The Summer of Food

With the recent announcements of Thursday In the Square’s line up (meh) and Taste of Buffalo’s menu line up (more on that later) it really is starting to feel like Summer in Buffalo has arrived.  This will be a guide for the Foodies of Buffalo, what you can look forward to this summer and maybe discover some events that you didn’t even realize existed.  Yes, I know there are many other summer events, festivals and concerts but I’m going to try and focus on the best events for eating really good food.

Since 1984 the Taste of Buffalo started filling downtown Buffalo with thousands of patrons handing over money for tickets, and since the idea has spread throughout the various suburbs.  Here is the lineup that we know about, if I am missing your town please comment below.

• Taste of Buffalo (July 10th – 11th) : If you live in Buffalo and haven’t heard of the Taste of Buffalo already, then you must have lived in some sheltered household or you’ve just moved here.  This year’s lineup hasn’t different greatly from years prior and we will soon have our own analysis of the menu items being offered.  So stay tuned!
• Taste of West Seneca (July 10th – 11th) : Why they would decide to host their annual Food Festival the same weekend as the 2nd biggest food festival in the United States (that’s also 10 minutes away), I don’t know.  The only place I could find information for the event was on a website showing the minutes from a January Town Board Meeting.
• Taste of Hamburg (July 17th) : During the annual Burgerfest (I have some doubts about Hamburg, NY being the birthplace of the Hamburger) , the town of Hamburg will be having their own food festival.  Surely they will have some local restaurants serving up some notable dishes.  As of right now they have not posted any specific restaurants but it will be in the Village Parking Lot between noon and 8pm.
• Taste of Orchard Park (July 28th) : Last year was a good leap forward for Orchard Park’s mini food festival with the addition of Fuji Grill.  Alli and I had a really good time in our hometown and were really surprised on the amount of restaurants that had offerings.  Well, it was so popular that they are lengthening the strip of North Buffalo Road to potentially include more restaurants.  They haven’t announced a line up yet but I will post the roster when I find out.
• Taste of Clarence (August 2nd) : From 4 to 9 pm at the Clarence Town Park will be the 7th annual Taste of Clarence.  Now I personally have never been but I did enjoy Orazio’s offering last year at the Taste of Buffalo and while the write up from Buffalo Chow makes it seem like it is a mad house with some disappointments, some of the restaurants might bring me in.  Also if you like Classic Cars apparently they’ll have a whole bunch there.
• Buffalo Brewfest 2010 (August 6th) : Being held in the HSBC Arena Lobby (I wish it was still at the Central Terminal), $25 will get you a glass, program, entrance to the Arena, and 20 tickets to try a 3 oz sample of whatever beer you’d like.  Being a giant Beer fan that I am, it saddens me to say that I’ve never been to any of the Brewfests but I really want to try to make it this year.  Adding a second level for more breweries will hopefully prevent some congestion issues.
• Taste of Lancaster (August 7th) : Another festival I haven’t been to but after looking over their website, their previous restaurants list is pretty impressive.  Held on Central Ave between Broadway and Pleasant Ave, they’ve had John & Mary’s, Louies, Fireside Inn, and more.
• Taste of Ellicotville (August 7th – 8th) : Some of the Ellicottville restaurants are over priced and there really aren’t a lot of choices.  However, going out to Ellicottville for a day of drinking (EBC’s Blueberry Wheat is AMAZING on draft) and just being in a gorgeous town is probably worth it.
• Taste of Williamsville (August 8th) : We went for the first time last year and had mixed thoughts on the event.  Parking is a little rough in Williamsville and some of the offerings weren’t as great as we had hoped.  However, the area has a pretty decent selection of restaurants.  That said, we were frustrated with the crowd/set up that we ended up not even doing a write up.  Note: normally the festival is held on a Saturday but this year will be Sunday from 11:30-8.
• Taste of Lockport (August 15th) : Again, I am sad to say that I have never been to any of the Taste of Lockport’s (I guess I have a lot of work to do this summer).  Their line up as of right now is very heavy on the desserts and with a couple wineries.  However, out of all the town festivals they have the best website, or at least the easiest one to find.
• Chicken Wing Festival (September 4th – 5th) : I tell myself every year that I’m not going to go but every year I find myself standing inside Coca Cola Field.  The majority of the venders are actually from outside Buffalo and I know that’s neat to have restaurants from all over the United States, but I just want to have traditional Buffalo wings.  What the festival really turns into is a sauce taste contest and the wings end up being soggy and cold.  On top of that there are limited places to actually eat the wings and you end up standing in the middle of the field trying to hold your drink, blue cheese, and bowl of wings while also trying to eat without dripping sauce all over yourself.  The addition of some tables would be a huge help.  If you want to bring the kids, though, they have a good amount of fun entertainment (dipping for wings, eating contests, concerts) and it can turn out to be a nice day downtown.