Sep. 10—MYSTIC — At 11 a.m. Sunday, the third and final day of the Taste of Mystic Festival opened to the public at Olde Mistick Village, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the promise of food, music or icy beverages lured crowds to the Olde Mistick Village parking lot, they were not disappointed. The festival featured 16 food and drink vendors. As live bands played, people milled around the village's parking lot carrying fried or grilled treats, or sipping icy cold Del's lemonade to keep cool.

"Spicy!" workers at a tent staffed by former restaurant the Portuguese Fisherman called out Sunday afternoon. Now the restaurant just does festivals or caters, its owner, Bob Sousa said.

At the next tent, about 15 feet away, workers from Groton-based Ryan's Pub called back, "Spicy!" Ryan's has has been in business for about 40 years, worker Norm Vanasse said.

The two had been at it all weekend, their workers said.

For Portuguese Fisherman, it was always followed by the dishing out of a hot sausage on a grinder roll, smothered with peppers and onions. Other options included fresh cheese ravioli with lobster, shrimp and crab sauce, or lobster, crab and shrimp bisque.

Ryan's Pub had their own callout. "Bacon!," which was repeated back to them by the Fisherman's workers, meant they had to prepare one of their signature "ripper dogs" wrapped with bacon. As the name suggests, these were all-beef hot dogs, wrapped in bacon and deep-fried so that the casing was ripped. The dogs were accompanied by sweet corn fritters and gourmet fries, with the option of garlic or cajun ranch seasoning.

The call-and-response made the food service, which would have been hot even without all the stoves and food-warmers, more enjoyable, Sousa said.

"Some people heard us calling out and they actually came over," Vanasse said.

Nicole Jenkins, one of three owners of restaurant the Tin Peddler in North Stonington, which has been in business for two and a half years, served smashburgers at the restaurant's tent.

"One of the best things for us is getting our name out there," Jenkins said about the festival. "There's still a lot of people that don't know us."

On Saturday afternoon, the Tin Peddler's booth had been hopping, Jenkins said. They had gone through hundreds of the burgers, which were their main seller alongside contenders elote and kung pao pork.

The burgers at the tent, garnished with pickles, cheese and sauce, were a simpler version of the ones they serve at the restaurant, Jenkins said.