I've been going to the festival for years now, and I highly recommend They have several food vendors (not only tacos), games, and tons of entertainment (wrestlers, live bands, live reaper taco eating contests, and more!) read more

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This is my 4th year going to the Taco Festival, and every year, it gets better. The more you go, the more you learn how to take advantage of the whole experience and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, how to pace yourself to get in as much Taco goodness as possible. So many options of tacos to choose from and, if you're not into tacos (blasphemy), you have empanadas, pickles, cupcakes, etc to choose from. There are plenty of tables to sit at, and more importantly, they are covered so you have somewhere to hide in case it rains since the event is rain or shine. Buuuuuuuut, if you choose to bring your own chair, it doesn't hurt. Overall, I'm looking forward to next year! read more

Had a great time with friends! Upgraded to VIP tix and got to hang under the tent and got unlimited drinks and got a great 'gift' bag with some hot sauces and a hat and sunglasses and some other cool items. So many options for tacos but didn't seem like there were as many truck as advertised. The music selection was fabulous and the Chihuahua beauty pageant had me in tears with the silly costumes. There was not much for the kids to do, but the wrestling matches were entertaining. read more

Thank you to Yelp & the NJ Taco Festival for my pair of general admission tickets! Admission was $10 if purchased online or $15 at the door. An ATM was located near the entrance if needed. Speaking of their online presence, while I was on their site I noticed they provided an hourly breakdown of festivities - cocktail making competitions, best dressed chihuahua competition (one of my favs), and of course the luchadores wrestling matches. Parking was a little crazy, but honestly expected. It is a festival after all with hundreds of people piling in. Luckily there were a handful of wonderful workers directing traffic. If you have the chance to Uber in I would highly recommend it. The festival had a decent amount of food trucks, dessert, and spirits(alcohol) tents. Having visited a few other Festivals in NJ I wish the trucks/booths handed out samples or mini tacos to test taste before you go all in. After the first 3 trucks I was stuffed LOL so I didn't get to try out as many trucks as I would have wanted. read more

Overall this was a pretty good event. $15 to get in, $6 beers and $8 margs. There were probably about 12 - 18 food vendors. I left full, so I can't complain about the number of vendors. Overall I thought the Tacos selection was solid. Most vendors he'd multiple and different options. A Taco Affair had a great Brisket Taco, Korean Pork Taco and Buttermilk Fried Chicken Taco. All were really excellent tacos. Tacos Is Life were the only one with Birria Tacos. The Beef, Al Pastor ans Shrimp were all fantastic. They were super busy (took about 30 minutes to get them) but it was well worth the wait. Tito's Taqueria delivered me Carne Asada and Carnitas. The meat for both were cubed, different for carnitas, but great flavor. These were all good. Tacoholics also offered some unique options; Fried Avocado, General Tso, Buffalo Chicken and Crack BBQ Chicken. These were good. The chicken was fried (good) and the flour tortillas were cold (would have been better warmed up). There were some dessert options as well. We went with cupcakes from House of Cupcakes, WOW, just WOW! read more

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Definitely a fun filled and yummy day to experience! Admission was $10 if purchased online or $15 at the door. An ATM is located near the entrance if needed. Thanks to Yelp & this festival for my general admission winning tickets! There was ample parking. Workers also guided all to a parking spot. Regardless of where you parked it seemed to be a slight walking distance to the entrance. Make sure you look online before arrival for their schedule of the day as fun entertainment is done almost every hour. We enjoyed the wrestling and loved the chihuahua contest! This festival had a nice option of taco food trucks to choose from. Even though the Gringo's truck forgot to bring their sample tacos, I recommend their chicken & waffle and Nashville hot chicken tacos! I missed out on the Empanada Monster due to its super long line. Yet, everyone raved about that food truck! A festival to Taco about =) read more

