The sheer variety of food to be sampled at the 17th Taste of East Cobb should not be taken for granted.
In fact, it should be savored. Really, really savored.
The festival is one of East Cobb’s signature events at any time on the calendar, and as I’ve written before, it brings out as much of a cross-section of the community as anything I can think of.
After all, ya gotta eat, and even though some slight rain may have dampened the turnout compared to more sunny occasions, this Taste of East Cobb had something for just about any palate.
And mine was wide open for tantalizing options all around my booth, back near the Kids Zone.
Armed with food tickets as a sponsor, I wanted to try a little bit of everything, and there was plenty of that beyond the volume of eateries that offered bites of their menu Saturday at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.
First of all, I got to spend the day next to the crew at Wimal Authentic Thai, which opened up in recent months at Sandy Plains Centre.
Their grilled chicken skewers were juicy and tasty, and perfect when plunged into a sweet, nutty dipping sauce.
The aroma was incredible to take in for hours.
Right behind me was one of my favorite neighborhood spots in East Cobb, Cafe Rivkah, which served up a beef shawarma wrap with cucumbers and red onions.
While that eatery at the Pavilions at East Lake is known for its fresh bakery and breakfast dishes, lunch fare with a Middle Eastern flair is an underrated option.
In pacing myself over the course of a six-hour food festival, I waited a bit to try something else, and a few tables down stood LaMadeleine, another bakery cafe with a popular East Cobb location at Providence Square.
A mini-croissant with chicken salad and side serving of tomato basil pasta salad paired rather nicely, filling and delicious.
At that point, I waited a couple hours to nosh yet again, and found the Marlow’s Tavern table. Last year, they were next to me, and once again offered up backyard-grill-quality cheeseburger sliders and fried green tomatoes.
If you were looking for interesting pairings, this was your food festival.
Dessert loomed, and while my food preferences typically favor the savory over the sweet, the baklava from Mediterranean Grill was hard to pass up. Flaky and not too sweet, the honey-laced filling melted easy upon taste.
And finally, staring across from me all day were the light treats at Smallcakes. A second dessert is a rare occasion for me, but this is a once-a-year food festival, and the strawberry mini-cupcakes hit my fruit spot.
As the last hour of the Taste of East Cobb arrived, so did the sun, and I took a bit of a respite enjoying the sounds of the Walton High School jazz band (see video below).
The Walton Band Parent Association takes all the proceeds from the food tickets you bought and puts them into band programs at the school, and the benefits to the community go far beyond that.
Jazz bands from Wheeler and Kell high schools were there to perform, as well as from Dickerson Middle School.
As you can probably tell from my words above, I’ll never be confused with a dining critic. In fact, I’m not a fancy foodie at all, but the combination of community outreach, local restaurants and small businesses coming together to celebrate this place we call home is something I’m proud to be a part of at this event.
I wish I could have gone to more restaurant booths, but for the record Sterling Estates East Cobb won the “Best Taste” award for the fifth year in a row.
The rookie award—for a new restaurant—went to Aapka Food Adda, the latest addition to the growing Indian restaurant roster in East Cobb.
And finally thanks to all of you who stopped by our tent to say hello! It was great to reconnect with familiar readers, meet new ones and take part as a sponsor for the third year in a row.
The Walton Band Parent Association makes this event as easy for the sponsors and vendors as it does for the public, and that’s no small feat.
We’re grateful to be a part, and are looking forward to next year already!
(Click the middle button below to view the photo slideshow.)
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