Buffalo Chow Upcoming Food Events

Four days of barbecue. Free admission at lunchtime, $5 at dinner for adults, and free admission for kids under 12. You pay your own way through the festival's vendors, who generally charge $6 and up for lunch items, or $9 and up for dinner items. Awards will be offered for the best ribs, best sauce, and People's Choice; items to be offered include ribs, chicken, brisket, pulled pork, cornbread, baked beans, and more.

As the second-largest food festival in the United States, the Taste of Buffalo offers summertime access to roughly 60 local restaurants, multiple local wineries, and over 450,000 people. With a strong focus on American and European fare, particularly Italian, Polish, and Irish food, as well as Soul Food and Caribbean restaurants, the Taste of Buffalo has also accommodated notable local Indian restaurants, but had less impressive showings from other Asian cuisines.

With 55 vendors of Italian and American foods, ranging from sausages and tripe to gelato and cannoli, the Italian Heritage Festival runs for four days in 2009 on Hertel Avenue in Buffalo.

With a number of Lebanese foods on offer - including falafel, hummos, Lebanese cheese and rice, shish kabob, and Sajj-baked Za'atar pizza, plus Lebanese desserts and coffees - the WNY Lebanese Festival started out as a church gathering but has evolved into something closer to a food festival with children's attractions and dancing.

Though the 2008 Taste of Niagara was cancelled due to underpromotion, the 2009 event has been scheduled for three days in July. While details were not public as of the date of this entry's creation, the 2007 event hosted numerous vendors and awards across 11 categories, including multiple pizza, BBQ, and dessert options.