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I was surprised! I had been randomly chosen as a winner to attend this festival with a guest and get VIP admission at that! THANKS YELP!!! And what a beautiful day it was just strolling and noshing on NJs own local taco places across the state. So much good food and drinks pouring ! Birria! Korean bulgogi style! Authentic Mexican! Roasted pig! Jerk chicken! And many more taco styles to choose from! Music by NJ bands, a Chi wa wa (I know I spelled it wrong!) beauty contest, bounce houses for the kiddos, wrestling matches....all wrapped up in a gloriously perfect cumulus cloud 75 degree day! I ate so much I was gonna burst lol But who would write the review if I did?? Be good YELPies mwah! read more

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This was a fun event. I won tickets from Yelp but the entrance fee was $15. There were multiple vendors, lots of tacos and desserts. You had to buy tokens for alcohol, mixed drinks were $8 and beer was $6. They had live music, wrestling matches and my favorite the chihuahua beauty contest. I also noticed they had a VIP section, I believe it cost $75. My favorite tacos were from Taco Is Life. The al pastor tacos were incredible. They had so much flavor and were authentic. We were on the hunt for churros and were so happy when we found them. We were at the festival for a few hours. The parking was easy and there were bathroom available. Overall, I had a good time. read more

Delicious, Delicious, Delicious The best eating experience Ever!!! The food was Awesome....so much to choose from. Absolutely loved the variety. The crowd was very pleasant and friendly. The Maine lobster truck was very nice, but a bit expensive. However, the best tasting food at the entire festival was the Carlitos. Their Street Corn was Amazing, the Tacos were amazing and the prices were so reasonable. Had an excellent time. Can't wait until next year!!!! read more

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The food fest was a nice opportunity to try out different food trucks and food vendors. There was a live band, wrestling matches, seating areas, and bounce houses for kids. My favorite truck was A Taco Affair because they were the only vendor with a sampler menu, meaning you can trying one of every taco rather than committing to a full meal. Other trucks gave you the option of purchasing regular sets of 2 or 3 tacos ($10-$15) of just one flavored taco. There was free parking on site but I'm disappointed we needed to buy an eventbrite ticket that no one scanned. You can literally just walk in and save $12 per person. Overall I'd pass on this festival in the future. I can get the same , if not better, experience at Pier 13 in Hoboken NJ. read more

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Event Summary: This is their 5th Annual NJ Taco Festival and took place on September 7th at the Sussex County Fairgrounds. It claimed to featured over 50 of the Tri-State Area's Best Taco Producers alongside a variety of Craft Beer and Specialty Cocktails. Additionally their main stage has a full day of Live Music and Culinary Inspired Competition. A couple of past returning favorites are their Chihuahua Costume Contest and Live Lucha Wrestling. This is a family friendly event and we continually expand our Kids Zone featuring inflatables, face painting and more. General Admission to this event includes access to the grounds and all on-site entertainment. Vendors are direct cash sales to attendees. While full menus are available, all vendors are required to include a $2 sample taco so you can graze and taste the afternoon away. Kids under 10 are Free. VIP are $75 for taco buffet and drinks. My Reaction: The event should be free and VIP passes needs to be much cheaper. They only had 1 craft beer company there , Brooklyn Brewery. They had maybe under 50 vendors and should be free to visit the festival because it took maybe 10 minutes to walk the entire grounds, One small oval shape. The VIP tent which cost $75 to enter had one taco buffet area which gave you tasteless far from authentic taco experience. All I have to say it was hard shell tacos and your Better off going to Taco Bell for a better experience. They did have a nice bar in the tent which was included and I guess if you can drink your VIP ticket price it may be worth it read more

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Really glad I didnt have to pay to get in. By mid afternoon lines were packed and you waited more than an hour for an expensive cheesy taco. We only ate at two trucks and ended up going to a burger joint on the way home. Entertainment included stage wrestling and live music. read more

