Ode to Grazing: Chew Chew Day 1

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Another year, another Chew Chew Festival on the Waterfront. Day 1 has concluded, and I was there to check it out. The weather on Friday night could not have been nicer–not too hot, not too cool, no rain, and just a breath of a breeze to keep it from being too sticky. I was a little disappointed to learn this year that the festival charges admission ($2 for adults) in addition to the $5 for 9 tokens. It’s not surprising, though, with the cost of everything on the planet going up these days, and they haven’t raised their prices for tokens in many years. There were 3 food tents featuring 24 booths and approximately 72 menu items (40 new ones this year). Menu items ranged in price from 2 tokens to 4.

I think I may have said earlier this week that I was disappointed that the food choices weren’t more exotic, but the more I think about it, I think the food choices were quite diverse, it’s just that I’m eating at more ethnic restaurants these days, so Samosas, Pakistani Food, Vietnamese food, etc. aren’t really “exotic” to me any more. Anyway, I said I’d try as many things as possible and report back on them, and so I did. It’s a tough job, but. . . .actually, who am I kidding? It’s not a tough job at all. I love grazing. Give me a buffet any day. I want to sample tiny portions of as many different things as I can before my stomach cannot stretch outward any further. The only downside of buffets or food festivals like this is that it’s impossible to try everything, and everything usually looks pretty good. So you have to start prioritizing.

The way I do this is to try new and appealing food items first, then go with foods I’ve had before, but from a restaurant I haven’t eaten at, and finally, go with the old standbys. The first thing I HAD to try were the zucchini fries (3 tokens), presented by The Lincoln Inn (Essex). I’ve eaten at the Lincoln Inn before (very cool place with live music), but I have never even heard of zucchini fries, let alone tried them before. Oh. My. GAWD. I thought sweet potato fries were fantastic, these fries were over the moon terrific! They had some sort of breading on them that made them a little crispy. Best fries I’ve ever had. I would definitely order these at the restaurant and recommend them highly.

Next up was the cajun catfish taco (4 tokens) from Bueno y Sano (College Street). This was a zesty little taco with great, sweet breaded catfish in a soft taco shell with a little shredded lettuce and diced tomato, but the kick came from the tangy creole dressing. I loved it, but if you don’t have high tolerance for spicy, you might want to ask them to hold the dressing. I went back to Bueno y Sano to try the chargrilled jalapeno (2 tokens) stuffed with cream cheese and diced mushroom. The cream cheese mushroom filling was delicious, but the jalapeno got the better of me–talk about hot! I gave it the old college try, finishing 3/4 of it (and 3/4 of a bottle of water in the process!), but just couldn’t eat that last bite. My lips were still burning an hour later. (Don’t go to the restaurant expecting to find this item; it was not on the menu I picked up at the booth.) Bueno y Sano is a Mexican restaurant I hadn’t had a chance to try yet, so I was glad to do so, and I have to say, the prices for the restaurant are very reasonable (read: cheap!), so they’ll be seeing me again.

I then tried the tofu eggroll (3 tokens) at M-Saigon (Shelburne Road, South Burlington), a new Vietnamese restaurant. I have not had the privilege of eating there yet, but I certainly will add it to my list now. The tofu eggroll was scrumptious. I dipped it in the hoisin sauce (couldn’t take the hot sauce at this point), which was the perfect choice. After the first bite, I was a little surprised to see that it was orange inside. I’m not sure what I expected, but not that. In any case, it was really a delight. Good choice on my part.

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I usually can’t resist something sweet after eating hot and spicy foods at the festival. My dessert choice for Friday night was my old standby, strawberry shortcake (4 tokens) from Sam Mazza’s Farm booth, because it just isn’t summer until I’ve had a strawberry shortcake. Mmmm. It was a generous portion, too, so it really hit the spot. By that time, I was quite full and wasn’t sure I’d be able to push myself up the hill to where I’d parked my car.

The food isn’t the only draw at the festival, of course. There is live music, Vermont food products for sale, Vermont jewelry and crafts for sale, games for the kids, and a rock climbing wall. On Friday night, the HitMen (a cover band) were playing in the big tent, while Mango Jam, a cajun and zydeco band, played the much smaller Kiss The Cook stage, and I have to say, I liked Mango Jam better. (Sorry Hitmen.)

You should not feel in the least out of place being alone at the Chew Chew Festival. I saw other solos there, and noticed that a number of people who were there together split up at various points because they wanted to try different foods, so there were often quite a few people wandering around alone who might or might not be alone. Plus, nobody is focused on who else is there, all anyone is focused on is the food. So if you’re in Burlington, don’t let being alone deter you from going. You’ve still got 2 days to enjoy the great food. See you there!