Ralph Basil, the 2017 Chairman of the Taste of Buffalo stopped by to chat with Yasmin Young, host of the 2 to 6 Takeover, about the Taste! Kathy Romanowski also brought a few samples of the delicious strawberry and blueberry dessert that TOPS Markets will be offering at the Taste! Get the details and get ready as the Taste returns to Delaware Avenue and Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo on Saturday, July 8 and Sunday, July 9th!

Celebrating 34 years of showcasing culinary delights from all over Western New York, the Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops Markets returns to Delaware Avenue and Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo on Saturday, July 8 from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Sunday, July 9 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. The Taste, the country's largest annual two-day food festival drawing approximately 450,000 hungry food lovers each year, offers 60 restaurants and food trucks, five New York State wineries, Coca-Cola products, Labatt and the return of the expanded Hometown Beer Tent featuring local craft beer on tap from Flying Bison, New

“As Western New York continues to grow, so too does the diversity of restaurants and breweries emerging in our area,” said Ralph Basile, 2017 Taste chair. “Western New York is home to some of the best food and beer in the country, so bringing together this variety of establishments is our goal every year. This year’s Taste will also feature offerings from our national and local sponsors as well as a number of talented entertainers, giving us all the makings for yet another memorable weekend of fun courtesy of the Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops.”

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New restaurants and food trucks participating this year include Amici Ristorante, Black & Blue Steak and Crab, Local Kitchen and Beer Bar, New York Beer Project, Pasion Latin Cuisine, Patina 250, SEAR, Vin-Chet Gluten Free Bakery, Water Lily Café, #getfried Fry Café, Cheesecake Guy, Healthy Scratch, Original Crunch Roll Factory, and Rolling Cannoli Truck. Participating wineries include Merritt Estate Winery, Niagara Landing Wine Cellars, Spring Lake Winery, Three Brothers Wineries & Estates, and Victorianbourg Wine Estate.

Tops Markets continues as the Taste’s presenting sponsor and is bringing Emmy Award-winning television host, best-selling cookbook author, and restaurateur, Lidia Bastianich to the Taste of Buffalo Culinary Stage in the New Era Cap parking lot at noon on Saturday. Lidia will prepare one of her Italian specialties and the lucky audience will get to sample it. After the show, she’ll hold a Q &A and will have copies of her book available to sign. Check out the complete Culinary Stage schedule at tasteofbuffalo.com.

Taste presale food ticket vouchers are on sale now at the registers at participating Tops Markets. Plan ahead and take advantage of the Family Freebie. Now through July 9, buy a $50 presale food ticket voucher and get a coupon good for four free nonalcoholic beverages at the Taste. Presale food ticket vouchers are also sold in $10 certificates. Cash, Visa and Mastercard are accepted at any of the ticket tents during the Taste.

"We're proud to once again be the presenting sponsor of this time honored Western New York tradition," said TOPS president and chief operating officer, John Persons. "Not only do we look forward to seeing everyone who stops by the TOPS tent to sample the delicious offerings we will have for you, but we encourage it as TOPS donates 100% of its proceeds every year to a local charity. We believe in giving back to the communities in which we serve, so this year the proceeds will benefit the Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight."

Pick up a festival guide before the Taste at all Erie and Niagara County Tops locations in July. The guide contains a complete listing of restaurants, menu items and sponsors’ activities. It’s also free to download at tasteofbuffalo.com and available at the Taste ticket tents.

“The Taste of Buffalo is a highlight of summer, as residents citywide and visitors from all over come to enjoy ‘fun by the forkful’ in downtown Buffalo,” said Mayor Byron Brown. “I thank all of those who put so much work into making sure that the nation’s largest two-day food festival is a success each year. There will be great food and drinks from 60 restaurants and five wineries. Whether you attend for the food, music or atmosphere, I expect people from across our community and beyond to come out and enjoy one of our greatest summer traditions.”

