First time here. Was doing a staycation in downtown w the bf and we were wondering what all the crowd and noise was. It was a great experience! Bought some cute artwork from Juan Muniz and tried out Wa Da Pho truck food and wow! Flavorful explosion in your mouth for sure. I'm glad we found this by accident and look fwd to checking more out in the future!!
Review Source:First things first. Music. The musician will cuss. ALOT. And the music is very loud and very explicit so therefor bringing kids is a huge NO. I suggest that after 10:00 they can allow artists with explicit music. Also, you should add a list of the musicians and DJs saying what genre and if it is explicit.
Food. The trucks were pretty incredible. I do think you should get more weather appropriate food. The soup truck was not a large hit considering it was 105 degrees outside. Another ice cream truck or cold (non- alcoholic) drinks like tea or red bull.
Other than that, I found all of it pretty good.
Thank you.
Great food great fun. Remember to buy drink tickets and you're made in the shade!
I ate from the French Bistro tent, shrimp and sausage in all the right spices.
Everyone I went with ate somewhere different, hell my friend the chef ate twice!
Dragon Grille THUMBS UP
Slidin Thru the bf got the western/BBQ burgers. Wasn't 100% into the barbecue sauce they used but the meat was excellent and the onions were nice and crispy.
I don't remember the name of the other truck we ate at but everything was worth it and sharing and wandering was tons of fun.
Great idea El Cortez to host the Vegas Streats food truck get together once a month. Bad idea to charge $10 for event parking at the el cortez garage. If you're in the area prior to the event, sign up for a free Club Cortez card for free event parking. It was a great gathering, but the music was awful and so loud. It was teally hard to hear the foodtrucks describe their dishes. I would have stayed longer and tried more trucks, but my ears were ringing from the loud music.
I tried Melteez, Shrimp n sausage  (there isn't a yelp on these guys yet), and Sin city snoball ( review on their yelp page). Melteez was yummy, and friendly. Shrimp n sausage's creole dish was awful. No skill or techniqe used to make their dish. The shrimp tasted old with no flavor and the rice was a little soggy. There was also a bunch of oil, where on earth did this come from?
Long time visitor of Vegas StrEATS. Â Saturday we decided to go earlier rather than later when the lines are long. Â Good choice! Â We got carded at entry and purse search as well. Â First booth on the right Beer and Shots! Â Haaaaay! Â $4 Jager shots and not sure about the beer but who cares after the $4 shots. Â At this point total score-I knew this night was gonna be good. Â How could it get any better? Â Walking around, there are so many trucks I haven't tried and want to but you only have so much room in your belly. LOL Â
Started with an Asian flavor taco from Dragon Grille. Â That's it ....I just found my favorite food truck! Â Hands down it was the best darn taco and I will be hankerin for another till I find them out and about again! Â We all were completely impressed. Â The chickie in the front with the totally cute accent was helpful and such a sweetheart.
Headed over to Sauced for the Big Easy Balls with Srirachi sauce. Â I had been told these are most awesome and I wanted to see for myself. Â Chicken and Rice formed into a ball and fried. Â Amazeballs! Â Talking about forgetting your diet for the night...
Free Vegas StrEATS lanyard with Yelp checkin. Â Thanks! Â The vibe is pretty chill, everyone standing around juggling their drinks and food.....BECAUSE there is nowhere to sit other than a gross street ledge which I refused to sit. Â They definitely need some chairs of some sort but they know what they are doing. Â I'm sure there is a reason for not having the chairs/table set up.
I see people complaining in the reviews regarding the downtown parking prices and some of the hotel garages just need your ticket validated inside the hotel before you leave-free parking peeps. Â Its not a secret or maybe it is.
Anyways, what is better than cheap eats, flowin drinks, music and art? Â The whole night as usual with StrEATS was a success! =)
I was expecting more variety from the food trucks and that's why we went. Â We did have some philly cheesesteaks and fries and that was filling, but not very special and I was looking to try some cool new things. Â The music at the venue wasn't my taste but everyone seemed to be having a good time anyway. Â It was a fun thing to do and now I have my very own Yelpstick!
Review Source:This was my first StrEATS event and I have to say aside from the wind the event was cool. I was so crazy about the live band choice. Punk/rock...I haven't listened to this type of stuff since my younger days listening to the Sex Pistols and the Dead Kennedy's and trust this band wasn't either of these groups on an extremely off day.
The vibe did quickly turn around when the DJ started spinning people started really getting into the vibe of the event. Last but not least was the Yelp tent....AWESOME! As usual Molly did a great job with yet another Yelp event. The cocktails were so good. Way to go Yelp.
HOLY WIND BATMAN!! We decided to finally check this monthly event out... Plus YELP had a VIP tent happenin SO that was definitely a PLUS to get our butts downtown!
TOO bad the wind was SO crazy that night that we couldn't really enjoy ourselves and made it an early night =(
We did get into the tent for a bit though (Hi Molly T.!) and got some good draaanks and yummy food and ran into some other Yelp friends - Shoutout to Christie L.! so that was fun.
And I stopped by the Dragon Grille and got a little rice bowl that wasn't too bad at all!
Hopefully next time we go the weather will be nicer!!
This event has a LOT of potential to be so much fun. Â Unfortunately, it was SOOOOO windy that night it was simply impossible to enjoy it. Â Poor Molly T. at the Yelp Elite tent! Â We went and hung out for a little bit and were treated to some samples from the Dragon Grille food truck. Â It was so delicious! Â They were Asian fusion tacos of some sort. Â The tent was also serving whipped cream vodka drinks. Â We said hi to some fellow Elites and then made our way down to the stage, where a band named American Cream (dumbest band name, btw) was playing. Â They were really good!
My roommie is a vegetarian so she hit up the Grilled Cheese food truck and got this gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with tomato in it and garlic parmesan dip. Â I tried a bite and it was seriously the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever eaten. Â The texas toast was perfectly toasted and had just the right amount of crunch, along with a buttery taste that complimented the multitude of cheeses and tomato slices sitting in between. I was greatly impressed by this sandwich.
I really wanted some wings so even as the wind got worse, I decided to get in line at Sin City Wings. Â Sadly, they were a bit of a dissapointment. Â I got the Buffalo Bills wings, not your average buffalo wings. Â The skin wasn't crispy on the outside, but instead kind of soft. Â The taste was good, there was a hint of sweetness alongside the buffalo which did make it unique, but I just felt they lacked something. Â As I sat there trying to eat my not-so-special wings, the wind became unbearable. Â I decided tryiing to hold my drink and my little tray of wings to keep either from flying away was just becoming too difficult so I tossed the wings, gulped down my drink, and we booked it. Â
I hope the next event isn't as windy. Â I'm really looking forward to go back and be able to just enjoy the music and being outside while stuffing our faces!
One more thing! Â The fact that you have to pay for parking downtown BLOWS. Â $10!? Â It's complete BS. Â In this mission to revitalize downtown, they might want to start addressing the parking issue!
Local or tourist, you should stop by this fun food truck and local vendor monthly festival. The food trucks vary from month to month, but rest assured that you will find something you like. Not to be missed is the Yelp! tent. Great fun. Live it up, you are in Las Vegas for cryin' out loud!
Review Source:I attended my first Vegas Streets Festival on March the 10th with a very good friend of mine and fellow Yelper Christie L. She was awesome at showing me around and introducing me at the yelp tent. While at the tent they had this awesome "beer pong" like game where you had to get the ball in the cup. Christie went first and had little luck. When it was my turn I was ready and quickly stepped up to the plate to show off my 3 point shooter lmao lol ok I suck at basketball so I have no clue how I managed to sink 2 balls in back to back. I walked away with these very awesome yelp balls and offered one up to my good friend as a token of appreciation for showing me the ropes. While at the street festival I absolutely needed to visit the funnel cake cafe as my pregnant wife had sent me on a mission to get her some funnel cake. We walked around a bit to check out the other trucks and to be completely honest I thought they all seemed a bit over priced. A food truck to me has always been a humbling place to pick up some "homey" food at a decent price. I always saw the food trucks more as roach coaches coming from the LA area and all but I would always get the best food there. Nowadays I felt as if the food trucks are moving to a gourmet type feel which is great an all but there also tagging along those gourmet prices. I finally got the funnel cake and my wife thought it was delicious and she appreciated that this festival was put together as it allowed her to satisfy her funnel cake craving!!!!
