Taste of Utah Valley 2013

Last Saturday I was invited to go to the Taste of Utah Valley with some friends. I had heard of this event before but had never attended. It was basically an outdoor festival with food tasting and samples from a variety of restaurants in Utah Valley. And let me tell you, Utah Valley has some great restaurants.

I got to try food from some familiar places: The Olive Garden, Costa Vida, Utah Valley Convention Center, and Los Hermanos.

I got to try food from some places I'd only been once or twice: Station 22, Heirloom Restaurant Group (think Communal or Mountain West Burrito), Gloria's Little Italy, and Rubio's.

And I got to try food from places I had either never tried or never hear of: Old Towne Grill (hands down my favorite), The Choc'late Mousse Pie Bar, Sweeto Burrito (member of Provo's growing food truck family), and Enliten Bakery and Cafe.

It was a super fun event and a great way to get lunch on a Saturday. (I was stuffed and saved some things for dinner.) While I attended via friends, tickets are usually $10 — and that's definitely a steal! I've heard of several cities across the country doing similar events, so check to see if there's a good option near you! A tasting event is a great way to try new restaurants and get a taste of what's available in your area.

After the event you vote for the following categories: Most Unique, Best Hospitality, Best Presentation, Best Kept Secret, and Best Taste of the Valley. I've tried looking to see who won but no luck yet! (I'm betting Old Towne Grill did for their gourmet hamburgers. They've won in the past and definitely had the longest line for the entire event! Costa Vida's tacos were actually something I took home for later and mmm, mmm, it was pretty good. Crazy I had never tried them.

I didn't get as many pictures as I felt like I was taking but here are a few. The above picture is Olive Garden's sampling of bread/tomato...whatever fancy name that is, and delicious orangey slushie drink. Yea, you can tell I'm a total foodie right? :P

This was the line for Old Towne Grill...we had probably already stood in line for at least 15 minutes at this point.

Utah Valley Convention Center Sample. We had a lot of work events there, and the food was always great. This is...meat...and a fried artichoke heart.

This wasn't up our alley but Station 22 had a polenta crostini with shrimp and grits, covered in a crawfish etoufee. Now THAT's how a foodie talks. And I stole that description from their Facebook page.  

Oh man, who had this? I don't remember. Penne with sauce and red velvety dessert. That's me again.

Sweeto Burrito food truck sample. It was good.