Thursday, March 4, 2010

Boroughs Beer, Wine, and Food Tasting

There are a lot of local events in the Boroughs; art auctions, pancake breakfasts, cigar nights, kids programs, local music, and so much more.  I wish I was able to attend more of these local events, but like so many others, work, commutes, kids, and all the other aspects of daily life tend to leave us tired at the end of the day.  But these are all just excuses.  Some events are worth the effort.  This weekend has one of those events - Taste of the Boroughs 2010.

Ok, lots of great local events, why is this one so important...I am glad you asked...this is the only event so far that has asked me to emcee the festivities. :-)  But long before I took hold the microphone, I attended the 2008 Taste of the Boroughs, and that is when I decided this as a must attend event.  Let me give a little summary and then I can get into my personal experiences.

The Taste of the Boroughs event highlights local restaurants and caterers in the Boroughs (primarily Westborough, Northborough, Southborough, and Marlborough) and the surrounding areas, pairing them with fine wine and craft beer vendors from several regions. Adding to the culinary treats, there are silent and live auctions, a DJ, and live music. 


Sunday, March 7, 2010 6:00 - 9:00pm Doubletree Hotel Westborough

The event is produced and hosted by the Westboro Area JCC. Proceeds from the event benefit the community programs at the WAJCC and support the WAJCC preschool.

All of that is lifted from the Taste of the Boroughs website, here is the straight facts on this event...worth every penny and a wonderful time.

2008
Taking a trip back to April of 2008 I found myself at my first Taste of the Boroughs.  Two things really stood out to me; 1. There is as lot of food and wine to enjoy at this event.  I made the mistake of eating beforehand thinking "tasting" meant very little.  2. This event is all about our communities.  The second realization is what really got me.

The WAJCC intentionally went out and invited multiple restaurants from our area.  Sure many of us dine in Boston for a night out, or we go to Worcester and enjoy a nice meal, but this event was focused on as many restaurants as possible from the Boroughs area.  That's only the restaurants; the auction took the event to a whole new level.  Here hundreds of local businesses contributed to amazing auction packages.  The word packages is critical here, these auction were not for a spa treatment or gift basket...no no no...the WAJCC packaged a spa treatment with a haircut and style and a gift certificate to a local clothing store and even spa products.  One package in 2008 had a four pack of passes to 9 museums all over the area.  I left full, maybe a little buzzed and holding a package for landscape design consulting, gift certificates to Home Depot, and gift certificates to the Plant Bazaar.  Eventually this became my backyard patio.

2009
I was asked to participate in the event as the emcee.  I happily accepted, mostly because I love to hear myself talk.  But really I love to talk about the great things in our communities.  Throughout the night I got to know the general managers for several of the local restaurants and I learned more about some of the local businesses that donated to the auction. 

I was definitely less buzzed in 2009 but again, full of great food and happy to have participated in such a fun event.  There were easily 250 people there in 2009 and the ballroom was packed with some really great places:  CJs Steakloft, DogFish Brewery, Simply Dahlicious, Guiseppe's Grille, El Basha, Yummy Mummy Brownies, and several more. 

By this time I was totally hooked.  An entire event where as a community we come together to socialize, enjoy great food, wine, and beer, and meet the general managers, owners, and head chefs at some of our favorite locations.  The atmosphere was invigorating.

I also got a chance to know some of the organizers of the event.  Much like myself they want to promote the local community.  They want to talk about the great businesses we have, and yes they want to raise money for the WAJCC, but that is so the WAJCC can offer more to the community.  Local organizations supporting local organizations.

2010
So the time has come again.  Taste of the Boroughs 2010 is this Sunday.  I'll let you in on some of the info I have learned about this years event and hopefully something will spark enough interest to come out and enjoy with me:
  1. Yours truly will be returning as the emcee for the evening.
  2. You will be supporting a great organization (WAJCC) that builds and support the local community.
  3. The following breweries are represented this year - Berkshire Brewing, Boulder Beer, Opa Opa Brewery, Sherwood Forest Brewers, Dogfish Brewery, Wachusett Brewery.
  4. The Vin Bin as assembled over 2 dozen wines from several wineries.
  5. Did I mention I am the emcee for the evening
  6. Restaurant/caterers represented - Allora Ristorante •  Bollywood Grill • Caffé Dolce • The Chateau Restaurant • Cheng-Du Restaurant • Chipolte Mexican Grill • CJ's Steakloft • Cold Stone Creamery • Culinary Underground • Doubletree Hotel • Edible Arrangements •  Horseshoe Pub & Restaurant • Not Your Average Joe's • The Original Beer Cookie • Panera Bread • Piccadilly Pub Restaurant • Red Barn Coffee Roasters • Roche Bros. Catering • Samba Steak + Sushi • Sorentos Italian Gourmet • Tavolino • Uno Chicago Grill
  7. The auction packages - There are so many and everyone is impressive, from french lessons to flights to Florida, cigar boxes to spa treatments, cases of wine, and then some awesome sports items...several sets of tickets to Red Sox games, preseason Patriots tickets, signed Carlton Fisk Baseball, signed Ted Williams/Mickey Mantle rivals poster, signed Larry Bird photos, and even a signed Tom Brady jersey.
  8. Local musical artists Lori Diamond and  Fred Abatelli will be preforming live!
  9. Finally, you will have the chance to see me emcee the evening.  :-)
I hope my readers come out on Sunday and enjoy this event with me.  Obviously, I am enamored with the Taste of the Boroughs event but that is because I love our local communities and this event is all about our communities. And to be fair, I do also enjoy hearing myself talk.  A great organization, a great event, great communities...see you Sunday.