“I’m hot. I’m tired. I’m hungry.”
This was most likely the sentiment of the many Emory students at Music Midtown this past weekend as the sun had reached its peak and there was a break between headliners.
Don’t get me wrong: music festivals are a blast. The eclectic crowds, good company and, of course, the annual opportunity to hear live music sung by some of the most renowned performers, such as Drake, Hozier and Sam Smith. But we all know the feeling of the inevitable afternoon slump as people start to get “hangry,” a mixture of tired and hungry.
Luckily, this sentiment was easily resolved at Music Midtown through their endless selection of food trucks and stands ranging from pizza to locally sourced foods. This was certainly a foodie haven.
One of the prominent vendors at the festival was King of Pops.
“We worked with the event’s organizers, Premier Events,” Director of Operations at King of Pops Matt Tanner wrote in an email to the Wheel. “They are a great company to work with, and we have a great relationship with them.”
Now to elaborate on some of the crowd favorites from the weekend:
The Basics:
Many who tried the plethora of finger-foods raved about the corndogs and funnel cakes.
“[The funnel cake was] very doughy, sweet and indulgent,” Goizueta Business School junior Kait McGann-Ludwin said.
These standard stations were always crowded, ideal for those unavoidable unhealthy cravings and those who were looking for quintessential festival food.
King of Pops
King of Pops, a staple at the Emory Farmers Market, had numerous carts at the festival, perfect for the scorching hot afternoons.
According to College junior JennieBrophy, she became an expert on these popsicles at the festival after having tried four different flavors — banana caramel, chocolate sea-salt, iced-tea and lemonade and key lime pie popsicles.
“The key lime pie actually had pieces of pie in it,” she said. However, her favorite was the banana caramel popsicle.
The Happy Belly Curbside Kitchen
There were countless other vendors at the festival, with some — dare I say — healthier foods, comforting for the health-conscious. The Happy Belly Curbside Kitchen truck was one of these options at the festival, selling an array of sandwiches with all local ingredients.
According to their website, there is “no better way to connect with other people like us than to be a mobile restaurant on wheels that delivered fresh natural, wholesome foods.”
Happy Belly Curbside Kitchen also donates five percent of their profits to the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, an organization that works with at-risk youth to create prosperous futures through endorsing healthy lifestyles.
Island Noodles
Another healthier food option was the Island Noodles stand, always a 10-minute wait and always worth it.
Island Noodles writes on their website: “Island Noodles utilizes freshly made Yaki-Soba noodles, made with buckwheat, traditionally served in Hawaii. These noodles are stir-fried with fresh garlic, fresh ginger, a medley of 21 fresh vegetables, three of which are seasonal.”
These noodles were also ideal for those with specific allergies, given that they are both dairy-free and nut-free. I can attest that the noodles were perfectly seasoned with an abundance of vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and onions.
With rows of food options, the “what are we going to eat?” question turned out to be just as hard a decision as which artists to see at Music Midtown. But even though the choice was tough, the delicious food at Music Midtown made many people’s afternoon slumps much more bearable.
