

Best fried ice cream I’ve ever had! The red dragon was the bomb! Try it if you can! Food was a tad expensive but it’s to be expected when you go to one of these events. Enjoyed the atmosphere and company of friends!

I was excited for it to be at Sunset Station since it is closer to home, but I was completely disappointed. I felt the space was way to cramped, like who ever planned it did a horrible job of laying it out. The lines blocked the walk ways, the rides block everything and no tables. The point of foodie fest is to eat but where? Half the fun was balancing my drink while trying to stuff food in my face.
The food I had was delicious (Shout out to Buddha belly deli and there amazing Brussel sprouts), but the trucks I wanted to visit had lines that were too long and I wasn’t going to wait on hour to eat. I mean I waited for 25 minutes for a corndog that was ok. For a family of 5 to enter, eat and ride rides expect to spend a least $ 200, and in my mind it was not worth it.
This is a one and done for me.

This location was crazy busy. I think one reason is that Sunset Station is more accessible to locals. When it was in Rio, it was not as bad as this. The food was okay, there were fewer trucks than when it was at the Linq (or at least the ones that I like most).
I do not like the fact that the rides/​carnival part was literally right next to the trucks. It was so cramped. There were fewer places to sit so even if I wanted to try a lot of other food trucks, it was always a dilemma to try and find a spot. If you’re with a group of people it’s even harder. I mean, I do not mind just standing on the sides while eating my food. But with this much crowd, even standing anyway was not a fun thing.
The foodie fest is always an event I look forward to. The location could have been better though.

I honestly don’t know how to rate this event. On one hand, it was amazingly fun. A fat kid at a carnival composed of food trucks? Yes, please! Nom nom nom…
On the other hand, it was a carnival of food trucks? Like, yuck? And I say that in the most deliciously unhealthy way possible.
It was fun. Yes it was. Was it worth $ 60pp (no alcohol)? I dunno. It definitely wasn’t worth the 5000 calories we’ve consumed in one night. I don’t know how many hours on the elliptical this night is going to cost me but if you want to find me, I’ll probably be at the gym. Every. Day. This. Week.
The food was amazingly good but not in a good way. It was good like how a bacon-​wrapped hot dog tastes delicious after a night of drunken debauchery. Or how raging hormones suddenly make pickled ice cream sound like ambrosia. No Michelin stars at this joint, just a lot of fat. Loaded on top of more fat. Then sprinkle melted fat on top of that. You get the picture.
My favorite for the night had to be the Frach’s Fried ice cream. Called the Frachi Thai, it had a homemade, lemongrass ginger, ice cream core and an outside shell of fried bread with thai spices. Then it’s topped with whipped cream and honey. This calorie bomb sold for a hefty $ 10. It was tasty. Ice cream was good quality and I thought all the components worked well together. I’d happily chase after this food truck again, too bad they are not local.
Another winner was the Waffle Love Truck, we got the Lemon Berry Love and the Cinna Love (yeah, we take this foodie thing seriously). The Lemon Berry looked good and tasted good but the winner of the night was the Cinna Love, a decadent combination of waffle, cinnamon butter and cream cheese. It was super rich, next time I’ll get it with a scoop of ice cream to cut the sweetness.
Well, I didn’t just spike my blood insulin levels last night, my cholesterol count went up too. I got the Lobster Corndog ($ 14) from Dude, Where’s My Hot Dog. Bit of a let down, not the best way to eat a lobster. Their hot dog was just ok.
The bf really liked Okamoto Kitchen’s Chashu sandwich ($ 10). I did not. It was way too greasy and although the fried rice bun (the literally fry a patty of rice and use it as a bun) was novel, it made the sandwich too greasy, and honestly, inedible. Chashu was tender and flavorful though.
Water was $ 2 – 3, depending on where you buy it.
The thai spiced brussel sprouts from Buddha Belly were excellent too. Probably my favorite savory item of the night.
Overall a fun night, I’m glad I went. 4-​stars for the experience, 3-​stars for the food, 2 stars for the prices. Music was very good too, albeit too loud. Chairs and benches could be more plentiful. Next time, bring your own water! Save a few bucks.

