Food Truck Rally hits downtown Gainesville

You may have seen our crazy panicked tweets about chicken and waffles on Saturday night.

We were in downtown Gainesville at the first-ever Food Truck Rally featuring local food trucks: Pelican Brothers Go Go Stuff Yourself Grilled Cheese Wagon Humble Pie La Lola Loca and Off the Griddle (visiting from Polk County).

As a long time lonchera supporter myself I attended out of sheer curiosity. How did I not hear about this until last minute!? A random blog post on The Alligator was my source and a Facebook event confirmed it. Hundreds were there at 7p.m. ready to dive into plates of burgers tacos rice bowls pad thai pizzas dressed-up fries and squid gyros. Yep. Squid Gyro. Here's what went down.

• Portions were big for your buck. We thought you got a lot of food for the price the majority of dishes under $10 (most under $8) - that Chicken Bowl above cost $6.35
• Lines were long. But that's to be expected it was our first rally - we were excited!
• Chicken and Waffles did run out but Pelican Bros. made it back in time with reserves. (Forgive the blurry photo there was a hurried frenzy to order these)
• Yes there was a brick oven making yummy pizzas to customize in the corner (didn't get to try it)

Don't go to a food truck rally expecting gastronomic enlightenment - go to have a good time and enjoy hot street eats under the stars. For a first attempt I thought it went pretty well (the organizers and some patrons agree). I hope the hosts give this another try; it seems Gainesville is ready.

Did you attend on Saturday night? The organizers would love your feedback - tell 'em about your experience here. Follow me on Foodspotting for more local eating adventures in Florida

Does anyone know where the food trucks go when not at a rally? Tell us how to find them around town in the comments.