This is a sponsored conversation, in collaboration with Mountain House Developers. All opinions are my own.
In the beginning of October I attended a delicious food filled day at the Inaugural Global Food Fair in Mountain House, California. Mountain House is located in Northern California, just outside of the Bay Area – just east of Livermore. Mountain House is small close-knit community that's split up by "villages", with each village having it's own school with beautifully landscaped parks and picturesque sidewalks. One of the things I appreciate most about Mountain House is how diverse it is, and that is actually one of the biggest draws to the area from new residents.
On any given day in Mountain House there are soccer/football/basketball games, annual community events for each holiday like the Easter Egg Hunt, Witches Ride or the kite run. You can often find group gathered for boot camp style workouts at one of the parks, and there's a weekly Farmer's Market as well. The community atmosphere is so ideal for families, which is why the Global Food Fair was planned. With a community as diverse as Mountain House, it's a way to celebrate the different cultures in the area and really bring neighbors together to mingle and bond through (free) food!
Saturday, October 6th 2018 was the date of the Inaugural Global Food Fair in Mountain House from 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM. It was a beautiful day for some fun in Central Park, Mountain House's large community park with a splash pad with interactive fountains, playgrounds, picnic tables and sports facilities. This is the largest park in Mountain House and it's strategically located in the heart of the town, so it's typically where the larger community events happen. The Global Food Fair was nestled in nicely between the sports fields and the splash pad.
Amazing Kitchen was serving Chicken Fried Rice, Orange Chicken and Crab Puffs.
Dhaba Indian Cuisine was serving Butter Chicken, Palao Rice and Veggie Samosa.
El Toro Food Truck had choices between tacos (asada/beef, pastor/seasoned pork, carnitas/shredded pork, pollo/chicken), quesadillas or carne asada fries.
Mazaa Kabob House served Chapli Kabob which is a grilled ground beef sirloin patty with white rice and chutney or the vegetarian Daal Challow served with tomatoes and white rice. Both choices came with fresh naan.
Mountain House Pizza Company was serving slices of your choice of Cheese Pizza, Pepperoni Pizza or White Mushroom Pizza.
The Guys Tri Tip & BBQ Food Truck was serving "The Big Guy" Sandwich loaded with marinated tri-tip and lettuce or "Bangin Blue" Tri Tip Sandwich with horseradish mayo, grilled onions, lettuce and blue cheese. Sides included their Hawaiian Macaroni Salad.
SweetArts Bakery gave cupcake choices in flavors of Lemony Lemon, Vanilla, Strawberry or Caramel Bliss.
Tracy Harbour Fish & Chips was serving Pancit Malabon and Lumpia.
Yafa Hummus served Falafel, Hummus and Mediterranean Salad.
This event was fully sponsored by Mountain House Developers, which allowed all of the vendors to serve free bite-sized samples. A fun fact is that all of these vendors are actually all local, family owned restaurants and food trucks from the Mountain House and Tracy area. I love that the smaller locally owned places were chosen to be a part of this event, it really affirms the sense of community and supporting local business and went along with the neighborly vibe of this event for me. Since I'm a bit more local to the area I was familiar with many of the vendors, but some I hadn't had a chance to try just yet and I was excited for the opportunity.
I also need to make note: this event advertised bite-sized samples, but many of them were full on meals! That was a nice surprise and everything was really amazing. Some of my personal favorites were the Caramel Cupcake from SweetArts Bakery, the Crab Puffs from Amazing Kitchen, the Lumpia from Tracy Harbor Fish & Chips, the Asada Fries from El Toro Food Truck, the Hawaiian Macaroni Salad from The Guys Tri Tip & BBQ Food Truck, and everything from Yafa Hummus! I could honestly keep going, but I'll probably name everything that was served! It was seriously all so good and I love that there were options for those that are vegetarian or gluten free too. Many of the vendors use locally sourced ingredients as well, which is important to note.
A lot of locals were in attendance, and even some families came from the bordering cities. It was great to see so many families of all backgrounds and ages together enjoying their day over good food. Honestly, my favorite part of the day was just walking through the park seeing everyone eating, chatting, dancing, and generally having a relaxing and fulfilling afternoon. Mountain House is definitely a community that is tight knit and I believe it is because of community events such as this. Wouldn't you love to have this within your own community?
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