With more than 30 restaurants each serving up three of its dishes, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to add up the amount of different food choices that will be available at Taste of Charlotte. Whatever your liking, from sushi to barbecue chicken to vegan cheesecake, this festival is the most efficient way to try as much of what the city's restaurants have to offer in the shortest amount of time.
Since the first Taste more than a decade ago, the event has added the MarketPlace, an area for vendors to sell homemade crafts and jewelry, and the Crossroads, an area for kids to participate in games and activities. The festival starts Friday at 11 a.m., and by that evening, judges will have tried nearly 100 food samples and will award the restaurant that has this year's Best of the Taste.
Admission is free, coins are available for purchase to get food and drink samples. June 7-8, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., June 9 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Festival located on Tryon Street, between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 6th Street. www.tasteofcharlotte.com.