It was the biggest year yet for Orie’s Garlic Fest which was in its sixth year. event which celebrated all things’ garlic — with ready-to-eat garlicky grub, garlic beverages, garlic salts, seasonings, baked goods, honeys, jams, and more, brought out many vendors and a record crowd of people. The event took over the entire Brickyard space along with the alley way just north of the building along with a part of Rock Island where the street was closed off from traffic.
Like previous years, Orie’s Garlic Fest highlighted the many facets of Wichita’s local scene: artisans, makers, farmers and ranchers, musicians, and foodies of all kinds. Of course, there was plenty of garlic to go around. I was part of a panel of judges tasked with trying as much as food as possible and determining some awards for the day.
Here’s what we decided.
Best of the Fest: Mi Sueño Enterprises
Mi Sueño knocked it out of the park with their vast selection of garlic infused foods. While there were so many worthwhile options to choose from, this was a unanimous decision for us.
Mi Sueno had pumpkin black garlic and fig French toast, pork quesadilla, chocolate garlic sticky bun and garlic candied pork belly. And yes, we tried it all and loved every bite of it.
Most Garlicky: Big B’s Beef Garlic Fries
Big B’s Beef, cheese, jalapeños, peppers, all in a garlic sauce. With Halloween around the corner, I’m set on vampire coverage for the rest of the year.
Most Creative: Mama’s Lil Mac
For Most Creative, we loved the maple bacon with smoked garlic and chocolate fig with black garlic macarons. Mama’s Lil Macs really impressed me with this.
Honorable Mention: Serenity Farms
Serenity Farms had this black garlic pudding that was worthy of most garlic and most creative.
Favorite Handmade Artisan: Lola Candle Co.
Many vendors were on hand selling some products, but the one we thought fit the theme of Garlic Fest the most was Lola Candle Co. and their a little garlicky candle.
That was just a glimpse of what was offered at Orie’s Garlic Fest. While we could only give out a handful of awards, there were plenty more vendors on hand worth of winning.
Big thanks to Orie’s Farm Fresh for the invite to judge. It’s always fun trying people’s different spins and takes on dishes when they have to incorporate an ingredient. This was my third time attending the Garlic Fest and certainly won’t be my last.
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