The Famous Food Festival celebrates its triumphant return at the Tanger Outlets in Deer Park this upcoming weekend – after wowing guests at their previous August event – with the thrice-annual event giving attendees the opulent opportunity to taste an endless array of delicious and delectable culinary wares from around the world, without having to leave the confines of Long Island.
This weekend’s Famous Food Festival takes over the 150,000 square-foot south parking lot at the Tanger Outlets and is a 4-day affair, starting on Friday, October 7th and running through Monday, October 10th, which is Columbus Day. The show runs from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, and 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
October’s Famous Food Festival boasts over 55 food options and caters to all dietary restrictions, offering multiple vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options, ensuring that all audiences can find something for their unique palate. In addition, the Festival will be offering great family-friendly entertainment options for kids and the whole family, including an electric violinist, a rock climbing wall, and numerous others, according to event owner and Dix Hills native Dylan Ross.
“We have a lot of new vendors, a lot of new music entertainment, and we have Gel Blaster Long Island for the kids,” he said. “We’re also trying to tap into the October theme of pumpkins, so we’re going to have a pumpkin patch and a contest where we bring in a huge pumpkin from Dobler Farms and people have to guess its weight.”
Ross noted that the most recent Famous Food Festival, held this past August, was an unbridled success.
“It was really great, everything was super smooth and the public really responded and enjoyed it emphatically,” he said. “Feedback so far has been really fantastic. Everyone that attended really seemed to enjoy themselves.”
Ross also noted that feedback from attendees is vital to helping the Famous Food Festival evolve and grow, and to that end, he said that the August event effectively and permanently addressed a long-standing issue regarding traffic and accessibility.
“There weren’t any traffic issues in the way that we’ve had in the past,” he said. “That’s a really big thing, because our event gets associated with a lot of annoyance in terms of getting in and out, so we had a huge traffic control team this time that made everything much more smooth from a logistics standpoint, and everyone was really happy about it.”
As always, the Famous Food Festival is not one to rest on its laurels and simply deliver more of the same; keeping things fresh is the name of the game, and Ross was pleased to run through some of the hot new vendors that will be directing their delicious and delectable treats to attendees this weekend.
One vendor coming from New Jersey is La Acuario Seafood Italiano, who offers surf and turf, lobster rolls, shrimp fries, and steak sandwiches; Oh Ke Riko, which will be providing cold brew coffee, frappuccinos, macchiatos, ice cream, and gourmet shakes; La Braza will be serving up roasted corn, empanadas, and meat skewers; Bel-Fries, purveyors of loaded fries with multitudes of different options; Oyster Party, which will be serving genuine Long Island oysters; Brazilicious, specializing in fine Brazilian cuisine; Tashana’s Kitchen, whose mac and cheese cupcakes are sure to be a huge hit; and Fried Lasagna Mama is offering up – you guessed it – fried lasagna.
These newcomers are coupled with many returning favorites, including Caribbean Street Eats, with their popular Mako shark sandwiches and deep fried watermelon. And speaking of fried foods, numerous vendors will be offering various takes on this delicacy, ranging from fried pickles, fried Oreos, fried rainbow cookies, and even fried Pop-Tarts.
Ross expressed his sincerest appreciation for all of the guests that have made the Famous Food Festival a huge, reoccurring hit – especially since returning from hiatus after the COVID-19 pandemic shut them down for nearly two years – and invites anyone and everyone interested in a having a great time while getting to experience an endless array of unusual and unique foods from around the world to check out the event this upcoming weekend.
“This event is really all about bringing families together, and given the circumstances that the world is in today, we want to be able to give kids some excitement and to bring back that ‘family’ aspect that we think was lost during the pandemic,” he said. “It’s all about giving back to the community and supporting local businesses, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can grow into in the future.”
To find out more, please visit https://www.famousfoodfestival.com.
