There are people who don’t like camping at concert festivals, and I think I know why. It’s the food. Am I right? Skipping showers? Easy. Blazing sun? No sweat. But having to choose between greasy concession food or your own supply of jerky and granola? Ugh. I’d rather stay home.

Thankfully Bonnaroo is not a concession-and-jerky kind of festival. Not by a long shot. If you haven’t been lately, let me fill you in on what’s happening: First, there’s music. Lots of it, but you probably knew that. Second, there’s food. Good food. No, great food. Bonnaroo is put on by the same folks that recently launched The Great Googamooga, so clearly they’re thinking well beyond nachos and boiled hot dogs. This year the music festival brought in 75 food vendors, including a handful of titans from New York, some local favorites from Tennessee, and nearly a dozen food trucks from the South and Midwest. Supplement that with a beer garden featuring 21 craft breweries and you have a food scene that fully justifies the price of admission. The music is just an amazing bonus. Check it out: Here are a few of the meals that made me forget—at least momentarily–that I would be sleeping in a tent later.

Short rib sliders with coleslaw from GastroPod

Pot Kettle Black’s Sharp Cheddar minced with roasted red peppers and pimentos on buttered toast, served with a side of gazpacho

An man-size breakfast rolled into a burrito: eggs, tater tots, black beans, salsa, cheddar, lime, and sour cream. Eatbox calls it Morning Wood. The name explains itself.

Two of Roberta’s finest pies, cooked in a wood-fire oven and consumed with a cold brew from the beer garden

Lucky festivalgoers caught New York chef Eddie Huang at one of his pop ups. Here he tosses foil-wrapped bao—slabs of pork belly wrapped in warm buns—out to the hungry crowd. Let’s ballpark this at 1:30 in the morning.

Another late-night feeding frenzy: crawfish from Shaggy’s Boil. 

Via: The Glorious Food of Bonnaroo 2012