By Lara Alexander
29th annual Taste of Edmonds
In its 29th year, A Taste of Edmonds — one of South Snohomish County’s largest festivals — is gearing up for a great time on Aug. 12, 13 and 14. Festival goers can expect three stages of entertainment, over 35 food booths, a children’s area, a beer garden and a wine garden.
Although rocking with the ’80s rock band The Smithereens on the Main Stage or Jimmy Hendrix tribute Randy Hansen on the Budweiser Stage sounds like fun, the highlight of the Taste is cruising the food booths. You can expect to find some of your festival favorites, including roasted corn, Zieglers juicy Bratwurst, Shishkaberry chocolate-covered strawberries, and Biringer Farm strawberry shortcakes.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the locals folks who will be serving up their own festival food as well. Demetri’s Woodstove Taverna will offer lamb, prawn and pork sliders, and crab and artichoke dip. Demetri’s is a newer addition to Edmonds, located next to the ferry dock. They are a Mediterranean tapas restaurant, serving up small plates, wine and mixed drinks. Check them out on Saturdays for live music.
Other local options for A Taste of Edmonds include:
-Pagliacci Pizza selling slices of their gourmet pizzas.
– Kafe Neo offering lamb, chicken and vegetarian gyros, hummus and baklava.
– Scotty’s Northwest catering dishing up salmon, shrimp Cesar salads, and chowder.
– Smoke This BBQ, an Edmonds “competition style” Pitmaster, smoking up baby back ribs to serve with coleslaw and beans.
Save up your appetite and see you in a month!
A Taste of Edmonds
August 12, 13, & 14
Friday & Saturday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. -7 p.m.
All quiet at Bill the Butcher
Almost two months ago, this column wrote excitedly – and not for the first time – about the expected opening of Bill the Butcher on Main Street. “We will have the doors open before school gets out!” CEO and co-founder J’Amy Owens had promised during a May interview.
My Edmonds News first reported on the local butcher chain’s expansion into Edmonds in October of 2010, quoting that fall as the timeline for opening. “We are getting closer,” said Bill the Butcher Marketing Director Alan Brown in February 2011. Now that it’s been almost a year since the butcher paper went up on the window, folks are wondering if they will ever see a butcher shop on the corner of 4th and Main. Owner J’Amy Owens and Marketing Director Alan Brown did not return recent email inquiries regarding the delay.
A culinary adventurer, Lara Alexander grows, cooks and writes about food from her home in Edmonds. You can read about her garden and kitchen fun on the blog Food-Soil-Thread.
I think that this is a joke. It doesnt take 2 years to open a store unless you are bankrupt.
What is it with Edmond’s stores that feel they can do this? First it was the 50’s diner now the butcher shop? These store owners either did not have a business plan when they decided to open in downtown Edmonds, or they think the residents are more tolerant of being jerked around than they are.
For those who were wondering, I just received word from the City of Edmonds that there are no permit issues delaying the Bill the Butcher opening. To quote an email from Stephen Clifton, Director of Community Services and Economic Development:
“We are not aware of issues that would be holding up the opening. The applicant (Bill the Butcher) needs building and fire final inspections, but the applicant is the one that calls for the inspection(s) when they’re ready. To date, the City has not received a request for these inspections.”
Their CEO claims they want to be the Starbucks of meat. I’d say that before she gets too excited about opening stores from San Francisco to Denver, she needs to work on building trust in this area. I think she has a long way to go.
She can count me as someone who was once excited about this new store but is now cautious and wary. PCC sets a high bar for them to get over. I’m pretty happy with PCC’s selection and I trust them.