TV Diner and Belkin Family Lookout Farm Food Fest – Review

August 27, 2012





Yesterday, I wanted to pick a peach and also taste some amazing food from a variety of restaurants and vendors. Luckily, the team at NECN and TV Diner put on their second annual Family Food Fest out in Natick.

Hosted at the Belkin Family Lookout Farm – where you can pick your own produce and enjoy some great views (see the photos) – this 2012 Food Fest included a pretty cool selection of tasty nibbles, a bit of booze and some great conversation with chefs and restaurant teams from all over the are.

While I was there yesterday, I got to talk with Billy Costa and Jenny Johnson (the co-hosts of TV Diner); Keenan Langlois, executive chef at Granary Tavern (they had a tasty Mahi and mango sandwich); and I even ran into Chris Sugrue, the GM at Tosca Restaurant in Hingham (he was there enjoying the event with family).

To give you a quick feel for who was on hand, here’s the list of exhibiting companies with a little comment from me beside each…

Salvatore’s – their wild mushroom risotto was fantastic and hearty. Not at all out of place even with temps in the 80s.

Tasty Burger – their cheeseburger with BBQ sauce and onions was delicious…just see the photo below of the TV Diner hosts.

Friendly’s – a Massachusetts original (I used to live near their factory in Wilbraham). They had chocolate, vanilla and mint chocolate chip. They also were giving away coupons for free ice cream. Win, win and win!

Glynn Hospitality – this is where I saw my friend Keenan. Their Mahi Mahi with a fresh mango salsa was great.

Fresh City – their Caesar salad was just the right light touch for a hot day.

Brasserie Jo – my friends at the Back Bay restaurant pulled out all the stops and created a balanced treat, perfect for the day. It was a pressed watermelon w/dehydrated olive, pickled goat cheese & chorizo vinaigrette. Even kids were lining up for seconds.

La Nina – white corn tortillas were used in their tasty quesadillas…both Cheese & Cheese and Ham.

Bryantville – these guys were in a side tent and were serving up their special style of meatloaf.

Captain Parkers – ladling out rich New England clam chowder made lots of people at Food Fest happy.

Piantidossi – I’m realizing now that I forgot my free baguette. But the other bread and the oils and tapenade were delicious.

Michele’s – they had a bunch of varieties of gourmet popcorn – I tried a couple and it was all I could do to not gobble it all up.

There was also a beer and wine tent, Sterlingwear crafters and the folks from Canobie Lake Park with a real live (hmmmm) zombie on site.

For $30 in advance, you got your money’s worth in food and fun. And when you were done, you could take the shuttle train across the farm to find other adventures.

In all, I’m glad I went out to the event and it was cool getting to meet Jenny and Billy in person. I’m sure I’ll head out to the farm again before the fall is over. For info on Belkin Family Lookout Farm, go to http://www.lookoutfarm.com For info on TV Diner go to http://www.necn.com/pages/tv_diner

Here’s a gallery of shots from the Food Fest…enjoy!