Review Source:First time attending. A-OK for sure.
Outside, just about 100x20 yards fenced in, and secured by security to make sure your not a terrorist. ;)
Music was good, just needed to connect more speakers around to hype up more of the area. You can see that the DJ was feeling the music more than the crowd haha.
About 8 food trucks to choose from. Tried out Chi-Town Hustler's Bugsy Sliders for $7 which where equivalent in size to 2 McDoubles. Quality wise, lets just say they need to soften up their buns and create a sauce to even out all the dryness.
I must also aware you of the wait to purchase alcohol. Must buy 'correct amount' of tickets to acquire your beverage.. Took 20 minutes to get a $6 cup of Bud Light.
I have been coming to Vegas StrEATS off and on since it first started. I am disappointed in how the cost of the food has gone up. I remember when I could try a little something from a few different trucks for $3 or $5 each and now I noticed a lot of the trucks are charging more. I knew I was going for some "crack tacos" at Tacos El Gordo when we were done with this visit so I decided to just get some funnel cake to split with my peeps. Nothing like unhealthy fried dough before dinner! It was super delicious but not for almost $10. They charge a certain price for the funnel cake but then additional for other toppings. The food trucks aren't always the same at each festival which is something I actually like. It is nice to try something new and an old favorite. It was nice to see yelp set up at Vegas StrEATS too! They had some fun games going on and freebies you could win. I got a cool bouncy ball :)
Security checks your ID and purse if you have one before entering so be prepared. Entry is free you just have to pay for whatever you want from the food trucks or other vendors. They have different bands playing each time so check the facebook page for Vegas StrEATS to see who is playing the upcoming festival as well what food trucks and vendors will be there.
Good times were had by all.
Lot's of families and fun people.
There is an EXCELLENT variety of food available.
Sliders, wings, sandwiches AND FUNNEL CAKE!!!!
It costs nothing to get in.
You can have fun for about 2 hours.
Things to be aware of:
There is no place to sit except for the filthy ground.
There is one beer tent, so the line gets long.
Check it out!!
(and if you have kids, go early)
We wanted to check this out since we were already in the downtown area and I thought it was OK. It was kinda chilly out so we didn't stay long. There were clothing vendors and food trucks but we didn't buy anything. The food smelled really good coming from one of the trucks but I noticed there was no place to sit and eat so we decided to pass. We will probably come out again when the weather is warmer.
BTW, security will check your ID and look in your purse before you can enter in.
Vegas strEATS combines good food trucks, a small art scene and a DJ in a small square in the El Cortez area of downtown. It was my first time going to what my friend refers to as "Second Saturday," which led me to believe that Vegas StrEATS was a monstrously large occasion like First Friday.
I was gladly wrong in my assumptions. When I went this February I was surprised to see about nine food-trucks parked in a line, with vendors (Jerky, root beer, baked goods) and artists (t-shirts, canvas pieces) and even a yelp booth (where I got some awesome free yelp gloves!).
We visited Sin City Wings, Slidin' Thru, tried some jerky, danced and watched other people dance (they were far more skilled than me and my dance crew). We spent an hour or two hanging out before leaving; it was good fun! If you're looking for an exciting and local event then Vegas StrEATS is for you!
give it an hour or so.. for people to start showing up. Live Music. there were I think 7 different food vendors. Bu it was soo cold, last time we attempted it was RAINING.. pouring. we still tried to support but didn't last long. Yelp had a stand there where we got a card stamp. It seems to have been smaller from the last time we had gone. I love that las vegas is starting to have more community events. This is something that we really need.
Its located downtown which is improving vastly and am excited to see what it will all soon be. Â Â Â They have a few different free parking areas, you can get validated @ some of the casinos. El Cortez is the closest. and there are parking meters on the street.
Brr. Besides the cold weather tonight. Its always a 'TREAT' being at the sTreats. It was too cold for measures today, but normally draws a pretty good crowd. Definitely an addition to the upcoming rise of Old Vegas Downtown.
They've got a DJ.. lots of FOOD TRUCKS, artist, retails booths etc.
Free entry btw.
Culture meet Diversity. Vegas welcomes you both.
