By Kristen V. Brown | Times Union
After a winter that sputtered to a close, spring was in full swing Saturday, as Capital Region residents swarmed city streets to enjoy the first outdoor weekend of the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market, the Food Truck Festival of NY and the nearly 80 degree weather.
Even hours-long lines didn’t deter people at the food truck festival, the first of its kind in the city.
From gourmet sliders to wood-fired pizza and gyros, more than a dozen food trucks and local bars sold food and beer to masses of hungry foodies at Riverfront Park.
Slidin’ Dirty, a sliders truck that makes regular visits to the city, attracted a line with a wait of more than two hours to place an order. After an hour and a half in line, Schenectady resident Peter Forst, 56, and his son Nick Forst, 25, were still salivating for avocado fries, a Slidin’ Dirty specialty, and Cajun-style sliders.
“We’re dedicated to the cause,” said Nick Forst, an Albany lawyer.
The midday sunshine only strengthened their resolve.
“This is the most beautiful weather we’ve seen in a long time,” he said.
Having already had their fill, a quartet of twenty-something friends eating on grass overlooking the Hudson said the sliders were worth the wait.
“This is amazing,” said Ellie Hobson, 24 a nurse, before asking whether her day in the sun had netted her a sunburn in addition to her pulled-pork.
At the farmers market’s return to River Street, evidence of spring was abundant. Vendors sold tender pea shoots, fresh herbs, broccoli and Brussels sprouts — root vegetables were no longer the star. Shoppers strolled slowly, looking over the spring pickings as local bands Shaker Fiddle, Zan and Slate Hill Band provided a musical accompaniment.
At Bootlegger’s on Broadway, sidewalk tables were filled as eaters and drinkers soaked up sun, suds and sights.
Back at the Food Truck Festival, longtime best friends Seana Munson and Tiffany Tokarchuk, both 43, enjoyed catching up and catching a tan. With weather this wonderful, said Munson, an Albany artist, they hardly minded the hour-plus wait at Timesquare, a Philly cheesesteak truck (of course, a husband holding their place in line also made the wait more bearable).
The woman celebrated the day wearing a strapless summer dress, a fuchsia flower in her hair.
“I just wish I had some sunscreen,” she said.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Spring-sun-draws-crowds-to-Troy-food-truck-fest-4489125.php