The Taste is partnering with WNY Heroes to plan some very special activities honoring United States Veterans. These include a “Hometown Hero” award for one lucky restaurant and some other surprises to thank Western New York’s servicemen and women and their families.

There’s plenty of entertainment scheduled too! In between bites of food, check out the live music on the Tops Stage in the Niagara East Street Beer Tent, open until 11 p.m. on Saturday. The AT&T DJ Music Stage located at Huron and Delaware is a weekend long dance party and the Hometown Beer Tent located by City Hall and Niagara West Street features live acoustic music all weekend. A complete schedule is available at tasteofbuffalo.com.

Artist MJ Meyers will create a live chalk mural inside Niagara Square facing Court Street. He’ll be working on his masterpiece all day Saturday and you can take your picture with the finished design on Sunday.

National and local sponsors will offer samples, demonstrations and interactive activities throughout the two-day event including:

Visit all four of the Tops Markets tents this year. Start with the big tent located at the foot of Delaware Avenue and Niagara Square to enjoy their spicy buffalo beef burger, coffee infused black pepper burger, Tops Italian sausage, strawberry shortcake with blueberries on a biscuit, and green salad with organic grilled chicken or organic chicken sandwich served with Newman’s Own Dressing and Hellmann’s Organic Mayo. Sample Lipton Tea while it lasts. Spin the wheel for a chance to win great prizes each day. 100% of the Tops tent proceeds benefit Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight. Step down the walkway behind the tent and visit the Tops Pharmacy. Next door get a taste of Tops Natural/Organic products and pop into the Tops Brand product tent around the corner in the Square for samples all weekend long.

AT&T is the Official Mobile Sponsor for the Taste. Visit the AT&T mobile display inside Niagara Square to experience virtual reality, charge your phone, get inside the money booth and more.

New Era Cap and Premium Mortgage bring you SHADE SPACES located throughout the festival so that you can get out of the sun, people watch and enjoy your food comfortably at a cocktail table.

Visit the Taste of Fun KidZone inside Niagara Square for plenty of activities for kids of all ages open until 6 p.m. both days. Enjoy make-and-take projects from Stutelage Innovations and get free samples of delicious kid-friendly products like Go Go Squeez, Smucker’s Uncrustables and Cracker Jack!

Every restaurant at the Taste serves an Independent Health Foundation Healthy Option. It’s a delicious menu item that is lower in fat, cholesterol and sodium and is marked with a sticker on each restaurant’s menu. Visit an Independent Health tent near the Chippewa Street ticket tent or the Court Street ticket tent and pick up a tray to help carry your food around the festival.

Sample Smucker’s Toppings on your ice cream at the Anderson’s Ice Cream tent.

Northtown Automotive brings back their Platinum Plus tent inside Niagara Square. Show your Platinum Plus key tag to get a seat and other special perks!

In partnership with the City of Buffalo, the Taste proudly recycles. Look for the green totes throughout the festival grounds and do your part.

In addition to presenting sponsor Tops Markets, other 2017 Taste sponsors include: AT&T Official Mobile Sponsor, Coca-Cola, Flying Bison, FORD Experience Tour, Dr. Oetker’s Virtuoso Pizza, Dr. Scholl’s, Dunkin Donuts, GEICO, GoGo Squeez, Hellmann’s, I Love NY, Independent Health, Independent Health Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Labatt, Lasik Vision Institute, Lays Stax, Lipton Tea, Milk-Bone, New Era Cap, Newman’s Own Dressing, New York Beer Project, Northtown Automotive, Ocean Spray Mocktails, Premium Mortgage, Sahale Snacks, Schweid & Son’s, Smithfield, Smucker’s Toppings, Smucker’s Uncrustables, Tops Organic, Tops Pharmacy, WellCare and 12 Gates Brewing Co.

“You can feel good when you eat at the Taste, as you are not only supporting your local restaurants, you are helping make possible donations to numerous charitable organizations in our community,” added Basile. “To date the Taste has awarded more than $360,000 in both donations and scholarships.”

 

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