I finally made it out to the Atlanta Food Truck Park last night despite living just around the…read morecorner. I had a great time and am really glad to see this place open in my neighborhood. Atlanta is better off for having food trucks (and this park, specifically). Despite the cloudy, on-and-off drizzly weather, the park had a good turnout of patrons between 7-9pm on a Thursday night. Thanks to those who braved the elements for our UYE (http://www.yelp.com/events/atlanta-atlanta-food-truck-park-uye).
The food truck/food stand lineup was pretty good:
Sweet Auburn BBQ
Corn-a-Cue
One Love Jerk Grill
Metro City Dogs
Lemonade Stand
WOW! Food Truck
Ibiza Bites
Chay J's New Orleans Candies
Rouxd Food Truck
King of Pops
Yum Yum Cupcake
Verizon also had a stand. I've been following the park's official calendar (http://www.atlantafoodtruckpark.com/calendar/) over the past month and noticed Thursday nights are the ideal weeknight (excluding Fridays) to go for the most trucks and the best selection. I suspect there might have been more trucks last night if it wasn't for the weather.
I ended up trying a little bit of everything:
Arepas (Venezuelan sliders) from WOW! Food Truck
Beef brisket with Asian pear slaw taco from Sweet Auburn BBQ
Goat cheese-stuffed fried green tomatoes from Ibiza Bites
Creole pretzels and Creole popcorn from Chay J's
I'll be posting reviews for each of those trucks in the next few days.
If you come for dinner, I recommend coming on the early side as the food trucks only have a limited supply of items and do sell out. This leads some trucks to close early. I saw many menus with marked off items that had sold out for the day. Yum Yum Cupcakes shut down early because they sold out of their cupcakes for the day.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how much seating the park had. I counted 16 large picnic tables in the main "dining" area, most with umbrellas. Each picnic table can seat up to about 8 people each. The picnic tables are located on a flat, paved surface. The food trucks are located in a large gravel lot. This lot has 4 communal standing tables and 2 additional picnic tables. So overall, this spot has quite a bit of seating, which is convenient. Also, plenty of trash cans and recycling bins to keep the grounds looking relatively clean.
The park is family and dog-friendly. It can be a little loud because you're around all these big trucks and next to busy Howell Mill Rd. You can BYOB, so save money by bringing your own drinks. If you want water, I saw some trucks selling it for $1 per bottle. There is one restroom and it's a "Johnny on the Spot" porta-potty in the parking lot with portable sink outside so you can wash your hands.
There is ample free parking behind the park. Turn onto Emery St, next to the Shell Station on Howell Mill, to find it. If you need more detailed directions, check out the park's FAQ here: http://www.atlantafoodtruckpark.com/faqs/. The parking lot is old and filled with pot holes, so drive carefully. I saw someone puncture their car's tire by running over a broken-off metal sign post on the ground (she was trying to make too tight of a turn around the dining area).
Note that every Wednesday and Friday night throughout the summer, the park will be playing movies for free. Also, from time to time, there is live music. On the weekends, there's a food market with rotating vendors and an artists market coming soon.
Overall, I'm very happy with the Atlanta Food Truck Park and definitely plan on returning.