Taste of Edmonds

This event needs to be renamed to «Tasteless in Edmonds» This review is mostly negative but I do mention a few good things we found.
The first problem was the entry fee. Paying money to have the privilege of buying stuff is a poor policy.
Also there was zero control of the money at the gate. No tickets, no receipts, just hand us some cash and you walk in. I would be very surprised if their was not some fraud going on here.
Then there was being forced to walk the zig zag gauntlet of crappy vendors, some of whom were quite pushy. What makes them think I have come to an event called the taste of Edmonds to get shouted at asking if I need new gutters? There were a few good artisans sprinkled in here and there but overall most were really annoying hucksters or corporate advertisers.
Having finally made it to the food area we were dismayed at the abysmal selection circled around a muddy (and later in the day dusty) dirt track. There was only one or two real restaurants represented and almost none of them were offering sample sized (tapas) meals, just full meals. The rest were mostly fair venues selling horrible fried foods (with some having workers smoking cigarettes over them while they prepared it).
One of the most interesting food vendors was a family selling Mandarin food called «The Insatiable Cat» but when asked, I found out they are unable to afford opening a restaurant. (too bad)
I have given this event one star because this event was a complete failure as to what it is supposed to be about, sampling good food from various local eateries.
I will give a shout out to Scotty’s for being there and offering nice small portions with a variety of appetizing menu samplers. If only there had been many more like them!

Oh — Taste of Edmonds — what happened? YIKES.
As an Edmonds native I used to like the Taste of Edmonds. I used to go every year. This was my first time in ten years because we moved to LA. Having just moved back we were excited to go the Taste. And it is a MESS.
I hate having to pay $ 8 for us to just get in. They started charging admission years ago and I still don’t like it. I also hate that you feel locked in a cage because there are fences surrounding the entire area, But the worst part now is how they set it up. You feel like cattle. You are forced to walk a path and it is so crowded and unpleasant. There are few if any areas to sit and eat. It was just really terrible.
Why would they choose to set up the food vendors around a dusty track??? So then when there is a long line in front of a stall no one can get by because the area to walk is so narrow.
And Kafe Neo — why were you using frozen gyro meat on your gyros? The kind that is pre-​formed in perfectly shaped slabs and have no flavor. Come on.
Then I got my Kaleenka Piroshky (delicious) to take home and then I just wanted to get the heck out of there.
I really hope they change the set up or I will skip it from now on. Which would be sad — because I used to really like the Taste.

Cover charge?! I’m guessing to pay for the same music they’ve been booking for years. Snooze. Overpriced, Fair food, and way too many non-​food vendors. Don’t bother.

Ok, so I am writing this review from a vendor’s standpoint. I am normally a vendor at the Edmonds Farmers Market and I do great at it. So, being in the same town, in the exact same area, I (mistakenly) assumed that this would be a great event for me. Oh, how I was mistaken! Here is what I learned:
1. Almost no one who lives in downtown Edmonds actually GOES to this event. I really felt like I was working the Puyallup Fair (enough said).
2. As mentioned before, the food is all located around a dirt track. I saw a constant haze of dirt in the air the whole time.
3. I didn’t see a single nice restaurant there. All of the food vendors that I saw were fair food vendors (from deep fried PB&J to elephant ears). Not my choice of good eats!
4. After a nice setup experience, I never once saw anyone from the event checking up on things.
5. The line to the beer garden was insane. Waiting forever to get in to buy some overpriced beers is not my idea of a good time.
6. I was in the crafters section, and all around me were car dealers, gutter companies, etc. Very few crafters and therefore no motivation for people to come shop.
Lesson learned. Next year I’m staying very clear of this as a vendor or a patron.

There in towns’ center at a tours guides offices to find Taste or Bite fair with a small circle of booths around a arena area and organized by the city commerce, but respect once to entry! Foods booths did vary most and really professional for international flavors, yet not the rows ‘honey pots’ typical in country. Shows may exist on times set sometimes, but added now a climbers chimney! You get packs from booths plus to try wellness events later, or buy crafts off artist’s booths!

I must say that I enjoyed the Taste of Edmonds much more this year. There seemed to be more variety in their shopping selections; fewer of those bland informational booths and businesses selling massed produced junk. I found a really cool ginormous agate ring. This could really be a premier event (especially because of its location), if they would just be more selective in their jurying.
Food was about the same. I usually default to Café Neo and had a gyro which was tasty. Hub had a sausage potato dish from a piroshky place that I found repugnant, but he said it was okay… he is much nicer than I.
This year I came especially to hear a band that was there last year: Coco Loco. They were wonderful… made you want to get up and salsa your buns off. (Although, I missed the trombonist who was not there this year :(Coco Loco:
Nice weather… everyone had a great time.