No thanks! I went Saturday night and the venue was extremely overcrowded, littered with trash, and loud. Most of the food trucks either had no menus displayed or pictures with very tiny print that couldn’t be read over all of the crowds, so it was extremely hard to order, plus I had to scream to be heard over the absolutely tone-​deaf band and the hundreds of people. After I tried battling through the crowds for a while, I finally gave up and went to eat across the street.

After a two-​year hiatus for me, I knew that I had to try Foodie Fest again when they announced their new location just minutes away from where I live.
The Great American Foodie Fest, which I’ve previously reviewed under their «Las Vegas Foodie Fest» listing at the Silverton casino, is a huge four-​day gathering of food trucks from near and far, as well as other food and non-​food vendors. It’s been held twice a year at various Vegas venues for as long as I’ve attended it, and their latest site was just outside the Sunset Station casino in Henderson.
I’ve reviewed specifics about the food trucks under their respective pages, but I saw a lot of new and old out-​of-​town trucks. That’s the main draw for me because there are other opportunities to try the local trucks. Waffle Love isn’t totally inaccessible since they have a truck in St. George (in fact, this truck is the one that they dispatched), but I was excited to try them just a couple of weeks after their appearance in the finale of the latest season of the Great Food Truck Race, and not only did they show up, but they were my favorite truck of the event. Other highlights for me included Jogasaki (as usual), Fluff Ice (also an old favorite), Frach’s Fried Ice Cream (new here), and Okamoto Kitchen (also new), all from the Los Angeles area.
Considering that this is the biggest food truck gathering in town, I was a little disappointed that certain local food trucks didn’t show up on all the days, and some not at all. Fukuburger is a Foodie Fest veteran and my favorite food truck of all, but they were absent on all but the final day. Buldogis, Street Dogs, and Rika Arepa Express (as a food tent) would’ve been nice too. Also, although i wouldn’t have needed it, I was surprised that there was only one Hawaiian shaved ice vendor.
Aside from the food trucks, there were good and bad things about the event, in my experience:
— $ 10 admission, $ 8 presale, $ 6 Facebook special limited presale. For multiple visits, I was very happy to snap up the $ 6 wristbands.
— There’s one entrance gate, and although the prepaid ticket line was somewhat long on the first night, it moved quickly enough since they just had to scan barcodes and pass you off to the people in charge of placing wristbands. I can’t comment on those entry lines aside from that encounter since I was just able to walk in with my wristband on subsequent visits.
— There was a pretty good amount of seating with the two tents full of tables, and I was even able to find seats at night. I think the tables were too tightly packed though, and with chairs pulled out toward the aisles, it was generally too difficult to reach the middle of the tables.
— The music was generally fine, but it was way, way too loud, especially in the bass. Since the venue is so small, this makes it hard for you to talk to your friends/​family if you’re in the middle two rows of the four rows of trucks/​vendors, an area which also includes one of those seating tents.
— Parking was generally fine. There were plenty of spaces if you include the parking garage and the parking lots on the other side of the casino. I was able to park in one of those lots, walk through the casino, exit on the other side, then take a quick stroll across a street to reach the actual event. However, I don’t recall seeing any signage for the event inside the casino, and if I hadn’t been so familiar with the casino’s layout, I could’ve gotten lost en route easily.
Aside from the loud music and the seating concerns, I would be very excited if the Great American Foodie Fest were to return to Sunset Station. If not, then I’ll just have to follow them around the Vegas valley, depending on whether I’m interested in the food truck lineup for those iterations.

I’ve been going to Foodie Fest every year. They’ve hopped from location after location. South Point, Silverton, Rio, The Linq (worst idea ever) and now, Sunset Station.
I think the parking situation, space and organization were better at South Point and Silverton. Sunset Station is kind of middle ground. We got lucky and found primo parking within 20 minutes driving around. It felt a little cramped. Trucks were so close to each other. I’m not sure if that’s because they have more trucks this time or the space was just too small for the event.
Familiar food trucks as well as newbies. Jogasaki, Fluff Ice, Okamoto Kitchen, Frach’s Fried Ice Cream, Ihaw-​Ihaw, Omeng’s, Waffle Love, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Dragon Grille, etc. Booths include: White Rabbit (no truck this time), Potato Corner, Nothing Bundt Cake, etc. MTO Café is there too. Cookies, boba tea, Dole whip, burgers, hotdogs, fries, fried potatoes, funnel cake, sandwiches, empanadas, tacos, Southern food, lemonade, and a lot more.
I think the highlights for me this time were Waffle Love (Nutella Love and The Works), Okamoto Kitchen (Nom Bomb Sandwich, croquettes, Pork Chashu Sandwich) and Cousins Maine Lobster.
We got 4-​day passes online which was convenient and less expensive.

