If you were looking for something, anything, to do on Thursday, August 17th, you didn’t need to look any farther than the 15th annual Taste of Douglas County. Held at the beautiful Douglas County Events Center, and billed as one of the, if not the, premier food tasting events in the area, it certainly lived up to the hype. Food samples, a cooking competition, craft beer demonstration, and a cooking demonstration all highlighted the evening. Attendees were able to sample food from local favorites like Old Stone Church, Crave Real Burgers, Old Chicago, Pegasus Restaurant, and Fowl Line Sports Grill.
If you were looking for ethnic cuisine, John Holly’s Asian Bistro, India’s Castle, China Café, Brio Tuscan Grill, and Surena Persian Cuisine were there to please. Everybody loves pizza, so visitors enjoyed Stumpy’s, Dominos, Uncle Maddio’s, Little Caesar’s, and Larkspur Pizzaria. Kneader’s Bakery & Café offered baked goods, Tailgate Tavern of Parker offered buffalo wings, and The Donut House offered donuts (donuts in the evening? People loved them).
Still not full? How about a sub from Jersey Mike’s, chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A, or roast beef with mashed potatoes from Black-Eyed Pea. Wash it all down with wine from Purgatory Winery, a craft beer sample from Castle Rock Beer Company, or go exotic with an Imperial Beer of Costa Rica. Coffee from Enchanted Grounds for those so inclined. Maybe grab some gourmet popcorn from Colorado Kernels or a scoop of ice cream from Briccy’s on your way out the door.
The cooking competition was fabulous, fierce. Seven area chefs squared off and made the final decision for judges tremendously difficult. Adam Freisem of Castle Rock Adventist Hospital took first for the second year in a row. Second place went to Lisa Storey of Mama Lisa’s Little Italy, and third place to Steve Kanatzer of The Airplane Restaurant of Colorado Springs. Jose Guerrero of The Viewhouse Restaurants was selected for the People’s Choice Award.
SYSCO Foods brought their corporate chefs and they provided cooking demonstrations, maybe giving visitors an idea or two of what they could serve in their own homes. And Overdrive Raceway in Monument even brought a race car for people to ogle over.
So, it was a good evening. No, a great evening. A big thanks to the huge crowd that attended, all the exhibitors who participated, and to all the sponsors who helped make it happen. If you attended, you know what a nice evening it was. If you missed it, check out my website because the 16th annual is coming up in August, 2018.
