FOOD TRUCKIN' FOR JOSH CARES

Mark your calendars! Local nonprofit Josh Cares is hosting its second annual lunchtime festival on Wednesday, June 18 from 11:00am - 2:00pm on Fountain Square. Food Truckin' for Josh Cares will features dishes from 11 of the city's best food trucks:

• C’est Cheese — gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches
• Street Pops — handcrafted popsicles
• Eli’s BBQ — pulled pork sandwiches
• New Orleans To Go — po-boys and Cajun fare
• Blue Ash Chili — classic Cincinnati chili
• Red Sesame — Korean barbeque and tacos
• Catch-A-Fire Pizza — wood-fired craft pizzas
• Urban Grill — hearty sandwiches on grilled brioche buns
• Dojo Gelato — Italian-style ice cream
• SugarSnap! Sweet Treats —  cupcakes, cookies and coffee
• Texas Joe — Tex-Mex tacos

In addition to savoring a variety of food, attendees can also enjoy afternoon shopping at mobile fashion boutique Truck Shop.

Food Truckin’ for Josh Cares, which drew nearly 1,000 people and raised over $17,000 in 2013, is free and open to the public. Tickets can be purchased at the event for $2 each, and redeemed for items at any of 11 participating food trucks. Proceeds from the event help Josh Cares provide companionship and comfort to children hospitalized in critical and chronic care units at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Be sure to stick around for the “Golden Spatula Awards” contest, with best entree and best sweet treat chosen by a celebrity panel that includes Elizabeth Mariner, Co-Publisher and Creative Director for Express Cincinnati; Ilene Ross, chef and editor of 513Eats.com; and Jeremy Lieb, Executive Chef at Boca. 

Judging will be headed up by Warm 98 hosts Bob Goen and Marianne Curan, who will be broadcasting live from the event, and emceed by Frank Marzullo of Fox 19.

CINCINNATI'S BIG CHEESE: C'EST CHEESE FOOD TRUCK

Bringing a smile to everyone's face, Emily Frank, owner of C'est Cheese, serves up gooey, gourmet grilled cheese from a four-wheeled kitchen: her food bus.

That's right, a food bus. While Cincinnati is saturated with food trucks, C'est Cheese hits the streets in their modified public transit unit. They even have a bus schedule to track when and where Emily will be serving up food next!

C'est Cheese is another innovative start-up funded through Cincinnati micro-lender, Bad Girl Ventures. For ten weeks, Emily attended a business bootcamp where she and 100 other women competed for a $25,000 loan. And now, she's living her dream as the "big cheese" business owner after spending many years in the corporate world of Chicago.

On the menu, customers will find over 20 original sandwiches, with each of the names honoring someone important in Emily's journey. The most popular is The Bee Sting, which features Mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and basil-infused honey, grilled with chili flake butter. The newest additions to the menu include The Reuben-ish, stuffed with mozzerella, saurkraut, and bratwurst; The Jerk, stuffed with mozzarella and zesty jerk chicken; and the Indian-inspired Bollywood, a potato samosa and mint chutney with melted cheese.
 

The Bollywood

The Jerk

The Reuben-ish

The Bad Girl with brie, honey, and raspberries

Grilled Cheeza with marinara sauce

In addition to serving up cheesy goodness, Emily is also the President of the Cincinnati Food Truck Association, which helps with advancements in organization and city involvement with the Queen City's squad of 23+ food trucks.

C'est Cheese is out and about in the tri-state all week long and is available for private catering. Keep an eye out for this delightful food bus rolling into a neighborhood near you!

FARMERS' MARKET IN THE PARK

Every Monday from 4:00-8:00PM, during June 3 to August 26, a farmers' market sets up shop in Washington Park near the event lawn and Music Hall. The collection of local vendors offer ready-to-eat food and produce as alternative shopping to Findlay Market, which is closed on Mondays. You'll find several of your favorite Findlay vendors here, as well as many who are new to the scene.

Black bean salsa, bruchetta, and hummus, all garden fresh from the kitchen of Cara Bella Organic.

Chill Shaved Ice Bar uses all-natural fruits and sweeteners to create organic sno-cones for a no-guilt summer treat!

If you're a foodie, definitely stop by Hen of the Woods.  These creative snackers cooked up some unique treats to munch on while you shop the market, such as root beer cotton candy, celery and rhubarb soda, or my evening indulgence: curry popcorn with white chocolate and coconut.

The curry popcorn from Hen of the Woods was so tasty,
my friends all paused to Instagram it after the first bite.

One of my favorite food trucks, C’est Cheese, will be grilling up gooey, delectable sandwiches at Washington Park every week through August. I know where I'll be getting my Monday night dinner!

Market In The Park is still accepting vendor applications. Here is the list of local shops that have already signed up for the summer:

Brocato’s Italian Market
Cara Bella Organic
C’est Cheese
Censudi
Chill Shaved Ice Bar, LLC
Chipotle Chicks
Coffee Emporium
Deeper Roots Coffee
Famous Franks
Hen of the Woods
Madisono’s Gelato & Sorbet
Red Sesame Korean BBQ
Sweets by Shannon
Taste 513
The Spice & Tea Exchange of Cincinnati
The Spicy Olive

PIZZA BOMBA

Mmmmm. Gourmet specialty pizza by the slice.

Think of Dewey's Pizza or Mellow Mushroom. Then think of being able to sample a slice of everything on their menu. That's PizzaBomba.

 

Pounding the pavement in their extreme pizza wagon, the Bomba team serves up four specialty pies daily, hot, fresh and wood-fired from their truck. Each has fluffy, buttery crust that puts other doughs to shame. Of course, the menu offers traditional cheese or pepperoni, but my taste buds like adventure.

 

Crab Rangoon Pizza: cream cheese, plentiful chunks of crab meat, sweet chili sauce, topped with mozzarella and provolone.

 

Oktoberfest:  creamy sour kraut spread topped with sliced bratwurst and mettwurst and covered with mozzarella and provolone.

 

Macaroni & Bier Cheese: dollops of beer cheese topped with cooked macaroni, provolone, mozzarella, and cheddar.

When you visit PizzaBomba, you'll find Bill chatting with customers on the ground and Terri slinging pies in the truck. With locally sourced ingredients, pizza by the slice or by the pie, and the most explosive eye-catching logo in town, everything you find at this food truck is da'bomb!

Find PizzaBomba at Fountain Square weekdays during lunch, Night Owl Market, City Flea, and weekend evenings around OTR.

Follow PizzaBomba on Twitter to see when they'll roll into your neighborhood.

NOM: NIGHT OWL MARKET

As the evening grows late on Final Friday, artisans roll up their carpets and the masses who ventured to OTR are overcome with a late night case of the munchies. Never fear, hungry, hungry hipsters - two local entrepreneurs, Nadia and Sally, created a satiable solution: Night Owl Market.

 

Cincinnati's Food Truck Squad rolls into the empty lot at Main and Central Parkway, serving everything from tacos, burgers, wood fire pizza, soft pretzels, Vietnamese dishes, root beer floats, caramel covered brownies and more.

C'est Cheese: Cincinnati's newest food truck serves up gourmet grilled cheese.

The Bee Sting: mozzarella, pepperoni, basil, honey, and chili butter on grilled Tuscan Pane.

Homemade curried pickles

Get your sweet treats and root beer floats from SugarSnap!

Cincy Bag Ladies: Mmmm. An Oreo baked inside a chocolate chip cookie!

With over a dozen vendors to choose from, plus live music and entertainment, Night Owl Market keeps the Final Friday mojo swingin' from 10:00pm - 3:00am through the end of November.

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