Taste of Virginia competition will bring restaurants, music and fireworks to West End

Local restaurants will gather Saturday to compete for the Taste of Virginia title at an event hosted by the Innsbrook Foundation and benefitting Operation Healing Forces.

The restaurants will compete for Best Flavor Mashup, Virginia’s Sweetest, Le Chic Suite, People’s Choice, and Taste of Virginia, which comes with a $2,500 Summit Media advertising package.

Attendees will be able to buy food or $3 small plates from participating restaurants and to purchase their choice of Virginia wines and 20 craft beers from local breweries.

Five judges — Alberto and Peppino Mastromano, who own Ciao Capri Ristorante, Ann and Ray Lazarchic, who started James River Cellars, and Amy DuFour from Capital Ale House — will select the restaurant awards, except for People’s Choice. To vote for People’s Choice, attendees should visit the Innsbrook Facebook page.

The competition is motivating and fun, said The Grapevine owner Mitchell Trak. Grapevine has participated in Taste of Virginia since its first event in 2016 and won Le Chic Suite for their food display one year.

“There’s always trash talk,” he said. “There’s always a friendly rivalry. No matter what, even if there was no competition, being food vendors, or if you’re a concessionaire, caterer, food truck, there’s always going to be a little trash talk about whose food is better, whose service is better, faster, because it’s difficult to vend outdoors in heat and the elements.”

The Henrico Color Guard will conduct a ceremony in honor of veterans, and a Holman Middle School student will sing the national anthem.

Tony Markel founded the Operation Healing Forces charity, said Innsbrook Foundation Director Yvonne Mastromano. The Markel Corporation is headquartered in Innsbrook, so the foundation found out about it in passing and through information in the lobby, and then asked a few people at the Markel Corporation about it before deciding to partner with Operation Healing Forces.

“The event is a Fourth of July event that celebrates independence, and the only way we can celebrate that is because of sacrifices made by veterans and they continue to make,” said Mastromano.

Three Sheets to the Wind will perform as the headliner, and Main Street Station and Soul Expressions also will perform. A Kid’s Zone will have activities for children, including moon bounces and games.

Taste of Virginia will end with a 15-minute fireworks show.

“It’s a wonderful event, especially fireworks, being in Innsbrook,” Trak said. “There used to be fireworks many many many years ago in the general area, and it’s gone away, so this is a big draw for the community around here,” Trak said.

The event is at the Innsbrook Pavilion, located at 4901 Lake Brook Drive in Glen Allen, and runs from 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Tickets cost $8 until 10 a.m. on Saturday at innsbrook.com, on the Innsbrook app, or at Capital Ale-House Innsbrook for cash. At the gate, tickets are $10. Children ages 10 and under are admitted free. Parking near the venue will cost $5 per car.

The Innsbrook Foundation is trying to offset costs in order to make a larger contribution to Operation Healing Forces, Mastromano said.

The participating restaurants are:
• Boka Tako Truck
• Capitol Waffle Shop
• Carytown Burgers & Fries
• Four Brothers Bistro
• Grapevine
• Gregory’s Grill
• Jem’s Caribbean Cuisine
• Kona Ice
• Mezeh
• Poor Georgie’s Bake Shop
• Rare Olde Times
• Two Kings Concessions