Among the motivations for TAG Media is to eradicate the general disdain for SGF. Even the townies seem to talk down on their city. You’ve heard the complaints of how there’s “nothing to do,” but if you’re reading this magazine you already know that is untrue. Even for a group of firm believers in SGF, sometimes it’s just nice to see the potential of SGFers. The 2011 Taste of Springfield proved just that. In years past, the event has drawn crowds, but … whoa. The first idea of how well-attended the streets would be was the packed parking garage. Even on a busy First Friday Art Walk night, parking is still available. It says something when the only spots we could track down were on the roof of the College Station parking garage.
Taste of Springfield is a personal favorite when it comes to local events because of the copious amount of food to sample and variety therein. Dozens of the best local restaurants featuring portions of menu favorites. Besides, it’s good to get out and see people. It’s also good to eat. Previous events have seen participating restaurants run out of samples early, but if you showed late to this edition, the supply was seriously in jeopardy. Chefs and owners were shrugging off lines of people and apologizing early in the day. Danny Schlink, owner of J.O.B. Public House, said he served more than 1,200 sandwiches in the first two hours. Sure I was disappointed to miss out on tacos from Tortilleria Perches and fried lasagna from Nonna’s (a couple 2010 faves), it was still encouraging.
That said, there were some incredible bites that we were able to taste. Gem of India’s Chicken Tikka Marsala was among my favorite non-typical entreés. The chicken was tender and the red sauce looked far more intimidating than it actually was. I tried a handful of burgers, but the mini slider from PriceCutter Bistro Market was the top offering. Mille’s slayed the appetizer game, with an incredibly fresh lettuce wrap, and a huge buzz (and line) for its Sweet Potato Soup — very unexpected. Of course, the official winners were voted on by the masses.
Of course, beer doesn’t hurt either. It’s hard to say if the elbow-to-elbow crowd stretching from South Ave. and McDaniel to Park Central East and Jefferson was entirely boosted by Oktoberfest Village. Open containers were allowed on the streets for the first time in recent (ever?!?) memory. City officials showed the open mind to clear the red tape it has previously resisted. It seems antiquated considering how common events like this are in other cities, but no less exciting. Security was substantial, but there were no incidents to speak of. Adults behaved as adults and treated the liberties responsibly.
The celebration atmosphere reminded me of larger cities’ versions of Mardi Gras or St. Patrick’s Day festivals. The only real difference being the number of city blocks it covered. Lederhosen, live music, giant beer stein hats, costumes and world-class boxing contenders (BJ Flores) mingling with fans. It was good to see and hopefully it’s a sign of more to come.
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