I Heart Food | Manayunk StrEat Food Festival
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Now that I’m in the habit of watching my calories and practicing moderation, I often have anxiety over food when dining out. I don’t worry that I will lose self control and binge or choose foods that are not nutritionally sound. It is far worse than that. I have anxiety over FOOD REGRET. Food Regret is when you are trying out a new restaurant, everything looks delicious, and you can’t decide what you want because you are worried that it might not taste as good as the other thing that you might have picked. UGH!
This condition really gets ramped up when I'm in a different city than my usual haunts of Mexican, Mexican, Chinese, and Wawa. Oh and Mexican.
I love trying new stuff and I can be somewhat adventurous. But too often it feels like I'm picking my last meal; I’d rather stay home and eat salad than chew my way through an expensive meal that isn’t satisfying. I often wish I could graze a variety of restaurants all at once to figure out which I'd like best. Well, Manayunk must have noticed my neurotic behavior (sidenote: autocorrect kept changing neurotic to burrito. Even my phone knows.) because they are hosting another round of the StrEAT Festival to kick off Restaurant week.
Main Street will be lined with Philly's best food trucks offering up a huge variety of affordable, Food Regret-free options.
And don't get all 'ew, food truck?' Because you do not even know.
We aren't talking about discolored hot dogs bathing in water that you'd like to think was new today. If today means yesterday...and yesterday actually means 3 weeks ago. We aren't talking about soft pretzels from a shopping cart being sold by a guy whose fingerprints have been forever altered by the many layers of dirt caked into the grooves. Food trucks in Philly have become like fine dining scavenger hunts. Many of these food trucks have Twitter and Facebook accounts for the sole purpose of letting their devotees know where they will be on any given day.
"Where will the gourmet cupcake truck be today?"
"Oh! I think I just saw the falafel guy cross through 2nd and Catherine streets."
Oh no, we are talking about food like this:
And the list goes on and on and on.
There will also be farmer's markets, gourmet food vendors, crafts, shopping, and sidewalk sales. And did I mention that it will be sunny and a high of 64 degrees on Saturday?
No, there will be no food regret this Saturday. There might be pants with a stretchy waistband and many feigned refusals of food 'oh no, I couldn't...okay, maybe just one more bite!' But there will be no food regret.
Thank you, Manayunk, for recognizing my (burrito) neurosis and hosting another StrEAT Fest. My wallet and my taste buds thank you as well!
IF YOU GO
Manayunk Streat Food Festival
WHEN: Sunday April 14th - Friday April 26th, 2013
WHO: Twenty-two local restaurants will be participating in special
COST: 3 course menus offered at $10, $20, and $30 price ranges.
YOU SHOULD KNOW: The StrEAT Food Festival will be happening rain or shine. Come to the festival HUNGRY. I haven't eaten since Sunday in preparation for this. Takeru Kobayashi ain't got nothin' on me!
For Manayunk Restaurant Week, make your reservations ASAP! Spots will fill up fast. You can call the restaurants or reserve your spot using Open Table.
