Soup Fest 2014

This was my fourth time attending «Buffalo Soup-​Fest» in the four years that they’ve had it, so obviously I’m a fan. This venue was the best of all of the places that the event has been held. There was room to walk around. It was light and bright and welcoming. There are just a few issues that I feel need to be addressed.
One of the problems is that (maybe because it’s such a popular event) they ran out of many of the soups early in the day. The event runs from 11 – 7, and by 4 close to half of the varieties were no longer available. Frustrating for those of us who chose to come for (an early) dinner.
Secondly there just weren’t places to get things to drink. And, none of the soup vendors appeared to have beverages for sale. Some of those soups were pretty salty, and something to drink was necessary. Luckily a convention center employee led us to a water fountain hidden on the first floor.
Third (for me at least) was that there really wasn’t as much variety as I would have hoped for (how many Chicken Wing Soups and Beer Cheese Soups are really needed?)… and some of the soups really weren’t all that good (ummm… isn’t Vichyssoise supposed to be COLD?)… and the portion sizes (at $ 2-​$ 3 each) were pretty small.
And (finally) fourth… somebody needed to (PLEASE!!!) clean the place up. The garbage cans were overflowing, there were empty (and near empty) soup bowls all over the tables, and the table cloths were absolutely disgusting! (And why were there table clothes anyway? EWW!!)
So why, you may ask, am I a fan? Well… I love all events boosting awareness of Buffalo’s great independent restaurants. I love the opportunity to try new things. And, I simply love soup. What were my favorites? The Village Inn’s «Mayan Chocolate Stout» and Swing From the Vine Café’s «My Sweetie Pie». Mmm Mmm Good!

Come on down to try some new things.
Parking is fairly easy downtown on a Sunday.
Sato is here with pumpkin soup and braised pork stew. I had the pumpkin and I’ll have it again at the restaurant soon.
Two food trucks are here, Roaming Buffalo and Black Market.
The Byrd house has a chili soup not listed on the handout, I tried it and that’s what I would have again. It was good and has some great flavors.
Some of the other vendors, in no specific order: Swing from the Vine, Buffalo Roadhouse Grill, Original Soupman, Go Veggie, Laugerhaus 95 (try the African peanut, superb), Lockport Pub, Saffire Grill and more.
For your sweet tooth you have the Cupcake Café, Oliver St Bakery, Buffalo Cookie Company, and the Gelato Gypsy to choose from.
Randomly there are also Direct TV, Outback Kettle Korn, Tupperware here.
Unilocal has a table and if you check in you get to spin the wheel and get a prize. I’d go for the Chapstick if I were you. Stop by and say hi to Alex and Danielle. Always a fun table.
The venue is large and as a result it’s not crushingly crowded. Easy to move around. Lines not too long.
This is a fun event to do once a year.
Three stars as it’s nice but not the best ever. The live music is a little too loud and distracting. The entrance is not as easy as it could be. You cannot leave and come back. It’s an 8 hour event. Why not be able to exit and enter?
The prices for soups I thought were actually reasonable but the prices for non soups were quite high. Provide some half cupcakes or smaller ones and charge less. This is about tasting, not full size portions. Same for the popcorn, this is not a street fair, so make the portions smaller or lower prices.
All on all there is a slight feel of a street fair here which I doubt the organizers are going for and I would imagine makes some of the «target vendors» uncomfortable.
All in all A OK.