Crocker Park Rolls Out Food Truck Competition

As the weather cools down and pumpkin-spice-everything makes its way to stores, the fresh memory of summer gets foggier and foggier. As summer staple Walnut Wednesdays ends its seasonal reign at the end of September, Crocker Park is ready to pick up the slack.

The Westlake outdoor mall is investing in the meals-on-wheels fad by hosting its first Food Truck Challenge Oct. 17, a food fest Crocker Park hopes will become a monthly must-go. With 25 unique vendors lining up around the mall, the festival boasts more trucks than any of the summer's similar shindigs. Diners can expect to see some mobile munchie veterans like Barrio and Fired Up Pizza as well as the punny Wok n Roll, Wholly Frijoles and Betty's Bomb A** Burgers.

The eclectic group of eateries will pull up at 11 a.m. and stay for Challenge-goers until 4 p.m. During the day, diners can vote on their favorite dishes while five judges sample all 25 trucks' eats and decide on an overall champion.

Unlike some of Cleveland's other food challenges, this festival's panel of judges isn't composed exclusively of celebrity chefs (though there will be some). In addition, Crocker Park is hosting a Facebook contest to choose one or two regular Joes to test out the area's hippest restaurants.

The Crocker Park Food Truck Challenge is free to attend. Check out Crocker Park's Facebook page for additional information.