Writer in the Thick of It: Foodies Descend on Trade Center 128

Trade Center 128 welcomed #MINFoodie5 big time last night. Big sign, big space, big welcome.

Awesome Visibility On 128!

Crowd of Foodies

So many great products, where do I start? The four presenters chosen by popular vote were Dancing Deer, Graba-bite, Foodie Journey and Salsa Mayoral. As usual, I tried to check them out before the presentations.

Caramel Sea Salt
Squares

Dancing Deer had samples of their delicious brownies and caramel sea salt squares. After my first bite of the sea salt caramel square I commenced telling everybody I met to try it. Their new From Our House to Your House Gift Medley is a mix of treats packaged in a cute house-shaped box, and, yes, it includes 4 caramel sea salt squares. It's the perfect housewarming gift.

Julie from Dancing Deer Talking about the
"From Our House to Your House Gift Medley"

My absolute favorite of the night was the unique black salsa from Villa Mexico Cafe. I have never tasted better salsa anywhere! It's a family recipe bearing the family name: Salsa Mayoral. You can order it online and they ship nationwide. They got my vote for the American Airlines Business Extra points. They got lots of other folks' votes too. They won first prize.

Bessie of Villa Mexico Cafe with Salsa and Virgin of Guadalupe

Foodie Journey is your personal food concierge service. When you're traveling and you have no idea where to eat, and crowd-sourced apps and guidebooks (yes, according to Foodie Journey, people still read guidebooks) don't cut it, they give you recommendations of the best meal for you. That's right, not "the best meal" but the best meal for you.

Foodie Journey Banner

I somehow missed photographing Grab a Bite, the online service that helps you discover new, local, great restaurants. They have a website and an app and the service is free to the restaurant and the customer.

Beautifully Bottled Real Honest Tea

My second favorite taste of the night, after the unique black salsa, was the white tea with apricot and jasmine from Tea Cuvee. Imagine a glamorous bottled cold brewed tea! This is cold tea that tastes like tea, not like weird artificial flavors and sweeteners. There are no sweeteners and no weird additives. It's just real tea, brewed in Boston. This is more like a fine wine to serve with dinner than an "ice tea" you grab at a convenience store. Like!

Tea Cuvee

Salt Traders had a whole array of their gourmet salts and sugars available for tasting. I tasted all of the salts and one of the sugars. They have amazing smoked salts, smoked the traditional Viking way. In addition to the Maine smoked salt, I very much liked the sagemary salt and the porcini salt.

Awesome Smoked Salt

Local and global meet at Mass Innovation Nights all the time, and #MINFoodie5 was no exception. Dining experience innovators ranged from Kitchensurfing , which connects local chefs to folks who want a unique and intimate dining experience at home or your chosen local venue, to Taste Trekkers, food tourism specialists who offer vacation planning for foodies, those folks who plan their vacations around food and foodie events.

Plan Your Foodie Vacation Now!

The Crowd Enjoying The Foodie Innovations

The crowd had plenty to see and taste before and after the presentations. There was olive oil from Sicily, innovative chocolate packaging, energy shots, an innovative wine and beer delivery app, and a new insert that turns a canning jar into a bento-box style lunch box.