Food Truck Fight: Foodies find their favorites dishes

Jenny Bernard was enjoying a tasty dinner at the Food Truck Fight on Saturday night, June 17, at the Isle Parkway in Bettendorf when she was asked about her favorite food options. “Over there, that truck (Karam’s Grill) has gyros. They have mini gyros, too, so you can try a lot of them,” she said. […]

Jenny Bernard was enjoying a tasty dinner at the Food Truck Fight on Saturday night, June 17, at the Isle Parkway in Bettendorf when she was asked about her favorite food options. “Over there, that truck (Karam’s Grill) has gyros. They have mini gyros, too, so you can try a lot of them,” she said. “And at that other truck (Smokin’ G’s BBQ), they have barbecue. You can’t go wrong with barbecue.” Many foodie fans would agree. And they would add you can’t go wrong with pizza, burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, cupcakes and the many other treats that were being served during the second annual Food Truck Fight in Bettendorf. This year’s event attracted thousands of people who tried a wide variety of food options at about 20 different food trucks. Last year’s event brought out an estimated 10,000 people. This year’s Food Truck Fight probably didn’t get that same number, according to many of the food truck operators. But it was still a big success for the community, said Bobby Ray Bunch, the event’s owner and organizer.

“Everything is going great. We don’t have as big of crowd as we did last year, but that’s OK. The lines are going smoother and the traffic is going smoother,” he added. Several of the food truck operators agreed. Val Kelley, owner of the Kelley Girls Woodfire Pizza of Clinton, Iowa, said Saturday’s crowd didn’t match the massive crowd that came in for last year’s first-year event, and that was fine with her. “Last year was just crazy. This year has been good, but not as crazy,” she added. But it was more than a “good” event for Kelley Girls. Their food truck served an estimated 300 to 400 pizzas before 6 p.m., one of their workers said. Some of the top-selling pizzas on the day included the crab rangoon pizza and the dill pickle pizza.   And those pizzas proved to be a winner with the customers. The food truck fans voted Kelley Girls as the Bettendorf Food Truck Fight champion on Saturday.  This is the third time Kelley Girls has won the Food Truck Fight title at various locations in the Quad Cities region in the past several years. “What a beautiful surprise after two long days of prepping and working this fun event,” the business announced on its Facebook page shortly after taking top honors.  Arty’s Ice Cream & Grill of Wilton, Iowa, last year’s champion, got second place; and Los Primos Mexican Grill, of Davenport, took third place. All three of those food trucks were popular food destinations for the crowds on Saturday. Arty’s has people lining up for some of its favorite items, like the Wilton dump truck burger, the crab rangoon burger, the fried pickle burger and the “triple dare ya” with its three patties, three cheeses for “triple the joy,” according to its menu. Almost next door to Arty’s was the  Smokin’ G’s BBQ truck with menu items like the smoke stack sandwich, piggy back nachos and BBQ man and cheese.

On the other side of the Isle Parkway, one of the smaller food trucks (actually a food cart) – The Hot Dog Guy – was bringing in the crowds with its selection of hot dogs. “It’s been a great day for us,” said Randl Besse of LeClaire, Iowa, and owner of the hot dog business. “We’re here meeting a lot of great people. It’s good to be back for this event.” Mr. Besse was busy serving up a menu that included a jumbo dog, chili cheese dog, The Gabe (a hot dog with chili, cheese, bacon and onion) and Chicago-style dogs. Saturday’s Food Truck Fight included more than food. There were activities for children, such as face painting and balloon animals. And man’s best friend had a place to relax and cool off.  Wags and Wiggles QC pet services of Bettendorf had a small pool out for dogs to get a drink and take a dip. While the kids were getting painted and the dogs took a short swim, most of the foodies were in line for their favorite dishes. Probably the most repeated sentence on the day came after the food was served and that first bite was taken – “Oh, that’s good.”