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It was okay. I guess. I wouldn't go again, but I was honestly happy I went one time. It's just that you pay to get in, and you dont really get that much for your money (not that the ticket is very expensive, an my ticket was a give away (thanks yelp!) )The bands are enjoyable. The pepper eating contest was a let down in terms of enjoyment. There's wrestling going on, but I can't say I'm really a huge fan of that kind of thing. The tacos I had were really really good. That being said, I feel like coming across good taco trucks/food in Jersey/Nyc isn't so rare that you need to have a festival where they all go to. read more

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As part of Yelp's Elite, I won 2 General Admission tickets (1st time I ever won anything lol) to this year's NJ Taco Festival at the Sussex County Fairgrounds for Saturday September 7th. But the GA prices were very reasonable: $10.00 online purchases, $15.00 at the booth and the ViP admission was $70.00, but then again this price includes alcohol sampling. I, of course, brought my wife along to this festival. We left our town of Hackensack at around 1325 and arrived at 1415, not a bad drive down 80 and 287. Once there we stopped at Will Call where they had my name for entry. The grounds are huge and there's plenty of parking. First food truck we saw upon entry was the Cousins Maine Lobster truck. We were already starving and even though this is a Taco Festival, we figured to try one lobster roll from these folks. They pack the buttery toasted bread with a copious amount of lobster meat and well seasoned to boot. After that good lobster roll eating we headed for what we came here for ... tacos! There were plenty of taco food trucks, but other foods as well, such as kettle corn, ice cream, etc.. The live hard metal/rock music was kickin' and hardcore, it added much needed character to the atmosphere. There was lots of games and prizes to enjoy. They even had a bunch of luchadores (wrestlers) from Lucha Libre, it was a hoot! LOL The reason I gave it 4 starts, instead of 5, is because there weren't enough Taco food trucks, there were parts of the grounds where it was open and devoid of food trucks, a waste of good space. Hopefully in the coming years there will be more vendors joining in the fun. read more

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My first taco festival! What can I say, the food was just delicious, tasty and overall amazing!! The torta sandwich from the torta truck was outstanding, it took me back to the tortas I had in Mexico! Entertainment wise, I was expecting a more Mexican authenticity due to the theme of the event. read more

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Start: Won two tickets from Yelp NJ. Thank you Sara M CM. Next: Read Yelp reviews. Bad. Very bad. Oh no. Wife let's stay home. Me let's party. Viva Tacos. Let me say that this event was well organize and well run. Plenty of parking with a dozen or so parking attendants. No lines. Plenty of food options. Mucha cerveza. No issues. Fun. Fun. Fun. It help that the festival had good weather; it was a beautiful day. NJ Taco Festival must have listen to their visitors and/or Yelp reviews because all the negative issues from last year fixed. WOW. Well done. As I mention my wife and I won two VIP tickets. Value $110 each. Ouch. Received 5 $2 taco tokens and 2 beer tokens each. A goodie bag with hot sauce, poster and stuff. Nothing great, but love free stuff. At $110 a little steep for a ticket, but unlimited adult beverages. Beer, vodka, champagne, tequila and food from a local vendor in a private secure area. The only way to roll. Overall, it was a fun event. Plenty of vendor options. Some good and some so so. Tacos $3 to $6 in various styles and ingredients. Lagunitas beer at $5 for a 12/14 pour. Some great hot sauces. Would I go again, yes, but only with a comp. That is how I roll. Cheap these days. The new economy. read more

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My other half and I became interested in this event when we heard about it. Naturally, being the taco aficionados that we were, we recruited our friends and got our tickets. We got here around 12:30pm. We have attended these grounds several times for the sussex county fair, so we had very high hopes. However, we were a bit disappointed by the size. There were certainly food trucks present, but given that this is called a "festival," I guess we anticipated more to try. Now, the food was EXCELLENT. Bang bang shrimp tacos, crispy pulled pork tacos, empanadas, etc were ALL wonderful. The choice of beers and cocktails was also quite good. After visiting the trucks, we watched the wrestling for a bit, saw a band or two, and watched a taco competition. However, there wasn't much else to do. Again, the food was tremendous. However, for a festival, we wished there was more to experience to make a day out of it. read more