There's some decent food trucks in this town, and if you want to get a chance to try some out, it's a great place to do it. Â But with a festival comes a lot of foot traffic, which means there's lines at the best food trucks. Â And are you really going to eat at more than 1 food truck? Â I'm full after 1 meal, so I'm fine hitting up a food truck at a non-StrEATs location. Â Great activity for people under 21, though, with free bands and entertainment.
Review Source:Vegas StrEATs, which takes place almost monthly in the parking area of the El Cortez Casino and Hotel in downtown East Las Vegas was where I finally got to sample the delightful offerings of food trucks. It's kind of funny; here in Montreal, there are strictly speaking, no food trucks, but there sort of are a few, but like most things in Montreal, it is complicated. Anyhow, even as a frequent visitor to food truck friendly cities, I have never really explored the phenomena.
We eagerly awaited the start of food services, we had arrived early enough that most of the trucks were still figuring out parking arrangements. In the meantime we browsed the many artists selling their works, with one artist, Juan Muniz, catching my attention for quite some time. We will definitely be on the lookout for him and his works on future visits to Vegas.
Once the trucks were open for business, it didn't take very long for the lines to fill up and pretty soon I realized how lucky we were to be one of the first people in. While my boyfriend ordered from FukuBurger and I headed over to Tasty Bunz where I was faced with oodles of interesting choices and forced to narrow my selections down to 4 of the offerings. For good measure, we also ordered a poutine from Lola D's Kitchen; we couldn't resist, we're from Montreal!
From FukuBurger we scored a Karai and a Buta Burger, both were delicious but extremely messy! This was our first time approaching food trucks, so like anxious little starstruck girls, we both were too giddy to ask too many questions. So the Buta Burger, from memory, was a fuku patty (marinate beef from my understanding) topped with applewood smoked bacon and a Japanese BBQ sauce. The Karai, also a fuku patty but topped with habanero kabayaki (spicy).
At Tasty Bunz, home of my favorite of the day was the bacon stuffed hotdog I scarfed down in seconds. We also had a selection of 3 smaller bunz including the McCheezy (cheesy macaroni stuffed into a bunz), the Bacon Bird (chicken and bacon) and the Queso-Diaz (more cheese). They were all really good, but none could scoop my attention away from that hotdog.
Over at Lola D's Kitchen we were not too impressed with the poutine, but not being even remotely from Montreal, just the effort is worth noting. We did, however, really enjoy their homemade gelato, it was magnificent!
Before heading out, we stopped by to try a cone from SnOw ONO, but I think shaved ice just instead my thing, I couldn't grasp the value of it, even with a ball of vanilla ice-cream snuggled in the center. People love the SnOw ONO truck and there was a huge line just to get my order in, I feel like I did when people would (or do) tell me that my mother makes the best cabbage rolls ever, I don't know, I can't appreciate it.
If you are visiting Las Vegas, or happen to be lucky enough to live there, definitely check out Vegas StrEATs!
Tasty Bunz, Fukuburger, Lola D's Kitchen & SnOw ONO can be found in various spots in Las Vegas, follow their tweets to find out where they'll show up next.
I love food truck festivals because they can bring so many of them together in one place. Who has the time to search all of their Twitter accounts or other social media sites they use to find out their location? Even with apps, it's still a hassle, so I'm definitely a fan of Vegas Streats. It always has a wide range of food trucks, most of which are regulars, so even if you can't try them this time, there's always next month. I really enjoy food from Slidin' Thru and POP's. The funnel cakes are always delicious as well. The entertainment provided is usually alright. I've heard a lot of nice bands play, but nothing too spectacular. (It's free. No one should be complaining). All in all, Vegas Streats is a must if you're a foodie. It's also just a nice, fun and relatively family friendly place to eat and hangout at on a Saturday night.
Review Source:The Vegas StrEATts food truck and street festival continues to draw hungry crowds to the downtown Fremont East district.
