This weekend That Husband and I hit up Taste of Addison, the second “Taste of” event I have attended during my time in Texas (last year when I was here during the summer we went to Taste of Dallas). I’m starting to think these events should be mandatory in all cities of a certain size throughout the States. Taste of Addison was much bigger than the Dallas version, and I probably would have stayed until the end of the event, but That Husband was ready to head home. We didn’t take in much of the concert (Foreigner closed the night out and Bowling for Soup was playing as we walked out, I used to listen to them a lot in high school!), but we walked away with full tummies, which is really the point in going (well, for some people the point seemed to be to get get drunk. We saw a lot of those people.).
Luckily we ran into some friends while we were there, and were able to get this picture together. It’s always a stressful thing to try to find a sober, trustworthy person to hold and correctly utilize $3000 worth of equipment for a picture.
I was instantly taken back to my days spent showing pigs at the Fair as soon as I saw the carnival. After a bad experience with a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas a few years ago I don’t think That Husband and I will be going on any rides anytime soon though.
All of the standards were there: old time photo-booth, booths selling everything from summer dresses to costume jewelry, and caricaturists. What do these kind of vendors do for a living when they aren’t at fairs like this?
But we passed all of that by, for we were the couple that came for the food. Booths run by local restaurants lined either side of the park, some with no line, and others obviously making bank on an overcast Saturday night.
Benches and chairs are hard to come by, so most had to either stand and wolf their food down, or sit on the curb.
We started our gastronomical journey with Chicken Tikka Masala from The Saffron House. It was delicious, but reminded me we had forgotten our water bottles in the car and I was left waving my hand in front of my mouth a few times to cool things down. (I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned that I have absolutely no tolerance for anything spicy.)
This hummus from Nazar Turkish Resaurant was delicious (and the portions they were serving were so huge that we asked them to half ours), and we’ll definitely be visiting them for one of our Deluxe Date Nights this summer. I’m a big fan of supporting family owned restaurants, although we’ll probably avoiding them on Friday and Saturday nights when the belly dancing show is going on. I’m going to take a guess that TH would not be a fan.
A slice of Spanish Potato Omelet from De Tapas. My best friend went to Spain for study-abroad and when she came home this was the first dish she made for me. Heather, if you’re reading this, it tasted just like what you made that one day in the Yellow Brick House. I loved it! Although it was served with a big dollop of mayonnaise which I’m not sure I liked, did they eat it that way in Spain?
Texas Prime Beef Chili Pie from Chamberlains. It was my goal to eat at least one dish that felt “Texan” and this dish filled that quota for me. Mmmmn, Fritos.
Oh my, oh my my my. This Pear and Goat Cheese Salad, from Greenz Salad for Z’Adventurous was magnificent. It was divine. It was so good that I felt relieved when That Husband only took one bite and left the rest for me. I’m planning on taking my mom out to eat here when she arrives in Dallas this afternoon. I want some right now.
After a friend talked up Sambuca as the best booth he’d visited, we were eager to see what they had to offer. The Chipotle BBQ Pork Slider was too spicy for me, and though salsa that accompanied the Chicken Samosas was good it didn’t match up to the salad I had just experienced from Greenz so I wasn’t wowed. Their website has a gorgeous picture on the homepage though, which might be enough to convince me to go out for dinner and experience some dinner at a location with a nightclub feel.
I’m still working on taking more pictures of strangers (it’s really tough I think), but the guys at Selim’s Doner Kebap made it pretty easy for me. I’m pretty sure the one on the left liked me, so he gave me extra sauce on my Kebap. Yum.
We ended the night with some original flavored fro-yo from BerryBerry. I’ll be visiting their storefront location again very soon. Probably tomorrow. And as a reward for making it through surgery the next day. And possibly the day after that as well.
Have you ever been to a “Taste of” event? Are they more common than I think?
May 11th, 2009 on 10:52 am
i’ve never been to a “taste of..” event, but i think they are fairly common. judging by your pics, i SHOULD go to a taste of event as soon as possible. that food looks amazing.
also, thanks for your words of encouragement and willingness to write a post for me once i get things up and running…that’s WAY nice of you!
