Sample bites from 13 restaurants at Taste of Mid City this weekend
Fill your foodie passport with 13 local restaurants by sampling their tasty offerings this weekend at Taste of Mid City.
The Executive Center and Franklin Associates host Taste of Mid City, a celebration of local restaurants and chefs. This family-friendly event will take place on Sunday, March 22, from 1 to 5 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Kids’ Orchestra.
With the purchase of a ticket, guests will have the opportunity to sample specialty dishes from restaurants around the Baton Rouge area. Each attendee will have tokens to vote on their favorite dishes. At the end of the day, the restaurant with the most tokens will receive the “Fan Favorite Award,” and the judge panel will award the best dish in each category separately.
“We leave it up to the restaurants to bring whatever they want, so a lot of times it’s their specialty,” says Jude Franklin, growth manager at Franklin Associates. “We kind of leave it open ended. We want them to really showcase what they want.”
This year’s vendors include Barracuda Taco Stand, French Truck Coffee, 4 on the Geaux Kitchen & Catering, Village Cofe, Elsie’s Plate & Pie, Curbside, Calandro’s Supermarket, Liquid Fix Mobile Bartending, Trap Haus Wellness Bar, Ingle Eats, Mestizo Louisiana-Mexican Cuisine, Brasserie Byronz and Posh Pop.
“I hope [attendees] leave full,” Franklin says. “There’ll be lots of good food. That’s one of the challenges–being able to eat at every single one.”
Kids’ Orchestra of Baton Rouge serves over 1,800 students across south Louisiana by giving students an opportunity to study music, play an instrument and perform in an ensemble. The organization also provided 14,131 after-school meals and snacks to students last school year.
“We’ve been members of the community for so long, so we want to give back in any way we can,” Franklin says. “This is our big contribution, and a lot of other folks donate their time volunteering during the event. It’s not just us, but it’s really a whole community effort.”
Kids’ Orchestra, Baton Rouge Music Studios and the John Gray trio will perform live music at Taste of Mid City. There will also be kid-friendly fun, such as games and a visit from the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Bookmobile. Attendees are encouraged to support the cause through various activities, including the silent auction, which is also available online.
“We just wanted to do something for our community that’s been our home. It does so much for us, so we wanted to be contributing members of the community in that way,” Franklin says. “I want them to leave knowing that they’ve supported a good cause, a good organization and Kids’ Orchestra, but also had fun.”
