MadrEat Market...food trucks galore.

When I lived in San Francisco, food trucks were a dime a dozen. But, for some reason, I never had much interest in visiting them...especially once my love affair with the Bay Area started to wane. When I knew I was moving to Madrid, I did some research to see if there was something similar in the capital city of Spain. Turns out, there was with MadrEat Market and its thirty-plus food trucks, 

The event is held every third weekend of the month and goes from Friday through Sunday. My friend and I, hoping to miss the lunchtime rush, arrived on a Saturday afternoon around 4pm. While the crowds weren't too crazy at that point, it was clear that its a popular event and definitely had a party atmosphere. One truck was playing DJ and blasting music, which everyone seemed to enjoy while sampling the various food truck offerings.

We had barely made it past the first few trucks when I spotted seared tuna on the menu at Con Palillos and decided it was a must try. I was so excited I forgot to take a picture, but it was perfectly seared and served over a risotto-like rice with vegetables. Since this was only truck #6 out of 30+, I decided to pace myself and see what other types of food were available.

We didn't make it very far before coming across this adorable wine truck and decided we needed a glass of wine to enjoy while checking out the rest of the food trucks.

We made one pass through the map to look at all of the trucks before deciding which ones to return to. I thought the trucks themselves were cute and kind of retro and offered everything from hot dogs, burgers, nachos, desserts, including crepes and ice cream, craft beer, wine and coffee. There were the traditional Spanish foods such as patatas bravas and tortilla, but also food from Italy, Japan, Peru, etc., so there was a little bit of something for every food taste. While most of the food for sale is meat-centric (and Spain is definitely a meat-centric country!), there were some options for vegetarians as well.

I noticed a truck selling scotch eggs, which I actually had to Google since I had no idea what they were. We made our way over so I could try one, which oddly came with a shot of whiskey, as well as the chance to play chicken bingo...what?!

I went with the "El Jerezano," which had meat, spinach, parmesan and alioli and it was interesting, but delicious and I would definitely go back next time and try the other combinations.

My friend and I ended up staying until closing time and it totally turned into a dance party after the sun went down. Everyone was dancing and enjoying the food, drinks and music, which included everything from popular Spanish songs to the Spice Girls. The next food truck market is April 21-23 and I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you're in Madrid.

MadrEat Market