Over the weekend the European Food truck festival was held in testaccio here in Rome. I had never been to the testaccio part of Rome and became quite intrigued when Alex said it was a very hippy-ish area.
The festival was being held over the friday, saturday and sunday of that weekend at Città delle Altra Economia (or CAE for short) and i decided sunday would be a good time to go.
It was really easy to get to on Metro B where i arrived at the piramide metro stop then walked 10/15 minutes to the actual place.
As i said i haven’t really explored that area before and my interest was sparked when i saw the wolf streetart on the side of a building.
Photo’s of this have been posted alot on twitter and Instagram and i was finally happy to see it for myself and snap a photo.
Carrying on i followed the flow of people heading to the food festival and entered a very hippy-ish feeling area which i loved.
I was not very impressed with the little road leading to the place we were walking along as there was no walk way and we ended up walking on the road. This wasn’t very safe when there were car’s, bike’s and moped’s all coming along behind us to the carpark for the festival.
But finally i made it through the gate and into the area where the food festival was being held.
It had been open since 11am and it was already 1pm when i got inside and already very busy! With queue’s already forming as far as i could see.
I decided to have a walk around first and see what food was being served at each different food truck. I found quite a few panini trucks, burgers, fried stuff like supplì, soups, rice, pasta and i had read there was one with sushi although i couldn’t spot it. And then other trucks with sweet stuff like crostatine, waffles and other little things.
I even came across a vegan truck and also a vegetarian one to all serving food to a growing crowd.
I decided to start with something less crowded so headed back over the the dessert trucks i had seen.
As soon as my eyes caught the word waffles i knew exactly what i wanted! I hadn’t had waffles since my trip to Brussels about 4 years ago when i visited my friend Jess.
The queue wasn’t very long either which gave me time to look at the board of things they were serving before i reached the front.
Alot of people seemed to be ordering choco kebabs which seemed to be quite unique thing i have never heard of before.
Thankfully though my waffles took less time than these other things so i didnt have to wait long. The man coated them in sugar once they were ready and handy me the plate the cost of my waffles only 4 euros 🙂
I have to admit the waffles weren’t as good as the belgian waffles i had had in the past but they weren’t bad.
After finishing my waffles i decided to have another prowl around while enjoying all the lovely Sunshine. It was pretty warm and people were already stripping off their coats to just wear t-shirts.
There was also a merry-go-round for the kids which there were plenty off and who were all happily playing on the grass.
I noticed lots of people with beers and other drinks and soon found the alcohol tent although i decided against getting a drink.
The queues were just getting longer and longer and i decided it was time to try something else to eat.
Heading for another truck i found one making panini’s with sausages and porchetta with a mix off other toppings.
I decided to try the sausage panini with broccoli a combination which sounded interesting in a sandwich.
I had to queue to pay 7 euro’s then take my ticket to the other side of the truck where the food was being served. Of course everyone was moving forward trying to get seen to first but i stood my ground for 10 minutes until i was seen to.
Once i was handed my panini i headed to somewhere less busy to take my first bite. I have to say sausage and broccoli really work well togeather especially hot and with some melted cheese!
It was so good i was almost tempted to go back for another one but i decided to have another walk before buying anything else.
I counted 16 trucks as far as i could see although i might have missed a few in the ever growing crowd. There was also a little market at the other end selling vegetables and plants and looked like a regular thing.
There was also a restaurant/bar and a few hippy clothes shops and a bike shop as well. I found a lady handing out flyers for yoga to and read this area also held other events/festivals sometimes.
Heading back towards the trucks i decided to try one more thing before going home. Scanning the crowds i headed for a truck serving risotto and paid 7 euro’s before taking my ticket to get my rice.
It was risotto milanese and the plateful i was given was huge and i knew i wouldn’t be able to eat all of it.
But taking a mouthful i was very glad i had bought it as it was so so good! I only managed half the dish before i was full but it was still Worth the money 🙂
The crowds here huge now with people still coming in and i decided to head out and leave before it became really crazy. And the queues at the trucks were just becoming longer and longer. (I wasn’t even at the end of the queue when i snapped this photo it wasn’t even half way!).
I did notice a massage tent i hadn’t spotted on my walk around and snapped a quick photo.
Leaving the area behind i headed back along the narrow road with cars still trying to get in and parked.
I did really enjoy the atmosphere of the festival and wished i had gotten to try a few more of the different foods. All the food though i did get to try was really good especially my panini which i will make for myself at home now i know the combination!
Next year though i might try and go on the first day (friday) as hopefully there will be less people as its a week day.
Im also very interested to see what other events/festivals the Città delle Altra Economia hold in the future. And i also want to exploring the testaccio zone for other streetart and new places when i get the chance!
The food festival was alot of fun though and worth braving the crowds for and i look forwards to the one next year!
Run Brit Chick Run 