Some 15 months ago or so, revelers downtown discovered a  yummy party, when a half-dozen gourmet food trucks rolled into the parking lot across the street from the El Cortez. Hundreds of visitors and locals alike had a chance to sample tasty Angus sliders and pulled pork sandwiches from Slidin' Thru who organized the inaugural event, Colin Fukunaga's Fukuburger (a beefy burger marinated in sake, mirin and yuzu is their specialty), Asian fusion from Tasty Bunz, and Hawaiian takes on Kimchi and Santa Fe wraps from Island Breeze who were just some of the trucks serving up gourmet dishes at the launch of this new street festival.
Vegas locals are already familiar with many of these gourmet food trucks, and stalk where they will be showing up next using Facebook and Twitter, as they typically park in one destination for most of the night, and then pop up somewhere else the next. Their relatively inexpensive offerings (usually around $3) beat whatever you can find at any fast food drive-thru with their unique and intense flavours like caramelized jalapeño, chipotle mustard, grilled sourdough, furikake (a dried fish and sesame condiment), and salsa blanca.
The festival (which also features live music, and street wear designers and artists selling their wares) was a fun way for visitors who happened to be in the area to discover this relatively new culinary trend that has exploded in Las Vegas in the past few years. Most tourists won't stray into the further afield destinations these trucks usually visit, like the UNLV campus, and have the chance to try something coveted by locals.
I first wondered how successful it would be when there was talk of making it monthly (it's now held every second Saturday of each month). Many locals already hunt down these trucks daily, so I did not think a monthly event might have the same cachet as a seasonal event. I thought it would make happenings like its initial launch less special, and some might forgo attending a monthly event if they knew another one was just around the corner. Boy, was I wrong.
I've managed to attend two of these Vegas StrEATs events a few months apart and was struck not only by the tasty discoveries I made each time, but the number of new and familiar faces that came out for it -- word-of-mouth is making it popular but not overly crowded.
The fact new food trucks are showing up at each event (both new players and a steady rotation of local favorites) are also keeping things fresh.
This festival is providing a wonderful energy to an area that is often overlook by tourists who are more familiar with the downtown casinos on the west side near the Fremont Street Experience. It is also the perfect excuse to stray east and discover some unique local watering holes -- the Griffin, the Vanguard Lounge, and video game mecca Insert Coin(s) -- and the landmark El Cortez hotel and casino that was built in 1941 and controlled by Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky early on in its history.
It's also adding some much needed foodie-friendly dining options to this part of town. That said, if you are going there strictly to sample the offerings, or turn a visit into a dinner outing, I would recommend getting there early (it starts at 6 pm) and returning later in the evening for the party-like atmosphere that continues well past midnight. Otherwise, you will wait in line and probably not have as much fun.
StrEATs is cool because it's free entry, it's in the fun downtown area right next to El Cortez, and there is lots of food to be had. Â Like food trucks? Â Never been to one and want to try it out? Â Then follow StrEATs on Facebook or Twitter to find out when the next event is.
StrEATs is *not* cool because if you go early it's packed and if you go late the trucks are sold out of half their menu. Â I also find the music irritating but that might be because I've gone at the wrong time. Â Or I'm old.
It's also not cool because I've grown tired of paying outrageous prices for the food. Â Five bucks for a tiny order of fries that has a little bit of parmesan sprinkled on top? Â I just got an order of fries at Buldogis for $3 and was three times the size. Â And they are paying for upkeep of a real restaurant, not a truck.
Lastly, if you are a vegetarian, don't expect to eat anything here other than fries and maybe ice cream. Â I was at StrEATs last year and got so pissed at it that it took me this long to come back. Â Why? Â Other than fries, there was not a single thing I could eat. Â I went up to a grilled cheese truck (that had only sandwiches with meat on their menu) and asked them if they could just make me a plain grilled cheese. Â They told me no. Â WTF.
Feels like a mini-version of First Friday. Â Fun to stop at if you're in the area or if you want to visit your favorite food truck, but if you want to have a more epic food truck experience wait until First Friday.
I was excited to discover that there was a food truck event taking place while I was checking out Fremont St. It would give me a chance to expand my food trucking experience outside of Cali. Â
Although admission is free and the location is great, I was rather disappointed at the food truck selection. Â There were less than 10 trucks at the event and the ones that were there, I wasn't really jazzed to try them out. Their food offerings were pretty ordinary...sliders, philly cheesesteak, ice cream...When I go food trucking, I want to get something unusual, i.e. Grill Em All, Kogi, Buttermilk Truck, etc. Â
It has potential, but it could be better.
