Manayunk’s StrEAT Festival

I took advantage of near-perfect, mid-April weather to attend Manayunk’s StrEAT Festival, the kick-off to the neighborhood’s Restaurant Week.

The sun was shining and people from the Greater Philadelphia region were out by the thousands to enjoy the festival (and, I imagine, the weather!). Lining Main Street were food trucks and vendors, selling everything from Korean barbeque and ice cream to gourmet macaroni and cheese and bacon jam. As the day progressed, the lines became exceedingly long, so I was glad we arrived closer to the beginning and could explore some of the food options before deciding what to sample. All of the shops and restaurants along the thoroughfare were also open for business.

My friends and I sampled honey-Sriracha fried chicken; a short rib grilled cheese; tater tots smothered in beer cheese; and pork roll (a Philadelphia-area breakfast meat) macaroni and cheese. One of my friends purchased a bacon chocolate chip cookie.

As I mentioned, it was VERY crowded. I wondered if it would have been more efficient to sell admission tickets to the event, then have each truck offer samples, and event-goers could decide from there to buy full-sized portions of their favorite samples. As the day wore on, it became more and more chaotic.

In addition to enjoying Manayunk Brewing Company’s summer ale, we entered the sponsored beer garden and enjoyed a refreshing strawberry wheat, Stella Artois Cidre and Shocktop Lemon Shandy.

It was a tasty way to kick off the first of many spring and summer Sundays spent outdoors exploring the city! This is an annual event in the popular Philadelphia neighborhood; similar events are held in different city neighborhoods throughout the spring and summer. Trazee recommends checking your local city’s tourism website for similar events near you, or in the cities you are visiting soon.