September 17, 2012
Everyone was having a blast at the Broadway Pier as over 50 restaurants came together with some of the best beers, wines and spirit companies to host the inaugural preview party for San Diego Restaurant Week - #SDRWTaste2012. We can’t speak highly enough about how perfectly organized this event was, and for price of admission, participants got everything that they could have wanted – delicious tastes, any type of drink, and a setting like no other.
The Taste of San Diego Restaurant Week was the first-ever kickoff event held in anticipation for San Diego Restaurant Week. and was held at the beautiful Broadway Pier Pavilion on a gorgeus San Diego Indian Summer day. As the event got underway, heat subsided and the sun started setting over San Diego’s big bay, making for an exquisite back drop to what we have proclaimed the event of the year thus far!
On Friday, September 14th, from 5 to 9pm, more than 70 restaurants, wineries, breweries and spirit companies offered samples of their Restaurant Week offerings….and for just $75 a ticket (for a great cause!) we were beyond impressed! Cocktails were flowing and music filled the air as the sky went dark and delicate strings of light lit the pier. Everyone from the chefs to the patrons seemed to be filled with good-spirited energy. We sauntered from vendor to vendor, chatting with strangers that would soon be friends, enjoying sips and bites as we made our way around the packed venue.
There was soo much food! Donovan’s cheesesteaks were deeeeelicious! How have we not been there for happy hour when these babies are complimentary?? And the shrimp skewer was sweet, savory, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Blue Point Coastal Cuisine offered freshly shucked kumamoto oysters; Devine Pastabilities was making ‘Torpastas’ by stuffing an assortment of delicious pasta concoctions into their hollowed-out, seasoned Italian rolls; Pita Jungle was dishing out refreshingly healthy hummus and assorted Mediterranean dishes; the W Hotel served a watermelon and goat cheese salad – perfect for a warm evening!; Del Mar Rendezvous served their famously tender and flavorful five spice braised beef; Slater’s 50/50 took a risk not serving their peanut butter and jealousy burger, but we'll allow it; Peohe’s award-winning ahi wonton crisp tacos were a crunchy and flavorful delight; and Bertrand at Mister A’s roasted pork belly takes the cake for tastiest bite of the night!
And a very special thank you to Ballast Point and Firestone breweries for serving us many, many, many samples of your beloved IPAs. Although I felt it the next day, I greatly enjoyed the unlimited samples during the event.
The Taste of SDRW was a huge success and surely speaks to the amazing week that each of these restaurants has in store for us San Diegans! We really hope that the event returns for many years to come. Be sure to check out San Diego Restaurant week’s price fixed offerings, download the app, and make your reservations for what is sure to be a deliciously affordable and satiating week.