You may have noticed that there are a lot of ‘Taste of…’ events in September, including some pricy fundraiser events, like ‘Taste the Future’. Following close on their footsteps next weekend is the far more accessible Taste of Grandview Heights on Sunday October 3rd from 2-7pm at McKinley Park, 1661 Goodale Boulevard. Unlike the others, there is no three-figure entry fee – you simply purchase whichever dishes catch your fancy.
The Taste of Grandview Heights will showcase almost 20 restaurants and food vendors, with each offering appetizers, entrees or desserts (or any combination thereof). Many of the Grandview area restaurants will be represented including Third and Hollywood, Grandview Cafe, Mazah, Trattoria Roma, Noodles, Hoggies, Minuteman Pizza, Jeni’s and Stauf’s. Some restaurants from neighboring areas such as Cap City Diner and the Fish Market will also be in attendance. In other words, there will be just about something for everyone.
I was lucky to be included in a preview event last week (it was fun to be on a food tour organized by someone else!). We made a staggering nine stops and really experienced the wide range of restaurants in the area, and sampled some of the dishes that will be on offer at the Taste of Grandview event itself.
So, if the lure of finding all of that food in one place isn’t enough to lure you to McKinley Park on Sunday, here are some of the standout dishes that might tempt you:
The sampler plate from Mazah. I thought the tzatziki and tabbouleh were particularly good and the hummus was amazingly smooth. Their baklava sundae was also a crowd pleaser.
The delicious signature cheese biscuit from Third & Hollwood filled with their pimento cheese spread, frisee and Tennessee ham. It is probably worth going to the event just to search out this rare treat (hint – it’s not on their regular menu).
The Grandview Cafe showed that you don’t have to head downtown to satisfy a hotdog craving – they use Nathan’s Famous Franks and get their New England style buns from the Orlando Baking Company in Cleveland. They used us as guinea pigs to test their new stadium dog topped with nacho cheese sauce, pickled jalapenos and crushed tortilla chips. It seemed to be a winner.
We also had some exceptional scones and pretzels at Stauf’s, some or all of which I expect to also see at the event.
You can get more details about the event on Facebook or Twitter. I hope to see you there.
