A three day food festival that's hosted in Addison Circle Park. Entry fee is $10. The streets are full of food vendors offering free samples and lower prices samples as well. All the vendors are local so you really do get a taste of Addison. There's one main stage and then two smaller stages on campus where performances are going on through the festival. The mayor even came out to greet the people all 3 days on the main stage. There were also a bunch of art exhibits and vendors as well. Plus some carnival rides and games. So there's definitely a lot for family and friends to do out. My suggestion is come on an empty stomach so you can stuff your face read more

Taste Addison - Fire show @ night - Local Flavor Near Me - Addison, Texas

Very disappointed! Not very many vendors. Nothing like the last time I went, now that was before Covid. Might try again next year read more

Fun three day event in Addison. Kid friendly and $15 ticket entrance fee. A lot of restaurants set up booths around Addison Circle for everyone to sample foods they haven't tried. Lots of random events and crafting to do, local artsy booths to purchase from, a petting zoo, and live music. My friend and I had fun and bought food faster than we can eat. Good for a first experience! read more

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I love the taste of Addison this year 2023 there were three bands and they had a lot of stuff for the little kids to do deafly recommend this for your kids read more

We had a great time, especially at the Budweiser stage. I'm glad we finally checked it out! Frankly, I was surprised the festival didn't have a higher rating. Perhaps Addison took note of poor reviews several years ago and made changes, because I didn't see the same issues. Was it perfect? No. Some booths were super pushy, the heat and humidity almost ran us off, some of the offerings seemed skimpy- but none of that is directly the fault of the festival. Note, if you discover that any of the planners or sponsors directly control the weather, forward me their home address... Most of the people staffing booths were delightful, there were freebies, activities, a petting zoo, a family stage, tastings and a huge variety of businesses to check out. There were more than a dozen food vendors, most had $3 bites, and it was a great variety! It seemed like beer and wine were at every turn! Our favorite was seeing Spin Doctors on the Budweiser stage. We had so much fun! Though being up front by the speakers did impact my hearing and I think I may be talking too loud...that's my fault. I was surprised that Taste Addison had the pull to get so many great bands (read: music I listened to in high school) and wish I had the energy to stay and see them all! Note to the festival, we all understand you have staff taking professional pictures and recordings of the bands. I didn't dock for this, but it would be awesome if in the future they timed their appearances better to give the audience an opportunity to get pics or video. All my best footage of the performances or killer solos were ruined by staffers wandering in and blocking the view. Let us have a chance to show off that memory! Free parking is a bit of a walk from a parkng garage down the street on Arapaho and Spectrum. Handicap parking was a short walk from a lot at the corner of Quorum and Arapaho. When my husband asked if being a disabled vet qualified and showed id they allowed us to park there. Thank God because we were practically limping back to the car later. Tickets for adults start at $15, kids are $5 and under 5 years old gets in free. This is for Friday and Saturday, Sunday will be free. The park is a lovely venue that is large enough to accomodate and is well maintained. We arrived around 1pm because that's what worked with our schedule and the distance we travelled. I've learned from this and will most likely come later next year. I hardly ate because the scorching heat and humidity killed my appetite. I'll plan around the sun better and will probably have an even better time! This is worth checking out at least once! read more

