This past Sunday was the 36th annual Chester County Restaurant Festival.
Every year, the town of West Chester closes Market and Gay streets so food vendors and restaurants can exhibit an abundance of remarkable food.
A great deal of people came out to taste foods from new restaurants and their town favorites. The streets were packed with families and friends visiting booths while listening to the music of local bands.
There were over sixty-five restaurants and food vendors present as well as seven different bands performing and over 100 crafters and information booths.
During the festival you could go onto the Town Dish website to vote for your favorite spot of the day.
Festival goers also had the chance to win prizes by voting on The Dish and sharing photos on all sorts of social media throughout the day.
The variety of food was enormous giving everyone an option! I went to the festival with a group of friends from school and sampled many different types of food.
Sampling new items and finding new favorites, it seemed as if everything we tried topped our previous taste!
All the vendors did an incredible job, and everything was delicious. Baco Taco had such a large following that so many people were walking around with their flavorful corn on the cob. Mercado’s offered fried artichoke with an unbelievable dipping sauce while Carlino’s served a mouth watering pork sandwich.
For those with a sweet tooth, Cakes and Candies by Maryellen’s seasonal pumpkin roll cupcake had locals lining up down the street. Aside from the local restaurants, there were food vendors offering festival favorites like funnel cake and chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick!
A West Chester student, Elsa Knapp, had only positive things to say about the festivities: “That pulled pork sandwich was definitely my favorite! I always look forward to going to this event with friends every year, unquestionably something not to miss!”
There was something for everyone to enjoy. This was my first time participating in the restaurant festival, and it definitely exceeded my expectations.
This is one of the many events the town of West Chester puts together bringing a sense of community and town pride.
A few tips for next year’s festival: get there early, dress for the weather for an outdoor day in the fall (it can be warm or cool), bring a group of friends, try foods you would never think of trying, and enjoy yourself!
Aileen Assumma is a second-year student majoring in English literature. She can be reached at AA823823@wcupa.edu.