Thousands of bites, slurps, and spoonfuls later, the Taste of Buffalo is over. 

The near 500,000 people estimated to attend the festival, had a perfect weekend to do so. With blue skies and warm temperatures, Niagara Square and Delaware Avenue were packed shoulder to shoulder in some places. 

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The two-day festival is the largest in the country, with more than 50 food vendors and multiple wineries. 

Of course many of locals came to the Taste, but we also talked to some food lovers who came from as far as California to take a bite out of Buffalo.

"You know food is such a cultural attraction and it doesn't matter what ethnicity you are. People come together and commune over food. It's a great way to pull the city together," said Tarabu Kirkland, Los Angeles.

This year there was a new Favorite Fermentation award, which was won by A Gust of Sun Winery (Ransomville) for their wine, Sweet Westies.

Other Taste of Buffalo winners included:

  • Chair’s Choice (chosen by Matthew Testa, 2019 Taste of Buffalo Chair): Hilltop Restaurant & Bar (Lockport), Buffalo Lager Braised Short Ribs
  • Children’s Choice (chosen by Jacob Testa): Mineo & Sapio Street Eats food truck, Chorizo Po’Boy
  • Lou Billittier Memorial “Rookie of the Year” Award: The Chocolate Bar (Buffalo), Chocolate Mousse Brulee
  • Veteran Restaurant Award: Danny’s Restaurant (Orchard Park), Peanut Butter Pie
  • Best of Buffalo Award: Taste of Siam (Buffalo), Fried Ice Cream
  • Best Overall Item: Caribbean Experience (Buffalo), Jerked Chicken with Rice
  • Best Meat Item: Caribbean Experience (Buffalo), Jerked Chicken with Rice
  • Best Seafood Item: Flaming Fish food truck, Shrimp Po’Boy
  • Best Dessert: Water Lily Café (Cheektowaga), Thai Tea Smoothie
  • Best Sandwich: Souped Up food truck, Bacon Jam Cheddar Melt
  • Best Red Wine: Three Brothers Wineries & Estates (Geneva), Red Jazz Infusion
  • Best White Wine: Victorianbourg Wine Estate (Wilson), Pechette

The winners for the Independent Health Foundation’s Healthy Options were:

  • First Place:  Alex’s Place (Batavia), Grilled Garlic Shrimp Skewers
  • Second Place: Local Kitchen and Beer Bar (Buffalo), Brussel Sprout Slaw
  • Third Place: Cali Eats (Buffalo), Fiesta Black Bean Bowl
  • Best Healthy Dessert: Chrusciki Bakery (Lancaster), Apple Cinnamon Pierogi

Addiitonal winners:

  • Yelp’s Choice Award: T.C. Wheelers Bar & Pizzeria (Tonawanda), Stuffed Hot Banana Pepper Pizza
  • Buffalo News Gusto Critic’s Choice Award: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (Buffalo), Dinosaur BBQ Ribs