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The Taste of Addison is a 3-day, family-friendly festival for foodies, music lovers, and carnival riders. Enjoy grazing on goodies from local restaurants who setup tents at Addison Circle Park. Afterwards setup blankets on the lawn to enjoy non-stop band performances on two stages. Send the kids through the carnival area to play games and fly high on the rides. There is something fun for everyone here. Be prepared to drop some cash and add some weight. Entrance tickets are about $20 each for the event, but free on Sunday. You'll also need to buy sheets of coupons to exchange for food, drink and rides. The event is well organized. You'll receive a booklet at the entrance with a layout of the activities, vendor booths and scheduled performances. Take the time to glance over this to get your bearings. The park is huge and there is a lot going on. You can park for free at the Colonnade building across the street and walk over to the entrance tent. Ticket agents will take cash or credit. You will be wand searched by security and bags will be checked. Once in, buy at least 40 coupons ($1=1 coupon) at the coupon booth. As far as we could tell, it was the only place to buy food/drink coupons in the park. We had to make two trips to it because we ran out of coupons. Food items will range anywhere between 3-9 coupons. Most of the booths had a combination of offerings. You could either get entire plates of food to fill up on, or small taster cups which allowed you to try a particular restaurant's niche menu. This wasn't your standard carnival food. We are talking chocolate fondue from The Melting Pot and Steak Diane from Table 13. There was also crawfish from Nate's Seafood and Steakhouse as well as empanadas from Taste of Cuba. The selection was diverse and delicious. Beer, wine, margaritas, water and soda booths were found throughout the park, so if you wanted to get your party on, you definitely could. Lyft was offering free rides to first time users of their service which was a great way to make your drunken way home safely. The music was blaring loudly enough you could hear it in each corner of the park grounds. Many people came just to catch the bands and party. Others headed straight to the festival. We were all about the food, and spent a few hours wandering through the different tents. This is an entertaining way to spend your weekend with friends and family. I had tickets for another festival in a nearby town which I tossed because the Taste of Addison seemed to offer so much more. I certainly wasn't disappointed. read more

We had a lot of fun at taste of Addison. I got a plate from Hawaiian bros and the food was to die for. The music was really good and so were the booths. Plenty of stuff to do and look at. A lot of booths had free samples and that was great. The alcohol selection was vast and very good as well. They also had plenty of seating and ways to cool off. Would go again 10/10 read more

Taste Addison - Hawaiian Bros Huli huli chicken - Local Flavor Near Me - Addison, Texas

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We had a great time! We truly enjoyed the CBS stations for the kids and the culinary experience. The kids had a blast, got their face painted, learned to crafts and molecular gastronomy. We got to experience tasty yellow tail, edamame, a maki roll and education from Ra! A good time was had by all! read more

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Such an amazing experience. Much to do! Much to see! WEAR YOUR WALKING SHOES. It's not a MASSIVE space but it's GREAT SIZE with much opportunity to explore! Do yourself a favor and map out your journey! Or you'll spend HOURS rolling around with dedication to see it all but you've missed 1/2 the things you wanted to because you cut across the main path! IF YOU WANT TO TASTE IT ALL ONLY try the bites! It gives you a great impression of each restaurant you explore, perfect bite sizes so you don't have to lug around addition stuffffff, and they're only $3!!!! You can try it allllll with a reasonable budget! IF YOU WANT THE FULL EXPERIENCE OF THE RESTAURANTS Don't come starving. Give yourself an opportunity to check out which restaurants are present in the event book. Map out how to see them and then make your choice! Be wise! Haha you'll get full fast! MUSIC Be mindful. I say this to say be 100% "present" at the festival and listen to the music while you walk around. Some tune will catch you attention and you can look into your event book and see who it is!!! (I suggest the put their social media on these books) MERCH&BOOTHS Do yourself a favor and put yourself a little budget aside to support your community. They're truly courageous and they feel like they have something to share. Make it a point to get to know one of the vendors. They may have a story for you that you'd be more than enthralled to have it shared with you! You may not want their products personally but, if you think it's cool you may know someone who does! read more

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Perfect for date night or play dates with the kiddos! My boyfriend and I both enjoyed discovering delicious, future date-night locations at Addison's Circle Park this evening. $40 (20 per ticket) for entry was pretty steep. Free garage parking kind of made up for it.... but not really. Rides - $3 and up. Food indeed cost too. $65 ($1 per ticket) worth of tickets were plenty for us. What we ate: Blue Mesa Grill - 2 Red Chile Crusted Salmon Tacos (10 tickets) JC's Burger House - Cheeseburger & Chips (6 tickets).. it was so yummy we had to return for another. I Fratelli Pizza - 2 Pizza Slices (10 tickets) May Dragon - General Tsao's Chicken (5 tickets) Tables 13 - Steak Diane w/ Mashed Potatoes (7 tickets) Peppercorn Meatball in Cognac Cream Sauce (listed as 3 tickets, charged 5).. worthy of seconds, and definitely a visit to their location. Nate's Seafood & Steakhouse - Louisiana Boiled Crawfish (6 tickets).. not cleaned very well Thai Orchid - Frozen Strawberry Margarita (8 tickets).. tasted like margarita mix w/o alcohol Pecos Pete's - Iced Sweet Tea (10 tickets).. unlimited refills Included in Ticket Price: Craft Beer Hall - 3 Wine Hall - 3 Whiskey Hall - 2 No Vodka Painting with a Twist Overall, pricey but definitely fun and worth it. Oh and the parks grass isn't itchy. Though St. Augustine is my fav grass type, whatever was at Addison's Circle Park was a-ok with me. Unfortunately we missed out on all of the entertainment. We were exhausted and ready to leave. read more

