Taste of Buffalo Gears Up for 2008
Qualifying restaurants must serve at least three items, one of which falls under the new guidelines as a "Healthy Option". The $700 entrance fee provides participants with a tent, power, access to water, security and some of the required licensing. Restaurants agree to follow the policies of the event and turn over 18% of their earnings (plus all sales tax). A more complete list of the festival's criteria is available by clicking here.
As the inhabitants of the city that hosts this mammoth get together, I'm wondering what it is that you love about the Taste. If you'd like to see changes, what would they be?
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Comment Options
BackInBuffalo
Where does that 18% go? Why aren't there more wine-slushie tents? Why does every participant (ok, 85%) think they're unique by serving some sort of grilled this/BBQ'd that? (collolary - Why aren't their more vegetarian options?) Why doesn't everyone take advantage of the Buffalo Tours deal and go to the observation deck of City Hall. It's very cool...
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bison716
We should place humongous posters and displays of all of the upcoming projects and proposed projects under-way so that the crowds can see what exactly Buffalo might look like in the next few years. Locals can take pride (lets face it, not every person in Buffalo know of anything thats goes on as far as projects being planned for our city). Plus visitors out of town and state can see the potential of lving in Buffalo in the near future! Possibly this is a step the mayor can take with possible parties, companies, developers (issa & canon, etc.)to showcase thier effort in trying to revitalize Buffalo! Have public speakers talk about (Waterfront, Casino, Buffalo Tower, Staler, etc.) I believe this will create a buzz about the city as a whole, and leave visitors with something to talk about besides the great food! Matter of fact...this site as well as other Buffalo blogs should be advertised to keep the community aware of our city, more people will join these sites if done properly. Go Buffalo!!! I cant wait to eat all of the great food this year! Keep it moving people.
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BackInBuffalo
good idea Bison716... Let's rent a space and put up our SoapBox of speakers & posters so visitors, tourists, and those living under a rock and/or in the past can see what's coming! Let's see - $700 divided by ? (who wants in here...)
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BackInBuffalo
good idea Bison716... Let's rent a space and put up our SoapBox of speakers & posters so visitors, tourists, and those living under a rock and/or in the past can see what's coming! Let's see - $700 divided by ? (who wants in here...)
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McLaughlin
I absolutely love the taste. Probably the best festival I've ever been to, anywhere! The biggest problem that I see with it though, is the fact that the rest of the city is often closed!! Many people come from all over and they go to the taste and nowhere else. What about free transportation to and from other locations in the city as well? A trolly to Elmwood or Hertle? This way patrons don't have to worry about parking, then getting their car out to go somewhere else in the city, only to try to find a parking spot again. I think not only would this help the Taste, but the city as a whole, and that's what it's really about! Aside from that, the festival is fantastic!
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NBJOHN
Ban Dogs..... wait maybe that is Allentown I am thinking about
Ban Strollers.
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bison716
Make it last till like 7pm nightime, put up giant lights and have local musicians open up for 2 big-name acts (1 per a night) Im thinking something along the lines of Natasha Bedingfield & the Goo Goo Dolls! Also have the Sabers come up to the stage and announce the main act one night, and the Bills and its cheerleaders announce it on another. Can you imagine the roars!
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vgs
Can't wait to see what Applebees, Tops, Starbucks and Jack Astors is serving this year. Seriously when is last time the better joints participated in this. Sure make it last longer, like Thurs @ Sq, we can just make all of downtown a big beer tent with love music. We will never have to go out and pay small biz again, just a big not for profit Labbatt party.
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sbrof
I do like the festival but it is a shame that they have so few places to go to. Yeah 40 tents is a good amount but really the taste of buffalo should be much more inclusive. I would love to see the smaller restaurants.. those that people might not even know about be able to use this festival as a way to break into a new market. The price of entering this festival is ridiculous... Why can only those established institutions find the money to show up. Why is the criteria so picky... that you need to pass an exam to get approved. Sure you might not want things like hot dogs showing up or cheap tents to make a profit but ya know what, if they did do that I am sure not very many people would go to them. People are there to try to foods from new places they don't go to often. Having applebees, and those other places rule because they have deeper pockets ruins the whole spirit of this festival.
I would love to see places like, el Sugarbowl, Niagara Street cafe, The Somolia Star, Kebab House, Donnies, Casey's Bar.. etc have the option to showcase their food as well.
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BackInBuffalo
here you go - to attract the LOCAL restaurants as well as the (blah blah blah boring) corporate franchises, make the LOCAL fee LESS! support your local businesses (by allowing them to compete!!)
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Martin
ban dogs from all street side festivals...way to cruel
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ChristaSeychew
McLaughlin,
I agree with you. My biggest problem is with a city that is not taking advantage of opportunities like this. Taste and the Buffalo Chicken Wing Festival are both good examples. You have 75,000- 400,000 people come into town, almost all of which are not from the area. They're here to spend money and hang out and the city appears (to those who don't know their way around) to be completely dead. There should be all kinds of options presented to people besides the main attraction. They often leave the festivals looking for something to do--why can't we at least have some kind of guide with a map that shows all of the great things going on that weekend?
sbrof,
El Sugarbowl actually won the 2006 Taste of Buffalo, but is sadly closed. Donnie's, Niagara Cafe and other small businesses also participate. However, in many cases smaller restaurants cannot participate due to the size of the event. In order to recoup their expenses and stay "open" throughout both days, they have to be able to serve as much food as the big guys but they don't always have the space and equipment required to store and prepare such a large quantity of food. Many of them also end up having to close the doors of their business for the weekend because the number of staff needed to operate their Taste booth is tremendous.