I live in Seattle and have been going to this event for years for these reasons:
1.Less crowded than The Bite of Seattle.
2. A very small handful of food vendors I want to see.
3. A very small handful of craft vendors I want to see.
The event, as many have pointed out, has very little to do with a «Taste of Edmonds.» Again, there are a few vendors that I enjoy seeing and would prefer to see them here compared to The Bite of Seattle.
I’m still baffled as to why they charge admission. I pay it; it’s not a huge amount of money. However, when I’m being charged money, I don’t enjoy being forced to use honey buckets, standing in a line 30 people deep for the ATM or to be caught in a dust cloud as I walk around looking for some food to eat. Why anyone thinks that dusty track is a great idea is completely beyond me, particularly because there is a green field off to the side where some vendors are located and cars parked (not for the public but for those connected with the event).
The entertainment is often energetic but honestly, I’m one of those people that like music but don’t track the names of bands.
The children’s activities are that same old stuff that is contracted out to those people with the pink slide. You have to pay for everything; the only up side is the lines are often shorter than you would find other places. My kiddo enjoys the rock climbing.
In terms of non-​food booths — honestly, how many times do I need to see Magic Bubble Wands, names written on rice, and 1000 thread count sheets? I would prefer a smaller amount of quality vendors from the north end that do not frequent many of the bigger fairs.
This year, I decided not to go to this event. That being said, I think I may have to go because I have family in town and this is pretty much the only festival they would be able to attend.

Worst ever. Like the previous review for 2011, for 2012 it is still the same. Nothing but commercial vendors but you need to pay $ 3 to get in. Don’t waste your money. I heard night time is better with music and beer garden but I don’t drink.
Edmond’s Saturday market is free and much much better. BYW, I am upset that they skipped Saturday market this Saturday (11^th) to have the Taste of Edmonds…

Really should be free if it is mostly commercial vendors wanting to sell items to you.
The same vendors at Mill Creek’s festival a couple of weeks earlier and it was free. Not really entertaining or worth the price of admission.
Arnies had a great a food booth with delicious salmon tacos for 5 dollars.
They were awesome. But right next to it was someone selling lemonade for 5 dollars for 32 ounces. That was really the problem. A lot of the food vendors were overpriced and not contributing anything. While you had great vendors like Arnies doing Edmonds proud. Mostly it was commercial vendors advertising their products. The music was some young kids who put a lot of heart into it and getting some experience playing before a small group.
I imagine if you went on Sunday night with their best music and beer vendors and stayed for an hour where you found a few good food vendors would be worth attending. I little bit disappointing. Hard to give it 3 stars but I did. Someone put some effort into organizing it.

For the last few years I’ve been to a lot of regional festivals as a vendor. I also make it a point to walk around and survey everything and I can honestly say this is one of the better festivals from a consumer point of view. I don’t like the $ 3 entrance fee and there are plenty of sponsor booths, but there are 38 food vendor booths, lots of activities for families, music (which tends to be pretty hard core) and other activities. There are corporate vendors there but there are also many from the area serving ice cream, frozen custard, sausages, homemade pizza, etc. Compared to festivals like the Taste of Tacoma, where there are almost no local vendors and commercial vendors have multiple booths, this festival seems kind of quaint.
As a vendor, I find that many customers are very friendly and want to know about our products and generally seem to be having a good time. The crowd density is also way less than some of the larger festivals like The Bite of Seattle. It’s a pretty fun place to be and I hope it continues on for another 30 years.

Have you been to any Fair or Event in Edmonds before? Then with the exception of 4 food booths, you’ve already seen all this has to offer. Commercial Vendor after Commercial Vendor after Commercial Vendor. At what point, whilst at a Food Festival, do I need a Frisbee from Chase Bank, or information on vinyl siding for my house? Maybe a neck tie from the guy who sells the mass-​produced, plastic enclosed ties from his 20 tubs at every event? Oh I know — Clearwire. This year, once you walk past the 50 booths of non-​food related junk they make you pass just to get to the main section, you realize that there are only about 10 booths of food, and of those, half are selling popcorn or corn on the cob. Then you realized that the rest are pretty much not from Edmonds. If you do get something, you can either sit in the dirty and over crowded micro-​tent of tables, find a patch of lawn that isn’t covered in trash or soaking wet from the people spraying down the dirt track this food event is surrounded by, or go into the beer or wine area. Between the three stages of uninspired rock bands and the boomboxes from many of the Commercial Vendors, don’t plan on having a normal volume conversation with your friends.
This was my first, and last trip to this event. We paid the $ 3 to get in, spent 20 wandering about wondering where the wonderful food is, then left to go eat somewhere. ‘Nuff said.

Could not agree more with Wing M. I just moved back to Edmonds from NV and having grown up in Edmonds was really disappointed with this years event. It’s downright offensive to be hearded like cattle with no way out past dozens of boths of non local vendors trying to sell you anything they can. Suggestion? Put all the booths in the big field area and let patrons choose which booths they would like to walk by… Next year? Maybe…

Calling it «Taste of Edmonds» is really false advertising. It’s just a collection of commercial vendors and fair food. There are only two local restaurants in the food area.
Rather than pay $ 6 for a Bud in the beer garden, why not spend a pleasant hour sipping a microbrew on the deck at Rory’s.

