Engines revving, Asheville food trucks are idling at pole position.
Fighting an eventually successful campaign to vend downtown may not have been enough to satisfy the food-truck owners’ taste for racing, it seems. Not content to quietly feed tacos, barbecue sandwiches and falafel to the masses, they’ve turned on each other.
In a test of culinary wit, five of Asheville's food trucks will compete at Pisgah Brewing Company on June 3 to prove who's the best of the bunch in an Iron-Chef style, no-holds-barred war on wheels. The event, Battle Food Truck, presented by Blind Pig Supper Club and Pisgah, is part of Asheville Beer Week. It may come as no surprise, then, that beer is the secret ingredient the mobile chefs will have to use in their final product. As obvious as that may seem, Pisgah Brewing Company owner Jason Caughman promises that the types of beer he'll provide from his liquid coffer will be as diverse as it gets.
The mix includes The Lowdown Food Truck, Flying Falafel Brothers, Pho Ya Belly, Tin Can Pizzeria and Our Taco Truck (formerly Pink Taco truck, the mobile eatery had to change its name because of a trademark dispute). Each truck will serve one beer-centric dish to the crowd, estimated at approximately 215 people, who will vote on their favorite. The winning truck will receive $500.
During the event, Electric Owls and The Critters will rock Pisgah's meadow stage and artist Tommy Lee will introduce his Humble Pie project, an interactive art collaboration that's taken him across the Southeast. In each city Lee visits, artists (locally, Dustin Spagnola) use the surface of his RV as a canvas where they add their touch to an ever-expanding mural. At Battle Food Truck, attendees will be invited to paint. Even better? Lee travels with D.O.G., a trick-performing potbellied pig.
Pisgah Brewing Company has brewed a special Blind Pig Porter for the event, a dark and malty brew infused with toasted coconut. Caughman says that Pisgah will begin regularly brewing a special Blind Pig beer that will only be sold at Blind Pig partner restaurants, including the Admiral and Cucina 24. Look for the Pisgah/Pig tap handle.
You may have heard that this event was sold out, but Xpress has the exclusive word: Pisgah will release more tickets at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 31. If you're reading this, you're in luck — head to Pisgah's Facebook page for details. Only 16 tickets at $65 each will be released for the food event (tickets for the show alone will be available at blindpigofasheville.com), so act fast. Proceeds benefit MANNA FoodBank and there will be a collection bin during the event for canned goods and other non-perishable items.
Looking for more beer-centric culinary events? There’s plenty more at ashevillebeerweek.com.
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