13 New Foods to Try at Taste of Buffalo

With only two days and one stomach, it’s best to hit the Taste of Buffalo with a game plan.

The last thing you want is to stock up on treats at the start of your Delaware Avenue trek before you’ve even had a chance to try the Cheeto sushi burrito.

The 41st annual Taste of Buffalo returns July 13-14 along Delaware Avenue from Chippewa Street to Niagara Square. 43 restaurants and 14 pop-up chefs will offer a combination of their most popular dishes and creative creations to thousands of festival-goers.

Most vendors will be present for the entire duration of the festival. However, a new feature this year allows some of the region’s most well-known chefs and popular cuisines to participate in the festival for a shorter period of time. Fourteen chefs and restaurants will rotate through the three Rock Star Kitchen pop-up tents throughout the festival, selling their inventive dishes for a few hours.

I’ve selected 13 notable dishes that are new to the festival. Some are from first-time restaurants, some are from returning participants with new dishes on the menu, and a few are from pop-up chefs.

Allen Street Hardware: Cold cucumber soup with dill (stand 7)

Allen Street Hardware, another Taste of Buffalo newcomer, offers a refreshing option with its Chilled Cucumber Dill Soup. Available in a small four-serving portion, the chilled soup could be a welcome palate cleanser while digesting heavier “tastes.”

The barrel factory: Beef on Weck bread (stand 34)

Chef Cornell Williams pays homage to Buffalo’s culinary history while adding his own twist with caraway seed and salt-coated beef on a Weck egg roll served with horseradish cream.

DA taste: Beef and birria tacos (stand 37)

DA Taste is bringing its iconic tacos to Taste of Buffalo for the first time. The beef birria taco features cilantro, red onion and slow-cooked beef, which the Larkinville taco restaurant simmers for 10 hours into a spicy, 27-ingredient Mexican consommé.

KT Caribbean Cuisine: Mango Jerk Mac and Cheese (Stand 30)

Mac and cheese doesn’t typically come in fruity flavors, which is why KT Caribbean’s Mango Jerk Mac stands out among the festival’s offerings. If you’re not sure about the combination of salty cheese with sweet, citrusy mango and smoky jerk seasoning, it’s not a big investment. The dish is also available in a smaller, four-ticket portion.

Kith & Kin Bakery & Bistro:Pulled Pork Parfait (Stand 23)

Parfaits filled with something other than yogurt are usually a fan favorite at food festivals, probably because of their convenience. They’re easier to eat while standing up. Kith & Kin offers a completely gluten-free container of honey blueberry barbecue pork topped with cornbread and coleslaw. This isn’t the ideal choice for those who hate their food touching. It’s more for people who eat off of garbage plates.

Lime Sushi and Ramen: Shrimp and Cheeto Burrito (stand 17)

Fingers won’t be spared the cursed orange Cheeto coating when you hold Lime House’s Cheeto Shrimp Burrito, as the seaweed shell is completely dusted with neon Cheeto crumbs. Inside the burrito, you’ll find shrimp, faux crab, cheese, avocado, cucumber, and mayo.

Rice balls with money bags: Mushroom and soy ravioli (stand 31)

Vegans will be delighted to find Moneybags Soy Mushroom Ravioli. Don’t be fooled by the green exterior of the ravioli, naturally coloured with spinach juice. It hides an earthy filling of shiitake and portobello mushrooms marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, carrots and spring onion.

Sweet Melody’s: Peanut Butter and Buffalo Jam Ice Cream Sundae (Booth 39)

Sweet Melody’s has created a sundae around two flavors that are undeniably part of Buffalo’s DNA: Loganberry and Cheerios. Deep purple Loganberry syrup, with blackberry and raspberry flavors, is poured over peanut butter ice cream and topped with Cheerios and peanuts. (Maybe the General Mills plant will even honor the festival with its own cereal flavor floating around.)

Bratts Hill: Truffle Cassava Fries

Chef Sinclair McCalla brings a taste of Jamaica (by way of Larkinville) to the festival from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the pop-up tent on Delaware Avenue at Cary Street. McCalla fries slices of cassava, a starchy root used in Caribbean cooking, and drizzles them with truffled mushroom oil. The result is a fry that falls somewhere between French fries and sweet potato fries, with a nutty flavor from the cassava and an earthy tang from the truffle oil.

Black Iron Bystro: Crispy Golden Polenta with Feta and Za’tar Tomato Jam

From 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, stop by the tent at Delaware Avenue and Niagara Square to try Black Iron Bystro’s gluten-free and vegetarian option. Chef Bryan Mecozzi crisps up corn polenta to serve with whipped feta cheese and a sweet and savory tomato jam spiced with za’atar, a fragrant blend of Middle Eastern spices.

East Aurora’s Dopest Dough bakery is frying up New Orleans beignets in two savory flavors. They’ll be available at one of Rock Star Kitchen’s pop-up tents on Delaware Avenue and Cary Street during both days of the festival. From 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, you’ll find a cacio e pepe (Parmesan cheese and black pepper) beignet. From 3:30 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, try a Japanese-inspired beignet made with yakiniku sauce, a Japanese barbecue sauce, and umami-rich bonito flakes.

Orso Nero: Japanese Katsu-style Arancini

Michael Diletti combines Italian and Japanese cuisine in a Katsu-style arancini. The fusion dish features arancini, a fried ball of breaded risotto and fontina cheese, cooked in white wine, served in a Japanese curry with vegetables and topped with parmesan. It will be available from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Delaware Avenue pop-up tent at Niagara Square.

Southern Junction: Coconut Spiced Charred Pork Belly

Chef Ryan Fernandez will offer a taste of his James Beard Award-nominated Texas barbecue, infused with South Indian flavors, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the pop-up tent on Delaware Avenue. He’ll serve juicy cubes of low-and-slow-cooked, coconut-spiced pork belly with pickled vegetables and white rice. The pork comes from Always Something Farm in Darien.

The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 13 and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 14. Before you go, check out the Taste of Buffalo Festival Guide at tasteofbuffalo.com to find out when and where to find your favorite chefs.

Food: You can’t go to a vendor to buy food with cash or card. Instead, stop by a festival ticket tent, where you can buy a sheet of 10 tickets for $6. Food items cost between 2 and 12 tickets.

Something healthy? For those hoping to try something new and nutritious, you’ll find hummus and pita at Venus Greek & Mediterranean (booth 29), sweet chili-glazed Brussels sprouts at Resurgence Brewing Company (booth 40) and homemade coleslaw at Carrubba’s Chicken Pit (booth 43).

Music: Live bands will play a mix of classic rock, country, R&B, blues, jazz and Celtic music at six venues around the festival. DJs will spin more danceable tunes (including a Rick James dance party at 1 p.m. Saturday) at the Genesee Beer Garden in Niagara Square.

For kids: Children’s activities, including coloring, crafts and readings, will take place in the Buffalo Architecture Foundation tent at Niagara Square. Kids will also be able to help color a giant Taste of Buffalo mural and receive free samples of Cracker Jack, Lay’s Stax, Nerds and Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles.