Ok, if you didn’t go to the Taste of Buffalo today, you still have another chance. Hopefully reading this will help you with some of those hard decisions. I purchased a $40 ticket voucher at Tops, you get to pick up a free quasi-backpack at the Tops tent, while supplies last. I will try to recreate my eating adventure in order with a short comment on each food item. Enjoy!

• 1. Cameo’s - 3 Cheese Tortellini in Tomato Basil Cream Sauce w/ Asiago Cheese - 5 tickets - a must eat item.
• 2. The Red Coach Inn - Sauteed Asian Tiger Shrimp w/Smoked Bacon Salsa - 6 tickets - yummmyyyy!
• 3. Carmine’s Restaurant - Crab Cake stuffed Shrimp - 7 tickets - another winner but the remoulade sauce could have had a bit more zip.
• 4. The Tops Tent - A nice variety of different items - 8 tickets - nothing too memorable but you do get a free goodie bag!
• 5. Orazios - Grand Marnier Chocolate Covered Strawberries - 5 tickets - what’s not to like here? btw, dark chocolate and it was delicious.
• 6. Village Desserts - Chocolate Dipped Pineapple Macaroon - 3 tickets - very good with just the right hint of chocolate.
• 7. Filippo’s Ristorante Italiano - Stuffed Banana Peppers - 5 tickets - they were ok, I think I should have ordered what my friend did here - Zabaglione with Raspberry, he said it was delicious.
• 8. Bing’s - Crab Cake and Bruschetta Combo - 7 tickets - I was going to pass on this because the Italian Festival is a few days away, but in the end, i gave in to my craving and wasn’t disappointed.
• 9. Dave and Buster’s - Bavarian Berry Cream Cake - 3 tickets - very refreshing!
• 10. Craftsmen Cafe - Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella Mini Sandwich - 3 tickets - kind of mediocre, but what do you want for only 3 tickets. Their scones with chocolate sampler looked really good, maybe next year.
• 11. The Bavarian Nut Company - Cinnamon Glazed Almonds (7 tickets) & Buffalo Hot Nuts (3 tickets) - By the time I got here, I had been on my feet for about 7 hours and would have ordered anything to use up my last tickets.

That puts me at 62 tickets. The remaining 18 were used for beverages. 5 tickets for a Labatt’s Blue, 6 tickets for a glass of Petite Noir from the Casa Larga Winery and 7 tickets for a glass of Mountain Road Niagara Escarpment Pinot Noir. The Petite Noir was a very light, refreshing beaujolais-like wine, I enjoyed it very much. The Mountain Road Pinot Noir was very full bodied, perhaps not what I wanted at the time, but it would probably be delicious with a nice rare steak off the grill.

Below is a slide-show from today, including a kind of risqué shot of a couple who was having way too much fun!

The band in the picture, the Ifs, have a dynamite British rock sound. You can check out their schedule here.