THE GREAT NEW YORK STATE FAIR ANNOUNCES PARTICIPANTS IN 2017 TASTE NY FOOD TRUCK COMPETITION
40 Food Trucks From Across the State Using New York State Ingredients to Compete Over Two Days
NY Beef Council Award Recognizes Best Use of NY Beef Products
How about a slice of German pizza with a side of taco fries? Maybe a bacon jalapeno macaroni and cheese fritter? Or how about a root beer float or blueberry sorbetto for dessert? These and many other creative offerings will be the stars of the expanded 2017 Taste NY Food Truck Competition. Forty food trucks from across the state—20 per day—will ring Chevy Court from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, September 2 and 3, cooking entrees using products made or grown in New York State.
Acting Fair Director Troy Waffner said, “We’ve expanded the competition into a two-day event so many more fairgoers can experience the diversity of food grown and produced in New York State. There’s a food truck for everyone, whether you’re a meatball lover or have a sweet tooth for ice cream.”
The following participants will compete on September 2:
- Midnight Smokin BBQ of Rochester- Smoked Chicken Wings
- Wolf’s Patio Pizza of Liverpool- German Pizza
- Cruisin Cones of Camillus- Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich
- Lady Bug Lunch Box of Syracuse- Spicy Popeye Grilled Cheese
- Via Napoli Express of Liverpool- Esposito Pizza
- The Good Truck of Ithaca- Pork Taco
- Hofmann Sausage of Syracuse- Beer Bratwurst
- Tonzi’s Catering Company of Auburn- Bacon Jalapeno Macaroni and Cheese Fritter
- Hill Top BBQ of Johnson City- Pulled Pork Slider
- Café 119 of Syracuse- Lemon Zinger
- Stewart’s Root Beer Mobile Restaurant of Sidney- Stewart’s Root Beer Float
- The Bite Box of Syracuse- Sweet Chili Chicken Slider
- Cheesed and Confused of Geneseo- Pork & Mac Grilled Cheese Slider
- Limp Lizard of Syracuse- Pulled Turkey Slider
- Crunch Roll Factory of Buffalo- Buffalo Chicken Crunch Roll
- Pascarella’s of Syracuse- Panzerotti
- The Silo Truck of Ithaca- New York State Silo (Not So Hott) Fried Chicken
- Let’s Roll Gourmet of Oswego- NY Apple Cheesecake Eggroll
- The Louisiana Cookery of Buffalo- Shrimp and Grits
- Chef’s Catering of Rochester- BBQ Pulled Pork Fries
The following participants will compete on September 3:
- Mo’s Pit BBQ of Syracuse- Corn on the Cob
- Shattuck’s Paddy Wagon of Liverpool- Falafel Tots
- Toss ‘n’ Fire Wood Fired Pizza of Brewerton- Cuse Salt Potato Pizza
- Bob’s Barker of Cicero- Bacon Cheese Hot Dog
- The Chicken Bandit of Cicero- Korean BBQ Chicken Taco
- Ponchito’s Taqueria of Syracuse- Smothered Nachos
- Rob’s Kabobs of Rochester- Sweet Hot BBQ Chicken Kabob
- Global Taco of Watkins Glen- Korean Taco
- Come Fry With Me of Rome- Taco Fries
- Sarita’s of Rome- Tomato Basil Fresh Mozzarella Empanada
- Smoothies Plus of Rochester- Mango and Pineapple Smoothie
- Cue-Dogs of Syracuse- Cheese Fries
- The Cremeria of Syracuse- Blueberry Sorbetto
- The Meatball Truck of Rochester- Meatball in a Cup
- PB & J’s Lunchbox of Syracuse- Spinach and Artichoke Dip Grilled Cheese
- That’s What’s Up of Syracuse- Smashed Potatoes
- Gabriella’s Farm to Fork of Dryden- Fried Chicken Cobb Salad
- Macarollin of Rochester- Surf & Turf Macaroni and Cheese
- Salt City Truck of Syracuse- Pork Taco
- Birdsong Café of Syracuse- Lavender Lemonade with Kiwi Bubbles
Fairgoers can purchase $3 samples of the entrees and vote for their favorites. These votes will be tallied for the People’s Choice award, chosen each day. A panel of food industry experts will sample entrées to declare a Judges’ Choice winner each day. In addition, new this year, the New York Beef Council will recognize one of the 40 competing trucks for “Best Use of Beef Products.”
The judges for the competition are:
- Andrew Donovan of NewsChannel 9
- Thomas Kiernan, executive chef for the Marriott Syracuse Downtown
- Chance Bear, executive chef for the Lincklaen House
- Margaret McCormick, food writer for the Syracuse New Times
- Representatives from the New York Beef Council and Aldi
The competition is sponsored by Taste NY and Aldi.
Last year, 17 food trucks competed in the competition. Over 2,500 fairgoers voted for the People’s Choice award. The Meatball Truck’s Meatball Cup won the People’s Choice award and The Silo Truck’s Telekinetic Fried Chicken won the Judges’ Choice award.
Sara Caldwell, owner of Global Taco of Watkins Glen said, “We see the Fair as a great opportunity not only to serve thousands of people we might not normally meet, but also to check out what other food trucks in the region are cooking. We’ll be serving the Korean Taco this year, with shredded beef from Van Galder Farm in Alpine and Wixsom Farm in Mecklenburg, lettuce, cilantro, and green onion from Plowbreak Farm in Burdett, kimchi from FLX Wienery, and our own sweet chili sauce.”
Nick Sanford, owner of Toss ‘n’ Fire of Brewerton, said, “Toss ‘n’ Fire is thrilled to return to the food truck competition for our third year. We will be featuring our ‘Cuse Salt Potato Pizza with smashed Hinerwadel salt potatoes, mozzarella, cheddar and applewood smoked bacon. Our pizzas bake in just 90 seconds inside a 1000 degree imported wood-fired oven.”
Peter Causyn, president of Macarollin of Rochester, said, “Macarollin is proud to participate in the long-standing tradition of the Fair. We hope to meet as many people as possible during this year’s competition.”
Michael Tonzi, owner of Tonzi’s Catering Company of Auburn, said, “My wife and I have gone to the Food Truck Competition since it started and have always enjoyed it. We operate our catering business part-time and figured we’d give it a try this year. It’s exciting to be part of the Fair and we look forward to the competition.”
Ron Colangelo, owner of Come Fry With Me of Rome, said, “This is our second year at the competition. The Fair is attractive to us because it’s a day to spend with family and other people you care about, and it’s the last big ‘hoorah’ of the summer. We don’t normally do a lot in the Syracuse market, so it’s a great opportunity for us. Last year was our first time competing so we didn’t know what to expect, but we had a great turnout and are looking forward to another successful year.”
The New York State Fair, operated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August 23 to September 4, 2017. The Fair’s mission, reflected in its theme, “FIND YOUR GREAT,” is to showcase the best of New York agriculture while providing top-quality entertainment.
