SPRINGFIELD – MGM Springfield kicked off their Food Truck Fridays festivities on May 3 and was host to numerous food trucks and hundreds of hungry people in search of a bite to eat.

Reminder Publishing Managing Editor G. Michael Dobbs, along with staff writers Stephanie Trombley and Carling Willis accompanied me to the casino giant to experience what Food Truck Fridays had to offer. With empty stomachs, we all drove down to MGM for our lunch break. One thing is for sure – we were not disappointed.

The Lineup of trucks are as follows: MGM’s Man! Buns, MGM’s Guac This Way, MGM’s Gelato Cart, Hot Oven Cookies, Just Say Cheese, Thai Chili, Wahlburgers, Liberty Rock Tavern, Holyoke Hummus, Kona Ice, and Palazzo were all on site at MGM’s Armory Square space. After taking in the many options, we began to make our selections.

Mike opted to hop in line at the food truck called Just Say Cheese. He purchased a figging grilled cheese sandwich which is made up of goat cheese, fig jam and arugula. He noted that the bread was nicely toasted and the melted cheese had just the right texture.

“The goat cheese gave the sandwich a nice flavor contrast to the fig jam,” Mike explained. Holding up his sandwich for a photo, Mike showed off that it was a fairly large sandwich for $9. The truck offered three or four additional grilled cheese sandwich renditions.

Carling was up next to make her food choice, selecting Holyoke Hummus’ truck. She selected a falafel sandwich along with two grape leaves on the side. The falafel sandwich featured a soft pita bread wrap filled with falafels, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and tzatziki sauce. Carling noted that this sandwich did not disappoint, and that the falafels were complimented perfectly by their tzatziki sauce.

The grape leaves, she said, were “to die for” and “even more amazing than the falafel sandwich.” For readers who have not taste tested grape leaves for themselves, they are leaves of the grapevine plant that are stuffed with a mixture of rice, meat and spices and subsequently cooked by being boiled or steamed.

As we walked to the other end of Armory Square to get to the next food truck, we couldn’t help but notice how long the line for the Wahlburgers truck was. At one point, there had to have been at least 50 to 60 people in line for that truck alone! Knowing we didn’t want to wait in line for a hamburger, we all walked past, however it did pique our curiosity as to how delicious a Wahlburger must be.

Next up in our food truck experience was the Thai Chili truck, where Stephanie chose the sweet chili crispy chicken with rice. While she was a bit hesitant of the sweet chili sauce at first, Stephanie ended up being quite pleased. The sauce was less thick and sticky in comparison to sweet chili sauces she had experienced in the past. She noted that the sauce was water-thin, which allowed the sauce to be spread over the entire meal. Additionally, she shared that the chicken was light, crispy and had a good crunch.

“I’m sometimes put off by sweet chili because I don’t like the “mouth on fire” kick of the traditional sauce, but Thai Chili’s sweet chili sauce did not pack that punch,” Stephanie said. “It had all of the flavor without the discomfort.”

As for me – unfortunately – I am on a strict, relatively bland diet due to health reasons for the time being. While I would have loved to purchase one of Hot Oven Cookies delicious offerings, or have eaten dumplings from the Man! Buns truck, I settled on heading indoors to MGM’s Hearth Grill for salmon and grilled zucchini. While it was not melt-–in–your–mouth grilled cheese or savory grape leaves, I have to say, the meal was still delicious.

If you missed MGM’s first Food Truck Friday on May 3, don’t fret. MGM will be hosting the event every Friday through the end of September. Starting at 11 a.m. and ending at 2:30 p.m. on Armory Square at MGM, located at One MGM Way in Springfield, you too can enjoy all of the delicious meals the food trucks have to offer.