Fall Fun

Not everything is big enough or awesome enough to warrant a full post on their own, so we lumped together some of our fall exploits.


Foodlink Festival at the Public Market
Alex:
Back in mid-September we grabbed up some Groupons for the Foodlink Festival being held at the Rochester Public Market.  It sounded similar to the Taste of St. Louis, which we've really enjoyed attending with friends and family in the past.  Dozens of local restaurants, wineries, caterers and food vendors turned out with all kinds of small samples.  There were some musicians playing on a small stage set up in the middle of the market as we made our way through with our little plates and wine glasses.

The biggest key difference is that here you buy a ticket and get whatever you want, whereas in the STL version you pay for the individual food items.  While it was nice to be able to sample all kinds of things without worrying about price, this did result in longer lines and smaller sample sizes.  There was a high proportion of desserts and wine stands vs regular food, so we got a little over-surgared. 

I think I prefer the setup and the turnout of the Taste of St Louis, but this was still fun to try out.  Someday we'll make it to the much larger and more well known Taste of Chicago, and we'll have to post about that!

Laura: Agreed! The food was all pretty decent, but there were way too many desserts (which is something I never thought I would say!!!). Favorite foods: PB&J cupcake, Savory/Roasted porkbelly, local beers, and Pumpkin Ice Cream. Yum! Also, this event was partially sponsored by Wegman's (the local mega grocery store), so we got a couple free totes and some coupons.

Oktoberfest in Irondequoit
Alex:
In late September we went to meet some of the other med students at Oktoberfest.  Yes, Oktoberfest is celebrated mostly in September, and ends in the first week of October.  In Irondequoit (the area of north of downtown, toward the lake) there was a good sized event that some of Laura's classmates wanted to visit, so we decided to check it out.

The tent was naturally very large, colorful, and filled with polkas and yodeling.  We promptly grabbed some Oktoberfest ales, a rouladen, and some wurst and chowed down.

We found a few friends at some tables and sat with them for a bit.

The food was delicious.  I went back to grab some potato pancakes and apple sauce, and had to get an extra side of their tasty red cabbage (like saurkraut, but also sweet like warm applesauce).

There were quite a few people dancing to the German band, so we jumped in for a little bit.  I grabbed a shot when the space cleared out some so we could get the band.

"Good times!!!!" - Foof

 
Apple Picking in Victor
Alex:
In early October, we went southeast a little bit closer to the Finger Lakes to the small, quaint town of Victor to meet some other med students out for apple picking at the Apple Farm.  After a short tractor ride out into the orchard, we wandered around having some fun and finding the best apples, figuring out what types of apples were ripe, and discussing what kinds of apples were good for what kind of cooking.

Victor, Marina and Brian watching Joe juggle, trying to get themselves coordinated.

Rows of apple trees....

 We even found a lone pear tree next to a barn. Brought one home.....it was delicious!!!

Laura: 
I believe we picked some Crispins (look like giant, more yellowy Granny Smiths), some Cortlands, and maybe a couple Macoun apples at the orchard. All of which contributed to multiple apple crisps and two apple pies (with crust from scratch)!

We also sampled some of the farm's homemade baked goods - apple cider donuts and apple turnovers. Very tasty. Even had a little bit of apple cider. Aside from getting to spend time with friends and pick some tasty apples, it was a GORGEOUS day! So nice to spend some time out in the sunshine and warmth (while it's still here!).

All in all we had a really great time at the Apple Orchard. We'll definitely have to go back. We might just have to go back to explore the town of Victor a little more. Like Alex mentioned, it is a very quaint little city with a lot of shops and local restaurants. Might even have to go there in the winter once the snow falls because the further south you go from
Rochester the hillier it gets, so I bet there is some beautiful scenery out there!

Hope you enjoyed reading about a few of our Fall adventures!
-The Lorax-