A Taste of the Northside

I had a blast at the Taste of Northside yesterday! This was my first year going and without a doubt, I highly recommend it! We pre-​paid for our tickets, which were $ 65 each. At first it seemed pretty ridiculous to me, but after experiencing it now, I totally think the amount of money paid, was justified. Especially, because you are helping support the Brighton Center which is an awesome organization. Once you get there, don’t expect to pay another dime unless you want to. But the admission comes with free parking, 8 food tastings, and 5 alcohol beverages.
There is no on-​site parking available, so there are several different locations to park at and you grab a shuttle to be dropped off right at the entrance. At first this concept seemed ridiculous to me, but after experiencing it, it made it a lot less stressful. We got on the bus, showed our printed tickets and received our wristband and vouchers for food. We arrived pretty much right when it opened and like every other Fiesta event, if you get there early; you can enjoy it for a while before it gets extremely busy.
Food options were fantastic. Lots of different local restaurants and food trucks and most of the lines weren’t too crazy, but the ones that were long are long for a reason (their samplings are DELISH). I was pretty disappointed in the beverage side of things. I was expecting there to be a local winery or brewery serving up their goods, but beer was on draft and were limited and wine was just a cheapish brand and they had no sweet wines. Overall though for the price, I can’t argue too much.
Now the lines for the restroom are out of control. In the beginning of the night, it wasn’t bad at all, but towards the end of the night, it seemed like everyone was at the restroom. We waited over a half an hour to use a port-​o-​potty. I was pretty unimpressed with that. Plus, it was highly disorganized and people were sneaking in and making their own lines for the restroom. Next year, I think there needs to be better organization for the restrooms. (It seems silly, but waiting 30 minutes to use the restroom when there are so many port-​o-​pottys seems ridiculous to me).
Overall, an awesome first-​timer experience. I am glad that we went and I’ll probably be back next year!

Wow. It’s for a good cause– I get it– but wow have things changed! I went a few years back so I had a positive experience to draw from. This year we decided to go.
$ 65 per ticket is a little steep but it included 4 drink tickets & 8 food tickets, entrance fee, and free parking w shuttle service.
In the past it was well worth it — with top notch restaurants participating. Yummy margaritas & pretty good beer. This year– holy cow! Every good restaurant (Kirbys, etc) was in the VIP section and the general public got Taco Cabana or the like. Crispy crème? Jason’s deli? Cover 3 had like some weird frito pie salad thing! Seriously???
Seems like there were several booth with nacho or nacho like plates or if it was Italian it was a pasta dish. The best was pappouli Greek booth and Stella (meatballs, bruschetta sticks, pasta). There was also a BbQ booth (S’mos or something) with one pork rib or pulled pork sliders that were pretty good. The margaritas were of minuscule size (3−4oz) if you were lucky. Beer was limited at best and they ran out of Hoagarden. Yup. The food trucks that were supposed to be there– maybe two or three.
Again, worthy cause but I don’t think that my experience lived up to the cost per ticket. I’m not planning a return next year.

This is one of the few FIESTA events where you don’t have to worry about your shoes or outfit getting ruined. ATONS has all of their proceeds benefitting the Brighton Center and you’ll be blown away once you attend this event. There are multitudes of vendors featuring awesome food and drinks. Each entry includes a certain amount of food and drink tickets for you to enjoy. From franchises to local restaurants, you’re sure to find something to your liking. For general admission, there is about four areas for you to enjoy on the outside premises. Each area has different food and drinks and it’s wise to take a walk around to see everything that is offered. You can expect some live music at various stages to get your groove on. Best part of the night has to be the firework show towards the closing. The one thing that gets tricky is the pickup area for all of the shuttles. There isn’t direct parking at the venue but they do have designated parking areas with shuttles. It didn’t take too long to board one so no complaints. I had a blast at this event and can easily see why this was voted The Best FIESTA event! Viva Fiesta Y’all!

The secret is out according to a friend of mine who says this Fiesta event is getting busier and busier each year.
I had a great time here with a group of friends. We actually managed to avoid long lines and find a nice spot on the grass to sit. I couldn’t tell you how we pulled that off, luck maybe? The crowd was pretty reasonable and most people here were fairly polite. There were fireworks at the end of the evening which was a lot of fun.
The cost of the event is a little pricey but you do get a lot for your money. The parking and shuttle rides made it much simpler and the food/​drink portions we received were generous. We were not able to use all our food and drink tickets and we left feeling absolutely stuffed.
As Gloria said, the beer choices were very good but I too would like to see more local vendors represented. Overall I certainly won’t complain as I really enjoyed the food.
I would like to attend this event again but I fear that as it gains in popularity it may turn out like other Fiesta events and become too crowded.

I would recommend going early to avoid crowds and long lines. It is still louder than my taste but it is fiesta after all. Heb tent is flowing with free food, drink, and gear. The other restaurants are great. Someone has a fabulous chocolate cake and I need the recipe for the watermelon lemonade cooler by chili’s. I would go back. Expect a bigger price tag than your other fiesta events but it is for a good cause and not too unreasonable with a standard entry fee of $ 60. Believe me, this is more than enough drink and food tickets to keep you satiated for weeks.

Classiest Fiesta event I’ve ever been to.
Seriously, you won’t get beer spilled on you here. You can wear flip flops without worrying what you might step in. And you can even find a perfectly manicured piece of lawn to perch on while you enjoy your spoils. The event takes place on the grounds of the Club at Sonterra where it seems like green space rolls on forever. From the top of a certain hill on the grounds, you can overlook the entire festival and it’s quite a sight to see.
You can tell the team behind this one puts months of thought into organizing an event of this caliber. With three park and ride locations and a very short wait for busses, if any at all, it’s a breeze to get to this festival. Of course, I recommend heading that way after rush hour since it is in Stone Oak. But for those of you who loathe the typical Fiesta parking experience, this event was created for you.
There could have been less chain restaurants and more locally owned businesses represented, but who knows what requirements there are to participate. I was thrilled to see Knife & Fork, CBQ Eatery, and a handful of local food trucks representing for small local businesses. Going into it, you should know you won’t be eating roasted corn and chicken on a stick, but you will get to indulge in some culinary delights like those delectable chicken wings from Mars Mobile Kitchen. Also, the booze here is five stars. They had some craftier beers than normal events, and I got to sip a delicious red zin that I’d never heard of before.
The best part? It’s serious bang for your buck. Each food item is one ticket each and the portions are generous. I believe I used five food tickets total and was stuffed to the brim when it was time to leave. By the way, when it was time to leave, a bus was right there waiting to take us back to our car. No lines, no sloppy line neighbors, just good, clean fun.