Taste of Buffalo '09

The first day of Taste of Buffalo this year, while marred by the occasional rain, did nothing to stop people from coming out in droves for the event. Entering its 26th year, they welcomed 16 new restaurants and extended their reach from beyond WNY to include restaurants from Brockport, Rochester and Niagara to name a few.

I spoke with Chairman Tom Muscarella: "We're excited about having a total of 61 restaurants this year, it is a record. More fine dining places like Torches are going to be here and there are 3 culinary stages plus music to fit everyone's tastes."

There are over 220 choices of cuisine this summer, and remember--you can have small samples of many dishes! Those who were downtown yesterday were able to listen to several bands including "Off the Cuff" and even a polka band. As always, the cooking demonstrations and culinary shows were as popular as last summer with a wide variety of cuisine being presented-Turkish Cultural Center offered baklava, there was fine dining, barbeque and a fun mixture of games and music.

Torches (Chairman's Choice Award) had a great menu; their Cubano pork with beans and rice had a great mix of sweetness and spiciness.  They also had fresh gazpacho, and the mac and cheese rivals anything from the blue box. Craftsmen Café again had their Monkees, a healthy cookie with all natural ingredients and great taste to boot. Anything from Village Desserts is a fantastic way to top off your day. There is something to please every palette, if you want to get some rich, guilty pleasures or some great healthful, flavorful food.

A notable glass of wine is the hot pepper Pinot from Merritt winery. It has a great kick to it on top of the fruitiness of the wine. It's good to drink or to cook with in a brisket or pasta sauce. Chateau Buffalo, housed on Hertel, shared their interesting and unique cider--refreshing on such a hot day.

More information can be found at tasteofbuffalo.com, ongoing until 7PM today. Print out a menu, view yesterday's winners, and check out the schedule for music and culinary stages, which will include everything from Bluegrass to Rock and Roll. Check out the Buffalo Rising sponsored presentation from Trattoria Aroma, hosted by BR's Chao Li, along with Merge and Sea Bar hosted by Don Gervasi. 

Photo of Taste Patrons: Glenn Murray