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Keep on truckin’ toward food and fun

3 min read
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Holly Tonini

The Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival, organized by the Observer-Reporter, brought large crowds to The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in May of 2018.

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John Binsse of Venetia tries to take a bite out of an egg roll being held by his cousin Kim Manning of Baldwin.

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Foster Gaddis, 4, of Washington checks out his newly painted face during the Food Truck Festival at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

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Shelby Brown, who owns Main Squeeze, makes change from her first sale as a food truck at the Food Truck Festival at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

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Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter

Lew Cramer, co-owner of Carneval holds D’Bottoms, a sandwich made of funnel cake, shave kielbasa, potato pierogi, truck kraut, swiss cheese and “Neville Island” sauce during Greater Pittsburgh Friday’s Food Truck Festival at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

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Dogs take off in the first heat of the weiner dog race held Friday during the Food Truck Festival at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

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Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter

Linus runs in for a fourth-place finish in the first heat Friday of the weiner dog races at the Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

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Holly Tonini/For the Observer-Reporter

Karen Less of Lower Burrell holds up her wiener dog Emma as she is announced the second-place winner at the food truck festival in 2018.

Greeting summer’s unofficial beginning with dogs on the grill has been the way to spend Memorial Day, well, maybe not since time immemorial, but for quite a few decades.

The wieners were cookin’ Friday at the Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in more ways than one.

Not only were they encased in buns, but they were wearing coats, and that doesn’t mean coated with mustard or kraut.

The hot dogs on a hot summer evening were hoping to become top dog, and each sported a number.

Except for Elmer. The black and white dachshund-Jack Russell terrier mix was ready to go, with his tail wagging a mile a minute. But the event was so popular, Elmer’s owner said it filled up months ago.

Strutting through the packed concourse was The Meadows’ 2017 racing wiener champion, Doki Doki Yummy Chums. She won a coat proclaiming her title for all to see, and maybe to score a psychological victory Friday over any alpha dog wannabes.

Jess Golling, now of Detroit, Mich., but formerly of McKees Rocks, said of Doki, who will turn seven in August, “She’s always excited. It’s either insane or sleeping.”

There was no racing form for canines as the track went to the dogs, but Billy McClearn of Stoneboro, Mercer County, and his wife, Jody, had shaped up a card of sorts. He was entering Stewie in one heat while Jody placed Gabby in another dash.

And then there was lucky little Linus of Morgantown, W.Va., looking jaunty in his official racing attire plus matching navy blue and white hat and sunglasses.

He placed in the top four of his heat.

“He loves to run,” enthused his owner, Theresa Twigg.

This was a foodie event, after all, so here’s a tidbit to digest. If you equate funnel cake with festival food, how about a little garlic herb mayonnaise with that?

These funnel cakes by Carneval of Johnstown, Cambria County, are a lacy, Pennsylvania-poured variation on the doughnut sandwich.

“We actually created it because we got bored with eating the same food on the line in the kitchen,” said Lew Cramer. “And we were just playing around, and all of a sudden, this idea, bam, came about.”

Sandwich fillings include “Chicken Little,” Beefcake or D’Bottoms, a shaved kielbasa extravaganza with potato perogi, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and, no, not Thousand Island, but “Neville Island” dressing.

Prefer turkey, bacon, cheddar, tomato slice and the above-mentioned mayo? Just ask Lew Cramer or Mark Browning for a Tyler Durden. The turkey club is named for a “Fight Club” character.

Just don’t ask for powdered sugar. If you must have a funnel cake, dessert-style, it comes with locally-sourced maple syrup.

Need a drink to wash it down?

Around the back of Carneval making her debut was Shelby Brown of Tarentum, doing business as Main Squeeze Juice.

Healthy sounding ingredients – kale, celery, cucumber and broccoli “and a little bit of lemon,” said Brown as she muscled in on the food truck scene. She also makes fruit-based juices and smoothies.

Do people flock to a food truck fest and watch calories or make healthy choices?

“We will find out,” Brown predicted. “This is our first day ever.”

The Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival continues from noon to 8 p.m. today and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

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