The foodie fest is a great pig out hotspot.
It’s only twice a year so make sure to come, it’s worth it. Also, make sure to stop by Nic’s Shrimp House. It tastes superb, the seasoning has an excellent flavor and a bomb spicy kick.

So I missed the last Foodie Fest and made sure to make this one. The cost ($ 10) to get in was worth it. The parking was crazy as it was pretty full considering it was a Thursday. The is two seating areas which make it nice to be able and sit and enjoy your unique finds.
I had a Mac and cheese burger along with the cheddar tots from Chedda Truck. The burger was good but now great. The mac and cheese with the green chilies were a good accompaniment but the stoned ground mustard was a bit overpowering. The cheddar tots were really good and was crispy with a decent amount of melted cheddar inside.
The next item we had was the lobster roll from the Cousins Maine Lobster truck. The lobster roll was average in size but the lobster was sweet and fresh tasting. The roll was a sweet roll and a good addition to the lobster. This was my favorite main course item.
We also got the Cat Fish combo and jambalaya from Pearson’s Cajon Kitchen Truck. The catfish combo was $ 12 and was pretty good. The fries were nothing special but the catfish was pretty tasty. The Jambalaya was on the small side but decently spiced and had chunks of Cajon sausage.
We got the Thai Brussel Sprouts from the Buddha Belly Deli tent. They were a bit spicy and crisp. Not a bad deal at $ 5.50.
We got the beef tongue tacos from Rolling Fusion Truck. This was my least favorite item. The tongue had taste of being stewed not grilled. It gave it a slightly odd taste although it was tender. The corn tortilla was cold flavorless. Seemed as zig it was taken out of a bag and then meat etc was added. Could have used some time on the grill. The pineapple was good but there was not that salsa added to make this amazing.
We had the pork belly bowl from the Filipino Mobile Cuisine truck — $ 12 and on the small side. But the pork belly was very tasty and the mini lumpia was crisp tasty. Well worth it if you love good pork belly.
The highlight of the night was the Dulce de Liege Waffle. The waffle was perfectly cooked and the fried ice cream and cinnamon, the crunch and Carmel sauce made it a real treat. The daughter got the large Dole Pineapple Whip which so good. I had tapped out midway through the waffle and only had a few spoonfuls of the whip.
If you like food trucks and or love carnival food then get you foodie self to Henderson this weekend. I enjoyed it and would definitely return the next time the Foodie Fest comes to town.

Entry tickets are relatively inexpensive. There is the added cost benefit of purchasing online and printing your tickets prior to arrival; it’s also more convenient. This year’s tickets were $ 8 ($ 9.37) online and $ 10 ($ 11.50) at the event. The actual online price was due to fees, but I didn’t expect the event price to be inflated by $ 1.50. Same processing fees?
I know they change the location every year, but this year’s location at Rio was very convenient. It was in the parking lot behind the hotel, so access was via Twain, which is not nearly as busy as Flamingo. Parking was also close to the event entrance.
For pre-​printed tickets, you have a separate line where they scan your tickets and supply you with wristbands for entry. Easy enough.
The grounds are small since there’s just 20 or so food trucks? The area is closed off by more vendors (table set-​up) and a couple carnival rides on one side. There’s also a stage with DJ and Emcee — not very amusing and extremely LOUD. (They’re directly next to one of the tented seating areas)
The tented areas with picnic tables and chairs were really great since it was so hot! These tents also had bars (Note: they do NOT take credit cards and they don’t have napkins — WTF??).
I have no interest in these type of events and I’m not into food trucks, so I was pleasantly surprised about my level of enjoyment. There was a great food truck selection, including those from other states, and the food was decent. Between four of us, we were able to try ten different vendors (lots of sharing and still, I could barely walk out because I was SO full). I was really excited to see Tornado Potato since we really enjoyed their food at the Life is Beautiful Festival last year, but our potato was not as delicious this time (it wasn’t cooked through on one end and it didn’t have enough flavor/​seasoning). Sad face.
Standouts:
The Maine Lobster Lady
Truck U BBQ
Meh:
Jogasaki (It’s seriously just a giant ill-​formed sushi roll; calm down people)
Clever Chefs
Would I go again? Ehh, it’s a toss up. I went this year to accompany my brother, so I guess if he wanted to go again next year, I would oblige. There’s definitely an element of fun going from vendor to vendor for food options. I just wish food truck food was better or less expensive. Oh, and boo to entry fees. It’s not like we’re getting anything for free while on festival grounds! (The stage entertainment does NOT count)

