As it turned out, June 17 wasn’t the best evening for the Ann Arbor Farmers Market’s first food truck rally of the season. Like much of the spring, the weather was rainy and cool, and with the trucks spread out across the lot, people had to scurry from window to window, finally carrying their meals to the few tables and chairs set up under the market roof. The four or five isolated vendors looked lost in the market’s long arms that Wednesday night. Despite the low attendance, you could hear the rally from some distance–or rather, hear the generators rumbling, loud enough to drown out the local band playing near the Kerrytown entrance. My husband grumbled about the noise, so I did the running, leaving him to safeguard a couple of chairs for us.

The oddly named Detroit deli truck “Hero or Villain” was there, flashing a tasty BLT with fried egg on fluffy, thick-sliced sourdough bread ($7.50). The Pita Post, also from Detroit, featured a fairly typical chicken shawarma ($7.95) and other Middle Eastern standards. Babo Market to Go sold rather insipid, expensive cold-pressed juices ($7 for 16 oz.) and decent chicken or pork tacos ($7 for two). The longish line at the Shimmy Shack (vegan and gluten-free food) really puzzled me after I tasted and then tossed our order–$15 and change bought a tiny, mushy, tired black bean and brown rice burger, ordinary fries with garlicky vegan mayo, and a grainy, chalky chocolate shake of vegan ice cream and almond milk. (At least the garlic was garlicky.)

Vying for cuteness with the Shimmy Shack’s truck was Ingrid, the vintage minty-green Metro truck of rally organizer Hello! Ice Cream & Gelato. But a tiny cup of lemon stracciatella ($3.50) lacked any strong citrusy flavor, so I hit Sweet Maria’s compact classic trailer, Clarence, for a half pint of luscious strawberry-buttermilk ice cream ($3.50) and an unusual blueberry pie cookie ($1.50)–thinner and smaller than a hand pie but with a similar flaky, crispy crust and not-too-sweet fruit filling. One of Petey’s perfect warm cider donuts ($1 each) finished off dessert, and we headed out to the relative quiet of rainy downtown Ann Arbor.

Future rally dates–which can’t help but be warmer, drier, busier, and more lively–will be August 19 and September 16, 4-8 p.m. Last year’s inaugural rallies drew good crowds, and my late arrival then meant that was all I saw. So don’t hesitate this year; the trucks are bound to sell out again.