Vegas StrEATs... I am truly disappointed in this sub par attempt to add a sense of community and hip vibe to downtown Las Vegas. Â As a local who is excited about the revitalization efforts downtown my first, and last experience at StrEATs has almost taken away that excitement completely!! Â Surly this can not be the vision that Tony Hsieh and his group have for downtown Las Vegas... is it?!
I came to StrEATs with my wife, 2 kids and my 14 year old sons friend, eager and excited to experience this event for the first time. Â As soon as we arrived it had the feeling of a carnival/circus!! Â We were immediately taken back by the fence that corralled everyone who entered the venue. Â It became obvious that this was not going to be like the street festivals found in Chicago, Boston, L.A., even Phoenix! Â We were then hassled, err... hustled by a carnival, freak- side show dunk tank guy that was charging money to dunk some poor girl into a cess pool of water! Â Still having an open mind we walked the confined venue trying to connect with it in some way. Â Unfortunately, one of the biggest reasons for our immediate disconnect was the DJ that was blasting club tunes from the top of the "TopShop bus." Â This is downtown Las Vegas!!!!! Â Freemont Street!!! Â Vintage, Rat Pack era Vegas, NOT the Strip!!!!! Â Save that clubbing music for the clubs on the strip, do not insult the history of that area with a barrage of club tunes reminiscent of a Jersey Shore episode! Â Speaking of Jersey Shore, the clubbing music unfortunately attracted the type of cheesy people you would find at a Tijuana discotec on Revolution Street. Â Additionally, we had to muddle through crowds of degenerates from the seedy side of Las Vegas that came out to hassle you and blow cigarette and Budweiser laden breath all over you... disgusting! Â As for the food trucks... we didn't even bother eating there! Â First, the prices are INSANE! Â Last time I checked food trucks were supposed to be economical, at least they were supposed to be cheaper than dining at a traditional brick and mortar restaurant... this was not the case at StrEATs. Â The prices, coupled with the trashiness that the nauseating club music attracted and the carnival type environment that was invoked on us made us come to the conclusion that this was totally not what we were expecting. Â Instead we opted for a meal at a restaurant back in the friendly confines of our suburban Summerlin home. Â
We are so disappointed!! Â I hate to say it but I hope StrEATs goes away OR completely gets revamped. Â Instead of a tiny, confined area to host this event, open it up to include more StrEETs so that it can then be called a "street festival." Â Look at the city of Chicago to see how they do their festivals. Â After all, the month of June in that city is "festival month" so I'd say they have some experience in setting these things up. Â Also, get rid of the DJ and club music!! Â Have live acts that go there and play vintage, Vegas tunes to bring back that Rat Pack feel that everyone loves!! Â That is what defined downtown for so long and what everyone wants to see come back. Â It would be so much more appropriate to have a DJ play those tunes than to have a DJ spin annoying club tracks! Â This in turn will attract the hipster, yuppies and young educated and older sophisticated folks that will ultimately support the revitalization efforts downtown!
Until then, I will not be returning to Vegas StrEATs... it was a complete let down and utter disappointment for us all!!
The admission is free but expect it to be small and have only several food trucks there. Â It is hard to find a free parking lot, especially you are not from the area and don't know much just like me. Â There were some street parking with meters if you go early enough. Â If not, you probably will end up paying $5 for parking. Â
My girlfriend and I went there basically just for Fuku Burger. Â It was truly delicious, just like I expected. Â Other than this food truck, I did not find anything else that attractive. Â We got there after 7 and there weren't too many people. Â Like others say, there are only a few tables so expect to eat standing or just sit on the side of the road. Â
If you have nothing else to do, I would say go ahead but don't waste time going if you have other stuff you want to do. Â I would recommend to check out Fuku Burger and their location changes everyday.
Its cool n' all.. and I'm definitely in with supporting all the food truck entrepeneurs n' all.. But honest to say.. VegasStreats was more like the midget version of First Friday.  Due to the miniscule size of the entire area, it just made the lines and the wait all the more longer.  But nonetheless, a festival like this does usher in a new sense of community within the area.  It also gives small business owners a chance to be heard and redefined.  I say.. be a part of it!!! ..even though it takes a half an hour to score some  chickenwangs!
