AIBU to think street food festivals are a bit overrated?

[brightonbabe86]

There is a street food festival on locally to us this weekend. We’ve been before a number of times and to some other ones else where. Some of our crowd want to go again but I’m getting a bit fed up of them. I think the food the vendors make is often really nice but under street food festival conditions things go down hill fast. It’s either really hot and sunny with no shade or raining with no cover. It’s crowded, the queues are massive, quality control under the pressure goes down quickly so your food is a bit undercooked or things are missing, there isn’t enough seating, the food can be restaurant prices and the bars are also crowded and expensive.

So I know you are thinking just don’t go then and I’m probably not going to go. I did go to one that started at lunch time and we went at about 2pm, it was really quiet and that was actually quite nice. But am I being unreasonable to think that they are a bit overrated and to wonder if there are only really worth it if you enjoy big crowds?

I would avoid. just a load of sellers selling expensive food.

They’re just all so samey.

We have a bunch of food trucks once a month where I live and it’s brilliant. The pub puts on music and if weather is bad can just take the food home to eat. It’s cheaper than a takeaway when delivery fees are added on.
Several of the vendors have a weekly spot too.
I like the ones near work too, gives variety to work lunch and feels nicer than going to a chain.

YANBU awful places and they never do anything suitable for me to eat (coeliac)

Absolutely. They are a total carb fest - pizza, burgers, noodles, wraps, pasta, dumplings. They are rubbish for coeliacs.

I’ve never been to one and I’m wary because I’m assuming the food will be super expensive plus I’m not a massive fan of not being being able to sit down to eat.

I’ve actually decided against the one I think you’re referring to because the weather is too nice so it’ll be rammed. Never happy. 😂

Yeah it will be mobbed for sure!

Yeah me too, they’re always heaving so clearly many people love them!
There’s an annual food truck festival in our town and people come from all around to go and eat food from a van. I thought I was the only one who couldn’t see the appeal 🤣🤣

I went to one in Hackney years ago, a vegan one and it was lovely. Had this amazing pie with mash and peas. I still think about it around 9 years later! Some are rubbish and overblown though, I hate the ones where you queue 10 years.

The one in Oxford is great, it’s there most days so isn’t a pop up one people flock to. There’s a Syrian stand which is lovely and also homemade ice cream- the pistachio one is divine.

I don’t think we’ve ever eaten at them but regularly go to buy stuff from vendors

I get the fear about it in general hygiene wise which is stupid really as I ate street food from much more basic hawker stalls every day for 6 months in Asia and was fine.

The local food truck markets near me I just feel kinda sorry for the vendors. It takes them hours to set up and clean/close down each day for basically two hours potential trade. I used to romanticise the idea of having a food truck/stall but not when you see the logistics of it.

Depends where they are. Ours is throughout the pedestrianised area of town and leads down to a square where they have set put straw bales for seating and a music tent. When the weather is good it's really enjoyable.

It's not Candleston Woods, Forest Feastival? 🤣 Also went to one last week and omg...what a rip off. The food was overpriced and disgusting! It was inedible, a lot of it. Charged to get in, too. £17 for two pints.

They are a rip off here, the food costs more than a restaurant because they charge the vendors so much for a pitch, there’s never enough seating either. We wander around the one here in case there’s something we fancy but usually end up in the pub, the Italian or Lidl

Our local park does them monthly in the summer, I used to sometimes take a wander down and buy an ice cream or something when it was free entry, but when they started charging an entry fee I stopped bothering. I'm not paying to get in just to pay again for overpriced food.

There's usually nothing I can eat at these events so I don't go. The gluten free festival in Sheffield was another matter. It was amazing to be able to go somewhere and just eat. I think in general street food probably sounds better than it actually is.

yes. I won’t eat from them for this reason, They just seem really grim to me.

I also won’t eat anything from salad bars like the ones in Morrisons, saw someone licking a spoon once then put it back in the rice 🤮

I'm over the street food trend. It's awful with children (teens in my case). Everyone queuing for ages at different stalls, costing a fortune, food not great often. Having to queue separately for drinks. Its hard to get a seat. By the time you do get your food you have had no time to speak to each other. Restaurants are better. Street Food markets are no cheaper than restaurants because the vendors are charged extortionate prices to rent their stand. Such a con on them and us.

There's a massive one in Manchester called freight island and it costs so much every time but at least we can book a table. The food is meh. Mainly burgers pizzas, fried chicken as thats what does well along with some other kebab/curry/oriental options.

That's funny, I was about to ask if it was Porthleven, which is on this weekend too.

I've been several times and quite enjoyed myself, but only once did I make the mistake of trying to actually order food there.

As someone who previously ran a mobile catering business, I can assure you that the stands are all required to have basic food hygiene certificates, and that snap environmental health inspections can happen at any time. Trailers are required to have a dedicated hand wash sink with hot water. You have to be just as hygienic as any static kitchen.

Paisley? My sister went and said it was a good day but she spent a fortune.

Some of street food is still excellent, but there are a lot of vendors now who are just selling gussied up fried food. I went to a food hall type set up recently where all the stalls were just very ordinary “pan-Asian” noodles, okay burgers, loaded chips, and wraps (burritos or naan). It was really boring and just felt like junk food with pretensions.

There's a permanent food truck near me, they do scottish breakfast rolls which are fine, but also homemade soups, and home baking.
It's brilliant and the homemade stuff is delicious 😋

Thanks. As I said, its the pop up ones in the street that I'm more cautious of. I've never see a sink or any hand washing facilities on a stall on the road, but I'm sure they are required to have something.

A truck/van/trailer, then I'd assume they'd have a sink, even if its from a water tank on the van.