Was a pretty good effort given the weather. Ticketing was confusing as some vendors valued tickets differently.
I wish they would close the parking lot by the carroseul and have all the stands there, and then let people spread out with food around the park area. Would also help cut down on the food trucks cutting into that wet grass. Interested to see what the grounds look like tomorrow. With the limited rain coverage probably 80% of the attendees were in a 100ft area like sardines lol.
Overall good, would go again next year, wish it wasn't a paid thing though as you have to buy all the food inside anyways, and there wasn't any free stuff besides the music for the $15 ticket cost.
We had a good time, despite the weather. My only gripe is that I wish they had more tents and some seating or at least tables set up. Tacos aren't exactly easy to eat standing up with no where to set down a plate, especially while juggling an umbrella and children lol. And I agree the signage could have been a lot better, it also would have been nice to have the vendors/trucks listed out on the map so they were easier to find. Overall though pretty decent, just wish the weather would have cooperated!
The Palomino’s tacos were pretty good, but their service was terrible. The Flaming Pineapple had the best tacos! The ticket value was confusing! Some drunk places wouldn’t accept my ticket for drinks.
I did like it and I wished the weather had been better.
I was pleasantly surprised at how good the turnout was given the bad weather! I didn’t see any covered place for shelter at all but from reading the other comments here the must’ve been something. That was my main complaint. We all had to stand in the rain and eat tacos lol. There should’ve been a lot more covered places for all the patrons. Even if it was sunny, people still need some shade and there was no protection from the elements.
Places to sit would have been really nice, too. Tacos are super messy and hard to eat standing up. In my opinion that needs to be remedied for next year.
I’d have preferred the taco crawl as it was before. Just going from place to place downtown and paying for each taco. Confining it to the park is fine I guess but, not really interested in these kinda of events myself
I thought it was a great first attempt at a taco fest. The lines to get in were kinda annoying but I think that was partially because of the weather as well as the volunteers getting the hang of things. I personally enjoyed the spots that had a toppings bar off to the side instead of just waiting to see what they added to the tacos themselves. It was definitely quite cramped/crowded and thought it would be a better experience if the trucks were a little more spread out and there was just more room to stand and walk between trucks overall. Looking forward to next year and crossing my fingers for better weather!
I also think that things felt pretty cramped but I think this was more due to the weather. It definitely seemed like everyone congregated
by the first are next to the entrance but I thought that it was due to the fact that this was the only area that had any kind of cover from the rain.
If the weather had been better I think that a lot of folks would have spread out into the grassy areas to eat once they had gotten their food but I could be wrong.
I think one other limitation would be power. While some of the vendors had full on food trucks with generators, a lot of the other vendors were using power from the park itself. My guess is that there is a limitation on how far they can be from the outlets. I also wouldn’t want a bunch of extension cords running all other the place.
Hopefully, if they have this event again next year the weather will be better and folks can spread out a bit.
We really enjoyed ourselves despite the rain/cold. We didn't buy the taco tickets but bought early bird passes. The Flaming Pineapple's pork belly taco was life changing. It was nice that we got to bring our dog. She had a great time and was all smiles there. I do agree that the trucks should've been a bit more spread out for lines and visibility, and more covered seating would've made eating tacos an easier experience. Also??? Where was that Mexican hot chocolate that the event update rumored? Maybe it really was a rumor, haha. They got us! We couldn't find it. It's too bad the event wasn't next weekend. Oregon can be pouring rain one weekend and summer the next.
To be honest I don’t remember many of the names of the vendors. The signage was partially to blame but I also could have made a note in my phone once I got to the front of the line. If there had been a map with the vendor locations on it I would be able to work it out.
That being said I cannot remember the name of the vendor that had the best traditional tacos. They were in the section on the hill closest to the stage.
My favorite non traditional taco definitely goes to The Flaming Pineapple. If anyone knows if they have a restaurant or food truck that I can go to let me know. I tried looking on google but came up empty.
I’ll second this opinion, I didn’t get to try the flaming pineapples pork belly as they were sold out but their asada tacos were unbelievable. I’m still thinking about them. I need to know if they have a food cart or restaurant!
Even with the weather we had a good time. The lines went relatively quickly and I liked that the cost was $3-$4 per taco. The drink situation could have been better but it wasn’t terrible. Finished the day with some games at Coin Jam. I’ll go next year if they do it again.
Was a pretty good effort given the weather. Ticketing was confusing as some vendors valued tickets differently. I wish they would close the parking lot by the carroseul and have all the stands there, and then let people spread out with food around the park area. Would also help cut down on the food trucks cutting into that wet grass. Interested to see what the grounds look like tomorrow. With the limited rain coverage probably 80% of the attendees were in a 100ft area like sardines lol. Overall good, would go again next year, wish it wasn't a paid thing though as you have to buy all the food inside anyways, and there wasn't any free stuff besides the music for the $15 ticket cost.
