Phoenixville Rising As An Events Hot Spot

Post Phoenixville
by Nina Malone on Oct 23, 2013

Looking for something to do? Maybe a fun run or walk, a business card exchange, a wine tasting, a beer event or a food festival? Then hurry on over to Phoenixville where something fun is always going on.

The recent Phoenixville Food Festival is a great example of how this small town is big on events. The inaugural fest was a partnership between the Phoenixville Chamber of Commerce and Phoenixville First (a collaborative of the Borough of Phoenixville, the Phoenixville Chamber of Commerce, the Phoenixville Area Business Association and the Phoenixville Area Economic Development Corporation). One look at the bustling crowd confirmed the goal to bring people to town who normally might not check out Phoenixville was achieved…in a big way.

“The Phoenixville Food Festival is good for Phoenixville, and that means all our businesses,” said Chamber Director Jessica Capistrant. “It brought in a lot of walking traffic to check out the food trucks, crafters and entertainment, and that spilled over to the restaurants and shops. A real win-win.”

Tastebuds also won on that sunny, warm fall Saturday. Kudos to the organizers for bringing in food trucks for every taste, from the sublime savory to the super sweet. Armed with empty stomachs, we hit the streets and selected these as the…

Phoenixville Food Festival Fabulous Five:

1. Vegetarian Delight: The line was long, but that’s because the food is freshly prepared at Lulu’s Café On The Go. We noshed a generously large tortilla packed with falafel and garlic hummus plus lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. That nice, tart surprise brought out the nutty and smoky flavors in the falafel.

2. That’s A Nice-A Meat-A-Ball: You had us at the fresh basil garnish, but the gourmet meatballs from Mama’s Meatballs were the stars of this show. Nestled on a fresh Italian roll with a just-right amount of gravy (sauce for the uninitiated), meatball options include traditional beef, pork and veal; ground turkey; or a mix of black and red beans, chickpeas, peppers, onions and panko. Madre would be proud.

3. Cuckoo for Crepes: Sure you could select a sweet, but why not step outside the box and go savory? And on stone-ground gluten-free buckwheat, no less? We said yes to Applewood ham, Gruyere, arugula and tomato, kissed with balsamic, and presented in a kitschy faux-French newspaper container. It was warm, smoky and boasted just a tad of sweetness from the balsamic. Tres bien, Bonjour Creperie, tres bien.

4. Decadent Dessert: Brace yourself: it’s a donut. Yes, the humble donut has been elevated to full-blown dessert status when it comes from UNDRGRND Donuts. Witness the French toast: tender and slightly chewy, enrobed in maple and dusted with cinnamon sugar. Oh, and it’s still warm when it’s handed to you through the truck window. To die for.

5. Fall Brewski: As luck would have it, the Phoenixville Pub Crawl was in full swing: bonus! While not served from a food truck, this Halloween-inspired brew deserves a nod. We took a break at Bistro on Bridge to grab up the Fat Jack special. A limited Samuel Adams release, it was a real thirst-quencher and hit the spot after a fun afternoon tooling around the fest. Fat Jack’s more than 28 pounds of pumpkin per barrel is a great marriage with the big pumpkin pie spices, and like a good roasty-malty beer, has a wee bit of sweetness at the finish. Cheers!

Bookmark Phoenixville Dish to keep up with all things Phoenixville. Upcoming events include:

Also noteworthy to check out for events: Borough of Phoenixville and the Phoenixville Regional Chamber of Commerce. See ya’ around town!

Photographs credited to Nina Malone.

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