Creekside food-truck park lives up to motto of good food and good vibes | Grub Scout

Central Filling Station pretty much had the Knoxville food-truck-venue market cornered for years. But now that it’s out of the picture, others have filled the vacuum created by its departure. I plan to visit one food-truck park per month until I’m caught up with all of them. Last week, I began my quest at Creekside, just off Western Avenue (Oak Ridge Highway) in the Karns area.

The Grub Spouse and I found the park adjacent to a Food City-based shopping center. We snagged one of the few remaining parking spots available and began our tour of the facility, which offers much more than food trucks. On-site amenities include a covered stage that hosts live music acts and karaoke, several jumbo TV screens, an outdoor pool table, separate beer and cocktail bars, a house food vendor and a variety of covered and unshaded seating areas.

The food trucks on site that evening included Gus & Son Greek Grill, Captain Muchachos and the Donut Theory, all of which The Spouse and I had sampled at earlier food-park visits. We also spotted a truck called Snowie Summer, which appeared to serve flavored shaved-ice treats. On this trip, The Spouse headed for Smoked Pickle Barbecue, while I was tempted by the burger fare at the house vendor, the Back Alley. We queued up in our respective lines, agreeing to converge on an empty table after ordering.

I had a short wait to order my food at the beer-service counter (customers may order there or at the cocktail kiosk). On the Back Alley's menu, I spotted the O.G. burger — an 8-ounce ground-beef-and-brisket blend topped with American cheese and Alley sauce — and the H.A.H. (Hot As Heck) burger, topped with habanero pepper jack cheese, H.A.H. sauce and bacon. Other items include cheese curds, Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, deviled eggs, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, chicken-based sandwiches, salads, and chicken wings and tenders.

I got the M.O.B. burger ($16.50). I never found out what the initials stand for, but the 8 ounces of beef and brisket are finished with white cheddar cheese, bacon, white truffle mayo and sautéed mushrooms and onions. Burgers come with one side, and I picked onion rings over fries, asparagus or mac and cheese.

At the Smoked Pickle Barbecue food truck, The Spouse looked over a selection that included brisket or pulled pork served on a plate with two sides or between buns with one side. Specials that night were a rib basket, brisket burger and loaded nachos topped with either pork or brisket. The Spouse got the pulled pork plate ($16) with pickle slaw and green chile mac and cheese as sides. The other available sides were jalapeño corn and loaded potato salad.

I claimed a table under a pavilion, set up camp with my pager and waited for The Spouse. Nearby, kids were getting their faces painted, while karaoke singers hit sour notes galore onstage, all while a number of customers paraded around in Star Wars garb to celebrate May the Fourth. The Spouse showed up at the table a few minutes later, food in hand. My pager hadn’t gone off yet, so I insisted that The Spouse proceed without me.

The plate held a generously portioned pile of smoked pulled pork topped with barbecue sauce. The meat was tender and juicy, and the sauce agreed with my taste buds nicely. The cheese in the mac and cheese was flavorful as well, but the rotini noodles themselves were a tad overcooked. I had no problems with the pickle slaw. The Spouse and I agreed that the meal overall was a fair effort.

I wound up waiting more than 20 minutes for my burger plate, but once my pager lit up in flashing red lights, I was rewarded for my waning patience. Every bite was as enjoyable as I had imagined it might be based on the menu description. The two 4-ounce patties were united by melted white cheddar, while the white truffle mayo was a fun flavor highlight. And in my book, sautéed onions and mushrooms can make almost any savory food better.

This stack appeared compact to the eye, but it was so dense in the eating that I had to regretfully leave a few bites on the table. I shared my side of battered onion rings with The Spouse, who had decided to save half the pulled pork plate as leftovers.

I really dug the overall experience at Creekside, the motto of which is “Good Food, Good Vibes.” It didn’t hurt that the weather that evening was almost picture-perfect, down to the mild temps, but between the karaoke, the Star Wars costuming, gleeful children running about and adult customers enjoying their meals and their adult beverages, Creekside set a scene that I would be happy to return to in the future. If it happens to be the closest food-truck site to where you live, by all means, give it a spin some fine spring day and park yourself for a while.

The Back Alley – 4.25

Smoked Pickle Barbecue – 3.75

Creekside: 6729 Malone Creek Drive

Full bar service

Pet friendly

Kids' menu: The Back Alley

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

This outdoor Karns-area venue hosts a rotating variety of food trucks in an environment where guests of all ages can savor good grub and fun times.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Creekside food-truck park offers good food and good vibes in Knoxville