Buffalo Soup-Fest 2013 - PHOTOS

Thousands of people flocked to The Hearthstone Manor in Depew for the third annual Buffalo Soup Fest on Sunday. With winter's chill filling the air, a day spent sampling piping hot cauldrons of delicious and creative soups hit the spot just right.

This year's special vendor contest and secret ingredient challenge was beer. This portion of the contest featured soups containing beer provided by Southern Tier Brewing Company. Some of Buffalo's finest chefs and food critics were on hand to judge, and Smoke On The Water's entry "Sheppard's Pie w/beer braised brisket" came out the winner of the beer challenge. Cafe 59-Madonna's was the runner up with their "Pork, Pasilla & Potato Mole with Southern Tier Choklat Stout." Pairings Wine Bar was crowned most creative beer challenge entry with their "Creme Brûlée Bisque," which was a chilled dessert soup entry as well.

With over 30 vendors dishing up hot and tasty treats it was difficult to narrow down exactly which ones to try! Our taste buds were overloaded with delight by the 12 soups sampled during our time at the festival. Some of the highlights of what we tried included Serene Garden's "Ocean Chowder" (fresh ahi tuna, salmon, and haddock with vegetables and rice in a creamy soup), Danny's "Beef on Weck Soup"(tastes just like Buffalo's classic sandwich!), French Pub's "Beer Cheese"(a beer contest entry that featured bacon bits and a soft pretzel bite), Ivy's Swing from the Vine Cafe's "Smack-a-roni and cheese" (classic comfort food in even more comforting soup form), Washington Market's "Sicilian Sausage", and Comfort Zone's "Golden Sunset" (our favorite Gluten Free/Vegan soup).

Check out the photo gallery to see Buffalo's soup savvy crowd and the vendors that created the amazing soups.

See https://www.facebook.com/buffalosoup to find out more about all the Soup-Fest champions.