Local eateries offer Taste of Muskegon

June 10, 2010
by Brielle Vance
Muskegon Chronicle

Nearly 20,000 hungry people are expected to converge on Western Avenue when local establishments offer samples of their specialty dishes during the fourth annual Taste of Muskegon .

Festivities kick off at 11 a.m. June 19. Admission to the event is free with food priced from $1 to $5 and drinks, including Michigan beer and wine samples, for $1 per sample in the Taste Garden.

Cooking demonstrations will take place both days at the food expo stage. Chefs from the Culinary Institute of Michigan and Mia and Grace Bakery Bistro will teach bystanders how to make some new dishes.

A kids’ area will be open to entertain children during the weekend. There will be crafts, face painting, and inflatable playgrounds.

The Muskegon Main Street Car and Bike Show will start at 9 a.m. Sunday with food vendors opening at 11 a.m. and the Taste Garden at noon. Also on Sunday, an awards ceremony for the car show is set for 2 p.m. and, at 4 p.m., a Taste of Muskegon awards ceremony will begin to wrap up the event.

“This year, we’re having a Green Restaurant Award to recognize the restaurant that does the best job to minimize it’s environmental impact,” said Dan Rinsema-Sybenga, Taste of Muskegon committee member. “We’re trying to focus on environmentally friendly aspects of the festival. We are going to recycle and try not to put as much in the landfill. With this new award, we’re trying to encourage local restaurants to do the same.”

Twenty-one vendors are scheduled to participate. They include: Bellacino’s Pizza and Grinders, Bernie O’s Pizza, Bonfire Grill, Buffalo Wild Wings, The Coffee House, Donnie’s BBQ, Hobo’s Tavern, House of Chan, Lefty and Romos’, Main Street Pub and Eatery, Mr. B’s Pancake House, Muskegon Athletic Club, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Red Robin, The Roast Bistro, Russ’, Ruth Ann’s Ice Cream, Teddy Spaghetti’s, Stonegate Bar and Grille, Texas Roadhouse, and West Michigan Lakeshore Student Chef Association.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Muskegon Main Street and United Way of the Lakeshore, both non-profit organizations.