One new event this year: The city sponsored a salsa competition that drew more than 30 entries from home cooks, culinary students, and hobbyists, not just from Addison but all around Dallas-Fort Worth.
The city hatched the competition to reflect its restaurant-friendly personality, said Addison Special Events Coordinator Barbara Kovacevich. They initially considered doing a barbecue sauce competition, but settled on salsa because most of the entries would be cold and that made the contest more manageable.
Kovacevich and her staff culled through the 30-plus entries before narrowing it down to nine finalists, whose carefully prepared salsas were judged on three criteria -- taste, creativity, and ease of preparation -- by a panel of three on Wednesday at an undisclosed location. (Actually, it was in an apartment complex's meeting room, but calling it an undisclosed location makes it sound more mysterious.)
There were three categories:
1. Fruit, won by Maria Torres, whose fruit salsa had great chunks of papaya and mango
2. Verde, won by Sabrina Neugent, whose verde salsa, containing both tomatillos and Roma tomatoes, had an admirable nubby texture
3. Traditional, won by Sandra Coronado, whose pretty presentation included a ring of tortilla chips and sweet potato chips.
Coronado also won grand prize. See the gallery for photos of the winners and all the salsa finalists.
The city also devised Taste the Competition, a People's Choice type event entered by 14 Addison restaurants, all of whom created special dishes diners could vote for. The three finalists -- Chamberlain's, Ferrari's, and Ziziki's -- will be there on Sunday afternoon, when the winner will be announced by TV personality Ted Allen.
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