Taste of Our Town a Savory Success

Stormy weather and a weren't enough to keep patrons or participating restaurants from coming out to Monday's at the .

The third-annual Fair Lawn Chamber of Commerce-sponsored food fest, whose net proceeds go to the , experienced record attendance, with as many as 120 people coming out to sample cuisine from an assortment of Fair Lawn's finest eateries.

"Never in a million years did we anticipate this," Chamber president Mary Marrara said. "Turnout was unbelievable."

Turnout was so high, in fact, that guests who arrived during the latter half of the evening missed out.

"We ran out of food," Marrara said. "That hadn't happened before."

At least two Radburn restaurants -- the and the -- lost power while they were preparing the night's cuisine just prior to the Taste. 

David Kawash, owner of the , said he was in the middle of cooking the deli's famous wings when everything went dark. A batch of Buffalo and Honey Soy wings were already done, but the rest had to be left behind.

Thankfully, Kawash said, the deli's chicken and asparagus dish ended up being a hit with guests, including Fair Lawn rank-order specialist Cornell Christianson (, ).

Christianson's top five dishes of the night were:

1. eggplant dish

2. shrimp dish

3. pasta dish

4. chicken cordon bleu

5. chicken with asparagus dish