Monday evening, beer flowed, fries sizzled, waffles crisped and music drifted in the breeze at the 2021 Motif Food Truck and Drink Awards ceremony. Over 220 culinary fans made the trek from all corners of RI to the R1 Entertainment Center parking lot to celebrate and raise a glass to some of the best mobile food, and the tastiest drinks from around the Ocean State.
The biggest winners? Frisky Fries and Revival Brewing. But really, there were so many other notables… Scan the winners list to find out where to next nosh and eat. (If your fave’s not there, next year get out the vote!)
We want to thank the tremendous positive vibes from our musical entertainment, The Unlikely Strummers, a ukulele band that wrote custom serenades for some of their own favorite trucks, and Man & Wife, the Americana duo of Kris and Tara Hansen who recently won Favorite Americana Act in the 2021 RI Music Awards.
We’d also like to thank our generous sponsors who make everything possible: R1 Indoor Karting, Blackstone Valley Brewing, Jerry’s Artarama, Barnaby Castle, Miravella and the generous town of Lincoln.
Our amazing volunteers included Rico Lanni, Gary Janczynski, Jade Sisti, Bradly VanDerStad, Mark Binder, Paul Rochford, Katelyn Van Pelt, Ken Bowdish, Pieter Martens, Francie Eannarino, Caitlin Howle, Shawn Tetrault, Deven Vussey, Amadeus Finlay and Michael Bilow. Presenters who braved the pronunciation of RI food and brew names included the Unlikely Strummers, Frank Mullin of PVD Oyster Fest, brew writer Gina Mastrostephano, Gary J, Mark B and Rico L, Laura Afonso from Buns & Bites, John Kelly from rho.delicious and Patty J from PattyJ.com. And of course, our MCs Eric Weiner and Jenny Currier.
Finally, thank you to the brewers who provided samples, including Narragansett, Foolproof, Buttonwoods, Beer on Earth, Union Station Brewery, 12 Guns and Sowams Cider Co., to the trucks who served, including Haven Brothers, Bonetown, Atomic Blonde Ice Cream, Poppy’s Waffles and Juice Junkie, and to all the brewers and food truckers who came out to support the cause!
Here are your favorites – thank you for voting, if you were able to!
food truck awards
FAVORITE BURGERS
Bonetown BBQ & Burgers
FAVORITE HOT DOGS/SAUSAGES
Haven Brothers
FAVORITE BBQ
Bonetown BBQ & Burgers
FAVORITE FRENCH FRIES
Friskie Fries
FAVORITE GRILLED CHEESE
Championship Melt
FAVORITE CHICKEN WINGS/FRIED CHICKEN
Ming’s Asian Street Food
FAVORITE SANDWICH-LIKE OBJECTS
Twisted T’s
FAVORITE SEAFOOD
Blount Seafood
FAVORITE OTHER ETHNIC TRUCK
The Ish
FAVORITE TACOS
Paco’s Tacos
FAVORITE LATIN INFLUENCED TRUCK
La Guaguita Del Sabor
FAVORITE ASIAN INFLUENCED TRUCK
Ming’s Asian Street Food
FAVORITE ITALIAN INFLUENCED TRUCK
Bird’s Nest Italian Street Food
FAVORITE VEGAN/VEGETARIAN
Like No Udder
FAVORITE BREAKFAST & BRUNCH
Poppy’s Waffles
FAVORITE COFFEE
Presto Strange O Coffee
FAVORITE DESSERT
Black Dog Donuts
FAVORITE DESSERT: CUPCAKES
Jo Jo’s Cupcakes
FAVORITE DESSERT: FROZEN
Del’s Lemonade
FAVORITE FOOD TRUCK WITH STOREFRONT
Friskie Fries
FAVORITE GRAPHICS
Friskie Fries
FAVORITE NEW TRUCK
Black Dog Donuts
FAVORITE MENU ITEM NAME
Basil & Bunny: MMMBop Tarts
ALL WEATHER WARRIOR
Poppy’s Waffles
UNIQUE OFFERINGS
The Hot Potato
FAVORITE LOCATION/FESTIVAL
Food Truck Friday Carousel Village
FAVORITE POP-UP
A Guy and His Pie
FAVORITE PORTABLE NOT-QUITE-TRUCK
Tricycle Ice Cream
FAVORITE FORMER TRUCK
Rhody Roots
FAVORITE OUTDOOR TREAT (NOT A TRUCK)
Iggy’s Doughboys (Various)
FAVORITE LOCALLY PRODUCED FOOD
Venda Ravioli lobster ravioli
FAVORITE NEW RI FOOD PRODUCT
Butterbang croissants
FAVORITE BELOW THE RADAR CATERING
401 Gourmet
FAVORITE FARMER’S MARKET
Farm Fresh RI
OVERALL FAVORITE TRUCK
Friskie Fries
drink awards
FAVORITE BELGIAN
Night Swim’Ah by Revival
FAVORITE DIPA+
Captain’s Daughter by Grey Sail
FAVORITE IPA
Object Permanence by Buttonwoods Brewery
FAVORITE KOLSCH
Rhode Island Blueberry by Newport Storm
FAVORITE LAGER
The Lightest Beer We Have by Beer on Earth
FAVORITE PALE ALE
RISE by Whalers
FAVORITE PALE ALE: BLONDES & CREAMS
Debut Single by Moniker Brewery
FAVORITE PILSNER/PILSENER
Bohemian Pilsener by Buttonwoods Brewery
FAVORITE PORTER
Raincloud by Foolproof
FAVORITE REDS & BROWNS
Tommy’s Red by Trinity Brew Pub
FAVORITE SOUR
Be Fruitful Blueberry Sour by Smug
FAVORITE STOUT
Coffee Milk Stout by Ravenous
FAVORITE WEISS & WHEAT
I Am A Raspberry Donut Berliner Weisse by Beer on Earth
FAVORITE MISCELLANEOUS BEER
Blueberry Bloem by Long Live Beerworks
FAVORITE SELTZERS+
Del’s Rhode Island Hard Tea by Narragansett
FAVORITE LABEL ART
Heavy Metal Parking Lot by Beer on Earth
FAVORITE WHISKEY
Uprising by SOL
FAVORITE GIN
Ornamental Gin by ISCO
FAVORITE MISCELLANEOUS SPIRITS
Limoncello by RI Spirits
FAVORITE BEER FEST
RI Brew Fest (PVD, January)
FAVORITE DRINKING SPACE
Tilted Barn
FAVORITE POP UP
Trinity Beer Tent
Critics’ Choice: Liquor
White Dog, Cornucopia Whiskey
Critics’ Choice: Beer
12 Guns, The Meg Blonde Ale
Critics’ Choice: Wine
Newport Vineyards, In The Buff (unoaked chardonnay)
Overall Favorite Brewer
Revival Brewing
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