Lasagna Tops the Menu at Taste of Lawrenceville

For six years, – the volunteer-led organization that works to revitalize the economy and promote Lawrence Township’s historic Lawrenceville Village neighborhood – has hosted Taste of Lawrenceville to showcase the culinary tastes and textures of local restaurants and shops. 

This year, organizers did something a little different: a competition cook-off of lasagna.

Four restaurants pitted their own lasagna creations against the others during the “Farm to Fork: Lasagna Challenge” held in the Abbott Dining Hall on the grounds of The Lawrenceville School on Sunday, Oct. 9. 

But lasagna wasn’t the only item on the menu. Other foods, as well as drinks, were exhibited by other restaurants and shops, with entertainment provided for all guests.

“We wanted a new twist,” said Erin Cook, board member of Lawrenceville Main Street and head of the event. “When we started planning this event back in July, lasagna popped into our heads and we just thought it was the best thing for this fall event.”

Competing in the event, making their lasagna using ingredients grown locally by Z Food Farm, were restaurants , Elements, and .

The judges were the attendees who tasted each restaurant’s sample and voted for their favorites. Chambers Walk presented an old-world style meat lasagna; Elements prepared a vegetarian “Bolognese” lasagna that came with the options of a yogurt-herb sauce and a pine nut topping; Acacia had two options consisting of a vegetarian and a duck confit lasagna; and Vidalia also presented two versions of their lasagna, vegetarian and meat.

The champion of the competition – by just four votes – was Chambers Walk with their old-world style meat lasagna.  But the real winners were the people who attended the event and went home with satisfied bellies.

For $50 attendees were not only able to sample lasagnas from the four restaurants but they were also able to enjoy other foods from around the area. brought their eggplant parmigiana and some of their fried sweet potato gnocchi to serve. had bottles of their Vidal Blanc, Apple, and Barn Red wine for people to enjoy.  Purple Cow Ice Cream had samples of their high-quality ice cream with flavors like vanilla, pumpkin pie, coffee, and orange sorbet for everyone to sample.

“Their ice cream is so full of flavor… it’s outstanding,” Lawrence Township resident Israel Dubin said of the local ice cream shop’s product.

Entertainment was provided at the event by the Riverside Bluegrass Band, a group from Princeton that plays string instruments while interpreting classic pop and country songs with a traditional bluegrass style.

Also at the event was the .  Ceramics, watercolors, and other works created by many of the group’s two dozen artists were displayed and offered for sale. Some of the works included flower paintings from founding member Michelle Rosenthal and woodwork from Ruth Ann Perry.

The year marked the first in Taste of Lawrenceville’s six years that a competition was held. In previous years, local restaurants offered their specialties and silent auctions were held throughout the event.  This year, a raffle was held where tickets sold for $10 were randomly selected. Raffle winners went home with memorabilia, gift certificates for free dinners and yoga classes, and other prizes.

Overall, the event went smoothly and everyone seemed to have fun.  Friends, neighbors, and strangers enjoyed a pleasant evening of lasagna, wine, ice cream, conversation and music.

“The people came and had more than they could eat,” said Howard Nelson, president of the Lawrenceville Main Street board. “I couldn’t eat all that I was served and I had starved for two days for this event.”