Addison's Inaugural Fork & Cork Kicks Off Tonight

Long-running food festival Taste Addison has gone the way of the dinosaurs, and its replacement, Fork & Cork, kicks off tonight in Addison Circle Park. The new festival promises a more intimate, adults-only event with a heavy focus on local chefs, which is quite a departure from the more corporatized feel that Taste Addison had taken on (hello, chain restaurants and carnival rides).

Tonight's festivities, which get underway at 6 p.m., are limited to those who shelled out $65 for the kickoff party tickets; the main attractions of the evening include a pork cookoff judged by featured guest chef Marcus Samuelsson (who is far from local, but perhaps that's beside the point?), an open-fire cooking demo by recent James Beard award-winner Tim Byres, and a grand tasting pavilion featuring 40 local vendors like Henry's Homemade Ice Cream, Cultivar Coffee and Tito's Vodka. Local chefs Omar Flores of Casa Rubia, Scott Gottlich of Bijoux, Kent Rathbun of Abacus and David Holben of Del Frisco's will be cooking bite-sized dishes for festival-goers as well.

Don't despair if you didn't opt for the pricier opening night tickets; there's plenty more going on Saturday, when the festival will be open from noon to 11 p.m. for regular $35 ticket-holders. Highlights include a cocktail demo and tasting by Eddie "Lucky" Campbell, craft beer seminars, and a hands-on grilling demo by chef Richard Chamberlain.

Other featured restaurants of note will include Belly & Trumpet, Kenny's Wood-Fired Grill, Oak, Lazaranda and Pakpao. There will also be live music all day (headliner Pat Green goes on at 9 p.m.), local artists hawking their wares, a beer garden, a "vintner's lounge" for the wine drinkers and more. For the full schedule of Fork & Cork events, scope out the official event website.
· Fork & Cork [Official]
· New, More Chef-Driven Festival to Replace Taste Addison [-EDFW-]

The blue thingy marks the spot. [Photo: viktort2011/Flickr]