Julian Andrew sipped on vodka-soaked raspberries, tonic and a splash of grapefruit with a lime.
“It’s amazing. You should try it,” he said before he took another sip of his drink served in a mason jar.
He and dozens of others escaped the rain inside the High Dive, an indoor and outdoor bar that hosted the Original Gainesville Food Truck Rally on Saturday night.
Andrew, 23, found out about the rally from a friend who had gone last year. The UF telecommunication senior said he felt like it was something fun and different than the Midtown scene.
“I had three totally different things, and it is so awesome that they have so much,” Andrew said of the variety of foods available, his favorite being the Pelican Brothers’ chicken-and-waffle slider. “It’s been really good.”
The frequent food truck rally featured eight trucks and two non-alcoholic drink tents in the High Dive parking lot from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday. Prices ranged from about $6 to $15.
One of the rally’s more popular vendors was Humble Pie. The pizza company’s setup didn’t consist of a regular truck, but instead, a trailer with a round, clay-oven top and a firestone brick oven. Employees texted patrons when pizzas were ready to combat long lines.
“We do catering, and we are at the Farmers market downtown every week,” said Louis Jarvis, as he assembled a pizza topped with apple and blue cheese on it. Humble Pie sold out at about 9 p.m.
Inside the bar, a handful of bands and musicians played short sets while people gathered with family and friends for cocktails, moonshine, Jell-O shots and food.
Despite the rain, the downtown staple attracted new patrons, like Absinthe Wu.
The digital arts and science junior sat alone at the bar, eating a Monsta Lobsta lobster roll.
“I rode my bike here,” Wu, 21, said, adding that she liked the sandwich. “I’ve never been here before.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 9/29/2014]
