A beautiful day for a festival!

Today was a beautiful day. I was looking forward to this day. I went to the Scottsdale Culinary Festival. It was amazing! The festival consists of restaurants that open up sample booths. I always like to try things I've never had before. When we arrived, I started with a cold beer and some grilled chicken street tacos. They were in two flour tortillas with grilled chicken pieces, pico de gallo, cheese, and sour cream. With the first bite, they tasted somewhat spicy. Then they became savory and creamy. By the end, the sour cream became sauce- like and delish! We walked a bit and stopped again.
 This booth was labeled "best food" rated by the festival. They were also street tacos, but being labeled "best" I had to try them! This time I decided to have pork. There was a reason they were labeled the best! The pork was in small pieces and very crispy with a smoky background flavor. It is called pork al pastor. This type of pork is marinated and cooked on a rotisserie with with pineapple on top so that the sweetness in the juices run into the pork. The taco is garnished with guacamole on a corn tortilla. They were fabulous!
Next, we stopped and a tapas stand. Which is like a spanish appetizer. The restaurant was called Tapas Papa Frita. Pimiento Piquillo con Centollo which is a crab stuffed pepper in a creamy saffron sauce. Yumo! The pepper was sweet with a creamy cheesy filling. The saffron sauce pushed it over the edge. Saffron is a very unique spice and very flavorful.
After all the spanish influence, I was ready to sample a new cuisine. Grimaldis Pizzeria served us some amazing brick oven pizza. The crust was so thin and crispy with fresh basil, homemade marinara sauce and creamy cheese. The pepperoni was sliced very thin and crisp atop the cheese. I highly recommend this pizza!
To finish off, we stopped by The Grand Lux Cafe. I have been to the restaurant before, but never had the opportunity to sample the items served. I shared the buffalo bites. They were chicken pieces tossed in spicy buffalo sauce, rolled into a ball shape and fried with a crispy batter. They were served with a creamy blue cheese sauce. The last (and one of the most delicious items) was the warm beignets. Beignet is a french work for fried dough. Similar to a doughnut, but very different at the same time. The dough in the center is light, soft and flaky. It pulls apart so softly with a crispy coating. They were lightly dusted in a powdered sugar and served with a creamy warm custard sauce. Heaven! Try them! You will not be disappointed!
Overall the day was a success! I hope you get to try some of the items I shared! Until next time... :)