If you like food and beverages then the place to be this past Tuesday was at the Eighth Annual Taste of Oakdale hosted by the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce at the Gene Bianchi Community Center.

Greeted by the KAT Country radio station in the courtyard, the community center was abuzz as you began the tasting event with a plate, napkin, and a tasting cup. The event began at 5 p.m. and lasted until 8 p.m. where the cost of the ticket would allow attendees to eat, drink, and be merry with a variety of vendors like Last Call Brewing Company, Oakdale Golf and Country Club, Café Bliss, ConAgra Foods, Raley’s, Javi’s, Sierra Dinner Train, Rodin Farms and so much more.

New this year to the event was Classic Wines of CA that had a variety of wines to wet your whistle, McDonalds had their new all white meat chicken nuggets to share, and The Wine Group offered many varietals in reds and whites.

There were hundreds of people mingling and some attended the live cooking demonstrations that were being held throughout the event.

“We had great attendance,” stated Mary Guardiola, CEO of the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce. “It was fun to see so many, sampling so many different options.

“New vendors were well received and enjoyed the event.”

There were raffle tickets sold for an assortment of items like a family photo session with Hudson Photography, a Budweiser stein, gift card from Javi’s, lunch for two at Café Bliss, and an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins and a large Mountain Mikes pizza, to name a few.

Patrons were also asked to vote for the ‘Best Of’ beverage, dessert, restaurant, and best overall. The winners were Last Call Brewing Co for best beverage, best of dessert went to Bloomingcamp Ranch, Firenze was voted best restaurant, and best overall was the Oakdale Golf & Country Club.

“We always invite all Oakdale members and businesses and hope that more will choose to be a vendor next year to get the exposure for their business,” added Guardiola.