I take my girls here ever year. Since kids (I think 12 and under) get in free, all of us get in for $ 3. There is free crafts for the kids and enough entertainment that I can keep them away from the tickets inflatables (which I think having to pay for is absurd).
There has never been a lot of restaurants from Edmonds. But then the Bite of Seattle doesn’t really introduce you to restaurants in Seattle like it used to back in the day. You go to The Bite and the longest lines are for vendors that just do fairs and such, don’t even have an establishment you can go to (Corn on Cob, Espi’s, Curly Fries/​Elephant Ear/​Funnel Cakes). I think people WANT fair food, so fair food is what they are given. I did stop by e.pu.lo and get some banana bread pudding with salted caramel sauce. Was OK. I assume it’s better in the restaurant.
My beef with the Taste of Edmonds is two different things. FIRST the location. They do it on a field with everyone walking on a dirt track. It kicks up a TON of dust and whatever you’re wearing on your feet (and stroller if you brought it) ends up covered in this nasty dust.
Second, EVERY YEAR there is a man with a hose spraying people as they walk by to «keep cool». Listen here, if I wanted to be sprayed I would tell you. So would the rest of the people. Stop pissing people off by spraying them when they’re not looking.
If parking is a hassle you can always park at Edmonds Woodway and catch the free shuttle (er, school buses) that take you down every 15 minutes. They drop you right at the entrance and then return you to the parking lot when you’re finished.
In the end it isn’t The Bite — but then it isn’t trying to be.

I like going to the Taste of Edmonds even if the food isn’t really from Edmonds. It’s just another excuse for a fair and this one is pretty decent. And since I only live 4 blocks away, it’s an easy walk as well. And the setup is great for walking around, there are always some freebies, and it’s fun running into people you know. So we were drawn into the beer garden this year to see Sir Mix-​a-​lot and he wasn’t all that great (kinda sounded like a goth version of «big butts»). But a funny thing happened… while we were waiting for Mix, my husband laughs and says «hey look at Rod Stewart over there». Just a few feet away is this dude that looks like Rod but he was just hanging out in the beer garden with nobody swarming him or anything. We laughed it off and kept waiting for the main attraction. Come to find out a few days later that it actually WAS Rod Stewart and he even performed at one of the other venues. So why are all these stars (past stars?) drawn to our little «Taste of Edmonds»? Maybe cuz it’s such a cool town to hang out in :)

YIKES!!! $ 3.00 to get in, $ 5.00 to park, yes we could of taken the hot, steamy germ ladden over crowded screamin’ child bus, so maybe I shouldn’t say anything about the parking fee, so strike that remark on parking. There was only 2 local restaurants featured, so it could of been Vendor’s from all around come to Edmonds. The rest was fair food. The artist and salespeople, all seemed really commercial this year and not a lot of mom and pop stand. The feel was not local home town but let’s make money. The bummer was a lot of smoker’s and there was plenty of no smoking signs. The roasted corn was good but for 4 bucks? Scotty’s Northwest stand has always been good with bbq salmon and cesar salad, this year it was steamed and the salad soggy. Kafe Neo’s Beef/​Lamb Gyro was better here though than at their restaurant (which I reviewed as well), ironic eh? All in all a lot of folks were there and not a lot of tasting it was meal sized portions and most cost 7.00 bucks and up. Note to sandal wearer’s, very dusty and grimey for the toes and shoes. We’ll see if we go again.

Lame!!! I am really disappointed. I grew up in Edmonds, have been to this many times and… the only really good headliner for music was Sir Mix A Lot… and of course the usual drunks were there to watch in their belligerantism… lol Since it was the TASTE of Edmonds, I was trying to figure out how come there were hardly any restaurants from Edmonds participating and mostly vendors, etc that I have seen at other places…

This is, like the Bite of Seattle, more like a huge fair where vendors such as Best Buy and GEICO try to sell you things with fair food such as overpriced fried dough and corndogs. Not a big fan of this stuff since I really expected, once again, mostly local food. However, the Taste of Edmonds has two major things over the Bite of Seattle.
1 — It is much more comfortable to walk around here. Granted, I went on Friday afternoon and it will probably be much more crowded tomorrow, but overall I was much happier not having to push through crowds. Part of this is, I’d guess, due to the $ 3 entrance fee. I’m not really sure that this place is worth the $ 3, though…
2 — The local artists, chefs, bakers, craftsmen and such were mostly really, really friendly and there were quite a lot of folks selling real, honest locally made goods. Sure, there were tons of people advertising for the casino or selling you insurance or trying to get you to buy new siding for your house — it was sad to see that the non-​food vendor list with thrice as long as the food vendor list for the TASTE of Edmonds — but there were also many local artists who were selling their crafts and small businesses selling delicious candies and such.
Overall, I had a good time with some of the booths (the guy selling copper jewelry, for example, was really friendly and so were the fudge people) and the food that I got was actually okay. It was a nice little jaunt though I doubt I will make an effort to do this ever again.