It was disappointing, especially compared to previous years. It was a lot of chain restaurants, not many local eateries, breweries, or businesses. It was nice to be out, but hopefully they organize it with more true Addison representation. read more

We headed to Taste of Addision '09 on the first night (Friday) and were just blown away by the number of people that were there eating food, watching the bands, and at the carnival. People were everywhere, eating, drinking, and being merry. We started the night by watching Ted Allen's cooking demonstration. He was funny, knowledgeable, and cooked a nice lemon shrimp dish. After the demo, we were ready to get our eat on! We picked the food that we thought were "must eats" and circled the booths on the map, in order to make the most efficient use of our time. I mean, you can't waste your time dilly-dallying when there's food on the line. :p Our most-wanted list included Manny's for brisket tacos (de-lish!), Chamberlain's Catering for chili pie (yum!), Thai Orchid for Yellow Curry (great!), and Henry's Homeade Ice Cream for a scoop of vanilla (meh). After filling our bellies, we just wandered around, people-watched, checked out the carnival, and perused the arts & crafts booths. We had a grand ol' time. The only bad thing was the sweet potato chips from Blue Mesa Grills... yuck. read more

Funnnnn! This was my first time attending this festival and I enjoyed it immensely. There was food, funky art, and great music (Third Eye Blind - YEY!). Bring cash and comfy shoes and I promise you will have a blast. I really love that you're able to try so many restaurants all in one night. FYI- There's really crappy cell phone reception for AT&T users. I tried looking for Tim L. and failed but I got lucky and ran into Tina P. instead. :D read more

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I had a wonderful time this evening at the Taste of Addison. I discovered a Cuban roll that was delicious from Taste of Cuba! The best pudding I have ever had from Pudding on Smiles, some great potstickers from Thai Orchid, and wonderful meats from Texas de Brazil. My son loved the carnival area and got to win a few prizes and grab a final cake. Then we got to see Vanilla Ice in person! It was wonderful! read more

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This was probably my fourth or fifth year at Taste Addison (note: there's not an "of" in the name), and it feels like the event is becoming less about the food and more about the entertainment and non-food vendors. Not that that's a terrible thing, maybe, but it does still have "Taste" in the name. I also think that the explosion of food trucks in the Metroplex has made the concept of "small bites from a variety of sellers in one place" a bit less unique. Having said all of that, we had a good time at this year's event. We tried food from several places (Henry's Ice Cream, drool!) and most of it was quite good, if a bit spendy. The seating was a little sparse, even for a Sunday, but we managed. There were bands playing most of the day, and while we didn't go to the stage area, there was a big screen showing the stage near the main food seating area that allowed us to see the sights. Bottom line, maybe the new has worn off, but it's still a decently fun destination. read more

This is a great festival. Not sure if this is always the deal, but this year getting there before 5 saved us a few bucks. I went down to see the Blue October show and found an awesome festival of food, music, crafts, and arts. They had food demos from some of the top chiefs in the area. As well as all the tasty eats your stomach could hold. Loved the way this festival is put together and look forward to coming back in the future. P.S. Blue October rocked. read more

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Two stars only because they had decent entertainment. $15 to park $20 dollars to get in then buy tickets to pay for things, all of it was overpriced and or inconvenient. Lastly which could be firstly is the food choices sucked, so un interesting so underwhelming. Its the most overpriced underwhelming uninteresting "Taste Of" i ever experienced. I would not go again. read more

Taste Addison - Chilling at taste of Addison. - Local Flavor Near Me - Addison, Texas

