We have dueling Taste ofs (Tastes of?) this week. On Thursday, Nov. 2, you can nibble on Thornton Park and then bite of some Baldwin Park. Or maybe not. I’ll explain in a moment.
Let’s look at the 22nd Annual Taste of Thornton Park first. Set up around the fountain at the intersection of Hyer Avenue and Washington Street, TOTP will run from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. with live music and nibbles and sips from such Thornton Park eateries as Stubborn Mule, RusTeak, Jinya, Graffiti Junktion, Island Time, Cavo’s and the just-opened Jack & Honey’s, plus many more.
Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the door. (Please note, there will not be an actual door at the event.) Adults only – according to the official site, “children, strollers and pets not permitted.” You’d think it wouldn’t be necessary to list strollers once you’ve said children not allowed, but some lazy adults might try to get clever. Get your early tickets here and check the full list of vendors.
Now let’s take a look at Taste of Baldwin Park Food & Wine, an event that is notable for its dearth of participants from Baldwin Park. In fact, looking over the list of approximately 35 eateries on the event’s sales page, I can only identify one restaurant – Gator’s Dockside – that I’m certain has a location in BP.
Other’s include: Bites & Bubbles (Mills 50); Dubsdread Catering (College Park); Slate (Restaurant Row, Sand Lake Road); Tabla Indian (Orlando, Winter Park, Lake Nona and Oviedo); Better Than Sex (Ivanhoe Village); and Yak & Yeti Restaurant (Disney’s Animal Kingdom, for crying out loud).
These community Taste of events are meant to showcase businesses from those neighborhoods.
No Osprey, no Colibri, no Seito Sushi, no Taste of Chengdu. How does this qualify as a Taste of Baldwin Park?
Tickets are $70 if purchased online today and $80 after and at the event. There is also a VIP ticket priced at $100 today and $150 day of.
Much higher admission fee than Thornton Park, too. Makes me wonder if the organizers have to cover travel expenses for the vendors.
