ST. LOUIS — Hundreds of foodies will make their way downtown this weekend for the Taste of St. Louis at Ballpark Village.
"I had an elote, the OG one from one of these tents. I had a cheesecake strawberry, crab rangoons, I had the peach ice cream, strawberry ice cream and a lemonade," Gabrielle Workman said.
While Gabrielle Workman is no stranger to the Taste, it's a first time for Amy Gresham.
"I am holding some kind of jerk French fries from the Crooked Boot and some red beans and rice," Gresham said. "The red beans and rice are phenomenal."
There's 30 food vendors this year including Bayou Seasoning & Catering, who've been selling their food at the event for the past 15 years.
"We do etouffee gumbo, red beans, catfish baskets, Atchafalaya which is crawfish over catfish baskets," said Susan Putman of Bayou Seasoning & Catering. "We do VooDoo fries. We're here to serve ya'll."
The Taste of St. Louis not only welcomes food trucks but also welcomes brick and mortars like Salt + Smoke. This is their third year doing the event.
"We have brisket which we serve in sliders. We have our pulled pork which come in sliders and options of potato salad, and coleslaw. Also, we brought out our trophy-inspiring smoked chicken wings, which you get dry rubbed and you can top it off with some sauce. We're finishing it off with St. Louis cut ribs and accented with our sweet and zesty BBQ sauce. Our finale is a vegan option as well," said Collie Collie.
Collie Collie continues: We get to see and feel in an immediate time zone of what they like and adjust it in that same category. It's all about BBQ and that relationship you build with them, because BBQ is for besties".
Salt + Smoke has made it their mission to come to the Taste year after year.
Collie Collie said what keeps them coming back is being connected with the community and being an active force in it.
Taste of St. Louis will continue Saturday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.