Food Truck Friday

Food Truck Friday is a summer event in Balboa Park that runs through 2 September 2016, and it’s a great way to get out and enjoy some food from across the country and from around the globe in a fantastic setting. It’s also held in conjunction with Balboa Park After Dark, where many of the park’s museums remain open until 8 p.m. Friday nights.

In addition to the dozen or so food trucks, there’s live music and a myriad of street performers—jugglers, caricature artists, magicians—plying their trade. You can also get dressed up with silly hats and have your photo snapped in the Fab Trailers Photo Booth.

For a unique way to get around the park, you can also rent one of the replicas of the wicker electric carts used during the 1915 California-Panama Exhibition, the Electriquettes. (Although the pedestrian density would make it a tad challenging to navigate down El Prado.)

There’s limited seating in the Plaza de Panama’s “living room”—an area with tables with umbrellas—and many people simply pulled up a patch of grass to sit down on and enjoy their meals while watching the passers-by deal with their conundrum of selecting which truck to buy food from.

My tasty bratwurst on a bun with sauerkraut and grilled onions from the Currywurst Frankfurt truck cost $10.

After dinner, you can enjoy an evening visit to many of the museums or wander over to the Zoo (with its Nighttime Zoo hours 9 a.m.–9 p.m. through 5 September) to check out some of the critters when they’re a little more active near the end of the day.

Be sure to explore Food Truck Friday in Balboa Park before they end on 2 September.

What You Need To Know

Location: El Prado, Balboa Park

Hours: 4:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m., Fridays through 2 September 2016

Cost: Free, except for the food that you buy.

Phone: 619.239.0512

Website: www.balboapark.org/foodtruckfriday

Tips: Parking is always a challenge at Balboa Park, so if you can get there at the start time, that helps. You’ll have to walk the length of El Prado to see what all your options are before deciding on where to invest your money.