Flavored Nation Food Festival

First time attendee and will hopefully attend next year! This event offered a diverse range of foods including meats, vegetarian options and desserts. None of the lines were too long. My only complaint was there were 3 states closed at opening and as the day went on a few more closed. I don't know the reason but if 50 states were supposed to participate, all 50 states should have had the food and staff ready to serve. Some standouts were the Idaho Steak fingerlings and the Connecticut Lobster Mac and Cheese. The majority of the servers were pleasant but the beer servers weren't exactly people friendly.

I would say 4.5! They missed a few states (guess they didn't show?) and the beer and wine selections were bad. The rest of it was awesome and I'm glad my colleague convinced me and DH to go with them! That said, tips:1. Get there early, but not too early. They open the doors exactly on time so if you finish checking in at that time, you can walk in instead of waiting in line.2. You don't need more food tickets. It is a lot of food. Go with friends and try more stuff. 3. Get the soup, bigger portions and all were good.4. Don't skip the side vendors, great local folks and even more food! (free food!)5. Space out the drinks. Also, the line forms fast, but moves fast too.6. Lobster is popular. Go early to their booths.7. Bring a water bottle, there are coolers around, but they emptied and you can go to the fountain outside the restrooms to refill a bottle. 8. You can reenter, take your time. Above all, engage, have fun, enjoy the taste of the United States!

First time attending the event this year. Overall, I really enjoyed it and was glad we attended. I thought the food standouts were the bison chili (Wyoming), Buckeye tart (Ohio) and the deep dish pizza (Illinois). Food sample sizes were very generous. Here are some things I think they could work on to make it even better next year (short list):1. Have more entertainment (music, speakers, cooking demonstrations).2. Several of the states were "closed" at the opening hour of the second day. By late afternoon, many state booths were vacated or ran out of food. This is not cool at a food tasting event. 3. As another reviewer already mentioned, the drink tickets should be customizable to type of alcohol, so that you are not left with wine and/or beer tickets you do not use (and end up giving away).

Sadly, I'm on an appetite suppressant so 5 tickets in and I was full. What I had was pretty good (Nebraska, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Illinois, Alaska, New Jersey). But, it's just after 3pm. A bunch of places are already closed/sold out. The 2 lobster roll locations (Maine/Connecticut) weren't open all day - an hour at best. Kind of a rip off). Glad to have gone. Wouldn't go again, though.

Had meant to go Sunday but had a chance Saturday, so I swung by. Later than I had intended, and yeah, some of the booths were out. But there was still plenty to eat at 4pm. (I got there at 2, left at 4.) 10 samples, all a decent size- smaller than a restaurant portion, but just right for sampling or even sharing. First thing I saw inside the entry was Alaska, with reindeer sausage, and it was tasty- a little zip, nice roll, interesting sauce. The line for Maine lobster rolls was long, so I hopped into it while I ate. The lobster roll was excellent- big fresh chunks of lobster with a tiny bit of mayo coating. I had hoped to compare with the Connecticut hot buttered lobster roll, but they were out. Moved on to scrapple, pulled pork, sour cream raisin pie, etc. The Minnesota wild rice soup was awesome- thick, flavorful. The chislik from Nebraska was good, but basically just meat on a stick- kind of like steak fondue in flavor and texture. The runza from South Dakota was good hand food: sort of like a Hot Pocket, with meat, onions, cabbage, etc., inside. The Idaho steak fingers were a surprise: tender chunks, battered and fried. Amazing. I tried to sample things I had never had or even heard of, and did pretty well with that. The more popular items did seem to run out (but also replenish often.) The chefs were nice, and eager to share info about the food. The event was well-planned and nicely laid out. I do wish there was a map (though it's not so big that you can't just walk around finding stuff to try.) Also more trash cans, and perhaps places to sit or stand to eat near the center. But there were plenty of both along the edges, and the place was clean and easy to navigate. The alcohol section was pretty crowded, but lines moved quickly. I tried a couple of beers. Local groups and businesses had booths, often handing out freebies. Oh, try the Topo Chico water- very good. Yelp had some stickers and other swag. It's 11am now on Sunday- get there soon, get some good stuff, leave full and happy. Tip: buy in advance if you still can, and save $10.

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Food was great! Drinks was great. It's a sample size pours, and sample size food. It was so much food, I was to full to finish. I was disappointed that the lobster was not available. We got 2 extra tickets for the inconvenience, but I really wanted the lobster roll. Overall good experience.

This is a great festival. Reading other reviews yes, some of the booths had a hard time keeping up with demand but this is the first time this festival has ever been held. Anywhere. Some booths had huge lines (Nashville hot chicken) and others had sporadic traffic. Add to that the food was being prepared in small batches so what you had was fresh. Many of the chefs came from the state they are cooking for at this event. The celebrity chefs (think Hells Kitchen TV show) were friendly and engaging. One even came up to me to talk. Small details about this event were better than most festivals. The serving bowls were stylish and sturdy. Tickets for food & drinks were on a key ring and you tore one ticket off at a time. Very easy to manage:carry your tickets. Drink and food tickets were color coded. This was a fun festival and I believe they will work out any kinks in the process. Give this festival a chance next year - you won't regret it.

I can truly say, been there, done that no need to go back. Some of the food portions were ok and some were not. For instance buffalo meatballs were not meatballs. They were meatball about the size of a quarter. Pimento cheese biscuit was good. The NC pulled pork was good. I do love Spam but the Hawaiian spam not so good. The pork tenderloin was tremendous. Street taco was the best according to my wife. I think one major improvement would be to have 6 drink tickets period and let the customer make their own choice as to what to drink. Choices were 2 each beer, wine or booze. I don't drink beer so I gave my beer tickets away. As I first said don't need to go back

Great place to be today or tomorrow. Columbus convention center, Come on over for fun. Hint try to get there before 1:00. Food sample were reasonable size.