Motif Food Truck and Drink Award Winners: Event Roundup

On Monday, September 13th, fans of vehicle-based victuals, local libations, and awards show excitement gathered at the Motif 2021 Food Truck & Drink Awards. The anticipation was palpable as would-be winners of awards such as “Favorite Tacos” and “Favorite IPA” listened closely for the judges to call their names. 

The event was not without star power. Laura Afonso, RI food influencer who started @bunsandbites in 2017, was joined by Jenny Currier, Motif’s top food writer, in presenting awards. The event was emceed by none other than Eric Weiner, owner and founder of Food Trucks In, a national business connecting foodies with the food trucks they love. 

And what would a food truck award show be without food trucks? Poppy’s Waffles, Atomic Blonde Icecream, Bonetown Burgers & BBQ, Juice Junkie, and Haven Brothers Diner were all serving up signature dishes for attendees. And for a small fee, visitors enjoyed unlimited tastings from some of their favorite Rhode Island brewers: 12 Guns Brewing, Sowams Cider Works, Union Station Brewery, Foolproof Brewing Company, Beer on Earth, Buttonwoods Brewery, and Narragansett Beer. 

The awards presentations were punctuated by two musical groups. The Unlikely Strummers (a local ukulele troupe—who knew?) kicked the event off with a lot of four-string energy. Then, to keep it all going, Man and Wife—an appropriately named Americana duo of Kris and Tara Hansen—kept the mood light. The awards were held outside R1 Indoor Karting, the largest (and only?) indoor karting track in Rhode Island, who also was the event’s primary sponsor. 

The attendees were enthralled: but honestly, what’s not to like? Good food, good beer, catching up with old friends on a comfortable late summer evening and celebrating the trucks and brewers that make Rhode Island’s culinary scene one in a million. There’s nothing more Rhody than that.