Midtown

[CP405]

I was just going to bring up the semi-chilly weather(depending on ones definition of chilly of course.) I know they have had 30,000 people before during the warmer months but to have that many this early is incredible. As others have said, the event has already spilled over to neighboring streets. And I know that surrounding businesses like McNellie's get slammed during the H&8th time, mostly because people don' want to wait in line. Of course the wait for a table at these places can be over an hour so what can you do. Reminds me of that old quote, forgot who said it, that went something like that place is so busy that nobody goes there anymore. Can't wait to make it to Aprils event. H&8th is a feather in the cap of OKC!

[shawnw]

There's one that comes down from Stillwater I've noticed.

[Dustin]

I was thinking that as well. Reach out to surrounding cities because there needs to be more options.

I absolutely hate waiting in lines and I have given up many times at H&8th because the lines are simply ridiculous. I end up just enjoying the surroundings with an empty stomach...

[soonerguru]

Love the gathering, but as a family we've stopped eating at H&8. Too long of lines and not necessarily worth the wait. They should add another 20 trucks or so to provide more options and reduce the waits.

[jccouger]

The lines are so long its not even worth it for me. Sure, there is the social appeal & its fun being a part of something so massive but waiting in lines is probably my biggest pet peeve & I don't want to wait 30 minutes to an hour to get some slightly overpriced food. Due to the lines its almost near to impossible to tell if what you are going to get is even going to be worth it, unless you've had it before but where is the fun in that?

I just wish they'd double the amount of trucks & increase the space equally as much.

I'm sure this comes off more negative than I intend it to be, but its really just not worth the time or effort for me as it currently stands. I'd even pay MORE for the food if the lines were shorter.

[hoya]

I don't think I'll ever understand the food truck thing. I don't think I'm cool enough. Still, if it's a big success then good for Midtown and the people behind it. If there are that many people coming down for it, and the lines are that long, I don't think it will take too long for more trucks to show up.

[shawnw]

I was once told by the Bleu Garten folks that the number they use for truck calculation is 200. That's how many a truck can usually feed and how they figure out how many they should have based on the expected crowd. If that number is realistic (and obvs if I didn't hear something wrong, for example I don't know if that was 200 total or 200 per hour, etc), then they'd need 150 trucks to server that 30,000 (if they all ate). You can probably get 150 trucks in Austin. Not sure OKC has that many even.

[adaniel]

I'm sure the organizers have already thought about this but if not, it might make sense to reach out to food truck groups out of other cities like Tulsa or even Dallas. While the long lines can be awesome to see, I know from personal experience, I've often ate less at H&8th or chose to feed the family first simply because the lines were so long or in some cases, folks would run out of food.

It could possibly be even bigger if lines were shorter and there were more options. If people knew they could try several different dishes from a variety of food trucks, this thing could go regional fast.

Again, hats off.

This may not be a bad idea. According to their website, theirs 27 active vendors; that is probably every food truck vendor in this area once you include Bleu Garten.

[Jersey Boss]

Thanks for sharing those pictures, Brian.

[dankrutka]

Food trucks have come down from Tulsa and Stillwater. I'm just not sure there are enough trucks.

Sometimes when I go with a group two of us will agree on a truck and just spend the wait chatting like we would otherwise. Unless I'm in a line solo I don't worry too much about the wait. But we've also decided to eat elsewhere in the area too. Once I go with the expectation of a long line it doesn't really bother me.

[Pete]

With the addition of Del Mar Gardens and the maturity of Bleu Garten, more food trucks will start to pop up.


As far as H & 8th, it just goes to show how hungry people in OKC are for things to do. It's a nice event but it's just some food trucks and a bit of live entertainment.

Just underscores how people in the area seize any opportunity to come to a central gathering place; and how we need a lot more of these types of things.

[Mr. Cotter]

If there were 6, diverse options that drew 5,000 instead of one for all 30,000, I would go. As it is now, I avoid Midtown all together on H&8th night, and cancelled some Fassler Hall plans last week because of it. For me, it's just far too large to be enjoyable. Glad we have - it's just not for me.

[Pete]

If there were 6, diverse options that drew 5,000 instead of one for all 30,000, I would go. As it is now, I avoid Midtown all together on H&8th night, and cancelled some Fassler Hall plans last week because of it. For me, it's just far too large to be enjoyable. Glad we have - it's just not for me.

Do you go to Premier on Film Row, Live at the Plaza or Shop Hop?

All those seem to be of a more reasonable scale.

[Mr. Cotter]

I haven't been to Shop Hop. Premier is a great event. Live on the Plaza would be ideal if I lived within walking distance of the Plaza, or could convince my wife to ride a bike across Penn.

[baralheia]

There's one that comes down from Stillwater I've noticed.

Stillwaffles, if I remember correctly. Andolini's Pizzeria was there as well - they're from Tulsa.

[shawnw]

I wonder what the threshold is to make it worthwhile for Austin or Dallas trucks to bother coming up here? Probably would have to be weekend long or something...

[Teo9969]

I wonder what the threshold is to make it worthwhile for Austin or Dallas trucks to bother coming up here? Probably would have to be weekend long or something...

If they worked with Bleu Garten, they could take some time up there. Maybe the Ambassador would provide a cheap room for out of town food truckers to lower expenses.

[Teo9969]

Also, I don't see Austin trucks making the trip…Dallas trucks maybe.

[soonerguru]

I have no problem with lines, per se. It's just that the reward is limited for the offerings available. Honestly, I would rather hit up one of the Mexican taco trucks more than the H&8th trucks. Perhaps as this event goes on the quality of offerings will improve.

[bluedogok]

I forgot all about it, we might have tried to head down there if I would have remembered it was going on. I was still fairly tired from the drive down from Denver though, my stamina for those type of things still isn't back to where it was before my illness a year ago.

[OkiePoke]

Is this anything? Or are they just doing a little maintenance?

[Urbanized]

What you see is a leveling the site and installation of decomposed granite to serve as the new base for Industry Flea and other events. The haunted attraction that was there immediately prior to the Holiday PopUps damaged the sod, and crowds at HPU and IF have continued to cause wear and tear (and mud). Speaking as someone who personally helped spread dozens of bags of mulch (that only sortof worked) prior to/during HPU, this is a major improvement for the site.

[shawnw]

Asking because I don't know... does decomposed granite=gravel?

[LakeEffect]

Asking because I don't know... does decomposed granite=gravel?

Not really... it's nicer. DG is used all over Myriad Gardens.

[Urbanized]

It sortof falls somewhere between pea gravel and sand as far as size is concerned, but like cafeboeuf says it looks/feels a little bit more luxurious. Really popular in landscaping.