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When: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Heartland of America Park, 800 Douglas St., and Lewis & Clark Landing, 345 Riverfront Drive.
Admission: Free.
Information: www.tasteofomaha.info and 346-8003.
Some of the area's top chefs will abandon the comfort of their kitchens this weekend to cook in tents pitched along the riverfront.
Food lovers can enjoy their signature dishes in the great outdoors Friday through Sunday for the 13th annual Taste of Omaha.
“This is a unique opportunity,” said Mike Mancuso, the festival organizer. “Where are you going to get calamari, cactus salad, buffalo sliders and Jamaican jerked chicken at an outdoor festival other than at the Taste of Omaha?”
Throughout the festival, musical groups — some local and some national touring acts — will perform almost nonstop on outdoor stages. There is a culinary stage where local chefs will demonstrate their special dishes and sometimes pair them with wines for tasting. A kids' zone will offer almost nonstop entertainment for children. And there are amusement rides for young and old.
Mancuso says the twist on fine dining — enjoying restaurant fare at a casual outdoor festival — gets more popular every year and more cities are hosting similar events. London started a taste festival about seven years ago, and Dubai, Sydney and Amsterdam also have taste festivals, he said.
Inspired by these international festivals, Mancuso has arranged for this year's Taste of Omaha to have a World Tour Pavilion in the southern half of Lewis & Clark Landing.
The featured countries and restaurants are: Germany, Zum Biergarten; Italy, Zurlo's Bistro Italiano; Spain, Espaņa Tapas Bar; Mexico, Maria Bonita; and British, Fox and Hound Pub.
Mancuso says more than 40 restaurants, plus several vendors with local foods such as roasted sweet corn and ice cream, are participating this year.
“Cascio's and Piccolo Pete's, a couple of the oldest restaurants in town, will be here,” he said. “And there will be restaurants that started just a couple months ago, like Zurlo's Bistro Italiano and Maria Bonita.”
Caribbean, Jamaican, Greek, Thai, Italian, German and classic American home cooking will be represented in the restaurant lineup.
Big Mama's Kitchen will serve fried chicken and turn sweet potato ice cream into a “sandwich” with two cookies. Ted's Nebraska Grill will make “sliders” with ground buffalo. Red Zone Barbecue will serve barbecued nachos.
“This is the event for food lovers,” Mancuso said. “Just think of all the aromas you will enjoy as you walk around and watch the chefs prepare food and enjoy the other activities of the festival."
Contact the writer:
444-1052, jane.palmer@owh.com
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