FOOD EVENT: Mobile Chowdown III Rundown

This installment of the Mobile Chowdown took place today next to Safeco Field in Seattle. My very good friend Penny and I arrived shortly after it started at 10:00am. We wanted to be sure to arrive before the lines got too long. There was already a good amount of people lined up at some of the trucks when we showed up. The Seattle Mariners tickets went on sale today across the street, so I'm sure some of the Mariners fans came over for a bit to eat after they purchased their tickets. The Mariner Moose was making his way through the crowd of street food fans.

This Mobile Chowdown is the first to include some street food vendors from Portland. The vendors who made the trek up I-5 included: Burgerville, Potato Champion and Koi Fusion. Whiffies was suppose to be in the line-up, but I got word that they never arrived? So I'm not sure if that was the case or not. I know they weren't there when I was there shortly after the Mobile Chowdown started. Koi Fusion and Potato Champion already had pretty long lines early on.

The street food vendors from Seattle included: Marination Mobile, Anita's Crepes, Skillet, Kaosamai Thai, Hellava Falafel, El Camion, Top Pot Doughnuts, Dante's Inferno Dogs, Gert's BBQ, Here & There Grill, Veraci Pizza, and Chipotle Mexican Grill. Marination already had a long wait when we got in line, but that didn't stop us. We wanted to sample some of their great sounding food. Penny and I tried the corn tortillas tacos with sweet & savory kalbi. We also sampled the sliders. I tried the shredded kalua pork slider, and Penny went with both the pork and Spam sliders. All of the food from Marination was very good! The pork was delicious and the signature slaw on the sliders was the perfect topping. I haven't had Spam since I was a kid, but it never tasted as good as their Spam sliders. The corn tortillas were very tasty. The kalbi tender short ribs are marinated in Kamala's version of the iconic Korean recipe.

So far I have not been disappointed by any of the food I have had at the Mobile Chowdowns. According to Mobile Chowdown, they twittered that the next Chowdown will be in July at Seattle Center. Could this be the street food version of the Bite of Seattle? If so, bring it on! See you all at the next Mobile Chowdown!

Were you at the Mobile Chowdown today? If so, which street food vendor did you try out? What did you like? Didn't like? Leave me a comment.

Pork & Gourds

If you didn't have a chance to sample any of the local street food vendors at the Mobile Chowdown, you're in luck! Maximus/Minimus, Skillet, Kaosamai Thai, Parfait Ice Cream, and Dantes Inferno Dogs will be at Pork & Gourds, the Halloween Street Food & Farmer's Market. Before you take the kids out trick-or-treating, stop by for some great food.

Get more info at www.qafma.org.

Mobile Chowdown Rundown

Yesterday was the Mobile Chowdown at Interbay. This was the first, of I hope many, street food vendor gatherings in Seattle. The street food vendors included Skillet, Maximus Minimus, Marination Station, Gert's BBQ, Parfait Organic Ice Cream, El Camion, Dante's Inferno Dogs, and Kaosamai Thai. I had the pleasure of attending this event with my best friends Shay, Penny & Scott. The event started at 11:00am and was scheduled to go until 3:00pm, or until they ran out of food. I'm pretty sure all the vendors ran out of food before the 3:00pm deadline.

When we arrived shortly after 12:00pm, there were already long lines snaking from each vendors' trailers. I'm not sure the organizers of the event nor the vendors themselves expected shuch a large turnout for the event. Seattlites love their street food! When we approached the crowd of people it was hard to determine where any of the lines ended for any of the vendors. All the lines seemed to all be blended together. So we just stood behind some people who looked like they were in line and hoped it led us to some good food.

As we slowly advanced through the line, we found out that we were in line for Skillet. This was good news as I have always wanted to try their food. When we approached the Skillet airstream trailer, we were able to get a glimpse of their menu offerings, which just so happen to be written on the side of the airstream trailer with a black marker. Shay and I chose to go with the Skillet Burger and French Fries. Penny selected the Thai Chile Burger.

Now I must say, I love hamburgers and I have had my share of bad burgers and great burgers. I would have to say that the Skillet Burger was by far one of the best burgers I have ever tasted! The hour and a half wait was well worth it! The Skillet Burger isn't just a burger, it's an experience. It consists of grass fed beef grilled and topped with bacon jam (yes, bacon jam!!), arugula, cambazola and served on a butter toasted macrina soft roll. The hand-cut french fries were tasty too! Shay agreed with me that the Skillet Burger was very good. Penny also really enjoyed her Thai Chile Burger. If you haven't checked out Skillet yet, do it! They have a weekly calender on their website of where the airstream trailer will be located. Scott decided to try out Dante's Inferno Dogs and he seemed to really enjoy their hot dogs.

I would have loved to have tried out some of the other vendors food, but waiting another hour or longer in line didn't seem like all that much fun. Although after seeing some people walking around with the Parfait Organic Ice Cream, it was very tempting. This event was a huge success. I'm sure this will become an annual event. There's already a rumor that next year they will offer a beer garden and live music. I'm guessing next year there will be even more street food vendors participating. This event was sponsored by Seattle Magazine, Sorrento Hotel and Tilth Restaurant.

Mobile Chowdown

This Saturday, October 10th from 11:00am to 3:00pm is the Mobile Chowdown in Interbay. This is the opportunity to try out some of the best street food vendors in Seattle, all in one location! The event is free, except of course for the food that you purchase from each vendor. The organizers of the event encourage people to bring their own chairs and hang out with other street food foodies.

Vendors include Skillet, Maximus Minimus, Marinatin Station, Gert's BBQ, Parfait Ice Cream, El Camion, Dante's Inferno Dogs, and Kaosamai Thai. You can follow Mobile Chowdown on Twitter @mobilechowdown where they are hosting a trivia contest where you have a chance to win dinner at Tilth, a night at the Sorrento Hotel, and a year's subscription to Seattle Magazine, all of which are co-sponsors to this event.

Here are the details to the event:

When: Saturday, October 10, 2009 from 11:00am to 3:00pm

Where: 1616 W. Bertona, Seattle, WA in Interbay (vacant lot)

Why: To enjoy food from some of the best street food vendors in Seattle!

Bring your appetites!