The kick-off to summer festivals is right around the corner, and although we can’t gather collectively yet to celebrate, our favorite foodie festival has moved itself online for all to enjoy! The Taste of Syracuse goes virtual this year on June 5^th and 6^th, 2020.

The Food

There are currently 13 food vendors signed on and offering specials from their take-out menu. While they may not all be offering those $1 deals we’ve come to love, they are all offering special deals and pricing on certain menu items.

DIY

For those of us who have been working on our cooking skills during this stay-at-home period, now is the time to test your new-found abilities. Taste of Syracuse has worked with partnering restaurants to post recipes to some of our favorite staples. With recipes for  Dominick’s Chicken Riggies, Creole Soul Café’s Nawlins Dirty Rice and Eva’s European Sweets Potato Pierogies, you’ll be . If you’re cooking skills are as good as you think they are, you can even compete to be a TOPS Chef and win a $50 gift card to both Tops Friendly Markets and a local restaurant.

If you’ve been spending more of your time at home making drinks, don’t worry, there’s an option for you too! Check out 1911’s Watermelon Mint Gin-Up recipe and become your own mixologist.

The Entertainment

Beginning each day at 6pm, virtual Taste is offering a variety of entertainment options, from live music to food segments and even a “best of” music offering from year’s past. Hear from some of your favorite culinary spots like Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Glazed & Confused, Chi’Soul Food and Kasai Ramen, or just tune-in for the musical stylings of Cheap Trick, Sophistafunk, Soul Risin’, The Dead Daisies and more!

How to Participate

Head to the Taste of Syracuse website for the list of participating restaurants, recipes and TOPS Chef contest details.

You can also catch the live performances and entertainment on the website or the Taste of Syracuse Facebook page.

Donate

Each year the Taste of Syracuse partners with local charities and this year is no different. Donations are being accepted now for the Food Bank of CNY. As an extra bonus, those that donate to the Food Bank of CNY during the festival, post about it on social media and tag both the Taste of Syracuse and The Summit Federal Credit Union will be entered to win a Visa gift card.

Plan

Use this time to start planning just how much food you can eat at next year’s 2021 festival!