Cambridge Taste returned to University Park in Central Square for its 19th annual food festival Wednesday, giving festivalgoers two hours of unlimited food and drink samples from 44 vendors.
Vendors donate their time, staff and food to the event, using sponsor-provided kitchen supplies so the proceeds of ticket – $72 each – can go to benefit local charities. This year’s beneficiaries were Cambridge Camping, Tutoring Plus and the Barron Scholarship Fund. The event has raised more than $350,000 since its launch.
With ample seating in the park and buckets of free water bottles, attendees could relax in the shade on an 82-degree evening and listen to the DJ as they scoped out their next bite.
Here are the 10 best thing I tried:
Barbacoa taco
Mestizo Modern Mexican
After a multiday heat wave, a nice taco was exactly what I needed to feel and taste the joys of summer again. Served on a warm corn tortilla, the juicy, flavorful barbacoa meat paired well with pickled cabbage, avocado and cilantro. Members of the Mestizo team passed out business cards inviting festivalgoers to its all-you-can-eat taco nights in Kendall Square every Sunday after 4 o’clock.
Blood orange hibiscus iced tea “sangria”
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
On a hot summer day, this is exactly what I’ll need (and thankfully, CSCA gave out coupons for another drink at its Porter Square cafe). Made with Mem Tea products, the nonalcoholic sangria blended blood orange and hibiscus beautifully. The refreshing berry drink was served over ample amounts of ice and garnished with a smashed blueberry.
White chocolate raspberry macaron
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Macarons are a hard pastry to make, but not for the chefs at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. While the white chocolate cookie pieces presented a firm bite into a soft pastry, the star of the dessert was the delectably light and refreshing raspberry filling. I’m not usually a fan of macarons, but I’ll be dreaming about these until I get my hands on another one.
Cornbread
The Smoke Shop BBQ
The Smoke Shop BBQ’s cornbread was light, not too dense, and all-around perfect. While I didn’t love the pulled pork it was paired with, I can only imagine how delicious the cornbread would be warm and buttered at the restaurant.
Crispy chicken poblano salad
Just Salad
The Crispy Chicken Poblano Salad was an amazing palate cleanser between a lot of heavy bites. With grated cotija cheese, lime, avocado and roasted corn, the salad looked appealing – but the homemade smoky poblano dressing made it taste even better. The dressing had just enough of a kick to brighten up a common concoction of ingredients. I’ll be using my Cambridge Taste coupon code to get a full serving at its North Point location.
Griddle corn cake with salmon pate
Russell House Tavern
Russell House Tavern served a dish not on its regular menu: griddle corn cakes topped with salmon pate. The corn cake was small, resembling in every way a pancake, with bits of corn throughout. The salmon pate livened the dish with its smooth, smoky flavoring, reminiscent of an afternoon tea finger sandwich.
Snap pea Caesar
Gufo
After reading about this dish, the one Madeleine Aitken was dreaming about at the Taste of Somerville, I was eager to get my hands on it at my first Cambridge Taste. Gufo’s snap pea Caesar is a dish of sliced snap peas coated in a creamy Caesar dressing with crispy breadcrumbs on top. The balance between the few, simple ingredients maintained the power of the snap pea and married it well with the classic Caesar elements.
Spicy crunchy cucumbers
Sumiao Hunan Kitchen
Exactly as its name says: crunchy upon the first few bites, spicy when the chili oil hits. The dish is served as an appetizer at the Kendall Square restaurant, which was named Boston Magazine’s Best Chinese Restaurant of the year.
Chasing Summer mocktail
Paperback Tavern
This mocktail from a Hyatt Regency hotel eatery in Area II featured pineapple and lychee blended in a lemonade. While the lychee flavoring was lost, the pineapple lemonade was cravable. I went back for a second cup and then a third.
Sourdough bread
Iggy’s Bread
As a huge bread lover, my eyes were drawn to the gigantic wheels of sourdough from across the festival. The sourdough roll came buttered with a crisp crust and delicate, soft inside. The owners of Iggy’s Bread run the Imagine cafe at 358 Huron Ave. – named a best bakery-cafe of the year by Boston Magazine, which I’ll be checking out next.
A stronger
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