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5 Practical Tips about Brooklyn's Food Truck Rally in Grand Army Plaza

There's nothing more fun than buying food — great food — on the New York City streets in nice weather. And somehow everything tastes better when it's served from one of those attractively painted little food trucks where the vendors poke their heads out from a small window, take your order and magically produce pizza, or a slushie, or a triple chocolate brownie.

Here are five tips for making your food truck adventure in Brooklyn at the Grand Army Plaza Food Truck Rally total fun.

1. A Few Things for Parents to Know about the Grand Army Food Truck Rally

Go early with kids, or be prepared for lines: It might sound strange, but if you're bringing kids, pack a snack when you go to the Food Truck Rally. Sometimes the lines can seem daunting, even to adults. And, if you've promised your child pizza or a taco and also an ice cream, you'll be standing in two, not one line.
Generally people chow down while standing up; there are no picnic tables at this Food Truck Rally. However, all of lusciously green Prospect Park is right there, so you can pack up your food and walk the equivalent of a half city block and find yourself in the middle of Prospect Park. Find a park bench. Or spread out a blanket on the grass. .
Finally, Food Truck Rally food isn't cheap fast food; it's gourmet fast food. Plan your budget accordingly.

2. How Long to Spend at the Food Truck Rally

Depending on when you arrive, and how busy things get, you can spend as little as fifteen minutes or as much as an hour and a half at the Food Truck Rally. Many people meet friends there, and then hang around in lines, eating and trying different items.

3. Nearest Bathrooms to the Grand Army Plaza Food Truck Rally

You can find bathrooms in the Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch, located just across the street from the Food Truck Rally. Generally it is open from 1 to 5 PM on Sundays.

There are also portosans in Prospect Park, with a full service bathroom (with running water) some distance away in the basement of the Picnic House, located along the park's road at about 2nd Street, about 7 city blocks distance away from Grand Army Plaza.

A note for germophobes: Bring your own hand sanitizer stuff if you're planning to eat after taking the subway; there are no facilities at Grand Army Plaza.

4. How to Make a Day of It: Places Nearby To Go Before, After Brunch & Snacks

Want to plan a little Brooklyn outing on a Sunday? Catch the Grand Army Plaza Food Truck Rally, and then head toward one of these 9 Places to Go After the Food Truck Event .

In a rush for an action-packed Sunday? Get there early, when it opens.

5. Basics: Where and When is the Grand Army Plaza Food Truck Rally?

Since about 2010, food trucks have become a fun feature of Brooklyn's love affair with locally produced, small-batched, "artisanal" food. One of the biggest "food truck rallies" — meaning a small parking lot of food vendors selling their freshly made tacos or very fresh muffins from colorfully painted trucks — happens in Prospect Park's Grand Army Plaza.

If you like food and want to see what Brooklyn's up to these days, check it out.

When: Third Sundays, June – October, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Where: Grand Army Plaza, at the entrance to Prospect Park, between the neighborhoods of Prospect Heights, Park Slope and Crown Heights, near the 2,3,B,Q trains.