Review Source:It was the first anniversary of Vegas Streats Festival, we came here last year with Rick's Dad downtown to come and try some food trucks. Â But we were terribly disappointed that Fukuburger wasn't going to attend, (they were off at the Nascar Races). Â But being that the festival occurs while they're here, it would have been a shame not to go. Â And since the whole family has gotten involved with the review process, we were able this time to branch out and try multiple food trucks!!
And there were many!  To start off, we went early;  the lines at the food trucks get WAY TOO LONG if you don't get there early!  Well, I guess that secret was out, because a long line awaited us at the Festival's gates.  There were a couple of  Food Trucks we were hoping to get to this year, as well as some mainstays.  Everyone was hungry, so I knew the one Food Truck that would deliver: TastyBunz!!
Now a little bit on the service delivery of food trucks: you go up to one window, order and pay, get your receipt with number, then wait in an uncomfortable claustrophobic huddle with other annoyed people, crowded around the pick up window waiting for you're number to be called, hoping that it does before everyone else's in the most unreasonably shortest amount of time...which never happens...
Okay, back to TastyBunz; We had their buns last year, and they were so good! (omitting the little SNAFU they had with passing up my order and making me wait for over an hour). Â This year, they only had two selections of buns: Pizza Pizza Buns with Pepperoni and Chicken Swiss Prosciutto in Cream. Â We got an order of both and an order of Me Tots: Tater Tots topped with Truffle Fried Egg, Bacon, Onion and Ranch Dressing. Â The Chicken Buns were really creamy and satisfying, the Pizza buns were alright. Â But the Me Tots took the Prize; Â these crunchy Tots with the Fried Egg, Bacon and Ranch were exceptionally sinful seeing as they came right out of the fryer and into and oven with the ingredients, (I was intently watching them make it), Â it was a perfect truck food snack!
Rick went over to wait in line at Sliding Thru, Rick Sr. went to Cheesesteak Truck and Marian secured a table for us to eat. Â After I got our TastyBunz food, I went to the table and Rick Sr. had already brought the Cheesesteak over, so I got Rick and we gave up on Slidin-Thru. Â To be honest, they aren't the best Sliders I've had, and their line is way to long for what they produce...
We all tried the Cheesesteak and it was your typical street food sandwich. Â What we didn't like was the price: $12!!! Â That was a major rip off considering the amount of choices there were for alternative fare. Â We did not give this food truck a passing grade...
I shimmied my way on over to Haulin Balls and stood online like the bread line in war torn communist country....We're such food victims...
So I've been hearing really great things about these guys, and I was getting psyched to try them out! Â I was intrigued by the Lump Blue Crab Balls ($8?) and had to ask how many were in an order....And after picking myself off the ground when she said two.... I composed myself and ordered it..
Added an order of the All Thai'd up and the Three Cheese Mac-n-Cheese, hobbled off to the pick up line and waited like a dog waits for a treat!
Needless to say, the wait was worth it. Â As for the $8 Crab Balls, they were the best snack of the night! Â You wrap them in the lettuce, squeeze a little lemon on them and pop in your mouth-soooo freakin good!!! Â
I ordered as well the All Thai'd Up -Turkey Balls with Thai Pickles, (Carrot, Daikon) with a Thai Sweet Dipping Sauce. Â I was blown away to say the least: the flavor of the Turkey with the Thai ingredients blended harmoniously. Last of all, we had the Triple Mac-n-Cheese; and it was great-rich and creamy like you want from this dish and with an added kick, it rounded up the meal!
Rusty Pickle: Â Rick waited for over an hour at this place, what a mess...This was the worst of all Food Truck experiences. Â It was clear that the staff at Rusty Pickle were unable to handle the overflowing amount of orders coming in. Â We ordered the fried pickles and looking at the staff's actions, we could tell that they were frying to order one by one!!! (I mean, your got several orders coming in-you can fry batches)! Â Meanwhile, several staff were huddled around one doing all the work, and there was a mob in front of the truck waiting forever-it looked hopeless..