Seriously dont wast your money... how can they rip people off this badly... Deplorable... stood in line for the taco buffet to be told 2 there were no tacos.... 75 dollar vip is the biggest waste of money i will never do this again no private reserved seated area no food read more

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Let me start by saying I got two free tickets so hope the promoters take this as honest criticism. I went on a Saturday around lunch. Checked in and received a swag bag but as others mentioned it didn't include what the ticket said it would. No big deal. Went to the vip tent which had free drinks and one vendor giving our tacos. They were really good, had a good time there. The ticket we had said 5 taco tickets were also included which didn't happen so we wandered out to sample the trucks. Think I would have been pissed to pay $25 and then still pay for tacos. Sure they were discounted but easily could have been $50 per person if you like tacos. Everything was kind of disjointed, saw the margarita mix competition and the lucha wrestling. Both kind of campy but fun. Would up just hanging in the vip tent. Not sure I would go back next year, definitely room for improvement. By the way I was at the Sussex location but didn't see an entry for that. read more

NJ Taco Festival - Festivals Near Me - Augusta, New Jersey

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So I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to this year's NJ taco festival thanks to yelp of course! I was extremely excited because I absolutely love tacos & margarita's. The VIP wrist band included some free goodies, such as hot sauce, cups, shot glasses, shirts & a few other stuff. As well as unlimited drinks & tacos in a secluded area for the VIP's only. Of course my plus one and I arrived late...::shrugs:::.. but we got there just in time to enjoy the last 3 hours of what was left.. parking wasn't an issue, there was plenty. It was definitely very crowded, a lot of the taco trunks had lines of 15+ but it definitely helped one deciding which ones to try out. We were able to try out about 5 different taco trunks before I was ready to pass out. Lol I was beyond stuffed. In the VIP section we had their margarita's which were really good, especially with our tacos. The live band kept the crowd excited and they also had a wrestling ring in the middle that had a few guys wrestling which was pretty entertaining to watch. Other than the taco trucks I also spotted a lot of ice cream trunks and a few beer spots but we didn't check them out. The weather was pretty good but it stared to get chilly in the evening. Overall I definitely wouldn't mind coming back next year and the VIP would definitely be worth getting! read more

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First time going to a taco fest and not the last. My advice go early!! We got there at 10:50 most shops were opening and lines were nonexistent. But there was a few hiccups that happened. I'll start with the good. Good variety of different taco trucks. I tasted several from different companies. Margaritas were delicious! I loved the pay here and get a chip to redeem method. There was actual bathrooms not just port-a-potty's. Nice selection of desserts. Prices were decent. Ways they can improve. More seating areas for eating and drinking. Entertainment seriously lacked. The bands that played you couldn't hear unless you were literally near the stage. The band played during the Lucha wrestling match so we couldn't hear the referee or the wrestlers. The lucha wrestling was a joke, I'm not sure if it was meant to be serious or not. Some of the wrestlers really "acted" and were in character which was great but others were just "eh". Also most of them didn't wear the iconic mask, which I though lucha wrestlers are known for. As regards to suggesting to go early I'm lucky we did because it started to pour from like 1PM until midnight. The rest of the scheduled events got canceled and since it was the fairgrounds you were walking in mud. Luckily they did have tents over the bar areas. My review was strictly for the fest itself and the weather had no part in my rating. read more

We loved this festival! Well, more specifically my husband ranked this as his favorite food truck event to date. First off, the reason we came, the tacos: We had multiple delicious tacos from different trucks. Our favorite was from Gringos tacos. The drinks: It was nice that you could get a drink and sit down at a table, or walk around with a beer and not have to stand behind a plastic fence while you consume your beverage. Finally, on the consumption part, the cupcakes were the best we have had at a fair this year. And there has been some stiff competition, but these were perfect. We will definitely look out for these trucks in the future. My husband was in hog, or should I say "taco", heaven with the entertainment. Between the heavy metal band and the wrestling, he didn't know life could be so good. We have it on the calendar to look for this event next year. read more

