Though all the events at the Foodbuzz Festival are pretty cool, I’d say that hands-down the event that generates the most excitement is the Saturday afternoon tasting pavilion. Last year’s experience left me with a serious stomachache, and this year was pretty much the same story. It was soooo worth it though…

I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking, since there’s only so many times I can say the word delicious.

We tried a variety of flavored chocolates from Tcho:

The woman at the table encouraged us to try a bunch of different flavors and see if we could identify the notes. I have to say, I loved the straight dark chocolate best though!

At the Alexia table, we sampled onion rings as well as french fries and sweet potato tater tots:

I don’t purchase many frozen food products, but after trying them at the tasting pavilion and later that night at the gala dinner cocktail party, I’d definitely go for this brand if I needed some fried food in a pinch for a party or something. Deep-frying yourself gets pretty messy, and these were way better than the standard frozen food selection.

Bloom Gin offered up a lemony gin and tonic:

I used to think I hated gin, but that’s probably because I’d only ever had it straight up, which is not pleasant. I’ve had a few G&Ts over the past few months, and mixed correctly they’re pretty darn good. Still no match for beer, though.

Speaking of beer, at the 21st Amendment table we got to sample their new limited-edition brew, Allies Win The War:

This beer was a collaboration between 21st Amendment and one of the founder’s brewer friends- I liked that it was dark and had a high ABV without tasting overly hoppy- on the contrary, it was actually slightly sweet.

Mission Minis was a hit at last year’s Festival, and they were there again with another cupcake tower. I tried a vanilla one, whose frosting was insanely thick and creamy. However, I refrained from going back for tenths, like I did last year (true story).

Oren’s had a variety of spiced nuts:

The coconut chili macadamia nuts were my favorite. Macs don’t get nearly enough attention.

Foodzie had samples of their jerky tasting box:

Three flavors of jerky: an original flavor, smoked buffalo jerky, and natural steak strips. Up until recently, the only jerky I’d ever had in my life was a Slim Jim, so I’d say these were all a good deal better

They also had several flavors of Fat Toad Farm caramels:

I tried the vanilla and cinnamon, which were both creamy, not too sweet and really unique.

The Girl and the Fig were giving samples of their Apricot Fig Chutney, which was served with roast beef:

Since starting to eat meat again, I’ve really enjoyed getting into the different flavor pairings of various meats and cuts. The apricot was the perfect taste go to with the beef- being an omnivore definitely opens up a lot more sweet and savory options!

At the Redwood Hill Farms Creamery table, I tried their goat camembert:

Camembert was one of my favorite cheeses when my mom would take me to France as a kid, and I loved the slightly different, smoother taste of the goat milk in it.

Bovine Bakery was giving away the most delicious cinnamon buns ever:

I don’t know why I don’t eat these more often. Sweet, sticky carbs are heaven.

Bellwether Farms also had some incredible cheeses:

I don’t eat much ricotta, but even an amateur can taste the difference between the supermarket stuff and the farm-raised stuff.

At Hottie Biscotti, I got to try several unique flavors of biscotti:

I loved the peppermint and pineapple flavors. They were really pretty, too!

Napa Valley Fudge Company had the purest, chocolatiest, creamiest fudge I’ve ever had.

You know how in most fudge you can kinda taste the confectioner’s sugar, or it has a slightly gritty texture? This was neither. It was just pure, creamy chocolate. I could have eaten a pound of it, but restrained myself from downing the entire sample table. Definitely a favorite of the day.

Elaine’s Toffee had both almond and peanut toffees for tasting:

Surprisingly, I actually liked the milk flavors better than the dark! It goes better with the sweetness of the candy.

Three Twins ice cream was giving away generous portions of their ice creams:

I tried a mint chocolate. It’s unusual that I just eat plain ice cream, but mint chocolate is one of my favorites!

I really loved the concept behind Sweet Creme Brulee:

I tried the chocolate flavor, and talked to the creator for awhile about his product. It’s a classic creme brulee made with organic ingredients and available in stores like Whole Foods. Definitely an easy way to get your fix without a creme brulee torch

And finally, the Godiva table! They were giving away samples of their chocolate truffle and caramel pecan bark coffees, along with the chocolate themselves to go along with it.

I like coffee, but I’ll take chocolate any day!

And these pictures aren’t even all of it. Some tables I missed getting photos of, and some tables I was too full to even hit up completely. I loved that there were lots of different vendors from last year, so I got to try lots of new things, but I also missed some of last year’s favorites. I wish those dough balls had been there again!