The fried pickles were nothing great, especially after that long wait. Â And the Tri-Tip Sliders were horrible-dry and flakey without any condiments or sauces, it had to be the worst thing ever..not worth commenting...
Barring the last Food Truck fiasco, overall it was fun to go and hang out at the festival, but like going to the Carnival every year, it's ok to skip it just go to the Food Trucks on their own.
This use to be the place to go for food trucks. I've enjoyed many excellent meals and beers here. It used to have a local gathering feel. Oh how things have changed. Some of the best trucks no longer attend. Security harassing people just trying to enjoy a beer and sample the food. Over crowded, fenced in area. Making us feel like cattle. I don't think it is worth the effort to try the new trucks. This was a great event that has now lost me.
Review Source:The Vegas StrEATs festival, much like First Friday is slowly but surely coming into its own. A festival that started out very unorganized and haphazard has become a regular fixture on my monthly calendar.
I still am not sure how they decide which Saturday they are going to do this event. I've been the day after First Friday and I've been in the middle of the month.
Part of the reason this gets 5 stars from me is that I live at The Ogden, so I literally walk down stairs from my place and BAM! Food Truck heaven. plus I like the addition of the local vendors selling their hand crafted wares. I'm not gonna buy most of it because its just not my style, but I'm all about small local vendors getting their shot.
There's always a few regulars and a few change-ups each month. You can almost always count on Slidin Thru and Grouchy John's but the rest vary from month to month. And it's always a good mix of people in attendance. It's an all ages event so it usually draws that same crowd you see at First Friday, & it's FREE to get in so if you are in the area there is definitely no good reason to not check it out.
My one main complaint is that there's around 4 or 5 tables total for the event. Therefore, there is always that awkward time after buying the food of walking around trying to find some place to post up and eat. For an event with as many attendees as this tends to get, and as much extra room as they have in the parking lot, whoever is in charge needs to get on this. It's a tiny little omission that would make a huge difference in the quality of the event.
Before you even think of parking at the El Cortez main garage the security guard with the Bosnian accent will kindly ask you for a player's card or hotel room key and if you don't have one then detour over to the other self park garage across the street. Oh well, so I didn't find parking there and I find it much easier to park at Fitzgerald's hotel and cut through the Fremont Street Experience for more walking exercise.
StrEATs starts around 6:00pm and goes pretty late until 11ish. I got there early than most because I anticipated lines. You can hear the festivities from a far. It's basically a local small street fair across the El Cortez hotel. A small alley is blocked off near the back of Maharaja Hookah Cafe. Be prepared to go through security that will check your bags.
My first food tuck destination was supposed to be Slidin' Thu since they  are one of the master-minds that organizes this festival, but the lines were endlessly long and I was getting hungrier by the minute. I opted for the BBQ Truck and Tasty Bunz instead. There was a good line-up of trucks from  Sin City Wings, Papi Churros, Grouchy Jon's just to name a few. While you grub you can also shop local jewelry vendors and view some art. I really enjoyed the band that was playing next to the Slidin' Thru . I'm guessing it was a local rock band of some sort.
For the record, it's another great place have a casual bite, Â support local food trucks & vendors, watch live entertainment and just people watch. It's so not the pretentious Vegas scene. No need to "dress to impress" here.
I went for the first time to the September 2011 event. I had a lot of fun. Parking is by validation basis unless you can find a spot at the El Cortez(it's free)! Get there early. My night went way farther than Vegas StrEATS. I did the Flightlines at the Fremont Street Experience. Had so much fun. We parked at the California Hotel & Casino, validated the parking stub with the self validation stamper, then walked heck-a-far to the El Cortez. I only spent $1.00 on parking(four hours free) and my friend payed $5.00, and we both left at 1am. Go have fun! I loved it. Trust me, Im a 13 year resident of Las Vegas.
Review Source:once a month, the slidin' thru cru, el cortez hotel and insert coins bring you a festival not to be missed.
filled with the best food trux in town, vendors selling local goodies and music from local performers.
it doesn't matter what kind o clothes or kix you got on, everyone's welcome.
it's casual, non-judgmental and fun - something difficult to find in vegas.
so, grab your t-shirt, hoodie and beanie and come on down to vegas strEATs.
oh, and don't forget to bring a few bux to tip your trux...
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