The Great American Food & Music Festival in Mountain View featured everything a food fanatic could ask for. Not only did you have chef demonstrations from local Bay Area chefs like Nancy Oakes and Chris Cosentino, but Food Network celebrity chefs made appearances as well.

The highlight of the event was having the opportunity to sample…

Katz’s Deli Pastrami Sandwiches
Pink’s Hot Dogs
Graeter’s Ice Cream
Anchor Bar Chicken Wings
Barney Greengrass Bagels
Southside Market Barbecue Brisket and Sausage
Zingerman’s BLT Sandwiches and Bacon Platters
Tony Luke’s Cheesesteaks and Roast Pork Sandwiches
Junior’s Classic Cheesecake
Burger Meister’s Hamburgers
June Taylor’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
A Selection of Charles Chocolates
and Bouchon Bakery’s Chocolate Bouchons

You can picture the long lines now. And, believe it, the lines were epic.

Here’s a collection of photos from yesterday’s event.

Busy Grilling at Burger Meister’s Booth

Bite into Katz’s Pastrami Sandwich & Tony Luke’s Philly Cheesesteak

It’s All About the Snap in Pink’s Hot Dogs

Clockwise: Chef Nancy Oakes, Aida Mollenkamp, Chuck Siegel, and Chef Bobby Flay

In a perfect world, this event would have gone smoothly without any hiccups. Unfortunately, right from the start, things did not look so bright. Plastic electronic widget enabled bracelets that you load up with cash or credit were supposed to speed up the payment process failed from the moment we got there. Vendors were using the bracelets as the only form of payment. When people found out that the bracelets weren’t working, the complaints escalated. Delays in trying to get the bracelets to work led to longer lines. Cash was finally acceptable after the bracelet idea was scrapped.

A couple of friends of mine and I, just like any event goer, had to endure the long wait for food. Two hours in line for Tony Luke’s Philly cheesesteak? Some might have just left and say, “No way.” We waited. I expected the long lines and tried to make the best of it by chatting with people and joking with my friends. Once we got our sandwiches, it was just funny how we all managed to chow them down so fast as if we owed to to ourselves to enjoy every last greasy bite of steak and cheese. It was our sigh of relief.

After leaving the event I heard of reports of vendors running out of food. Not good… Plenty of people angrily left the event still hungry and perhaps feeling ripped off. I can’t speak on behalf of those who feel that way, but can understand why. It seems that you either left the event disappointed or tried to have a good time despite the madness.

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