30 restaurants have food at Fraze

7:13 PM Thursday, August 27, 2009

KETTERING — More than 30 local restaurants will provide samples of their dishes for The Taste, the Kettering-Moraine-Oakwood Chamber of Commerce event that will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at the Fraze Pavilion.

The restaurant food samples — which will include steak, seafood, barbecue, pizza, subs and desserts — are included in the admission price. The event also will feature a silent auction, and attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a chance drawing for several gift baskets with values of more than $1,000 each, organizers said.

Advance tickets are $20, or $25 on the day of the event, and admission for children younger than 10 is $10. Strollers are not permitted. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Fraze Pavilion box office (937) 296-3300, Ticketmaster (937) 228-2323 or at the KMO Chamber Office at 2977 Far Hills Ave. (937) 299-3852.

FAREFEST: WINE, BEER AND FOOD IN VERSAILLES

VERSAILLES — The Versailles FareFest, featuring wine and beer along with food samples from area restaurants, will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, on West Main Street at Fountain Square.

More than 300 wines and dozens of beers will be available for sampling, and restaurants from Dayton to Greenville and beyond are lined up to serve samples of their dishes at the event. Music will be provided by the duo of Higgins-Madewell.

The FareFest is sponsored by the Versailles High School Alumni Association, with proceeds going toward college scholarships. Advance tickets are $35, $40 at the door. Tickets can be obtained by visiting The Inn at Versailles or by calling (937) 526-3020 or by going online to innatversailles.com.

HICKORY RIVER DEFENDS BBQ TITLE

TIPP CITY — For the second consecutive year, Brad and Krista Bowman’s Hickory River Smokehouse pulled pork has captured the Grand Champion top prize at the Ohio State Fair’s “Pork Rib-Off” competition.

The Bowmans own Hickory River Smokehouse, 135 S. Garber Drive, which opened in 2006. They had never entered a food competition until the 2008 Ohio State Fair, where they also won the pulled-pork competition, and returned in 2009 to successfully defend their title in the competition held earlier this month.

Brad Bowman said the secret behind his barbecue is a simple process of using hickory smoked meat with a rub made fresh every couple of days, and topped with the Bowmans’ Hickory River barbecue sauce.

For winning, Hickory River received a $1,000 prize, but the publicity for being grand champion is the biggest payoff, Bowman said. “It puts us on the map,” he said.

For more information on the Ohio State Fair Pork Rib-Off, contact the Ohio Pork Producers Council at www.ohiopork.org. For more information about Hickory River Smokehouse restaurant, go to www.hickoryriver.com or call (937) 669-2271.

— Mark Fisher and Nancy Bowman, Staff Writers

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