It is true, as the804.com says, that it seems like there is some kind of food festival in Richmond every month but that there is no one of them that really stands above the rest. This is set to change, though, with this year’s First Annual Broad Appetit Food and Art Celebration which will take over Broad Street between Adams and Monroe on Sunday, May 18th.

From the Broad App�tit site:

The first annual Broad App�tit Food Festival will feature Richmond�s favorite food purveyors, restaurants, chefs and artisans. The event is free to the public and is designed to feed your mind, body and soul with an eclectic mix of crafts and art, more food than you can imagine and a huge kid�s area with puppet shows and story-telling. A performing arts stage will host musical acts and performance artists, and demonstrations will be on hand from fascinating folks like our nations leading Bug Chefs and food revolution leader Joel Salatin.

The big taste-off will be the Taste Of Richmond � �To Die For� Dish Awards in 25 to 30 of Richmond�s best chefs prepare three mini-dishes, each of which the public can taste for $3. Each chef will submit one of those delicious dishes to be judged by a panel of experts who will determine who has the �To Die For� Dish of Richmond.

Featured restaurants/chefs in the 2008 competition:

• Tarrant’s Tavern, Ted Santarella
• Beauregard’s, David Roygulehareon
• 1 North Belmont, Frits/Kendal Thompson
• Cous, Cous/Sticky Rice, John Yamashita
• Hidden Treasures, Norman Jordan
• TJS at The Jefferson, Matthew Tlusty
• Positive Vibe, Rob Hamlin/Jay Frank
• Enoteca Sogno, Gary York
• Caf� Rustica, Andy Howell
• Old City Bar, David Napier
• Comfort, Jason Alley
• Zed Cafe, Bill Foster
• 27, Carlos Silva
• Africanne West, Chef Ma Musu
• Buz and Neds, Buz Grossberg
• Nicks Produce, Manuel Mouris
• La Grotta, Antonio Capece
• Popkin’s Tavern, Tim Kilkeary
• Six Burner, Lee Gregory
• Croaker’s Spot, Angelie Moon