Nothing But Good Vibes & Great Food At The Hood Taste of Buffalo

If you ask any local person in Western New York, they will likely say Buffalo is a foodie city with a football and drinking problem. With so many great food options all over the region, it's not hard to see why that is the case.

During the warmer weather, there is a cultural festival every week in the Buffalo area. From Juneteenth to the Italian festival, Dingus Day to the Eden Corn Festival, there is something for everyone in Western New York. Not only that, Buffalo proudly boasts one of the best food festivals in the entire United States.

READ MORE: These WNY Restaurants Were Rated The Best At The Taste of Buffalo

Every summer, people travel worldwide to check out the sights, sounds, and flavors of the Taste of Buffalo. The two-day food festival that takes over downtown Buffalo is one of the most well-known festivals in America.

However, there is another two-day food festival in Buffalo, and it's quickly gaining steam and has grown significantly since it emerged from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

What Is The Hood Taste of Buffalo?

Dilly Cannon started the Hood Taste of Buffalo in 2020. It brings the same food festival energy as other festivals to Buffalo's Eastside.

What started as a joke and fun competition between friends during COVID-19 has grown into a large food extravaganza inside the Johnnie B. Wiley Sports Pavilion in Buffalo's Masten Park neighborhood.

Well me and group of friends was just sitting around joking about who can cook better and let’s have a cookoff... So basically it started off as a joke, which is now becoming one of best events in the summer
-Dilly Cannon, The Hood Taste of Buffalo Founder and Organizer

The 2024 Hood Taste of Buffalo took place on Saturday, August 3, 2024, and Sunday, August 4, 2024, inside the historic football stadium in Buffalo. The two-day celebration of food and culture in Buffalo featured more than 150 different food and cultural vendors.

Hundreds of Buffalonians piled onto the field at Johnnie B. Wiley over the weekend to sample food and drinks from several restaurants and catering services that they may not have had an opportunity to try before. The HTOB highlights some of the best food from the inner city areas of Buffalo, and many of those vendors did not disappoint.

So, How Was The Food At The Hood Taste of Buffalo?

I tend to consider myself an amateur food connoisseur in Western New York. I say amateur because I'm not a professional food critic, but I do like to eat, and if it involves food, then you can count me in.

So I was quite happy to walk around the HTOB and try a lot of the food in front of me.

READ MORE: Buffalo Public Schools Debuts Food Truck

With more than 150 different vendors at this year's festival, there was no way for me to be able to try them all. Still, some of my favorites this year were the Turkey Pastellitos from Krys Kitchen, Jambalaya Hiibachi from Hiibachi Fried Rice, and just about every flavor of Elevate I could get my hands on.

If you missed this year's event, you absolutely missed out. But Dilly Cannon has already announced the dates of next year's festival, so make sure you start getting ready for 2025 now.

Check out photos from this year's Hood Taste of Buffalo below: