Taste of the North Country is next week: 37 eateries & back on the grass

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

The Glens Falls Kiwanis Club’s 23rd annual Taste of the North Country food festival is next Sunday, Sept. 27, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the interior of City Park.

“We’re back on the grass,” organizer Jerrod Ogden told The Chronicle.

Ever since 2009, the restaurants had to set up so that festival goers stood in line on streets and sidewalks around City Park.

It was an effort to protect the new grass after the park was renovated by the Glens Falls Business Improvement District.

Now, says Jerrod, “we’re going back to the traditional Taste of the North Country. It means we can concentrate more on the food than the street.”

He said 37 restaurants have signed on for the festival to date. He’s still hoping to corral a few more. Last year they had 42.

Mr. Ogden notes that the Anvil Inn returns as the only restaurant to have attended every year since the event began.

Notable among those not returning is The Sagamore Resort, which cited staffing difficulties, he said.

This year, food sample tickets will be sold for $1, rather than 50¢ each. Mr. Odgen figures sample costs will remain about the same, ranging from 1 to 4 sample tickets, rather than 2 to 8.

Kiwanis made the change in large part to reduce the number of tickets they need to count after the event — a logistical gain, the club hopes. “We’ll see how it works,” Mr. Ogden said.

Admission is $5, under 18 free.

The official Taste program — including menus from each restaurant — will be printed in next week’s Chronicle. The Chronicle has been Taste’s lead sponsor ever since Rick and Anne Fuller and the Kiwanis Club launched the event.

‘Taste’ restaurants, so far

Here are the eateries who’ve signed up:

Adirondack Bar & Grill, Algonquin Restaurant, Angelina’s Pizzeria, The Anvil Restaurant, Blue Moose Restaurant, Bogey’s at Bay Meadows, Chez Pierre Restaurant, Cool Beans, Cornerstone Pizza Café, Davidson Brothers Restaurant, Dizzy Chicken Rotisserie, The Docksider Restaurant and Downtown City Tavern.

Also, East End Eatery, Friends Lake Inn, Full Moon Bar & Grille, Giovannas on the Lake, Glen at Hiland Meadows, Gourmet Café, The Grist Mill, Heidelberg Restaurant, Hometown Smoothies, The Inn at Erlowest, Juicin Jar and Mario’s Restaurant.

Also, Mikado Restaurant, Morgan & Co., Olde Post Grille, O’Pablo’s Food Truck, O’Toole’s Restaurant, The Queensbury Hotel, Rock Hill Bake House, Samantha’s Café, Siam Thai Sushi Restaurant, SUNY Adirondack Culinary Program, Talk of the Town Restaurant and Thai Sushi Aroydee.

Culinary Demos are by Christian Bishop of Morgan and Co. Restaurant, SUNY Adirondack Culinary Arts director Matthew Bolton, and gluten-free cookbook author Amy Rota-Poulin.

Info: GlensFallsTaste.com.

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