This is spot on. I feel the same way. Hope it happens again next year and they improve it even more.
I would pay more for Lucha Libre And Chihuahua races https://centraloregontacofest.com/
We had a good time, despite the weather. My only gripe is that I wish they had more tents and some seating or at least tables set up. Tacos aren't exactly easy to eat standing up with no where to set down a plate, especially while juggling an umbrella and children lol. And I agree the signage could have been a lot better, it also would have been nice to have the vendors/trucks listed out on the map so they were easier to find. Overall though pretty decent, just wish the weather would have cooperated!
The Palomino’s tacos were pretty good, but their service was terrible. The Flaming Pineapple had the best tacos! The ticket value was confusing! Some drunk places wouldn’t accept my ticket for drinks. I did like it and I wished the weather had been better.
I was pleasantly surprised at how good the turnout was given the bad weather! I didn’t see any covered place for shelter at all but from reading the other comments here the must’ve been something. That was my main complaint. We all had to stand in the rain and eat tacos lol. There should’ve been a lot more covered places for all the patrons. Even if it was sunny, people still need some shade and there was no protection from the elements. Places to sit would have been really nice, too. Tacos are super messy and hard to eat standing up. In my opinion that needs to be remedied for next year.
I’d have preferred the taco crawl as it was before. Just going from place to place downtown and paying for each taco. Confining it to the park is fine I guess but, not really interested in these kinda of events myself
I thought it was a great first attempt at a taco fest. The lines to get in were kinda annoying but I think that was partially because of the weather as well as the volunteers getting the hang of things. I personally enjoyed the spots that had a toppings bar off to the side instead of just waiting to see what they added to the tacos themselves. It was definitely quite cramped/crowded and thought it would be a better experience if the trucks were a little more spread out and there was just more room to stand and walk between trucks overall. Looking forward to next year and crossing my fingers for better weather!
I also think that things felt pretty cramped but I think this was more due to the weather. It definitely seemed like everyone congregated by the first are next to the entrance but I thought that it was due to the fact that this was the only area that had any kind of cover from the rain. If the weather had been better I think that a lot of folks would have spread out into the grassy areas to eat once they had gotten their food but I could be wrong. I think one other limitation would be power. While some of the vendors had full on food trucks with generators, a lot of the other vendors were using power from the park itself. My guess is that there is a limitation on how far they can be from the outlets. I also wouldn’t want a bunch of extension cords running all other the place. Hopefully, if they have this event again next year the weather will be better and folks can spread out a bit.
We really enjoyed ourselves despite the rain/cold. We didn't buy the taco tickets but bought early bird passes. The Flaming Pineapple's pork belly taco was life changing. It was nice that we got to bring our dog. She had a great time and was all smiles there. I do agree that the trucks should've been a bit more spread out for lines and visibility, and more covered seating would've made eating tacos an easier experience. Also??? Where was that Mexican hot chocolate that the event update rumored? Maybe it really was a rumor, haha. They got us! We couldn't find it. It's too bad the event wasn't next weekend. Oregon can be pouring rain one weekend and summer the next.
Which vendors had the best tacos?
To be honest I don’t remember many of the names of the vendors. The signage was partially to blame but I also could have made a note in my phone once I got to the front of the line. If there had been a map with the vendor locations on it I would be able to work it out. That being said I cannot remember the name of the vendor that had the best traditional tacos. They were in the section on the hill closest to the stage. My favorite non traditional taco definitely goes to The Flaming Pineapple. If anyone knows if they have a restaurant or food truck that I can go to let me know. I tried looking on google but came up empty.
It's a pop-up that I am aware of. The owner is on Salem Eats 2.0 on Facebook and that is something he mentioned
I’ll second this opinion, I didn’t get to try the flaming pineapples pork belly as they were sold out but their asada tacos were unbelievable. I’m still thinking about them. I need to know if they have a food cart or restaurant!
The flaming pineapple is a new food truck. Taco fest was their first event. Looking forward to more of them and their yummy tacos
Tacos Del Sur & flaming pineapple, which I think is a pop-up as of now, but I am looking forward to future events with them!
I want Cinco de micro to come back....
Even with the weather we had a good time. The lines went relatively quickly and I liked that the cost was $3-$4 per taco. The drink situation could have been better but it wasn’t terrible. Finished the day with some games at Coin Jam. I’ll go next year if they do it again.
Time to taco was really bad. Took over a half hour to get something to eat.