I was super excited about the taco festival, well because its Tacos & its a festival! Since, I forgot to but the tix online, we had to shell out an extra $5, which made the tix $15 per person. Thankfully they had an ATM right outside the entrance. We loved the feel of the place with a boxing ring, hot sauce vendors, an MC, a DJ playing all sorts of fun music ranging from 90's to the contemporary songs. There were margarita & beer booths scattered all over the ground. There were ice-cream trucks (unfortunately no ice-cream taco). Now, moving to the main item of the day- Tacos. As we entered, there were exceptionally huge lines infront of each taco booth or truck. And these lines were moving extremely slowly. You would wonder, how long would it take to put together a taco! There were a total of 20-25 taco stalls and we had tacos from atleast 8 stalls. I am an avid taco lover because it is difficult to get a taco wrong. There is the tortilla, salad, salsa and the marinated meat or veggie. But unfortunately, out of the many tacos we gulped down, I only liked the taco from the Korean Taco truck- MOGO! Yes, a fusion taco is what I liked! The only relief that the tacos were reasonably priced at most booths. I am not sure if I will drive all the way to Augusta again next year, but hopefully someone can re-create this taco festival magic someplace nearer home- Jersey City and with better taco vendors! read more

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I want to give One Star for disrespecting Hindu faith, but as you acknowledge the mistake and removed the disrespectful content, so I am giving one Star less than your average rating: 2 Star. Mistakes happen, but Thank you for understanding. read more

The bad: Terrible location, terrible organization, terrible parking situation, terrible lines, allowing alcoholics to roam free around the entire grounds, little to no tables, even less chairs, one tent, and no rain date. One side has a singular row of port-a-johns causing lengthy lines to cross perpendicularly with food lines; definitely need two sides to calm down the lines and wait. Vendor lines were equally long, but at least the tents and trucks were far enough apart not to clutter up the center. Traffic in and out was a disaster, and one solitary man was directing parking. Hell, I parked at the farm. Entering was a free for all; could just walk in, you had to tell someone you had a ticket and they wrote on your hand with a marker. Possible to walk by if they were distracted. The food was average at best and every vendor offered the exact same thing. Yes it's taco fest but ever hear of differentiation? Convince me to buy from you!!! So, I had a guacamole hot dog at TACO FEST because all the vendors made the same thing. The only vendor I wanted to purchase from sold pibil tacos, but when I saw the size, even for $2 that's insulting. Plus, all of the toppings were left on the counter top in the rain for everyone and their mother to man handle. No thanks, I'll pass. If you're trying to spread good news about your company OFFER FULL PRICED FOOD WITH FULL ADULT SIZE SERVINGS. I'll pay $5 to $10 a taco if it's delicious and made right. Oh, and about the poor food; the tent I intended to buy from, the food was so dry my sister in-law choked on how dry and large the chunks of pork were and couldn't breathe for probably 30 seconds. After that scare we got the hell out of there and she tossed the rest of the taco in the trash, once she finally gagged it out. The good: The wrestling and dog show. In sum; no thanks I will never return ever. read more

I mean, really... I felt like this could have been such a better event. Tons of trucks and stations with super super long lines which is a given, I guess. To get a drink you needed a token and so when we first got there they didn't tell us that until we ordered our drink, had to get out of line, then into another line to purchase the token, just to get back on line again. I overheard some people talk about their VIP package disappointment. Apparently $110 only got you unlimited chips and salsa with some drinks. No other food came with that package. I was able to get food from two taco places before I decided to call it a quits and take my hour + journey back to Jersey City. There is definitely room for improvement. I just don't think I would ever travel an plus for this festival. Not worth it. read more

