Save The Best For Last
OK, I screwed up! But, it was amazing as to how many people noticed. What happened is that I wrote the article below and named it something very similar to one from 2 or 3 years ago and I didn’t catch the error until it was too late. At east I got to find out that people actually read my drivel. Here’s the one that should have been printed and do make sure to get out for the festival! It’s a gas.
The official URL for my favorite time of the year on this little island is keywestfoodandwinefestival.com. Do you know how many opportunities you have to make a mistake in a thirty character long web site name? Thirty. I’ve made them all. You’d think I’d just bookmark the site so that I wouldn’t have to type anything in, but; no; that’s just what they’d expect. But then, I made an important discovery – if you type kwfwf.com into your browser, it automatically expands to the full URL. Isn’t that special?
So, are we all ready for four days of Bacchanalian debauchery? I am. In fact I revel in it! So, why not make it five days. You gotta love this town; we don’t even rest on Sunday! In fact, we save the best for that day. But you can go ahead and take Tuesday off.
So, what am I babbling about? Well, hopefully you all know that the last seek in January is the Key West Food & Wine Festival. Over thirty events over five days designed to intoxicate, educate and/or satiate you. I’ve been getting a number of questions about some of the events that I thought I’d take a couple of moments to clarify.
On Wednesday we start the Food & Wine Festival and I wanted to address a faux pas I’ve been hearing about the event. The first one is, “Why do I have to buy a VIP Pass?” Well, the short answer is, “You don’t.” The VIP Pass is designed for people who will be attending quite a few of the events, namely, out-of-towners who come just for the event. The pass gets you access to the kickoff party, the Grand Tasting, Duval Uncorked wine stroll, plus entrance to some of the seminars/events taking place over the five days. If you’re going to hit a lot of the parties, it can save you a chunk of change. But, if you’re a local and are going to pick and choose just a few events you want to go to, you can simply buy tickets for each of them.
Some of my favorite events include the Wine Around Neighborhood Strolls, the Kick Off Your Flip Flops Beach Party, the Grand Tasting, Duval Uncorked, and; le piece de resistance; the Master Chefs Classic, but more on this later.
The other question I’ve gotten a lot is, “What’s up with the Outdoor Artisanal Wine Market?” Ok, so here’s the low down. It runs from 10 am to 2 pm at the Restaurant Store’s parking lot. It’s titled the Outdoor Artisanal Wine Market, but, it’s going to be much more than just wine. There’s a great selection of crafts, foods, craft beers and a lot of other stuff.
However, it is a WINE market, so samples will be available to taste and I’m assured that the prices will be some of the lowest on the island. They’re brining cases of wine along so you can take home a bottle or a case on that day. It’ll be a great way to spend a few hours before heading over to the Master Chefs Classic benefit for the MARC House at the Westin Resort. On top of that, there’s plenty of free parking at Strunk’s Ace Hardware, so you’ve got no excuse to miss it.
Now, finally, the best event of the week is the 20th Annual Key West Master Chefs Classic. Key West’s finest chefs compete in three categories; appetizer, entrée and dessert. All the entries are judged by an esteemed panel (that used to include me, Gordon). But the most important award is the People’s Choice Award for each of the categories, which is voted upon by the attendees. One final word on this event – IT ALWAYS SELLS OUT.
I’m not kidding so order your tickets now! They’re available at keystix.com and if you’re reading this note on line you can click here to go directly to the page http://keystix.ticketforce.com/ordertickets.asp?p=1187&backurl=%2Fdefault.asp%3FSearchMonth%3D1%2F28%2F2014%26monthsubmit%3D%26SearchText%3D%26Go.x%3D%26Go.y%3D%26pg%3D1%23abc or you can go to KWFWF.com and go to the Master Chef page and click on the KeysTix icon on the bottom. DO IT, NOW.
One final, final event I want you, my loyal readers, to know about is actually the first event of the festival – 92 Points in the Shade. This is a tasting of 8 wines selected by Stephanie of Noble Wine Estates. Each wine has been rated in the 90’s by one of the major reviewers and it’s limited to only twenty people. It’s held at the Grand Vin and it’s only $30, but the only way to get a seat is to head on down to the Vin or call them at 296-1020. This one also always sells out early, so, if you like great wine, call now.
This is going to be a great week to be in Key West and we locals need to get out and support as much of this as possible. Good food, good wine, good causes. This is what we’re all about.
That’s it for this week, so until the next time – wine a bit, you’ll feel better.
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