Tomorrow is the first day of the Taste of Syracuse. I've been looking forward to it all year (we moved here exactly one month too late for last year's event.) Over the next couple of days I'll be checking it out, blogging about it and getting a sense of the incredibly vibrant festival life of this city.
I am trying very hard not to be a food snob about the Taste of Syracuse but I must admit that I was disappointed that many of our finest restaurants would not be present. But after speaking with Roxanne, one of the co-owners of Lucky Moon Cafe (and a major Taste participant) I began to understand what a huge undertaking it is be present at both the festival and a restaurant--impossible for some smaller establishments. Difficult choices must be made. Judging by the participant list there will be lots of great restaurants reprensented.
But if you would allow this newcomer to the Syracuse food scene to quibble, I would question why national food chains such as Applebee's and Panera Bread are on the ticket. Yes, technically they have restaurants in the area but there is nothing distinctly Syracusan about them. Most of the others really are Syracuse institutions that are either native or unique to our area. This is a small point, though. The bigger issue and greater good is that thousands will get to experience some of the tasty eats that are served up here day in and day out.
For those who are interested in cooking--the demonstrations should be great fun too. I was delighted to see that Brian Shore of Kettle Lakes will be doing one--they won't have a booth at the festival but at least you can see his creative genius at the demo.
See you at the festival!
Photo credit: Taste of Syracuse website
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