MANAYUNK

Posted by: Nicolette Patete, Public Relations, Social Media, and Events Assistant

Third time is a charm? That’s for sure when it comes to StrEAT Food Festival! This past Saturday, September 21, marked Manayunk’s third time hosting the event and it was as successful as ever!  While earlier forecasts predicted some clouds and rain, we crossed our fingers hard and it ended up being a beautiful, bright and sunny day! Despite the street being open to traffic, leaving only the sidewalk for food lines, maneuvering guests, and the usual outdoor restaurant seating, the crowd remained pleasant and organized.

With over 40 food vendors lining Main Street, there really was something for everyone! Options ranged from cupcakes and burgers to Korean tacos and fresh ears of corn! With such a wide variety, it was difficult to choose just one… so I didn’t! After looking over the map and planning out which vendors I just HAD to try, my taste testing experience began. I decided on Mac Mart Cart’s “BBQ-in-a-Bowl”, a fresh ear of corn from The Corn Lady, PJ Whelihan’s spicy-honey buffalo wings, a Sweet Box cinnamon swirl cupcake, and finally, my absolute FAVORITE dish of the day, jerk chicken quesadilla’s with pineapple salsa from Vernalicious.

While that seems like a ton of food, I barely even scratched the surface of all that StrEAT Fest had to offer! The long, but bearable, lines were an obvious sign that everything here was as delicious as it sounded (and smelled)! A crowd favorite appeared to be The Cow and The Curd, as everywhere you turned guests could be found enjoying an order of their Wisconsin Cheddar cheese curds. I didn’t have a chance to try them for myself this time, but I know where I am heading first if they return for StrEAT Food Festival in the Spring!

Also, as guests wandered the streets of the Festival, they probably noticed there was no shortage of apple flavored items to taste. To accompany the Fall festival’s apple theme, vendors and local restaurants were invited to offer a menu item featuring the fruit and to compete to see which dish was the best. The local favorite, The Couch Tomato Café, was the winner in the restaurant category for their "Where's Waldorf" salad (freshly sliced apples, gorgonzola, candied pecans & raisins with poppy seed dressing) and the Mac Mart Cart’s “StrEAT Stuffer” (original Mac topped with Caramelized onions, sautéed Makers Mark granny smith apples & crispy thick cut bacon) won best apple flavored food truck item. Local businesses competed as well for the best apple-themed window display; Latitudes and Longitudes winning for the second time in a row. 

As usual, the StrEAT Food Festival is the big kick off to Manayunk Restaurant Week, which is running from now until Friday, October 4. Twenty-two local restaurants are participating, offering special 3-course menus at 3 special prices ($10, $20, $30).

For a full list of participating restaurants, menus, and to make a reservation via OpenTable, visit: Manayunk.com