There’s something by turns both sad and wonderful about the relationship most newsrooms have with food.

Election nights and hurricane coverage, for instance, are often occasions for pizza, which could well be the perfect food for journalists, since it’s quick to eat, easy to hold and able to be enjoyed at just about any temperature. Even better, newsroom pizzas are occasionally known to pry an editor’s wallet from his pocket, and journalists like nothing better than a meal paid for by the boss.

A close second to guilting the boss into buying everyone pizza is eating cookies, cakes or other goodies delivered to us by friends. Yes, we have friends (Jeanne Banks). And, yes, they’re so nice they occasionally bring us treats. As long as we know where they’re coming from, we enjoy them immensely. We usually avoid eating stuff in the anonymous packages that come with hate mail attached — or we at least make the sports reporter try it first.

But Suffolk has a treat for us that’s giving all of those a run for the money: the Taste of Suffolk.

This year’s Taste will feature Al Forno Pizzeria, Altitudes, The American Grill, Baron’s Pub, C3Vino, The Catering Place, Coldstone Creamery, The Egg Bistro, Harper’s Table, Jammin’ Jerk BBQ, Jo’s Place, Madagan’s, Mosaic, N’Dulge Eclectic Cuisine, Plaid Turnip, Ricky & Roy’s, Simply Susan’s Bakery and Café and Suffolk BBQ Company.

Those restaurants will be offering inexpensive, tapas-sized samples from their menus from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All in one compact area.

All within walking distance of the Suffolk News-Herald’s offices.

Life could hardly be better for us.

For the average foodie attending the event, there will be a lot more than “just” good food to try. You can enjoy good music. (“Snackbar Jones”? What a happy coincidence for a food festival!) There will be vendors hawking everything from trivial trinkets to political philosophies. There will be a car show. And there will be several food-related contests, including the ever-popular pepper-eating contest. (Strange that I’ve never seen a previous winner try to defend his or her crown in this event.)

But the real pros know the true value of Taste of Suffolk is the chance to sample some of the city’s best cuisine in a veritable streetside buffet. Just don’t be surprised if you have to elbow past a few journalists to get to the table. There won’t be any newsroom pizza available on Saturday.