Hungry Jax with a pretzel from “Moms Homemade Goodies”

ATTENTION FOODIES !! One hundred thousand people will descend into downtown Centerville this Monday July 4th for the Americana Festival.

Sure there is a 5 k run early at 7:30am

You bet there is a parade at 10am.

And who could forget fireworks at 10pm later that night.

But Food Adventures has advanced notice on something close to our hearts… FOOD VENDORS !! What restaurants are going to be in attendance? What to eat? We got it all for you right here. We will make order of this crowded party of patriotism. So sit in your lawn chair and listen to this scoop on the best eats at this festival

Pork Chop Sandwich from BlackJack Grill

celebrating our independence!

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

— This is the 43rd Annual Americana Festival

— From 9:30am – 5pm is the Street Fair. It runs from the instersection of 48 and 725, down to Bills Donut Shop, and will be filled with FOOD vendors.

— There are also food vendors at Benham’s Grove and tucked back into Activity Center Park in the kids play area.

Crawfish Etouffe from Cajun Specialties – A MUST EAT !

— The key to this festival is to GET THERE EARLY… or go very late. Food crowds are lightest at 10-11am and 4-5pm.

— Parking is rough, you may have to walk a few blocks, so suck it up buttercup

— We suggest bringing a light lawn chair with you, so you can go off to the side and sit and eat comfortably.

Kowalski’s hots will be grilling Upstate NY brand dogs all day with coney sauce

So now we get to the meat of the story – where to go, what to eat, who to drink. The Big Ragu, Hungry Jax and Chef House have decades of experience at this festival and will be in the mix again this year for an epic Food Adventure ! We have some of the food vendors who are going to be in attendance, and list some of our faves and best foodstuffs.

The Greek Booth is amazing – get the classic GYRO

Here they are, in alphabetical order, our patented ……

AMERICANA FESTIVAL MUST EATS:

— BLACKJACK GRILL: Huge porkchops as big as Shaquille O’Neal’s hand. A definite must eat if you’re hungry.

— CAJUN SPECIALTIES: Formerly “LeDoux’s,” this festival vendor has some incredible crawfish etouffe and gumbo. Dont miss this booth!

— CHESTER’S STEAK BURGERS: Get a damn steakburger with cheese already….

—CORK N BOTTLE’S AMERICAN GRILL: Incredible burgers and sandwiches even down to a grilled cheese.

Nellys Chicken is gonna be there – charcoal grilled !

— EL MESON’S FOOD TRUCK: Get some empanadas at this fantastic eatery. They will be at benhams grove, and the menu is constantly changing from “must eats” like paella, to shrimp tacos.

— FRICKER’S: The BBQ boneless wings are amazing here. Dayton iconic sports bar with some of the best frickin chicken around.

Sweet P’s Handemade Ice Pops will cool you off

— FRONANA: Healthy, ice cream like dessert made with mashed bananas. Go for the chocolate fronana, a dream on a spoon…

— GREEK STREET FOOD TRUCK: New guy on the block. The 2 “must eats” here are the “Street Style Chicken Gyros” and the “Street Style Shrimp Gyros.” No shrimp? Get Baklava !

— HAMBURGER WAGON: Get the double burger, it is a

The Hamburger Wagon is pulling into Americana Fest

crunchy delight ! 105 years of customers cant be wrong…

— HARVEST FOOD TRUCK: Their salmon in the Land n Sea BLT is remarkable. Perfect day to chomp on this..

— HUNGER PAYNES FOOD TRUCK: Get the PB & J Croquettes or the Salmon ones… Oh my.. goodness…

Well hello there Zombie Dog … arent you the popular one ?

— ISLAND NOODLES: Vegetarians unite! Try the Asian, wok fired noodles stir fried with garlic and ginger… with veggies in a light “island sauce.”

— J.T.’s STOVETOP BBQ: Pulled Pork with, extra bbq sauce. It doesn’t count unless you drip sauce on your shoe.

— K & H CONCESSIONS: Corn on the cob is their specialty, get one and live a little….

— KERNEL DAVE’S KETTLE CORN: Bags of kettle corn. Eat some now, save some for the fireworks or next movie night…

The street style gyro from Greek Street – we lke the chicken and shrimp verisons best

— KONA ICE: Shaved ice and snow cones. Get the blueberry and raspberry mix option.

— KOWALSKI’S HOTS: One of our faves. This guy has exclusive brands of upstate New York made hot dogs. Get the Red Hot with coney sauce.. it isn’t spicy it is just a red colored, big hot dog. Dont want a dog? Get a “Hamburg,” Rochester NY Style with coney sauce

— LAROSA’S PIZZERIA: The must eat is a slice of pepperoni pizza. Take yourself back to Kings Island 1982 in one swift bite.,…

— MOM’S HOMEMADE GOODIES: A family that makes the most incredible hand tied soft pretzels. Get a pie too !

A Super Taco from Pita Pockets

— NELLY’S CHICKEN: The “must eat” is the half chicken, it has that amazing, cooked over charcoal taste. Get yucca fries if you really want an incredible treat,

— OLD TEXAS SODA COMPANY: Handcrafted Root Beer is the must drink here. On a hot summers day, you will down two of these without blinking.

Fronana scooping up some great flavors

— PITA POCKETS: Try the super taco. It is a tostada shell loaded. Good eats, good street food.

— REISTMILLER’S FUNNEL CAKES: It is Americana Fest, get the damn funnel cake and powder your nose!

We like to run with sparklers through the crowd, holding food, yelling “get out of the way”

— SANTORINI’S GREEK FOOD: Man mountain Dean sized Gyro Sandwiches are the way to go here. Just get the traditional ones.

— SWEET P’S HANDMADE ICE POPS: The “Berry Berry Good” pop is a favorite. A refreshing bet on a hot July day.

— THERESA’S ICE CREAM: Butter Pecan or rocky road will always please at Amerciana Festival

— ZOMBIE DOGZ: Dayton’s favorite food truck always has our favorite.. “Juan of the Dead.” or “The Nibbler.” Let’s face it, you cant go wrong with a Zombie Dog…

Funnel Cakes, the filet mignon of carnies everywhere !

There you have it sports fans, the MUST EATS for JULY 4th, 2016’s AMERICANA FESTIVAL ! Often imitated, never duplicated, Food Adventures can be found on Facebook HERE. Like us on Facebook, love us in your hearts.

We wish our fans a happy, long weekend of fun filled family time with loved ones, celebrating the 4th of July. That’s where we will be, and making sure the best summer food is within reach !

See you next week and every week on Dayton Most Metro…..

Enjoy some more photos below, from Americana Festivals of years past….