I was very excited about this event, but must admit I was pretty disappointed. It was a food/music festival where there were only about 5-6 different options for food. None of which actually had a food truck or kitchen type set up and therefore were constantly "running out of food" and having to "send for more" before the day was even half over. The drinks were a minimum of a 30 min wait and they also ran out of a lot of choices by about midday. To top things off, it rained and we were unable to see the headliners perform which, personally, was the whole reason to go. I understand we can not control the weather, but as an event planner, planning an outdoor event... you should plan for... well the outdoors! Aka there should have been canopies or some sort of "if it rains" plan. The drinks I did get to try were great, the street tacos were pretty good, and all the performers were amazing. The planners of this event definitely dropped the ball and could have put on a five star event had there been better planning and execution on their part. read more

I had a really nice time attending my first Taste of Addison event. I picked up tickets from Albertson's for $10 all day admission. It is $15 entry after 5pm at the gate, so I highly recommend getting tickets from Albertson's if you are planning on going once the sun goes down. I wish I had come with a bigger appetite than what I had. There were so many of my favorite restaurants there and so many that I've been wanting to try. I was only able to eat from two booths: Taste of Cuba - Chicken empanada. I give it a 2 out of 5. I've had empanadas with much more meat and less dough, with a ton more of flavor. ($3) Social House - Shrimp and Grits. I loved every bit of this! From the super flavorful grits, to the collard greens than was layered on top of the grits. I was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful the Social House workers managed to make a bowl of food from a booth look so appetizing. I also had a Peach Bellini from here that was so sweet I had to trash it. ($10 for both the dish and bellini) I love fair food and when I saw the funnel cake booth, I must admit that I got a little crazy. I did not mind paying $5 for a funnel cake...after all, it's considered a delicacy in my book since they are only available during fairs/carnivals. The band playing on Saturday night had everyone in the crowd looking sad and tired. I suggest to the planners of this event to use the sad, country singers during the day time and bands that offer more pop/fun at night. I definitely plan to attend Taste of Addison next year if I can. read more

Being a Chicago native let me start off by saying i have a huge bias. Ive been to several taste in several different cities.Although not as big as the taste of chicago, it packed a punch. Not much land to cover. More orientated toward kids, which i guess is a good thing. My daughter had a blast. read more

Brisket Tacos from Hector's were so juicy and delicious! I wasn't expecting these tacos to have have cheese in them but it was a plus! Jasmine's had sesame chicken which I really liked because there was more chicken and not an abundance of breading. Churros from some mexican stand next to the Snuffers stand were da bomb and the girl charged me 50 cents less than menu price. At snuffers I could not say no to the loaded fries but I was disappointed...I can't believe I am saying this but there was too much cheese! At 9:30 on a Friday night I mostly saw 20 somethings drinking, jailbait girls in short little skirts and lingerie for tops. It was a bad idea to be there with a stroller and the way people stared, made me blush. If you want to bring children to this event, bring them during the day! read more

Four stars people. Are you serious? ... and I think it's Taste! Addison because they are too cool for the "of" and need an exclamation point!!! Besides the fact that you can see semi-relevant acts here doesn't excuse the facet that it is a major pain in the ass to go. First, the parking, as it always is at Addison events, is atrocious. Second, they screw you on the cost. Sure you can get in before 5 for a discounted cost, but you are going to spend way more in that in beer before the decent band you came to see goes on. Not to mention the fact that you are going to pay out the ass for decent parking & it's still going to be a clusterf*ck when you leave. Do your self a favor & go to Wildflower instead. Your welcome. read more

