Howell Mill Food Park

As many of you already know, one of my biggest complaints about the food scene in Atlanta is the lack of accessibility to street food.  The Atlanta Street Food Coalition has contributed tremendously in raising awareness of this issue.  Fortunately, this growing exposure has led to more food trucks around town...within our city's silly restrictions, of course.  It's also led to the development of the Howell Mill Food Park, which launched Tuesday, May 31st.  Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world!


The Howell Mill Food Park was developed by Mark Lindenbaum and Atlanta Street Food Coalition founder Greg Smith.  These gentlemen basically just wanted to give these trucks a home.  They took an empty lot on the corner of Howell Mill and Collier and invited some of Atlanta's most beloved mobile chefs to join the party.  Opening night was a huge success, drawing in a pretty significant crowd.

Doesn't it look like the trucks are in a circle playing Duck, Duck, Goose?  I suppose that would make the hungry patrons the mush pot...


I started off at Tamale Queen, where I enjoyed a chicken tamale topped with some pretty awesome salsa verde.

Dave had a pork taco, which tasted as fresh as it looked.

Sigh...I love colorful vegetables.


Next, we traveled to the other side of the globe as we sampled some Vietnamese street food over at Munch.  I skipped the Bahn Mi (I was trying to pace myself!) and opted for the smaller veggie dumplings.

Tender on the inside, chewy on the outside, saucy all over it.  Perfect.


While I was enjoying my dumplings, Dave hit up The Pup Truck for a dog.  The Pup Truck offers some incredibly creative variations of hotdogs (like Thai chicken sausage with mango-pineapple salsa and Thai aioli), but my purist of a husband opted for the all-American version.

Look how psyched he is!


We made one final stop on our savory tour: Tex's Tacos.  I got the lime fries, which tasted like they were coated in magic.  Seriously.  It was salty, but sour with lime juice that somehow didn't melt the salt, AND I think I detected a hint of cinnamon?  Reveal your secret, Tex!

Dave, with his insatiable appetite for still more tacos, ordered a chicken taco.  This thing had some of the creamiest queso I've ever had.  Tex's was also serving Jarritos, which hold a special place in my heart, as we served them at our rehearsal dinner.

We decided to transition from savory to sweet.  My friend, Emily, ordered a lovely cupcake from Yum Yum Cupcake.

Did I mention that Wesley Cook provided some pretty rockin' live music?  He played some really great classic rock covers, and he seemed to be having a lot of fun in the process!

We finished up our evening with some ice cream from Westside Creamery.  This one was a touch choice for me...I wanted a simple scoop of sorbet, but I also wanted to try an ice cream sandwich!  Then, I noticed that they had a Coke float...served with peanut butter ice cream.  Nothing beats salty peanuts stuffed into a Coke bottle on a hot Atlanta evening.  This reinterpretation of a Southern classic was absolutely flawless.

Oh yeah, that's Coke with cane sugar.


The event was an absolute hit, and I can't wait to come back next Tuesday.  The atmosphere had a nice community vibe, and it was a great venue for kids and dogs to come along, as well.  I overheard some folks expressing some concerns regarding parking, but I was fortunately able to avoid this issue, as I parked at a nearby friend's house and walked over.  Other concerns included the lack of recycling bins (boo) and the noise from the trucks (sorry y'all, comes with the territory).


My biggest concern for the Food Park is what will happen when it begins to grow.  I arrived to its opening night early, and I heard that most food was gone by 8:30.  Although the trucks in attendance provided a wide variety of cuisine, there's always room for different flavors.  What happens when others want to join the fun?  Will there be room?  The Howell Mill Food Park was convenient, delicious, and affordable; I only hope that it can keep up with the inevitably growing demand!  If you're visiting Atlanta this summer, I highly recommend trying to include a Tuesday on that vacation so you can stop by from 6-10!