Food Trucks at the Scottsdale Arts Festival This Weekend (3/9 - 3/11)

Starting on Friday at 10am, the 42nd Scottsdale Arts Festival will kick off at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and include 181 artists, 22 bands and entertainers from Arizona, and perhaps most importantly, 12 food trucks from the Phoenix Street Food Coalition.  The participating food trucks are:

Epic Hot Dogs - Hey Joe! Filipino Street Food - Jamburritos Cajun Grill Express - Luncha Libre - Mojo Bowl - Pin-Up Pastries - Taste Rite - Spice It Up - Sweet Republic - Tom's BBQ - Whiskey Ranch BBQ & Wood-Fired Pizzas - The Maine Lobster Lady - Not scheduled for Friday - Buzznbeez Good Food - Not scheduled for Friday

The festival takes place on Friday and Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 5pm.  The price of food is separate from the price of entry.  Tickets to the event are $7 for any single day and $10 for any two days.  Additional ticketing information and online purchasing can be found here.  Scroll to the bottom of this page for parking and trolley information.

New Menu Items: Popeyes, Domino's, Whataburger, Cinnabon, Dunkin'

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen - Garlic Pepper Wicked Chicken - "Garlic Pepper Wicked Chicken includes thin strips of marinated, all white-meat chicken, hand-battered and breaded. Popeyes is also introducing its new Garlic Pepper Parmesan Dipping Sauce." A $3.99 combo with the chicken and dipping sauce, Cajun fries, a buttermilk biscuit, and a mini bottle of Tabasco pepper sauce is available until February 19.

Domino's Pizza - Parmesan Bread Bites - "The bite (or two) size, brand new, permanent menu item is there for the sharing - which, based on the goodness of freshly baked bread topped with garlic and Parmesan, may not be easy."  Also, if you order the two medium, two topping pizzas deal for $5.99 each, Domino's is offering the Parmesan Bread Bites for $1.

Whataburger - Chicken Fajita Taco - Coming in at 420 calories, the Chicken Fajita Taco "features sliced, grilled chicken breast; roasted poblano and red bell peppers; and grilled onions wrapped in a tortilla." 

Cinnabon - Cinnabon Flavored Iced Coffee & Cinnabon Flavored Coffee Chillatta - Available through May 20, "The Cinnabon Flavored Iced Coffee has hints of brown sugar, vanilla and Makara® cinnamon, making it the most bon-like coffee yet. The Cinnabon Flavored Coffee Chillatta is a frozen, blended beverage that contains Makara cinnamon and vanilla flavors blended with a ribbon of caramel and topped with whipped cream."

Dunkin' Donuts - New Bakery Sandwiches - The four new sandwiches are described in the press release, "Dunkin' Donuts' new Ham & Cheese Bakery Sandwich features Black Forest ham, white cheddar cheese and Creamy Dijon sauce on a French roll, while the new Turkey, Cheddar & Bacon Bakery Sandwich features turkey, white cheddar cheese, bacon and Ancho Chipotle sauce on a French roll. Customers can also order Chicken Salad and Tuna Salad Bakery Sandwiches, featuring chicken salad or tuna salad on a bagel...All bakery sandwiches are served oven-toasted and made-to-order on a French roll, bagel, or croissant."

Cooking Classes at Phoenix Public Market, Public Invited to Register

Phoenix Public Market has been hosting cooking classes since late last month and has five more to go over the next few Saturdays from 2pm to 4pm. Each class costs $45 and is taught by a local valley chef. In general, each class is described as a:

Two-hour cooking class, including tastings, two beverages of the chef’s choice and take-home recipes. Each chef will have their own unique theme for summertime cooking.

The Phoenix Public Market is located at 14 E. Pierce St. Phoenix, AZ 85004. The remaining classes are scheduled as follows:

• 8/13 - Chef Doug Robson - Gallo Blanco Cafe & Bar
• 8/20 - Chef Tracy Dempsey - Tracy Dempsey Originals
• 8/27 - Chef Jen Anderson - Windsor
• 9/03 - Chef John Hall - Canela Bistro
• 9/10 - Chef Michael Brown - Jamburritos Cajun Grille

If you would like to attend any of the classes, be sure to register here, where you can also find additional details about each specific class.

