Crowds loved Bao Bei, Wally’s Waffles when Great Food Truck Race set up shop in Biloxi

Food Network’s popular reality competition “The Great Food Truck Race” rumbled into Biloxi this weekend.

Six food trucks took their place Saturday in a semicircle on the lawn in front Harrah’s Casino and quickly got to work serving a waiting crowd.

Food trucks are popular on the Mississippi Coast, and local residents proved it for the camera crews milling around the scene. The large crowds dispersed into snaking lines over the lawn for food brought from across the country.

The show — in its 17th season — has a simple premise. Food truck contestants travel from one location to the next and whoever sells the least by the end of the visit gets the boot.

Sadly, this means Down to Taco didn’t make it to Biloxi from the show’s last stop in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

On top of the usual challenges, Biloxi brought its own wrinkle: the elements. Temperatures sat in the upper 50s and lower 60s all afternoon Saturday, but the biting winds off the Mississippi Sound and sideways rain tossed money, spilled food and sent umbrellas snapping into trash cans during filming.

Through it all, the competitors served with smiles and frequently beckoned customers via megaphones.

Biloxians gravitated toward what was unique. The lines at Bao Bei and Wally’s Waffles were the longest. Wally’s Waffles offered dessert style waffle treats with chocolate and strawberries, while Bao Bei sold scratch-made dumplings.

A closer look at the food trucks that are coming to Biloxi with the Great Food Truck Race

Argentina’s Empanadas was also a popular spot, serving up exotic dishes — gaucho corn mac and tango beef — that drew strong reviews on Facebook’s MS Gulf Coast Foodies group. “Best food truck there,” user Jan Moore said.

Many took note of the significant wait times, too, with some visitors citing hour-long waits in some lines.

We visited the Fishnets truck for our meal and avoided a significant line. Fishnets is based out of Baltimore and offers what Coast residents are already familiar with: traditional seafood.

But the blackened catfish tacos would do well in South Mississippi. The corn tortillas give it an authentic wrap, the delicate catfish was seasoned well and the coleslaw mixed with garlic sour cream were excellent compliments.

Sola Po-Boys also brought some local taste to the competition, but with a twist. The New Orleans-based truck serves Gulf Coast-inspired food with an Asian spin. This is includes the Asian pork po-boy and the spicy shrimp and corn pasta.

The po-boy was popular, as well, though came with mixed reviews. “The po-boy was really tasty, a little spicy, but the portion was TINY,” MS Gulf Coast Foodies user Victor Umbaugh said.

Plates on Deck was also in the mix with its soul food menu, but sold out quickly.

The trucks completed their competition on the Coast on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Biloxi Public Beach, at 1935 Beach Blvd.