This is an annual festival held in May of each year where many local restaurants in the Addison area bring you portions of their foods for anywhere between $5-10. Depending on which booth you go to, the portion sizes are actually quite large! For $7 at Fogo de Chao, I had the combo plate which consisted of 3 meats (bacon wrapped chicken, 2 sausage links, and juicy pieces of steak), salad, and a small mashed potato! It easily could have been a good sized lunch for a fraction of the regular restaurant. Many of the restaurants are chain restaurants (TGIF, Chilis, Springcreek BBQ) but there was also a good number of smaller restaurants that I tried that I can't wait to go visit! TIP: Cash only. ATM fees this year were $2.25 so bring cash beforehand! There's also a carnival area with a ferris wheel and other attractions but I didn't try any of them out. There's also a row of booths that sell jewelry, art, and other random stuff that you may find interesting. My favorite part though is the entertainment. They usually try to bring at least one fairly well known act to play. One year it was Gavin Degraw. This year it was Third Eye Blind which was super crowded and had a great vibe. Free parking in the parking garage across the street! Also, ticket prices vary. This year it was $5 if you got in early, $15 after 5 pm. But go to Albertson's instead. They sell them for $10 for use any time!!! read more

5/21/2011-- This was our 1st visit to this festival. It was very hot & humid today, but it didn't rain. Free parking in a nearby indoor parking garage. We got there approx 12:15. We enjoyed the $5 early admission fee. There is no way this festival is worth $15! The festival grounds are part grass and part walkway. I would've enjoyed the grassy area had they hired an "oldies but goodies" singing band like Grapevine did. We enjoyed the Grapevine Main Street Days Festival a lot b/c of the quaint local shops that we enjoyed as we walked along the way. I brought lots of $5 bills and (20) $1 bills to the Addison festival. The charge for using the ATM is posted: $2.25. I 1st ate at The Londoner. I got fish & chips. The piece of fish was OK. They loaded the cardboard trough w/ fries so that killed my appetite for the rest of the festival. We got pizza from Bacci. It was meh just like the fish & chips. The braised BBQ pork shank from the Blackfin was meh. The BBQ sauce was pretty & dark, but sour tasting, not sweet like i had hoped. The Italian Club' s sausage & pepper sandwich was the most worthwhile item I ate. Luis liked Los Lupes tamales most of all foods. I tasted the cheese sauce and it was full of chili pepper. Twin Peaks mac & cheese w/ bacon was worthless. Sorry we stopped there! We probably will not go to this festival again. There are very mediocre restaurants there. We like Texas de Brazil, subsequently I got really sick at their downtown FW location July 4, 2011, and Springcreek BBQ and will continue to go to Springcreek BBQ so we did not stop by their booths. Around 2pm the festival began to get really crowded so go early so that you can enjoy the festival w/o having to wait in lines. The Zumba outdoor exercising activity was exasperating to watch, not my idea of fun. read more

I've been to Taste of Addison for three years in a row now, and it gets more enjoyable every time. Make sure to stop by Tom Thumb for half price adult tickets, but its $10 at the door, which isn't a big deal considering you get a show from a few decent and popular bands (this year its Switchfoot, Gavin Degraw, and Black Crowes). Friday is definitely the best day to go. Its not as crowded and the people watching is great! A good mix of crowd here with people that actually say "excuse me" when running into you in the food lines. Prices for food are reasonable for an event like this. I paid $3 for a 16oz Dos Equis and $4 for a 16oz Spaten, a deal considering I have a habit of frequenting places that charge $5+ for beers. Food isn't badly priced either, and if you hang around the Henry's Ice Cream tent near closing time (11:30 to midnight), they fire-sell their hotdogs for a buck. Craft vendors are also a step above your usual craft booth fair. Truly unique and wonderful trinkets. Check out the guy who makes wooden watches and the gypsy-looking dress tent. The carnies in the "Amusement" section were everything I hoped they would be and more. Toothless, bitter, smoking, dirty-joke-telling band of stuffed animal peddlers. Love it. Bring the kiddos. But not the furry ones. : ( read more

Leave the diet at home. Taste Addison is a butt buster, but I love it. I've been the past two years now and it is honestly a great time. It is cheaper before 5 pm and an all around better experience. During the day the crowds are light(er), the food is fresher but the bands do suck. (Then again, I think they sucked at night, too. Foreigner. Who are they!?) This year I saw a drunk 40+ year old woman dancing to some unknown local band and break/injure her ankle, EMTs and police and all. Can't beat that. read more

