Philly Farm and Food Fest 2013

Philly Farm and Food Fest celebrated its second year at the Philadelphia Convention Center on Sunday, April 14, 2013. The event featured many regional farmers, food producers, artisanal food businesses, and other providers of sustainable goods and services. The event was buzzing with hungry visitors enjoying countless samples from friendly vendors and an overall atmosphere of support for local businesses and sustainable food.

The only thing bigger than the venue and number of vendors was the produce itself!

A clear favorite at the event was Owowcow. After overhearing someone in line commenting on the “cult following” for their creamy scoops, our excitement to try their flavors increased tenfold. The bacon salted caramel was a wondrous savory-sweet swirl of two main ingredients that tasted even better together. The bacon was soft, but not soggy, and paired with an ample amount of caramel, it was reminiscent of bacon and maple syrup at breakfast. Other flavors on hand included Tahitian cherry, blueberry lemon, savory nut, and honey lavender. The vendors were kind and friendly, giving generous scoops and happily letting people try more than one flavor.

The smooth and pungent pesto and feta blend from Hillacres Pride was perfect as a spread atop slices of toast or simply spooned up on its own. It even works well warm, melted over pasta or baked on bread.

Never have we tasted fresher preserves than the blueberry preserves by Tait Farm Foods. It was like popping fresh blueberries into our mouths; not a trace of sugary-sweet syrup was to be found. The fig and honey conserve was also delicious, brimming with sweet figs, great on its own or as a spread.

Fan-favorite Little Baby’s Ice Cream dished out mini-scoops of three different flavors and probably had the longest line of all the vendors. The peanut butter maple tarragon was savory-sweet with the faintest hint of the namesake herb.

Capogiro’s mango sorbetto was a tropical refresher for the palette. Nice and light, it was easy to make room for in our already full stomachs!

Ric’s Bread had all sorts of loaves on hand; the cinnamon swirl was especially remarkable with its moist interior and fragrant aroma. Cinnamon sugar was generously sprinkled throughout, so that every bite was full of flavor, even the crust.

Gilda’s Biscotti had their namesake biscotti, meringues, and a particularly exceptional chocolate bark studded with pieces of biscotti. The melt-in-your-mouth chocolate was nicely complemented by the crunchy bits of chocolate biscotti.

Kimberton Whole Foods distributed bite-sized cherry tomatoes filled with smoky yam hummus and shiitake polenta diamonds with prosciutto. The shiitake filling was robust in flavor, adding to the soft polenta a nice taste and creamy texture.

Amaranth Gluten Free Bakery not only had a selection of gluten free baked goods, but also had gluten free baking products that you could use to make your own at home.

Vera Pasta sold a variety of pastas to cook at home, as well as their homemade marinara sauce, a light and sweet blend of freshly stewed tomatoes.

Metropolitan Bakery had a whole host of their baked goods on hand, including their absolutely addictive sour cherry chocolate chip cookies sprinkled with sea salt.

Wholesome Dairy Farm’s vanilla kefir was the perfect blend of sour yogurt taste and sweet vanilla. Their new Aztec-inspired chocolate milk had hints of cinnamon that made it unique from any other chocolate milk we’ve had.

Attendees could feast on freshly-shucked oysters, their briny taste complemented by a squirt of lemon and a dab of cocktail sauce.

Reanimator Coffee, a small, locally-owned and operated micro roaster based in Fishtown, provided freshly-brewed, sustainable, single origin coffee that was craft roasted right in Philadelphia. They aim to teach coffee consumers about what they’re roasting, where it’s from, what it tastes like, how to brew it, and all sorts of other things drinkers may or may not care about. 😉

As a final treat for the event, Judy Wicks–founder of White Dog Cafe–signed copies of her new book outside the main hall, further celebrating Philly Farm and Food Fest’s goal to work towards building a self-reliant local communities throughout Philadelphia.

— Nicole Woon and Jessica Chung