The Old Fourth Street Filling Station

We are thrilled to have The Old Fourth Street Filling Station back at Taste of the Town this year! General Manager and Chef, Adam Andrews says they will bring their chocolate fountain again this year with all the goodies for dipping like marshmallows, fruit, pretzels, and cake. This has been such a hit with young and old! By the end of the evening, there are few people left who don't have chocolate on them somewhere. And it makes for a beautiful booth as well! All of the dipping items, especially the strawberries and other fruit are beautifully arranged, waiting to be skewered and dipped.

Adam tells me that they are trying to be sensitive to the economy by holding weekly 'Thrifty Thursdays". Every Thursday, from 5pm until closing, all entrees are $5 off! "The food you love, comfort you need, at prices you can afford", I think says it all.

They have also made some changes in the menu for lunch, dinner and brunch. I especially thought the Fried Oyster Benedict for brunch sounded outstanding.

Just as a reminder, Adam has agreed to feature the winning Kentucky Style Pie recipe on his menu for the two weeks following Taste of the Town. I hope you get out to The Old Fourth Street Filling Station to try it; if you need the hours or directions, see their website at www.theoldfourthstreetfillingstation.com.

Kentucky Style Pie Contest

Family Services and The Taste of the Town are doing something new and different in 2009. We're looking for a signature Taste of the Town Pie! If you love to bake, join in the fun and enter the race.

Everyone who enters needs to register prior to April 24th by contacting me, Susan Wiles at 722-8173 or swiles@fsifamily.org. When I hear from you, I'll provide you with the rules of the contest and additional details.

The Kentucky Style Pies will be judged by professional chefs who will determine their favorite three pies. Those three pies will then be judged Friday morning, May 1st on WXII by their morning show personalities. I know Kimberly, Nicole, Austin, Jennie, Kenny and Preeti will thoroughly enjoy that assignment! In the past, we have always taken food from the participating Taste of the Town restaurants to WXII the Friday before the Taste for them to try. That has always been a big hit! I think they'll enjoy pie tasting as well.

Adam Andrews, General Manager and Chef at The Old Fourth Street Filling Station, will be joining us at WXII that morning too. He will be featuring the winning signature Pie recipe on his menu for two weeks following the Taste of the Town. That way everyone will have a chance to decide for themselves how good the winning pie really is. More about Adam next week!

Of course there are three people who will have a chance to taste one of the three best pies. The top three pies will be entered in the silent auction at the Taste of the Town. That's why we are requiring pie entrants to bring two pies from their recipe to enter in the contest. Many of those duplicate pies will go into the silent auction for the public to bid on.

Put on your apron, get out your rolling pin and bowls and give me a call. The recipe does not have to be an original. We just want you to make it yummy! We are looking forward to hearing from the wonderful amateur bakers around the Triad!

Thank you for exploring the new Taste of the Town Blog! I'm very excited to have this opportunity to tell you about what's happening with the Taste of the Town so that when you do come out on May 2nd for the best party of the year, you'll have a good perspective on the event.

I take care of the restaurants for Taste which means I go to the restaurants and ask them to participate in our fundraiser. Interestingly, Taste of the Town has become a very well attended event and the restaurants that come have a terrific time, while showing off their wonderful cuisine and their staff's personalities. We ask the restaurants to decorate their booths to make the evening even more fun. During the event, the public votes on their favorite Booth, Dessert, Non-Dessert and Best All-around. I've discovered over the last five events, that restaurants are very competitive and thoroughly enjoy the awards ceremony at the end of the evening. We give the top three vote-getters in each category a medal that this year will say 2009 Taste of the Town, Place and Category. That occurs at the end of the evening along with presentation of medals to the top three restaurants voted on by three professional judges. Michael Hastings, Food Editor of the Winston-Salem Journal is one of those judges.

I am asking the restaurants participating to develop a dish/drink that will be featured for two weeks prior to Taste of the Town at their business. It might have a Kentucky Derby theme or just a name that relates to the Taste. This is not a requirement by us but we thought it might bring some new folks out for the Taste and some additional interest in the restaurants. More later on this.

Be sure to check out the list of restaurants at the right side of the page. Each one is attached to its website link so just click on anyone you're interested in.

We look forward to seeing you May 2nd!

You're Invited!

Family Services, Inc. invites you to the Benton Convention Center in downtown Winston-Salem on May 2, 2009 from 4 PM to 7 PM for our annual Taste of the Town...Derby Style! As our guest, you can watch the Kentucky Derby, enjoy other entertainment, and participate in a silent auction while sampling the sumptuous "tastes" of over twenty invited restaurants and food establishments. You will have the chance to judge best dessert, best non-dessert, best booth design, and best all around restaurant. It's an excellent opportunity to enjoy great food and the Kentucky Derby while raising funds for Family Services, Inc. Tickets will be available March 30th at all Winston-Salem Lowes Foods locations for $20. At the door they are $25. Tickets can also be purchased at Family Services, Inc., 1200 S. Broad St., Winston-Salem, NC or call (336) 722-8173 for credit card purchases by phone. We can't wait to see you there!

About Family Services, Inc.

For over 100 years, Family Services, Inc. has been serving families in Forsyth, Stokes and Davie Counties in North Carolina. Each year we assist nearly 2,000 individuals and families by providing a wide array of services to strengthen families through well established programs:

• Counseling Services
• Adoption Services
• Pregnancy Counseling
• Head Start
• Contact HOPElines
• Safe Relationships (which provides prevention and counseling as well as safe shelter)

Family Services, Inc. is committed to strengthening families in healthy communities.