With Tastings and Festivities, Foodies Celebrate National Food Day

Cold temperatures and strong winds failed to deter visitors to Harvard Square from attending the third annual National Food Day celebration in Brattle Plaza. The event is held each year to promote sustainability practices in the food industry and the community and includes free tastings from restaurants in the Square.

With Thursday’s high attendance, some restaurants—like Sandrine’s Bistro—found themselves running out of offerings shortly after the event began.

“We served pumpkin crème brûlées last year, and they went out in twenty minutes,” Amy Nomejko, the General Manager of Sandrine’s, said. This year’s pumpkin crème brûlées, with an updated hint of maple flavor, were gone just as quickly, she said.

Hosted by the Harvard Square Business Association, the food tasting also challenges participating restaurants to incorporate ingredients sourced within 20 miles of Harvard Square. This year, restaurants used ingredients from local purveyors such as Wilson’s Farm in Lexington, Charlie’s Red House Farm in Winchendon, and James Hook and Company in Boston.

While restaurants such as Sandrine’s Bistro had participated in the food challenge in previous years, other restaurants were new to the event.

“We opened less than a year ago, so this is our first year presenting,” said Christophe Muller, the owner of O-Sushi Restaurant and Bar on Eliot Street. O-Sushi’s booth served a variety of sushi rolls, including spicy tuna and salmon.

Other Harvard Square staples participating in the food challenge included Russell House Tavern, which served its locally farmed deviled eggs, and Boloco, which handed out pot roast burritos. Square newcomers like Summer Shack and The Sinclair were also present, serving bite-sized samples to a long line of attendees.

“I got a text from our friend saying that there was free food here, so we came,” Brandy A. L. Machado ’14 said.

In an emailed statement to The Crimson prior to the event, Denise A. Jillson, the executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said the organization expected 300 to 400 people to attend yesterday’s festivities. At least 200 people were present and checking out the food offerings event even before the event began.

“The Harvard Square Business Association is pleased to be on the forefront of the Food Day movement,” Jilson wrote in the email. “The concept of fresh, locally grown and produced food going from farm and ocean to table in a matter of a day or so, and in some cases just hours, is an idea that we embrace and celebrate.”