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 11:38 am
OHMIGOSH! That all looks sooo delicious, seriously making me hungry right now. I go to the Taste of Chicago pretty regularly, which is a big deal in Chicago. But most of the vendors are repeat vendors/restaurants… ugh, now I want food.
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 12:14 pm
I’m curious why you guys would avoid the belly dancing event? I think maybe you were being sarcastic when you said TH wouldn’t like it very much- like “oh, I’m sure he’d *hate* beautiful women dancing, wink wink” but then I thought, well, wait, maybe TH really would be uncomfortable with it.
I have lots of Egyptian and Persian friends who are bellydancers, so I don’t even think about the different perspectives other people might have on it. To me it’s not very different than ballerinas in their skin tight leotards with backs legs and arms exposed as they fling themselves around the stage pressed up against a man in equally skin tight clothes
Anyway, that just caught my eye, sorry for the long rambly question/comment- it’s Monday and I’ve been doing finals all week, and I’m jealous I had to miss Taste of Addison and Bowling for Soup!
Reply
Jenna Reply:
May 19th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
TH has an aversion to all things sensual, as a way to keep his thoughts pure. He avoids looking at pictures of women dressed immodestly, etc. It’s a personal thing for him, no judgment upon those who do so just an act of self preservation.
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 12:17 pm
I’ve never been, but every summer in Minneapolis there is a “Taste of Minnesota” event which is supposed to be really good (my brother has been, he said it was awesome). I don’t know if there are any in the area I’m in now, but this post makes me want to find out. That all looks SO GOOD… making me not want to delay my lunch any longer.
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 12:21 pm
Yum! That looks like so much fun. I’ll have to see if there’s something like that anytime soon in Houston, I think there is…I know they have things like this in San Francisco all the time too. I’m sure most large cities have them.
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 12:52 pm
I love “Taste of” events. They’re always always so much fun
p.s. I also find it really hard to take pictures of strangers! Ah, maybe someday it will be easier.
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 1:17 pm
I’ve never actually heard of one, but I think it would be awesome to go to one!
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 3:15 pm
I love “Taste Of” Events, it’s like Restaurant week all at once.
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 3:19 pm
I’m so jealous y’all went!! We could have walked there from the apartment, but Derrick is in major study mode for his next section of the CPA exam
and I didn’t want to go alone? Was it great?
Reply
Jenna Reply:
May 19th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Definitely go next year, it was much, much better than Taste of Dallas.
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 4:05 pm
We have a “Taste of Saskatoon” here in Canada. It was the first Taste of… event I’d ever heard of but according to the locals we stole the idea from Calgary (I was new to SK at the time).
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 4:49 pm
We have “Taste of Chicago.” And it’s awesome. And HUGE. Over 1 million people attended last year, I believe.
Reply
May 11th, 2009 on 7:13 pm
Oh how Mr. FF and I love Addison! I would have loved to go to the taste of event. I really hope they have one in Houston!
Reply
May 12th, 2009 on 12:55 am
Love Bite of Seattle! One of my favorite events of the summer… well, of the year, really. Taste of Chicago wasn’t as good and not as much variety. I really like how Seattle has little $2 tasters that you can split between two people. That way you can get more bang for your buck. Chicago sells you tickets- was much pricier. But “Taste of…” events are AWESOME, in general!
Reply
May 12th, 2009 on 6:58 am
Up here in Maryland, they are everywhere - Taste of Bethesda, Taste of DC, Taste of Baltimore, etc. I think every town that has restaurants has a taste of event.
Reply
May 13th, 2009 on 2:22 pm
yeah, we have tons of them in the DC area. every town, even some neighborhoods, have their own. taste of georgetown is a personal favorite
Reply
May 19th, 2009 on 1:52 am
[...] bit of time out on the town. Of course I took her out to my new favorite salad place discovered at Taste of Addison, Greenz Salad for Z’Adventorous. The manager told us they are working on franchising which [...]