AUTHOR’S NOTE: I was given a complimentary full-sized package (entrance and sample/tasting tickets) in exchange for festival promotions.
This post documents my experience on June 1, 2019.
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At 5 o’clock on the dot, I arrived at Lincoln Park…
…where I was equipped with a sheet of beer and food tickets and a guide for Crafted…
…a local food, beer and music festival that benefited the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland.
Booths were set up along each side…
…with the first side consisting of Great Lakes Brewing Company…
…and many local breweries (Franklin/Saucy/Ohio/Boss Dog)…
…while the second side showcased the restaurants, who either shared a booth with a brewery (Saucisson/Terrestrial Brewing)…
…or offered both food and beer on their own (Collision Bend).
Other vendors were sprinkled in (Ohio State Waterproofing)…
…with a cigar vendor to compliment the beer side (Jo Vann’s)…
…Hello Fresh to accent the food side…
…and souvenir booths found at the entrances of both.
Other offerings of the festival included games…
…plenty of space for festival goers and their pooches (which were allowed)…
…ample seating…
…and some really good music (Oliver Hazard).
Unfortunately, I will say that some restaurants ran out of food rather quickly…
…as I had arrived about halfway into the festival when I already saw a few booths like this…
…which consequentially created longer lines at other booths…especially places that had gluten free and/or vegetarian options.
Still, I got in line to try as much as possible…
…enjoying sweet potato noodles with veggies, spicy pork dumplings (Xinji Noodle Bar)…
…BBQ pork sliders with slaw, an incredible summer grain salad with tasso ham vinaigrette (Saucisson)…
…a smoked beef slider with smoked cheddar and bacon jam (Butcher and the Brewer)…
…a delicious oxtail bruschetta, beets and fromage blanc salad (Warren’s Spirited Kitchen)…
…and a tall glass of Bravazzi Hard Italian Soda (Blood Orange) to wash it all down.