We go to Taste Addison most years and always have a fun time. It gets bigger every year and has tons local restaurants represented with small booths (70 at last count) plus kids activities if you come in the day, Bands at night (this year was Blue October) and plenty of drinking spots, beer sales, wine tasting etc etc. This year there were so many teenagers...never experienced it like that before but it made it super easy to get drinks as the queues were almost non existent Most foods are around 2-9 dollars and give a decent sampling but most restaurants don't have their best options.just their most popular or generic options so the Thai places won't have their hottest curries and the Indian restaurants tend to just bring out a generic tikka masala. Favourites of mine who come every year are Thai orchid, chamberlains and fogo de chao. We always go at night as its cooler (event is always in May and always hot!) Also we always book their hotel package rate,mwhich is a great deal http://www.addisontexas.net/events/TasteAddison/general_info/hotel_specials.asp It includes a local (walking distance) hotel, 2 tickets to the event and $10 in food bucks. We try and get the spring hill suites as that's the closest and also has a hot breakfast and parking included. It's so worth the money and then everyone can drink and have some fun!!!! read more

This was really fun. But like most fairs, it's expensive to eat and drink. The atmosphere and music was great. Definitely will be back. read more

How can you not love this!!! Get to sample all the food from around Addison, you get to hear cool bands! This last time Mat Kearny played.... That was awesome! It's just an all around great thing to do with your family and friends! I will say this, I wish they enforced some type of dress code though.... Keep it classy Addison! read more

I am looking forward to some good food this weekend..I hope to do some salsa dancing also. http://addisontexas.net/where_to_eat/restaurants/glorias.asp read more

Don't waste your money! This is not that it used to be. Food is gross and expensive...music is lame. I'm so sorry we wasted so much money here. read more

Here's a summary of Saturday evenings event on 6/5/21....I arrived around 5:00 pm and every single event sponsored parking lot was at full capacity (both free parking and paid event parking lots). We had no choice but to park over a mile away at The Residence Inn down the street....When we finally got to through the gates, I was actually excited to go and try all of the amazing food that the festival had to offer and I ate very light earlier in the day so that I could get "the true taste of addison" Pro tip: Eat before you go because you will be standing in 30-60 minute lines for overpriced drinks and sub-par food the entire time. They offer $3 "taste bites" that can only be described as a back handed slap in the face by the town of Addison...I got a single egg roll at one place for $3 and a single chicken finger that had been in the fryer for at least an hour at another booth (no sauce for the chicken either). Obviously, I realized that the laughable "taste bites" weren't worth the wait, so I decided to get an entree that would be a safe bet to fill my rumbling stomach...I ordered chicken Tacos from Addison's premiere TexMex food booth...Im not exaggerating when I say that they were the most atrocious display of tacos that Ive ever seen. The corn tortillas were raw...like the tortillas that need to be cooked on a skillet...but instead, they just left them raw with cold meat served up on soggy tortillas over lettuce...Honestly, I don't even care about the money, I'm only frustrated that I ruined an entire night attending this circus display...it was an extremely unorganized event that quite obviously cut corners in an attempt to maximize revenue at all costs...Not to mention that parking was an absolute disaster...Every parking garage was closed and every single lot attendant said "go to the next one" Until we reached the last garage that told us that we needed to pay for a parking ticket in advance because "they are sold out" There was no mention of pre-paid or limited availability for parking on the event website or during the ticket checkout process and due to the poor lack of communication by the event organizers, I was forced to park about a mile away in a T-Mobile Parking lot down the street. Im not surprised that Third Eye Blind found their excuse to bail...the whole event was nothing more than a money grab by the town of Addison.... read more

This is as close to Austin City Limits that you can find in the Dallas area although the concentration here is food rather than music and the atmosphere is a bit more yuppie than hippie. You'll find 60+ different restaurants in stalls serving you their best offerings in tapas sized portions. Expect to dish out around $5-10 on each item. They also have a carnival, cooking classes, wine tastings, art exhibits and more if you need time to digest. This year (2011) the festival is from May 20-22 and Third Eye Blind will be headlining the event Saturday night. Get there early and scope out a spot if you want to end up fighting for a decent vantage point. Tickets will run you $15 on Friday, $5 before 5pm and $15 afterward on Saturday and back down to $5 on Sunday. You can also purchase $10 "anytime" tickets at Albertson's. read more

