Ohio Adventures: the Columbus Food Truck and Cart Festival

Week #4: Columbus Food Truck and Cart Festival. Initially, we didn't think we'd be going as we had out-of-town guests coming in, they have wee ones and thought they might like to do something else. But then they saw info on it and asked if we wouldn't mind going with them. You had me at doughnut food cart.

Here's my overall impression of this fest: standing in line. 

• We arrived about 4:30 p.m. and left around 7:00 p.m. and most of what we did was stand in line. 
• We stood in line to get beer tickets. 
• We stood in line to get beer (although no line for water - inexplicable. It was hot.)
• We stood in line to get gluten-free mini donuts from Lily's Donuts - which were super yummy and worth it. 
• We stood in line to get tots and fruit shake from Street Thyme - shakes were delicious, tots were ok (greasy). 
• We stood in line to get a hot dog from The Good Frank - well, Spouse did and said it was ok. 
• Our family stood in line to get tasty sammiches from Mai Chau. They really liked the Banh Mi sandwich and it.was.HUGE.
• They also stood in line to get tasty grub from El Taco Petan. Also really enjoyed it and filling to boot.

We did walk all the way around and in-between, did some shopping (got an awesome Dias de los Muertos guitar pick bracelet from What The Rock?! and face soap & serum/moisturizer from Glenn Ave. Soap Company) and generally chillaxed. But there was just a little too much standing in line for me. 

Here are my (unrequested) suggestions:

• Serve only tastes of the food offerings, so you can serve more items quickly and so this allows the festival attendees to be able to try more things. 
• Our cousin that had the Bahn Mi sandwich was stuffed, but had wanted to try other items. 
• I didn't finish my tots because by then I'd had most of one serving of the mini doughtnuts (came 13 to a bag), so tots on top of that was very filling. And they were a bit greasy. Other than water, that's all I had room for in mah belleh.
• Turn the volume down on the music. I know all of the generators and stuff are loud so maybe they think they needed to amp up the tunes, but there are a LOT of people. And we want to talk to our people about what we're eating, and what we're seeing and how hot it is and how long these lines are. I really am interested in the bands and listening to the music, but I also like to hear myself think.
• More restrooms.
• Move the kids' stuff to the SE corner, instead of where it was. This is a really kid friendly area but not everyone has kids or wants to try and maneuver through the long lines of kiddos and parents waiting for the bouncy stuff. 

We did enjoy ourselves, but this was my least favorite festival of our inadvertent four-week festival jaunt. I did enjoy the fact that it was so focused on local, home-grown businesses and resources. It was awesome to have tents there for BMI Federal Credit Union (caveat: my credit union since 1998), Local Matters, Music Loves Ohio, Ohio Art League, etc. And the crafter alley vendors were great too (since I purchased items). But lines were too long, food too filling and full-sized portions and music a wee bit loud for my enjoyment. 

Joe Bob says, one thumb up (instead of two). 

To review, here was my personal enjoyment level, in order, for the four fests we attended:
1. Dublin Irish Festival. Der. 
2. Akron Blues and Brews Festival.
3. Columbus Wine Festival. 
4. Columbus Food Truck and Cart Festival.