New London resident Jason Merwin was disappointed he was unable to attend this year's Fall Food Stroll. Instead, the regular "stroller" had to work the event.

"I was the only one available, so I could not go this year, unfortunately," he said. "I love the Food Stroll."

Merwin set up a table inside the Eyeglass Lass shop on State Street with pretzels and samples of chipotle hot sauce from Get Your Own Damn Sauce, which is based in Voluntown.

He said this year was the first Food Stroll for the company, which started three years ago, but he was refilling his tray of sauce cups all night.

This year also marked the 10th annual Fall Food Stroll, hosted by New London Main Street, and dozens of downtown New London businesses were open for samples of their best fare.

Hanafin's Public House on State Street has been participating in the Food Stroll since the beginning. But Diarm Hanafin, one of the owners, decided to serve a new dish at the event: bite-sized versions of a house favorite, shepherd's pie.

"Normally we do a soup or something because it's quick and easy, you know, a lot less labor," he said. "This year, given the amount of tickets sold, we really wanted to push our staple item."

Octane, a new restaurant located in the former Frank's Place building on Tilley Street, offered hot spiced cider and Cuban sandwiches to visitors to showcase its upcoming menu.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony originally coincided with the Food Stroll but was postponed until a later date.

Other newcomers to the Food Stroll include the Po Chi Lam Clinic on Bank Street, which served a selection of herbal teas to visitors to introduce them to the clinic's alterative health care offerings.

Citizens Bank also sponsored a photo booth at the Hygienic, and a variety of community organizations were gathered inside the Garde Arts Center to advertise their programming.

Annah Perch, director of New London Main Street, said the restaurant participation varies year to year, but returning venues include 2 Wives Brick Oven Pizza and Tony D's, home of the perennial fan favorite calamari.

Perch also said that people attending the Food Stroll tend to stay on State Street and Bank Street, where most of the restaurants are concentrated.

However, the event tries to introduce visitors to other venues that they might not know about beforehand, especially those on side streets.

Volunteers placed signs at intersections indicating there was another participating business down a less populated street.

Mitchell College students Matt Grudgen and John Kaczkowski came with a large group of fellow students because the school heavily promoted the event as a way to get students into the New London community.

Kaczkowski said he was impressed by the variety of foods offered by downtown businesses.

"You get to see the restaurants for the first time, most of them, and overall it's a great way to see New London," Grudgen said.

Community judges held a light-hearted competition to select the best dishes of the night.

The Fan Favorite was East Coast Catering's blackened pork taco, which also took first place in the Most Savory category.

The Cake Lady's cupcake selection at TDP Studio won first place in the Best Sweet category.

New London Main Street also hosts a Spring Food Stroll in May.

a.hutchinson@theday.com

Twitter: @ahutch411