A collection of the city's best restaurants, put out their best wares Wednesday, offering a taste at what the entire public will get at Summerfest's food pavilion Sunday, Aug. 19.
"We ran out of food twice, last year, we even had to go shopping for more ingredients during the event," said White Goose Bistro owner Ryan Cyre. "It was a blast last year and we will be even better prepared this year. We will be in the pavilion but we will also open the restaurant for those who want the extended version of what we're offering."
Sassafrass, the cafe at the Gold Cap Motor Inn, has never taken part in Summerfest despite being located downtown for the past 11 years. This year, they're in.
"It's time to step it up a notch, find a new market, and the more people who know about the food services of downtown might also come out and find other things downtown has to offer," said owner April Ottesen. "It also challenges us in the kitchen, to try new things."
Oooh Chocolat proprietor Caroline Longhurst said she took the trouble to move her entire business downtown so taking part in Summerfest was an easy decision. She said even if the weather is hot, "no worries, I'll have refrigeration, it's all good," for her dessert confections. She had plates of samples at the appetizer event, and promised those were relatively conservative for what her actual Summerfest array would be.
For Jeyakaran Singarajah and Vijayamalini Jeyakaran, operators of Spicy Greens restaurant, last year's Summerfest was such a success that signing up again this year was a simple choice.
"We don't know what we're going to do, we are still in the planning stages," said Eoin Foley, one of the owners of Nancy O's Pub, which just switched licenses from food-primary to liquor-primary in the past year. "We're a different business than we were last year, but we will definitely be part of the taste pavilion and we will definitely have a presence on our street because Summerfest is happening right out in front of us this year. This event is so fantastic for the whole city, and we'll support it any way we can."
Organized by the city's Downtown Business Improvement Association, the summer street extravaganza is a showcase for the city's core. DBIA president Rod Holmes said food was a natural feature of the northern capital's downtown personality.
"I had a friend in from out of town the other day and we went for lunch, and we had a choice of four really good options all within two blocks, and the food we got was really good," he said. "One of the joys of working downtown as I do is, it's all available so easy for me. In the past year or two there has been a real uplifting change in our downtown and a lot of it has to do with food."
Off the top of his head he rattled off 11 food establishments within three blocks of City Hall, as a testament to the growing culinary menu in the city.
He observed during the VIP appetizer that none of the participating restaurants had a lonely station, and the many chefs and restaurateurs were making time to mingle with the others and sample everyone's wares.
The Wednesday event was hosted by the Coast Inn of the North. Their food services manager Paul Robison made sure their own food station was a favourite stop for those passing through, and that all the other food establishments had all the support they needed.
Summerfest 2012 happens Aug. 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with more than 30 commercial exhibitors already signed on, as well as musicians and other entertainers on stage and a host of other family activities.
