Stir Cheat Sheet: Food trucks to seek out at the 2022 Mission Folk Music Festival

“Follow your folk” to the music then your nose to the nosh

By Gail Johnson

Groovin Grill.

The Jerk Shack.

The 35th annual Mission Folk Music Festival takes place at Fraser River Heritage Park from July 22 to 24

“FOLLOW YOUR FOLK” is the tagline for the Mission Folk Music Festival. It will lead you to acts like Le Winston Band, a rollicking, contemporary French-Canadian zydeco act; Cameroon-born, Quebec-based soul singer and songwriter Clerel; multilingual blues singer Shakura S’Aida, who hails from Brooklyn, is based in Toronto, and is known for her scorching vocals; and Russell deCarle, who is perhaps best known for his stint as lead singer and bassist for Canada’s iconic act Prairie Oyster and who will lead another band here in a soulful blend of roots, country, and swing. (Stay tuned for more festival coverage in Stir.)

From there, follow your nose. It always knows the way to the fest’s food offerings. If you’re not sitting down for a beer, wine, cider, or non-alcoholic drink at the Festival Bistro, a shady oasis onsite (open from 5 to 10:30 pm on Friday and noon to 10:30 pm on Saturday and Sunday), you might be noshing on dim sum or donair from one of the event’s many food trucks. Here’s a sampling of what’s on the Mission Folk Music Festival menu this year.

Groovin Grill’s Jillian Tiessen and Cynthia Potvin.

#1

Groovin Grill

Give it to the duo behind this mobile eatery for injecting some fun into the food-truck scene. Pals Jillian Tiessen and Cynthia Potvin are long-time food-service professionals who met years ago at the mega-themed restaurant The Rainforest Cafe in Metrotown, then went on to join Executive Suites Catering at Roger’s Arena. They learned early on that food and entertainment make a natural fit, and to that end they launched Groovin Grill last year in Chilliwack to provide an experience wherever they roll.

You can’t miss their truck painted in ’70s-style purple, orange, red, and green swirls, with dangling lanterns to match. Burgers on brioche buns are the pair’s speciality, from the Groove, a classic with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and pickle on brioche to the Tree Hugger, a vegan black-bean patty topped with pickle, guacamole, and salsa.

The Jerk Shack.

#2

The Jerk Shack

Simple, authentic Caribbean fare is the focus at this New Westminster-headquartered food truck. Jamaican patties come in three versions. There’s spicy beef, with Jamaica’s time-honoured trio of spices: thyme, pimento, and scotch bonnet peppers; curry chicken; and vegan stew peas with roasted potatoes and coconut milk. The jerk-chicken sandwich has sweet-and-spicy coconut sauce on ciabatta bun and sides of jerk-seasoned sweet-potato wedges and Caribbean slaw: beets, carrots, and cabbage tossed in a tangy vinaigrette. We love the jackfruit sandwich, the sweet fruit marinated in jerk sauce and sautéed with red peppers, layered atop artichoke filling, and served on a toasted ciabatta bun with a side of fried plantain.

Baba’s House.

#3

Baba’s House

Baba’s House got its start in 2018 when husband-and-wife owners Maggie and Andrew Rabek decided to pursue their love of cooking Polish comfort cuisine, naming their food truck after their beloved Old English bulldog, who’s said to be a fan. They prep and pinch the pierogies by hand and make their own sauerkraut. The pierogie + sausage combo comes with six potato-and-cheese pierogies (topped with fried onion, green onions, and sour cream) along with an authentic Polish sausage. Classic cabbage rolls are stuffed with ground pork, rice, finely chopped onions, herbs and spices and are served with house-made tomato sauce. Just like grandma used to make.

Moonchild Vegan Eatery.

#4

Moonchild Vegan Eatery

Plant-based burritos and quesadillas are the focus of this friendly food cart, which roams from festival to festival across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Whole-grain or gluten-free tortillas are used for both, with fillings including black beans (cooked fresh from dry), organic brown basmati rice, freshly made guacamole, Field Roast Grain Sausage, melted Daiya mozzarella, cilantro, grilled red onion, tomatoes, plant-based queso sauce, Frank’s hot sauce, and more. You can get Field Roast “hot dog” on a bun, too. Rumour has it the team is over the moon to be headed to Mission.

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