The sights, sounds and smells of Taste of Buffalo were inescapable on Saturday and the 41st annual jubilee of local food favorites continues today.
The pierogi caught Cathy Olszewski’s eye.
As she walked into the 41st Taste of Buffalo festival, which kicked off Saturday morning, the Greek chicken pierogi from Babcia’s Pierogi immediately grabbed her attention. She and her friend, Dawn McCarthy, are Buffalo residents and attend every year. It’s a chance to try foods, like this pierogi dish, and enjoy the food scene.
Pierogi on the grill at Babcias Pierogi stand at the Taste of Buffalo event on Saturday, July 13, 2024.
“We take pictures of all the food, we take pictures of us,” Olszewski said. “It’s like a nice memory.”
Taste of Buffalo, which continues Sunday, celebrates the Buffalo Niagara culinary scene. Attendees stop by tents and food trucks sprawled along Delaware Avenue and around Niagara Square, sampling the menus of local restaurants in what is the biggest two-day food event in the U.S., according to organizers.
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This year’s festival features 43 restaurants. Ten of those are new additions, including Lime House Sushi & Ramen, Sto Lat Bar and Carrubba’s Chicken Pit.
For vendors, participating in the festival can be a way to get new customers.
“The more that we get our name out, the more that we are hoping that it brings into our brick-and-mortar,” Angela Stark, who works front-of-house at Carrubba’s said.
Anchi A La Carte, a Vietnamese restaurant in Amherst, experienced that impact when it participated in the festival last year.
“After that, we had some customers that saw us (at) Taste of Buffalo, and they came to our restaurant, too,” owner Anh Pham said.
The 41st annual Taste of Buffalo returns Saturday and Sunday along Delaware Avenue from Chippewa Street and into Niagara Square. There will be 43 restaurants and 14 pop-up chefs selling a combination of their most popular foods and creative entries to the festival’s thousands of visitors.
The festival also allows people to enjoy the different cuisines that make up Buffalo’s culinary community. Tom Mahoney, Taste of Buffalo chair, says the “diversity of the food” makes people want to return year after year.
“The food scene here is amazing. We’re able to accommodate so many restaurants with so much variety,” he said.
While many of the restaurants have been part of the festival before, this year’s edition has encouraged them to collectively offer a slate of new food items, showcased through a competition. Twenty-four returning restaurants are adding a fresh item on their menus to compete for a new dish award. Attendees can vote by scanning QR codes located at the booths.
People lined Delaware Avenue shoulder-to-shoulder at Taste of Buffalo on Saturday.
The festival also has three Rockstar Kitchen Pop-Ups in which renowned local chefs spend two hours each providing small portions of their culinary creations. These booths are a way to highlight “the latest chefs in the area (with) tremendous culinary skill,” Mahoney said.
As the festival goes on, the vendors work hard to meet the high demand.
City officials are reminding motorists that downtown streets will begin closing Friday for this weekend's Taste of Buffalo food festival.
“We ran out (last year), but we were able to replenish,” Intisar Mohamed, owner of Golden Hour Treats & Things, a dessert restaurant offering treats like banana pudding and crepes, said. “This year, our goal is not to run out and to have everything consistently flowing.”
The busy atmosphere can be a testament to people’s excitement to load up on mouth-watering dishes.
“You give people food, they’re happy,” Matt Brooder, a festival attendee, said.
The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday around Delaware Avenue, from Niagara Square to Chippewa Street. Admission is free, but attendees must purchase food with tickets, which are available at ticket tents. For a map of the festival and other information, visit tasteofbuffalo.com.
