Oceanport, NJ – Led by innovative and cutting-edge food purveyors, chefs and entrepreneurs, new mobile eateries popularly known as food trucks are burning up city streets across the country.  On Sunday, May 27, 2012 Monmouth Park Racetrack will showcase some of the best mobile-made food from New Jersey, New York City and Philadelphia. Chefs will turn up the heat as these road-warriors go head to head to win the votes of guest judges and event attendees.

The event buzz has already attracted assistance from the NYC Food Truck Association and the Philadelphia Mobile Food Truck Association, and word is spreading through New Jersey food truck hot spots such as Hoboken, Jersey City and beyond. To satisfy the hungriest foodies, event organizers are scouting for standout competitors offering everything from spicy ethnic foods to cupcakes and all cuisines in between.

During the event, a panel of guest judges will chow down to rate the offering on taste, quality and innovation. Attendees can purchase food items, cast their votes for People’s Choice Awards and enter to win great prizes. The event will also feature an array of crafters, vendors and live music. Families will enjoy Star-Ledger Family Fun Day, with attractions for children including clowns, face painters, pony rides, and more. Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars is an exciting and fun way to celebrate this niche foodie culture, and a perfect way to kick off summer at the shore.

Gates open at 11:30 a.m. and Monmouth Park’s pulse-quickening thoroughbred racing begins at 12:50 p.m. Festival hours are 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Grandstand admission, which includes admission to the festival area, is just $3. Children 12 and under are always free. Food prices vary.

The Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars is the first bite of a plate of summer food events at the Monmouth Park Eats Extravaganza series. New Jersey’s top chefs offer the freshest seafood at the Shore Chef Crab Cake Cook-Off, on August 18 and 19 and pit masters cook up mouth-watering barbeque specialties at the BBQ and Craft Beer Festival on September 1 and 2. The Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars and these other food events are sponsored by the Star Ledger and supported in part through a grant from New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism, Visitnj.org.

Monmouth Park Racetrack is located at 175 Oceanport Avenue, Oceanport, NJ, off Exit 105 of the Garden State Parkway. New Jersey Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line Monmouth Park train stop is just steps away from the festival entrance. Visit www.jerseyshorefoodtruckwars.com, www.monmouthpark.com or call 732-747-4449 for additional information.