Whilst most people have a preconceived notion of Geneva being unchanged since our very own Jean Calvin made his way here a few centuries ago - stoic, bland, and desperately lacking in a bit of youth culture - many small local food truck companies are changing the face of the city, one meal at a time.
The Street Food Festival isn't exactly new to Geneva, having had its first iteration summer last year. The rebellious nature of the original event couldn't have coincided better with the location: right in the heart of the old city. The event was a tremendous success, and spawned a desire for a winter edition of the food truck gathering.
The trucks this year shared their space with the Festival Antigel at Grand-Central, amidst a field of car dealerships and other industrial centers. Waiting outside for the gates to open I could see the vivid reminders of Geneva's nightlife, and so I took caution as to avoid getting a shard of broken glass under my foot. With the weather turning for the worse, I was relieved to find that the entirety of the event was covered, still keeping the option of eating either indoors or outdoors.
Ok that's nice and all, but now onto the reason why I came here: the food. With more options than I could consider I first settled on a classic Genevois filet de perche with fries. Despite being born here and having lived here all my life it was my first time having this quintessential element of local cuisine, and boy was I ever impressed. I'm not one for fish, but perch is a lot more meaty than others, which is always a plus in my book. After some time my eyes set on the pulled pork stand I recognized from last year's festival, and just like last time I was not disappointed. The meat was tender to the point of melting in your mouth, and the sauce was spot-on in giving me that classic Texan taste I had missed. Many more food trucks were parked at the place, ranging from upscale taco stands all the way to exquisite pastries, although unfortunately there wasn't much room left in my stomach (and wallet sadly) to review them all.
Overall the event was a joy to attend, all the people present were very welcoming and the ambiance was perfect for this type of gathering: the smell of food, rowdiness, meeting new people and many many laughs! I am looking forward to this year's summer festival and hope to find you there too!