Popeyes Introduces Rip'n Chick'n

The newest limited time offer from Popeyes began selling in their restaurants yesterday and will be available until late August. The Rip'n Chick'n is described by Popeyes this way:

...we cut a plump, all white meat chicken breast into big strips, marinate it in four different peppers and Louisiana seasonings then hand batter and bread it in our signature coating then fry it up crispy. We call it Rip'n Chick'n because you just rip it and dip it....

If you are still wondering, it seems the chicken breast is partially cut into strips, this way you can then rip it the rest of the way. According to Popeyes, the Rip'n Chick'n is being offered in combo form with Cajun fries, a buttermilk biscuit and ranch dipping sauce.

Popeyes has 13 locations in Arizona, most of which are in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The others can be found in Tucson, Wilcox, Ft. Huachuca and Kingman. For exact locations, check the Popeyes locator.

'Food Truck Day' at Whole Foods in North Scottsdale Today

If you've spent anytime in southern California, there's a good chance you've come across something of this nature. On Thursday, June 16th, from 11am - 1:30pm in the Whole Foods parking lot located at 8688 E. Raintree Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85260, the Phoenix Street Food Coalition is teaming up with the supermarket to have their second "Food Truck Day." This event comes after the success of their first event at the Raintree Whole Foods back in May and looks to continue every third Thursday of each month. Here is a list of participating vendors:

• Beet StrEat - Local foods from local producers
• Bella Strada - Italian
• Carte Blanc Gourmet Tacos - Mexican
• Jamburritos - Cajun
• Short Leash Hot Dogs - Specialty Hot Dogs
• Torched Goodness - Creme Brulee

Phoenix Street Food Trucks in Downtown Phoenix Today 5/20

After holding an event yesterday at the Whole Foods in north Scottsdale, Phoenix Street Food will be holding 2 events today (5/20) in downtown Phoenix.

The first event will be at the Phoenix Public Market, located at 14 E. Pierce St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 & up to Central & McKinley from 11am - 1:30pm. The vendors participating in this event are:

• Jamburritos - Cajun
• Paradise Melts - Sandwich melts
• Riteway Catering - Po'boy sandwiches
• Sweet Republic - Ice Cream, Sorbet, Yogurt
• Short Leash Hot Dogs - Specialty Hot Dogs
• Sunshine & Spice - Breakfast & Asian - (say "Congratulations" and get $1 off)
• Torched Goodness - Creme Brulee

Update (5-26-11): While the particular trucks may not always be the same, this tends to be a regular event at the Phoenix Public Market on Fridays afternoons.

The second event will be on Roosevelt Row for Third Friday at 408 E. Roosevelt St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 from 6pm - 10pm. The participating vendors include:

• Carte Blanc Gourmet Tacos - Mexican
• Hey Joe! - Filipino
• Tom's BBQ - BBQ

If you don't already, you can follow Phoenix Street Food on Facebook and Twitter.

'Food Truck Day' at Whole Foods in North Scottsdale Tomorrow

If you've spent anytime in southern California, there's a good chance you've come across something of this nature. On Thursday, May 19th, from 11am - 1:30pm in the Whole Foods parking lot located at 8688 E. Raintree Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85260, the Phoenix Street Food Coalition is teaming up with the supermarket to have their first "Food Truck Day." The event is billed as a chance to "change your typical lunch plans" and choose from a variety of foods.  Here is a list of participating vendors:

• Beet StrEat - Local foods from local producers
• Bella Strada - Italian
• Carte Blanc Gourmet Tacos - Mexican
• Jamburritos - Cajun
• Phoenix Cheesesteak Company - Cheesesteak
• Sweet Republic - Ice Cream, Sorbet, Yogurt
• Short Leash Hot Dogs - Specialty Hot Dogs
• Torched Goodness - Creme Brulee

Things To Do This Weekend 4/29 - 5/1

A list of some food related events around the state this weekend, click on the links for pricing and exact location information:

Flagstaff, AZ
2011 Palette to Palate - Friday 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Maricopa, AZ
7th Annual Salsa Festival - Saturday 4pm - 9pm

Scottsdale, AZ
Cinco de Mayo Salsa Festival - Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Tempe, AZ
Great Cajun Crawfish Boil - Friday 5pm - 9pm
A Taste of Greece - Friday & Saturday 11am - 11pm/Sunday 11am - 7pm *Free admission Friday from 11am - 3pm

Tucson, AZ
Eat More Pie 2011 - Sunday 4pm - 7pm
Gluten-Free Food Faire - Saturday 10am - 2pm