I've been several times and instead of just writing how fun it is, I'll provide some tips: 1). Take cash. Lots of cash. If you are a foodie (and drinkie?), at least $50 per. There is an admission price and each taster is between $3 and $5. 2) Take enough cash so you don't have to use the ATM. Yes, I am reiterating the cash-only concept because one year I failed on this and stood in line for :30 getting cash. 3) Go early. The food is fresher, the crowd is more selective, and the admission is less (more for food). At night the 20someting crowd comes out and the $30k/millionaires come out in their Affliction Ts and leased Beamers. 4) Make a plan. They print out maps of where all the restaurants will be. Get an idea of where you want to go and head there first. If there is a place you want to try, get their first before you fill-up on run-of-the-mill stuff you eat all the time. 5) Try before you buy. Taste Addison has some high-end places and some ethnic food. I suggest using their low-cost tasters as a test run before you go in and commit to an entire on-sight dinner. The only reason I don't give this 5 stars is that Taste of Dallas and the French Chamber of Commerce's Beaujolais get the Fiver. read more

I'm not usually the biggest fan of this part of town, cause it's hard to get to from where i am, the traffic sucks, and most of the bars i have been too are full of douche. But, on Saturday, i decided to take my friends up on an invitation to accompany them to Taste of Addison. So we packed up the SUV and started the pilgramidge. I have to say, i loved it! What's not to like? great food, beer on the cheap, old biker chicks, weird merchandise, the creepy Vlassic Pickle puppet, and odd background music for a little white noise. Addison is all very strange to me, but Addison Circle is where it gets the weirdest. It looks like a cool place to live, if you have no life and don't ever want to go anywhere, since you live above everything you could ever need. But what is the deal with that crazy sculpture in the middle of the circle!?!? It looks like where the mothership is gonna perch when she comes back! Moving on...geez....this is like 4 reviews in one, but i'll keep it short. So we're just walking around selecting our first booth victim, and i spy fish tacos right off the bat(shocker). They were from Chamberlains Fish Market, and the Tilapia was pretty good, just covered in WAY too much cole slaw. Beer #1. There were several chains, but i tried to stay away from those, so i hit up Thai Orchid. They had some badass spring rolls laying in a pool of their own sweet and sour, awesome! Beer 2. I was gonna skip sambuca, till they lured me in with their Chipotle pork sliders, BAM delicious. The Quarter(not that one) came through in a big way, best full meal of the day, 2 Baby Back Ribs served with German potato salad(no mayo) and a roll. Then we all split some amazing nachos from some place out there, cant' remember where, but it deserves a mention. Beers 3 and 4. But the winner, the A number one super awesome dish of the day, was from Red India, and they were these succulent beasts called Chicken Lollipops. Their menu describes them as "hand pulled chicken wings marinated in spices, coated in zesty batter and cooked to perfection". I describe them as "spicy sex in my mouth"! Beer i lost count. There was music playing, there was stuff for the kiddos to do, i took a picture with the Vlassic puppet.....totally touched his pickle in it. And they had a building for bathrooms, not just porto nasties everywhere. It was very well run, fairly cheap and i will, in fact, be going back to Addison at some point because of it. read more

