Street Fest Tasting Tour
Hello everybody. This is Chef Fletch coming at you.
If you have ever been to Silver Dollar City (SDC) during one of their many festivals, you are sure to have seen signs for their tasting passports. Recently my lovely wife, Julie, and I visited SDC during Street Fest. This time visiting SDC was for the sole purpose of getting the tasting passport.
What is a tasting passport, you ask. Well, it is a package deal that allows you to taste 5 of their specialty dishes that are scattered throughout the park. During Street Fest, there were 40 different specialty dishes. While we couldn't try all 40 dishes, we could purchase 2 passports, which would allow us to taste 10 of the 40.
In my opinion, this is a good deal. One passport cost $35, which means 2 brought our total to $70 +tax. Most of the specialty dishes cost between $7-$10. So, getting the passports still saved us money.
Anyways, onto the tasting tour. Below I will list each of the dishes that we tried and give you my thoughts on the dish. Since one passport only lets you try 5 dishes, after we have completed the tour, I will break them down into my top 5 dishes that I feel you should try. Bear in mind, Street Fest ends April 29th. So, if you wish to take advantage of my recommendations, you will need to plan to visit SDC before then.
Stop #1: Honey Peach BBQ Pork Sandwich.
This is one that I was looking forward to trying myself. I enjoy a good BBQ sandwich and was intrigued by the peach twist. While I enjoyed this dish, I wish that it had had more sauce and that the peaches were cut thinner.These are my own personal preferences and, even though they are my preferences, this was still a good sandwich. I actually plan to, in the near future, attempt to put my own take on this dish for a Cooking with Chef Fletch video. Keep an eye out for it @ https://www.youtube.com/@cookingwithcheffletch.
Stop #2: Smoky Corn Chowder
I love a good Corn Chowder and, while I prefer a chowder during the colder months of the year, I was looking forward to trying this dish as well. It had a great chowder consistency. I am not sure that I would call it a smoky chowder. There was some smokiness flavor in the bacon that was sprinkled on top. But once that was gone, it lacked a smoky taste throughout the remainder of the bowl. Overall, it was a good dish and I would definitely have it again, regardless of the time of the year.
Stop #3: Bacon Jammin' Fries
This was a dish that my lovely wife was looking forward to tasting. Who would want to pass up steak fries smothered in BBQ and bacon? Sounds like a winning combo to me. They were a great side dish. One thing I would change would be a little less BBQ sauce. I would have loved to have them as a side with the pulled pork sandwich. Then, I could've taken some of its sauce and put it on my sandwich.But, even alone they were well worth eating.
Stop #4: Smoked Brisket Totchos
Both me and my lovely wife were looking forward to this stop on our tour. And, let me tell you, it didn't disappoint. I like the thought of totchos. And, who doesn't like smoked brisket? The ratio of brisket to tots was perfect. This will probably become a recipe that I create a video for on my YouTube channel.
Stop #5: Reese's Peanut Butter Waffle
I am a huge fan of anything Reese's. My lovely wife and I decided that it was high time for a dessert dish on our tour. This waffle definitely did the trick. The waffle had a good hint of peanut butter in it. I, personally would have loved more mini Reese's peanut butter cups and a little less ice cream. Overall, a good tasting treat.
Stop # 6: Blue Lemonade
We had our drinks in our VIP SDC mugs. However, we felt like we should try some of the specialty drinks on our tour as well. This blue lemonade was a great choice. My lovely wife liked it so much that I hardly got to drink any of it. It hit the spot and quenched our thirst.
Stop # 7: BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese
This was another dish that I was looking forward to trying. I am a sucker for mac and cheese. And, if you couldn't tell, I tend to like BBQ. So, this dish sounded like a match made in Heaven. The mac and cheese was creamy and delicious. The chicken was tender, with just the right amount of BBQ sauce on it. The crispy french fried onions added a wonderful crispy element to the dish. The only thing that I might have changed would be to shred the chicken and incorporate it into the mac and cheese. This recipe might find its way to YouTube on my channel.
Stop #8: Cherries Jubilee Funnel Cake
How can you go to SDC without trying a funnel cake? There were several funnel cake options to choose from along the tour. We decided on this one. It has been awhile since I had had a funnel cake. As I recall they have a light and airy texture to them. This one did not and was a bit of a let down. However, the cherries jubilee topping did not disappoint. They hit the nail on the head with it.
Stop #9: Strawberry Shortcake Beignets
Our tasting tour is nearing the end and, even though we just had a dessert, we wanted to try these Beignets. My middle daughter, who loves strawberry shortcake, would have been jealous. They definitely captured the strawberry shortcake flavor with these Beignets. The Beignets were airy and soft. I really have nothing bad to say about these. Except that at this point of the tour we were certainly getting full. However, we still managed to eat every bite of these.
Stop #10: Cream Whip Lemonade
Our tour has come to an end and, considering that we were full, we decided to wash it all down with a beverage. This cream whip lemonade seemed like the perfect way to do just that. My lovely wife, who drank most of the first drink along our tour, did not do as much washing down with this beverage as I did. I love a good lemonade, frozen or otherwise. However, I did not care for this one very much. It was a interesting twist on a traditional lemonade and worth a try.
Well, our tour is complete. But, as promised, I need to give you my top 5 so that you can head to SDC, get your own tasting passport and go on your own tour of Street Fest. Remember, though, Street Fest ends on April 29th. So you need to hurry. So, here's my top 5.
#5. Blue Lemonade
Of the two drinks we tried, this one was by far the better of the two. In my opinion, the tasting tour was more about the food. Which is way this beverage ended up ranked #5. You won't go wrong if you choose to have this drink as one of your choices for your own tasting tour.
#4: Strawberry Shortcake Beignets
We tried three different dessert dishes. If we were only allowed to choose one these light and airy Beignets would make the cut. I would highly recommend them being a part of any tasting tour at Street Fest.
#3: Honey Peach BBQ Pork Sandwich
Drinks and desserts are great. However, the tasting tour, in my opinion, was more about the savory dishes. There were three of those that I would definitely have again. And, it was a tough call when ranking those three. This pork sandwich ended up being ranked #3 because it had some flaws that could be easily fixed. Again, I will soon be sharing my take on this dish on my YouTube channel.
#2: BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese
This was another one of my favorite dishes along the tour. And, like the pork sandwich, it had some flaws that could be easily fixed. It too might become a video on my YouTube channel.
And now for my #1 pick of the tasting tour. Drum roll, please!
#1: Smoked Brisket Totchos
This was my favorite dish. It had the perfect ratio of brisket to tots. The white queso was drizzled perfectly over it all. It will certainly find its way to YouTube on my channel and will probably become a stable dish on my own dining room table.
So, there you have it. The top 5 dishes to try out during Street Fest at SDC. If you make it out we would love to hear what you thought of these dishes. And, if you try one that we didn't suggest, we would love to hear about them as well.
This is Chef Fletch signing of for now. Join us in the fall for our next tasting tour at SDC.