NJ Taco Festival - Festivals Near Me - Augusta, New Jersey

Very fun event.... I'm writing this about the Second Annual New Jersey Taco Festival. (I originally posted this under "New Jersey Taco Festival" as I did not realize there was already an entry on Yelp under NJ Taco Festival" - if Yelp wants to merge the two entries, be my guest) It's 1 pm on the second and final day of the festival as I write this and the Sussex County Fairgrounds have a good crowd in attendance. Plenty of food vendors to wet your appetite (Tacos and empanadas galore). Hot sauces are for sale throughout the festival as you might imagine. Drinks are here --- mixed drinks are $7 and beer is $ 5. Right now they have a Margarita Mix Down happening and they just concluded their Mexican wrestling event. Both were fun to watch. At 3 pm we have a chihuahua beauty contest and at 4pm there is the guacamole contest, 5 pm is the taco eating contest and at 7 pm a band closes the night. There is a bouncy house and face painting for kids (although in all honesty, I don't know if this is really an event for kids unless they really like food) All in all, I'm having a good time and definitely wouldn't hesitate to come back next year. After finding this listing - (after originally posting this review under the other listing) - I have read all the negative reviews about last year. I wasn't there last year, so I have no idea what happened --- all I can tell you is that I enjoyed this event and would definitely go back. It's a TACO FESTIVAL - not a world's fair or even a Mexican Heritage Celebration - you need to keep that in mind when you go. As long as you go with the mindset that this is going to be a bunch of taco stands (which is exactly what it is) and some other miscellaneous food and drink vendors - then you will have a good time. If you are expecting something else - then don't go to something called a TACO FESTIVAL! Events like this always make me happy. Thank you to Yelp for making me aware! read more

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I attended the 5th annual NJ Taco Fest thanks to Yelp and their ticket giveaway. My husband and I got to the fairgrounds around noon, there was plenty of parking and the parking attendants were very organized in getting everyone a spot. Kudos to the event organizers for this. Once we got into the fairgrounds, there were multiple vendors offering a wide array of tacos and taco inspired spin offs. We visited 4 out of the multiple vendors and each taco variation we had was delicious! There were a few vendors who offered 3 taco deals which was nice as some tacos were priced a little high for a single taco. There were 2 booths that offered beer and margaritas. The mezcal margaritas were delicious and refreshing! The festival offered various forms of entertainment such as the dog costume contests, various bands, wrestling matches and a Guinness world record Carolina reaper eating contest. All in all, the festival was well organized, the food vendors were divine and the entertainment was great fun for everyone. Definitely give them a try next year! read more

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Wow. I thought I'd be "special" and get VIP tickets for me and a friend. The free "tacos" in the VIP area had store bought hard shells :/ They were stale shells :/ They gave us a "swag bag" ...it's a small black plastic bag with some trash in it. I got a shirt. A shirt for the 2nd annual taco festival :/ My friend got a 3rd annual taco festival shirt :/ I got size M (large would have been nice) My friend got a size S lol he's not a small dude. I feel really let down. Seriously. Like, there was NOTHING VIP about this experience. They CLEARLY state that there are supposed to be $2 tacos in each truck and that it's MANDATORY so everyone has a chance to try the different vendors. ...nothing under $4 :/ Take the price of the VIP tickets for my friend and I and we spent like $200 and that is just uncalled for. Never again. If I DO go next year, rest assured I will not fall for their VIP scam again :/ read more

NJ Taco Festival - Festivals Near Me - Augusta, New Jersey

Got free tickets through Yelp which was awesome! I don't think it would have been worth paying for though. The lines were too long. We waited for like 20 minutes for our first tacos which were okay but we wanted to try another truck so we got on another line. Next line was an hour so at that point we just got three each and ate. They didn't end up being that good so it was disappointing. It would have been nice to try different trick but it was just too crowded read more