OMG...I had such a wonderful time here! I wished it was extended for a little bit longer because I definitely want to head back this instant! What to expect: There are signs everywhere that directs you to a few specific parking lots for 10 dollars a pop. Hmm...my bf and I decided to be rebels and park in the parking lot at Buffalo Wild Wings on Belt line. It wasn't a long walk at all (about 5 min). In fact, we were patting ourselves on the back for putting that 10 dollars towards our tummy. We came here around 9pm and it was 10 dollars per person after 5pm (5 dollars before). Once we arrived they handed out free Nestea drinks (yay! one less thing to buy). We first went to the food area to sample some of Addison's finest. Each restaurant has their own booth and if you look at the pamphlet in the back, it is number coded so you can see where they are located. My bf and I decided to try Remington's seafood gumbo (it was alright and could have been better $3), Texas De Brazil sample platter (sirloin steak, sausage, and bacon wrapped chicken and roll-delicioius $7), Cantina Loredo nachos (alright, the beef was good, but the cheese was runny $4), and Celebrity strawberry cupcake (the cake part was delicious, the frosting was yummy at first, but then it was too rich in the end $2). Unfortunately, my eyes were bigger than my tummy because I wanted to eat crawfish $5, Volcano Sushi $5, tacos $3, etc., but surprisingly, we were already satisfied on what we had already sampled (but looking back I wished I went to town!). After looking through the pamphlet, I was really sad I missed Ted Allen (from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and guest judge on Top Chef). Apparently they had a cooking demonstration at 8, but we arrived around 9ish. So, next time be sure to check the schedule and plan accordingly (it was a last minute sort of thing for us). Here are some things you might want to know when you plan to come for next year. 1) Bring CASH!!!! They DO have tents available with ATMs, but do you want to spend on expensive surcharges towards an ATM transaction or towards your stomach (not to mention the long lines). It's your call. 2) The restroom areas are awesome! They have portable potties. There are probably around 50 all in one spot so you never have to wait in line. Also, there's a sanitation station and some even have them in the stall as well. 3) This is a great place to bring kids because there was a kid's corner. 4) This is a great place to bring a date. Great conversation starters and if the conversation is lacking you can fill the void by going to the carnival. Each coupon is a dollar. The bumper cars were 4 coupons, the adult swings were 5 coupons, the cage up swing was about 6 coupons, and of course you can win your date a teddy bear by the limited games they had to offer. 5). This is a great place for a group of people. You can go on the lawn and spread a blanket and have a picnic, or stake a claim on one of the many tables they have to offer (it usually gets crowded when someone is performing so good luck on finding one). 6). There were so many beautiful ladies! Most of them were wearing shorts and dresses with cowboy boots. How cute! As for the guys....I wasn't really looking (aww..I know, I'm such a good gf :D). 7). Be sure to make room for your stomach. There were so many great deals that you wouldn't normally get by dining at their restaurants. 8) Also, there are numerous craft booths that you can make your rounds. Depending on each vendor, they will either accept cc cards or cash. Whoever planned this event did such an amazing job, and the event exceeded my expectations. There were a lot of activities to do, and for once I didn't mind if we paid admission to get in. It was definitely worth it. Next time, I will be ready to eat, ready to watch demonstrations, and ready to spend some serious moola!!! I'll take my own advices, and especially wear my comfy cowboy boots! See ya'll 2010! read more

I don't understand why you have to pay to get in, then pay for food. What were we paying for? There wasn't any music or any other entertainment, so it was just a rip off. Cork and Fork was SO much better. If you want to buy some crappy food from TGI Fridays and sample some truly bad wine and beer while paying $20 for the privilege, then this is for you. But if you're expecting some real cuisine and entertainment, don't bother. We won't be back. read more

I am leaving this review solely to applaud the first responders of Addison. They took care of my nausea and vomiting after I had fully underestimated the relentless torque and cruel revolution of one of carnival rides. read more

I had a great time my first year here! I was stupid and went after 5PM on Saturday so it was $15 to get in. That was really dumb because I live super close and could have gone earlier to get a stamp for free re-entry. Either way by the time we got in the place was packed. It's amazing how many booths and people they cram into this place. My favorite plate of the night was the Fogo sampler plate for $9. It's a little mini meal complete with some greens and mashed potato. I also liked the chicken tikka masala from Saffron House. It was super fresh and tasty with the naan. The fish tacos from Chamberlain's were tasty as well and a good sized portion. Even with all this yummy food, I think my favorite thing I ate that night was the turkey leg from the carnival part of the festival. The carnival was obviously separate because they made you buy tickets for fair food & rides while the rest of the vendors accepted cash only. The ticket line was loooong too. Still that damn juicy ass turkey leg was worth it. Yummmm. I don't remember any music but I remember thinking how thankful I was to be able to plop my ass down anywhere and not feel disgusted. Which is funny because my dog poops in this park sometimes :) Don't worry I always pick up his poop but I'm just sayin', think twice before you roll around drunk at Taste of Addison, read more

Define Addison: They used to have something called Fork and Cork. Now it's commercialized like kaboom town and called a "taste of Addison". They took Gold and flushed it down the toilet. read more