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benfranklin
The success of the Taste of Buffalo has made it difficult for many independent restaurants to take part. One, do you pull staff from your restaurant to cover the event? Two, most small restaurants don't have the facilities to prep and store the quantity of food needed to compete. Three, the health department has become more vigilant in inspecting the stands. You need the right equipment, which is no small investment (for once a year), and, finally, many owners don't believe that making that kind of quantitiy is going to present their restaurant in a favorable light. If it's not going to bring in new customers, you don't want to do it. For the chain, it's simple, order an extra 40 cases, warm it up, and your done.
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ChristaSeychew
benfranklin,
You nailed it.
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Perry
My favorite thing about the Taste is that they project 400,000 people attending their event. So basically they are saying that 1 out of every 8 people between Buffalo and Syracuse attend this festival. What a joke. I love that UB professor who did a scientific study on the Allentown Arts Festival, which revealed that around 35,000 people attended the event each day, not the 200,000 people per day that festival organizers would tout.
All that said, Buffalo has great restaurants - and this is one way to highlight that aspect of the city.
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zenfur
I love the ideas of a tourist tent with locations of special trolley pick up stops and times to Elmwood and Hertel. And a big olde post marking the spot. As well as a tourist tent for a variety of folks from the Art Gallery to the Parks to EVA to the Botanical gardens etc.
Could some of the local/small restaurant problem be fixed if certain small places could partner up in one tent, or only prepare one dish? Exposure would be alittle less, bout it could be accompanyed by a reduced fee.
My sorta pet peeve is that I don't like having to wiggle through a long line that juts out into in the middle of the street, in order to walk down the street. I don't know if there is a fix to that besides ropes like in the bank...which might just be a different type of issue.
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dpbflo
TOB is an amazing event. What bothers me is the chain restaurants (taste of buffalo not corporate america), and the lack of buffalo promotions for our tourists and for people who live hear and only venture downtown once a year. I think the steps of city hall should be covered with Pictures and displays of recently finished projects(people with info would be good too, I volunteer to spread the good news), projects in the making, and projects being started, not things being talked about ( bass pro) but things actually happening. Just to show people what is going on. I tend bar in the city and its amazing to me the people that have no clue what is going on in this city (thanks to our wonderful buffalo news and local news channels). If i hear this city is going down one more time I will flip.. the city was down and its on its way back. Granted we have a ways to go but I think we are off to a damn good start and why not use this enormous event to get the word out there.
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VonBeeble
Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but didn't they hand out a downtown restaurant/hotel map a few years ago when the Sabres went far in the playoffs. It might have been some other sporting event though.
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al-alo
^^^ VonB,
i think youre thinking of the frozen four.
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Brenwils25
bison716, go with those ideas! If anyone has ever been to Chicago's taste, wow, what an event. Stretches between Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue in Grant Park for over week, with huge acts each day and night. Few years back I caught James Brown for free! I always thought Buffalo should grow this event. Add another day, close Friday for the Taste, or at least start at closing time. Will Buffalo really shut down if the streets are shut off for one more day?Add some bands at night, with the feel of Thursday at the Square. Obviously we are not the size of Chicago, nor do we have the drawing power, their festival attracts something like 3.5 million. But, they have 70 food tents, and it lasts 10 days! As they grew, they adjusted, moved locations, and added more and more each year. Surely with over 40 tents at Buffalo's they could continue to grow this festival. Love the Taste, was at the very first one, and have not missed it since!
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BetterThanDetroit
The event is fine. It sucks that mom and pops do not have a significant, competitive advantage but thats just the way it is. Stop eating at the TGIF and Applebees booths. This year, go, have a glass of vino (or 2), walk down the street, politic with neighbors and eat your face off. Try new things that you usually donit eat. Get full. Go to a var for a few shots of Crown. Go home. This event truly is Buffalo in every facet.
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Joshua
The Taste of Bflo is only second in size to Taste of Chicago. One of the ONLY reasons why it is second is the time span. The Taste of Chicago is a week long (June 27-July 6, 2008).
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vgs
benfranklin you did nail it. Small independent and quality minded operations just can't be bothered with the pedestrian county fair types that come for thier big day in the city. Spin off for area is minimal, unless you are a parking lot owner.
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RisingDamp666
Applications are also being accepted for the "Taste Of Tonawanda" street festival that in the past, has attracted hundreds. The application fee is only $5 which covers V.I.P. parking, complimentary styrofoam cooler, and, whenever possible, abundant natural sunlight. This years "Taste Of Tonawanda Parade" features the largest float in festival history. It is the Pano's float and should be an incredible-make that, inedible experience for young and old alike. Online apps are available at www.tot.alcrap.org.
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pgf1948
Wow, rd666!
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icecreamsub
nothing campared to The Taste of Olean
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RisingDamp666
{ deleted } compared pgf1948 to a Disney audio-animatronic robot at its retirement party.
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Steve
I'd like to see each restaurant change at least one item on their menu each year. After going 6 years in a row I keep seeing the same restaurants with mostly the exact same offerings year after year. It's becoming monotonous and my group spends less and less money each year. I'm not saying change the entire menu or signature items, but some change would be most welcome.
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