Really fun event! This years had a Luca Wrestling ring to watch fights throughout the day. A few tents for drinking. 3 or 4 contests. Also various vendors for samples of hot sauce, tacos, and other types of snacks to try for free. ATM machine charged $6, so bring cash! the tacos were generallly very well priced here--anywhere from $2 to $5. Plenty of parking and the space was big. read more

Pros: good tacos by some really good vendors Entertaining wrestling Decent bands Cute chihuahua costume contest Plenty of parking Cons: Extremely long lines at all trucks ( way too many people and not enough works in food trucks ) NO chips and salsa or guacamole anywhere ! Sooo strange people were constantly asking for it. Huge missed opportunity here No churros???!!! Just cupcake and ice cream truck boooo Glad I only paid $6 with a Groupon special. I would return if they improve it read more

I got free VIP tickets to this events for myself and a plus one; they were sold at $110 on the website and advertised as including "unlimited food, soft drinks, beer, specialty cocktails... Limited Edition Lithograph NJ Taco Festival Poster, & Coat Check." I was very excited for this event, but I am so glad I didn't pay for these tickets. The event was a bit of a let down. My expectation was that I would be able to taste food at all of the taco trucks. This was not at all true. Instead, VIP tickets meant access to a VIP tent, where there was Jaggermeister, Tito's Vodka, beer, sangria, hard cider, hard root beer, ginger beer, and some flavored Agave-based hard liquor. The free drinks were good and there was a nice variety available, but everything was poured in very small servings, so you had to either get 2-3 drinks at a time, or keep getting back in line. They did get out free glasses though, which were nice. The "unlimited food" was salsa and chips. Yes. $110 for free chips and salsa. Later on there was some guacamole, but I don't know how long that lasted, and there was briefly some Moe's burritos which ran out almost instantly. If we wanted to try any food at the trucks, we had to pay. I didn't see a coat check anywhere, and we didn't get a poster (not a big deal, but still). Other benefits to being VIP: two separate port-a-potties so you didn't have to wait in the long line where the general admits were, small free goodies (plastic shot glasses, beer cozies, sunglasses, mini bottle of Tito's vodka, 3 different bottles of hot sauces), a separate tent to stand under during the rain. We arrived at around 11am when the event wasn't that crowded. Check in was easy, but they only had one check in table and later on that line dragged all the way out into the parking lot. Lines for food quickly got very long around lunch time (1pm), and it was clear that they were not prepared for the crowds. There was definitely not enough seating in the main area, and there was NO seating in the VIP area (although there were 4 small tables where you could stand). The taco trucks / stands had prices that varied from $2 to $7+, even though the website said $2 tastings; ATMs on site charged a $4 fee. The wrestling event was not that exciting and the mechanical bull, which sounded like a fun idea, was $5 a ride. As for the food: I didn't think anything was that memorable. The free Moe's burritos were okay (chicken was blah, but one of the shredded pork, or maybe beef? it was unlabeled, was decent). The Taco Truck's al pastor was good (I liked the addition of the pineapple), but the barbacoa was just okay. I really didn't like the tortillas for their soft tacos though; they were pasty, and a weird mixture of wet and dried out, like they had heated in a microwave. Smoked meatballs from a vendor I cannot remember were very greasy and seriously lacking salt. Corn salad with chipotle mayo from another vendor was disappointing. We ended up leaving around 2pm because lines were long, it was starting to rain, and there was no food that we were really excited about. Two friends we met up with left at 1pm (after driving 1.5hrs to get to the event) and another 2 friends left with us at 2pm. read more

Really good - went Saturday, second day of the festival. Decent amount of vendors with a variety of foods (not all tacos). Crowd was fairly small but probably because the 1st one got hard reviews like lack of bathrooms and long lines. I heard from people at the festival last year lines were like 2 hours+. This year, and granted we came late, was much corrected. The bands were excellent! We saw Metalachi - a heavy metal mariachi band - and they were AWESOME! How can I tell? The only line I experienced the whole time what a big line at the end of the show to buy CDs and shirts for the band - yes, they were THAT good! Drinks were good, plenty of space to walk around, lots of various events going on like Lucha libre wrestling, contests, etc. I would definitely go again. It might take a few years to straighten out - the vendors this year might not want to come back since they had low turnout but the people will come back next year because they have fixed the 1st year issues. I heard from Someone this year was like 40% of the people from last year. I heard Mac Sabbath on Friday was awesome so hopefully they come back next year. I will definitely come back if Metalachi is there! read more

