A few weeks ago, we got the opportunity to volunteer at and attend the 20th Annual Taste of Downtown. It was so much fun!
If you don't know what Taste of Downtown is, it's when 40 or so downtown Visalia restaurants open their doors and let attendees sample one of their delicious dishes. Those attending have one ticket, which gets marked at every visited restaurant. The goal is to sample as many restaurants as possible; this year sampling 15+ meant getting entered to win a prize!
I absolutely love this event for two reasons:
1) It will get people out of their (food) comfort zone Throughout the night, I tasted and loved dishes that I would never normally have ordered off the menu, and I know I'm not the only one! People got the chance to try new things, discover new favorites, and experience the amazing variety of food options in Visalia.
2) It brings the whole county together We were the official ticket markers at Akarmaru for the first two hours of the event, and one of my favorite things to do while marking the tickets was ask people about their night, which restaurant(s) they liked the best so far.. etc. In the midst of these conversations, quite a few people told us that they had traveled to Visalia from elsewhere in the county just for this event! I spent the night with the biggest smile on my face, knowing that people throughout the county love the food here as much as I do!
So, in short, I can't wait for next year's Taste of Downtown!
If you've never attended, do it. And in the mean time, get out there and see what delicious food this town has to offer.
Here's to trying new things, and really getting a taste of Visalia.
