There was the crab rangoon from Panda Chinese.

And the wedding soup from Fat Cat’s Fundraisers.

But also bacon cheeseburger rolls from Ashley’s Kitchen.

And chocolate peanut butter baklava from Sweet Tillies.

“We’re stuffed!” said Donna Black on Saturday afternoon as she and her husband, Doug, walked along Tenth Street in New Kensington.

The Blacks were part of the 150 people who participated in the 2023 Restaurant Ramble in downtown New Kensington on Saturday.

The event, sponsored by Shop Small Shop New Ken, included 10 local establishments. It was divided among drinks, appetizers, mains and desserts.

Tickets were $35 each and got each patron a sampling of food from each location.

At Voodoo Brewing, Donna Black enjoyed the crab tart, as well as the White Magic spiced wheat beer. She praised the pepperoni roll at Ashley’s, as well.

“We live in New Kensington and wanted to come out and support the local businesses,” Doug Black said.

Because there was so much food this year, the Blacks said they were taking some home with them for later.

“This is my favorite dessert,” Donna Black said outside Sweet Tillies.

Kathy Wescoat had a meeting in New Ken on Saturday. She stopped by the baklava shop afterward to chat with owner Amy Johnson. Wescoat was her elementary school gym teacher.

“Her things are excellent,” Wescoat said.

She praised the chocolate raspberry baklava.

Johnson said that peanut butter chocolate is her newest and most popular flavor. Apricot ginger is popular, as well.

She started her shop in December 2020 primarily as an online retailer. But Johnson said she got enough demand from people locally that she opened a storefront. Now, she said, her business is about 60% online and 40% in-store.

About 80 people had already passed through by 1 p.m. on Saturday, she said.

“It’s two wins for me — returning customers that give me feedback and new customers that have never tried us.”

Wescoat said the shop owners at events like the Restaurant Ramble make everyone feel welcome in New Kensington.

“Thank God for all the wonderful people trying to revitalize it,” she said.

Brandi Greene, of Springdale, said that before Saturday’s event, she had never walked Fifth Avenue.

“There’s lots of cute little places here — and coming soon,” she said. “It’s really nice to have these events to highlight all of the things we’ve got going on.”

Greene was with her family Saturday afternoon. Her son, Tony, praised the bacon cheeseburger roll being sampled at Ashley’s Kitchen, while her husband, Nick, spoke highly of Panda Chinese.

“That’s the best crab rangoon I’ve had in years,” he said. “It was amazing.”

“I like the opportunity to try restaurants I might not normally go to — and didn’t even know they were there,” said Shannon Ebbitt, of New Kensington.

Her friend, Jay Anderson, was visiting from Maryville, Tenn. He said he attends a lot of wine tastings, and the Restaurant Ramble is similar.

“It’s nice to go, effectively, to a food tasting,” he said. “It’s a nice social event for us to enjoy some food and drinks all together.”

Fat Cat’s Fundraisers, which doesn’t have a retail shop in New Kensington but operates its fundraisers there, sampled wedding soup and hoagies on Saturday.

The ramble was a trial run to see how successful soups might be for the company, said owner Jon “Fat Cat” Wildi.

He hopes to introduce wedding soup, chicken noodle and stuffed pepper soup next month.

Events like the Restaurant Ramble have drawn large crowds, Wildi said.

“It’s bringing the town back, and it’s such a sense of community to see people walking on the streets,” Wildi said. “It’s bringing pride in ownership back to town.”

Sisters Penny and Becky White were nearly through all of the restaurants Saturday afternoon when they stopped at Ashley’s Kitchen.

“My favorite thing is everything,” Penny White said.

When she was about to sample the pepperoni roll, she learned it had an egg wash on it, which she couldn’t eat.

Owner Ashley Bodycombe made her a separate one without eggs.

“Everyone’s been really nice,” Penny White said.

The Whites, who grew up there, remember New Ken in the 1960s and 1970s and are thrilled to see crowds starting to return.

Their twin brothers, who live in Maryland, saw the Restaurant Ramble event and got tickets for their sisters.

“People leave and keep up with it,” Becky White said. “This is home.”

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