The McAllen Chamber of Commerce recently sponsored the 11th annual International Food Festival at the McAllen Convention Center.  With an attendance of over 2500, the event featured over 35 McAllen area restaurants highlighting main course menu items such as Southern Style Ribs, Mexican Food, Italian, Indian, Mediterranean and Japanese.  Restaurants competed for awards in their respective categories in a blind tasting performed by recognized chefs from the area.

The winner for Best Franchise Restaurant Taste  was Bar-B-Cutie and second place went to El Pollo Loco.  In the Independent Restaurant category, Kumori won first place in Best Taste and second place went to Poncho’s Mexico Nuevo Restaurant. Regarding the Best Display awards based on the Carnival theme this year, first place in the franchise category went to El Pollo Loco and second place to Jason’s Deli. On the Best Display independent category, first place went to Paris House Cakes and second place was awarded to Taste of India.

In the Best Dessert category, Sweet and Tasty was the recipient of first place and Paris House Cakes received second place.

The crowd attending also participated in nominating their favorite restaurant for the coveted “People's Choice Award”  in Best Food and Best Dessert categories. The recipient for the best food was Poncho's Mexico Nuevo Restaurant and on the Best Dessert category Sweet and Tasty received this important award. 

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce sponsors the yearly event to promote Chamber member restaurants and the culture and cuisine that make the Rio Grande Valley a unique place to live.