I’m really torn between giving this a 3 or 4 star rating. But in the end, this was more of a «Yay! I’m a fan» versus just an «A-​ok.» Last foodie fest I went to was when it was still at the Silverton Casino during the spring of 2013.
The price is steep for admission. $ 8 – 10 JUST to get in?! So Cal’s «626 Night Market» is only $ 3 admission fee.
However, this was a fun experience for my boyfriend and I. We were able to try different foods all day long. Foods we never even dreamed of eating together.
Example: from Q UP BARBEQUE, we got the Gangsta Grilled Cheese Sandwich $ 10 which is a slow smoked beef brisket topped with mac-​n-​cheese and BBQ sauce on toasted cheesy sourdough. WOW!!! THAT thing was delicious!!! Buttery, cheesy and full of flavor. The sandwich was cut in half so that was a good portion for us to share.
Other food trucks we visited were:
TORNADO POTATO-​this was my first time trying this after hearing about it and seeing pictures so many times. We ordered the garlic parmesan flavored $ 7.50. It was good… especially since I’m obsessed with all things potatoes. I wanted to get the jalapeño flavored one too but I didn’t want to fill up too quick. Still got loads of others to try. They are based out in So Cal.
JOGASAKI BURRITO-​OH MY GOODNESS. Orgasm in my mouth!!! Another popular food truck, when we were in the afternoon there was no line. But even time, the line stretch out around the truck… I’m sure it was a good 45 min wait. I got their spicy tuna, crab meat, avocado and cucumber with seaweed wrapped in soy paper. Mini size was $ 8. Again, perfect for sharing. If I had a bigger stomach, I would’ve gone for round 2 and get the full size. Also a So Cal food truck based out in the city of Hawthorne.
RICE BALLS OF FIRE-​I enjoyed my $ 4 spam masubi but my boyfriend wasn’t too fond of his sushi wrap $ 11. It was delicious of course, but he wasn’t too happy that they skimmed him on shellfish… there were hardly any in there!!! But there was a bunch of rice. Probably too much… wasn’t a good balance. Truck is based out of LA.
CLEVER CHEFS– Loaded Baked Potato Chips. Freshmade twisted chips piled high with Bacon, Aged Cheddar Cheese, Clever sour cream sauce and scallions. YUM!!! $ 10…perfect portion for sharing.
We ran into a friend of my boyfriend and his friend was able to hook us up to the Red Dragon’s VIP area. A $ 75 value, I don’t understand why people even opt to pay full price for this to begin with. Yes, you get open bar. Yes, there’s complimentary hor d’oeuvres available. But why!?! When you have a plethora of yummy special limited time food trucks parked out there?! *shurgs* personal opinion I guess.
All in all, great day. We were smart enough to plan this out. We went an hour after it opened… hardly anybody there. Always plenty of shaded tables to eat. We took many leisurely strolls around the place… grabbed some more food… walked around the carnival area just for kicks. When the heat became too much to handle, we got a hand stamp and left to run errands. We wanted to keep our bodies active all afternoon so the food can digest in our stomachs. Then… towards the evening… as the sun sets… we came back for round 2!!! *ding!* Off we go again! I feel like that’s a good way to get your admission price worth.

We came, we saw, we ate.
Corndogs, Alligator Bites, Butterfly Chips.
Amusement rides for the kids.
But not enough shade for everyone.
Seems kind of silly to pay a fee at the gate.
Then pay higher than usual prices for food and rides.
Here in Vegas we need mist makers in this 90 degree weather.
The website showed a truck known as «The Curbside Café» which offered a fried calamari taco. I was interested in trying this. I did not see this food truck anywhere.
So I went to Pearson’s and had some alligator bites instead.