El Paso is a city with a wide variety of options when it comes to dining, to help highlight some of these local eateries, one event is hosting a dozen of them under one roof for El Pasoans to enjoy.

KISS FM is hosting the fourth-annual “Taste of El Paso” on Nov. 12 at the El Paso Convention Center, located at 1 Civic Center. The event will feature a mix of El Paso classics such as Pelican’s and L&J Café, along with newer eateries such as Papa Pita.

In total, there will be 12 restaurants and three bakeries participating, including Around the World Catering, Basico Bistro and Café, Garufa Argentinean Restaurant, The Hoppy Monk, L&J Café, Makato Sushi, Mesa Street Grill, Nolita’s Corner Bistro, Papa Pita, Pelican’s Steak and Seafood, Tabla, Tutus Burgers, Bella Sucre, The Master’s Place and The Pastry Chef.

Connie Hernandez, account executive at Townsquare Media, said the event is a great opportunity to experience different foods from around El Paso.

“It’s a food and dining experience,” Hernandez said. “There are going to be quite a few different restaurants, new restaurants as well, and we have a couple of old, traditional favorites so there’s going to be different varieties of food.”

Erika Burnett, senior finance major, said she wants to go to the event to learn more about El Paso.

“I love learning about new restaurants in El Paso that I have never been to,” Burnett said. “I think events like these contribute to El Paso’s nightlife becoming something El Pasoans would be proud of and would want others to visit.”

To choose the restaurants for the events, Hernandez said they are chosen based on tradition and newness.

“We sit around and discuss some of the classic favorites like Pelican’s, which is the epitome of fine dining in town, and are a staple with people who have been here a long time,” Hernandez said. “Then we have restaurants that are just starting to make a buzz, so it’s an opportunity to showcase their food items as well.”

Dining will take place from 6 to 9 p.m., but doors will open at 5 p.m.

“We will have a happy hour starting at five, and then the restaurant and dining experience will start at six,” Hernandez said. “That is the same way we did it last year. The people flowed in and out really well, so we didn’t change a whole lot this year for the event.”

Hernandez said “Taste of El Paso” has been a good way for everyone to get a taste of different foods and she hopes they can continue to put on the event in the future.

“It’s a good opportunity to showcase some of the good dining here in El Paso and the different kinds of foods here, so in the future I hope we can continue to do this for the foodies, and they can get a lot for their money,” Hernandez said.

Papa Pita, a bistro that opened a year ago, will be serving food at Taste of El Paso this year.

“We will be serving our brisket pita and we will also have a vegetarian option, which will be a cucumber sushi wrap type thing with cream cheese and falafel on the inside,” said Jacob Williams, co-owner of Papa Pita.

By participating, Williams said he hopes “Taste of El Paso” will help get Papa Pita’s name out and he looks forward to serving everyone in attendance.

“I look forward to seeing the smiles on people’s faces, and I hope it brings more people in and get the word out to people that we are here,” Williams said.

Jeremy Ybarra, senior economics major, said he enjoyed past “Taste of El Paso” events because he learned new things about cooking.

“The event was very helpful for a lot of cooking tips, so I would go again,” Ybarra said. “It gave a lot of helpful hints of how to prepare things that are preferred.”

For  more  information  about the Taste of El Paso event, call 915-544-9300.

Julia Hettiger may be reached at [email protected].