Since the food truck park opened in November off Bayshore Drive in East Naples, the place has been absolutely and ridiculously packed most days, especially on weekend nights.
Seating is limited. Lines get long. The wait for a drink at the bar can seem endless.
And I'm absolutely and ridiculously in love with it all.
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Clearly foodies in Naples have been waiting (and waiting and waiting) for something like this to open. And so have I.
Celebration Park is the culmination of years of work for local entrepreneur Rebecca Maddox, who sparked a wave of revitalization along Bayshore Drive when she opened Three60 Market in 2012. The waterside cafe, market and wine shop brought new life to the East Naples street, which will soon see the opening of a new brewhouse and condominium community.
Her dream is to turn Bayshore into a destination as well as just another stop along the way. So she rounded up eight independently owned food trucks — serving everything from curry to pizza, seafood to beignets — and lined them up along a sidewalk that leads to a full-service bar.
It's a beautiful sight.
There's live music. Yard games. A smattering of picnic tables. Parking across the street. (I haven't been able to nail down when parking is free and when it costs $3; better bring $3 just in case.)
I've been eating my way around the place, taste-testing as many meals as I can possibly stomach (and afford). Here are my takes on each of the trucks, in no particular order other than alphabetical:
Dilly's Seafood
A commercial Naples fisherman brings seafood straight from the Gulf waters to the food truck at Celebration Park and to Three60 Market right across the canal, where Dilly's Seafood also does dinner service from 4-9 p.m. each night. And then a Jamaican chef does wondrous things with those catches. Beer-battered sheepshead smothered in a creamy mustard tartar sauce. Limey-bright shrimp ceviche. Lobster Benedict with a crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside hashbrown cake. The menu is always changing, but it's always reliable, always so, so good.
Dutchkinz
No matter which food truck you decide to order from, each meal at Celebration Park should finish with banana poffers sticky with a caramel-rum glaze. Dutchkinz has served its traditional Dutch desserts at markets and events throughout the region for years. It has a menu of deep-fried beignets dusted with powdered sugar (the apple ones are an absolute treat) and poffers, which are miniature pancake puffs studded with gooey bits of berries, marshmallows or, for the more savory bites, Gouda cheese or olive tapenade. But if those banana poffers with a bracing glaze are on special, they're a must-try.
Gigi Gourmet
I think I've found one of my new favorite burgers. Wisconsin cheddar cascades down its sides — gooey, golden, gorgeous. Applewood bacon and sauteed mushrooms dot its top. An Angus patty is grilled until juicy and tender. And the best part: a fig and goat cheese spread that sets off a fruity-sweet flavor under all that savory. It's hard to believe food like this comes from a food truck. Lollipop lamb chops. Spicy grilled shrimp tacos. Tender octopus over a bed of greens. Maybe it's not "gourmet" in the Naples sense of the word. But it's certainly food truck gourmet, if there is such a thing.
Gyro2Go
Follow the smells of lamb roasting on a slow-spinning spit and you'll find yourself standing in line for a gyro at Gryos2Go. It's like instinct. An animalistic one, which ends in a tzatziki-covered, hummus-smeared stupor. It happens every time. The truck is operated by Greek native Andreas Visilias. The menu is classically simple: gyros with roasted lamb or chicken, falafel, spinach pies and Greek salads. The baklava is always excellent. The lamb always tender and well-seasoned. The falafel always crumbly and fragrant. Just follow the smells...
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