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I wouldn't trust these people to put together a birthday party, and I almost can't review this mess without cursing. It seems like they blatantly ripped off anyone who bought a VIP package ("$110 for all you can eat" never specified that it was only from a tray of soggy tacos in the VIP tent.. people go to a food festival for a variety of food!), and I feel like a real jerk for telling so many of my friends about this and wasting their Saturday afternoon too. read more

VIP was truely the way to go. All you could eat tacos, tortillas and drink tequila and beer. No lines and you could view the bands and the wrestling while seated. If you tired of tacos, there was a pincho stand with great meat on a stick. Lines did get long at the trucks but that wasn't a concern in the tented area. Looking forward to next year. read more

I wasn't there last year, but this year was awesome. It looks like the organizers took all the feedback and learnings from their 1st event and made huge improvements. Tons of food vendors, parking, room to sit, and hot sauce!! Entertainment was great too. I loveed the Metalachi band! We had a great time eating, and drinking our way through the fair. Definitely will be back next year, as I'm sure it will be even better!! read more

We love the NJ taco festival! We hope it continues every year! Was crazy crowded in 2015 but totally dead this year read more

So my view of the Taco Festival is tempered by four factors: (1) the drinks--strong, and decent margaritas prepared to order quickly and at a fair price ($7 each); (2) the wrestling, which was fun to watch; (3) real bathrooms when I was expecting only Port-a-Potties; and (4) Mogo Korean Fusion Tacos out of Asbury Park, which provided the best taco I've ever eaten in my not-so-short life. So, with all those positives, why three stars? There were some major drawbacks. The lines are ridiculous. Forget Taco Festival--this place is really a tribute to ye olde ration system or a communist-era bread line. I love a good food truck festival. I can wait in line. I waited--no exaggeration--1.5 hours in line for a cauliflower taco, only to have the Truck run out of cauliflower by the time I made it to the front. Did they make an announcement? Nope. So I was at the festival for 3 hours and spent 1.5 hours of that time waiting for a single taco that never materialized. I was so frustrated I paid someone in the line next to me $10 for waiting on line at Mogo, and ended up with two phenomenal tacos from there (it'd have been faster for me to drive to Asbury and eat at the restaurant, though). Trucks everywhere were running out of food by 4 pm. There was also no seating to speak of. Not that we had time to sit, what with all the line waiting. Lots of smokers of all kinds--vaping, cigarettes and cigars. Yuck. And there were only two cocktail bars--so you're waiting in line without the benefit of alcohol to numb your pain. Forget it if you have kids. I mean, I know most children love waiting in line for hours for literally nothing at the end of it, but mine were oddly resistant to this. Yes, there are bouncy houses, but they are the Wild West of childhood--unsupervised 10 year olds in the toddler bouncy house trampling toddlers and busting heads? No thanks. What would help? More trucks. Give more people more options and break up the lines a bit. More bars, or wandering margarita salespeople. More kid activities, or forget the family-friendly marketing. I wanted to love this event, but it's clearly still developing. I'd consider going back next year, but without the kids. And I'd get there earlier. And plan to divide and spend time in line in pairs so someone can take bathroom breaks and get drinks in between the hours of waiting. read more

What an unorganized fiasco. Long lines, not enough places to sit and eat your food, if you were lucky enough to find a table it was a mess, no nachos or chips, not enough bathrooms, and high prices for just adequate food. Would NEVER EVER return again. The people who organized this event and the Fair Grounds people should be ashamed of themselves for allowing an event like this to be held with no regard for the public. read more