Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead to host Food Truck Derby

Over-the-top grilled cheese, gourmet tacos and novelty ice cream — plus live music and face painting! — are just a few of the many enticing reasons to head to the 8th annual Food Truck Derby on Saturday in Riverhead. This year it’s taking place at the Hallockville Museum Farm and runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a scheduled rain date of Oct. 27 (for the last seven years, the event had been hosted at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton).

The food truck roster includes Eat Me, Drink Me, Island Empanada, Chiddy's Cheesesteaks, Roxy’s Ice Cream Truck, On the Road, Rolling Smoke Grill, Cheezy Pete’s, Brockenzo Neapolitan Pizza and Nice Buns Slammin Sliders. North Fork Doughnut Company will also have a presence, with Moustache Brewing Co. and others providing drinks.

Kids attending the event are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to “Truck-or-Treat.”  You can get a free, reusable bag at the Eat Me, Drink Me truck to hold all the treats.

Admission is $7 per person or $20 for four adults; kids 16 and under are free; food truck fare is pay-as-you-go, while all farm activities are free (lawn games, farm animals, tours of historical homes, exhibit in the barn and more). To purchase tickets or for more information, visit nyfoodtruckderby.com.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the Hallockville Museum Farm.

Here’s a sampling of the mobile eats participating in this weekend’s derby and what's typically offered at these trucks:

Roxy’s Soft Serve: 

Elaine Piotrowski’s ice cream truck has been turning out soft serve and frozen, pre-packed ice cream for 10 years. During warmer months, the full service mobile ice cream truck offers shaved ices “the size of softballs,” she said, adding that she replaces those with hot cocoa, hot pretzels and hot apple cider when the weather turns. Piotrowski, who prides herself on “not pumping air” into her ice cream, said she operates in a nut-free truck from April to November. 

Brockenzo Neapolitan Pizza:

The name says it all, but there’s more to the name than meets the eye here. The truck’s wood-fired oven turns out traditional pizzas, including margherita and bianca, plus a chicken bacon ranch pie (fresh mozzarella, grilled chicken, smoked bacon, ranch and Pecorino), Capricciosa (margherita with prosciutto, artichokes, mushrooms and kalamata olives) and gorg and onions (fresh mozzarella, Gorgonzola, caramelized onions, rosemary, Pecorino and extra-virgin olive oil). Garlic knots and Brockenzo Dogs (hot dog wrapped in Brockenzo dough and dressed with fresh garlic and extra-virgin olive oil) are also available, as are a variety of salads. And, for those with a sweet tooth, the truck also offers dessert pies, including apple caramel and chocolate cannoli. Available year-round.

Nice Buns Slammin’ Sliders:

Jamie and Dean Eichorn’s menu is largely based on sliders, as the name suggests, but their sliders cater to vegetarians, too, in addition to chicken, meat and fish lovers. Sliders served from the truck’s window have included the cowboy (ground beef topped with bacon, Cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce and sautéed onions), the Italian chicken (grilled chicken topped with roasted red pepper, mozzarella and pesto aioli), the veggie caprese (grilled eggplant, green and yellow zucchini, tomato and mozzarella with balsamic glaze) and the Asian tuna (fresh seared ahi tuna topped with seaweed salad and a soy-wasabi glaze). The truck’s signature item is its Parmesan truffle fries. Open from April to November.

Eat Me, Drink Me:

You might not recognize the name, but you’ll certainly recognize the trucks Michelle Panciarello had designed with Alice in Wonderland in mind. They all offer extensive menus that include comfort-food dishes from lobster rolls, tacos, burgers and sandwiches to empanadas, salads, cheese and meat platters, and grilled cheese. 

A previous version of this story included the food truck Anewyoricanthing, which is no longer participating in the event.