Del Mar held it’s first annual wine and food festival, appropriately called the DEL MAR WINE + FOOD FESTIVAL, in Sept 2023. Held at the Del Mar Surf Sports Park, aka the polo fields for locals, it encompassed eight acres of food and wine stalls, live music, and plenty of SoCal vibe. I was there. I almost didn’t go since I had just gottn back from an exhausting camping road trip. My car was still filled with stuff, I was tired, and the idea of waiting in long lines to get tiny bites of food and dinky sips of wine was not high on my list. But I was wrong. So so very wrong!
And now all I can thing about is the 2024 Grand Tasting event coming up Oct 5th and 6th.
So much food, so much wine, surpassed all expectations!
So let me cut right to the chase and tell you that this is possible one of the GREATEST wine and food festivals in San Diego, possible the best in the US and I’m not exaggerating. The sprawling space left plenty of room for guests to roam around, never feeling squeezed, pushed or schmushed. The crowds were manageable and if I wanted something to eat I would walk right up and GET IT! That’s right, lines were short and because of the shear number of options you rarely had to wait. But was the food any good?? Or was it the typical marinara pasta in a tiny cup? Oh ye of little faith, be ready to be blown away!
The food was 100% GOURMET bites - wait, they were not really bites but damn near plates. I mean, come on, a lobster slider that was basically a full half of a full size gigantic lobster roll? I had three, though I must admit by the 3rd one I was eating “artichoke style”, meaning eating the lobster off the top. Hey, I know this is bad manners but when the food is this good and there’s so much of it you have to do what you have to do. I had to try everything, you understand.
One of the few booths with a longer line was Tanner’s Prime Burger which was a crispy smash burger made with, well yes, prime beef and tons of melty cheese. See what I mean? That’s a full size burger. I waited maybe 5 minutes for this tasty, tasty burger. OK, yes, I know I needed either a better hand model or a manicure but rememer I just got back from camping!
And the list of food went on and on and on! Inside the VIP tent there were unlimited oysters, caviar on tator tots, and glorious sushi. Every bite was la culinary dream come true. Wait, did you just say caviar on tator tots??
Mr. A’s caviar on tator tots at the Del Mar Wine and Food Festival
Mr’s A’s, a long standing San Diego foodie favorite, served up homemade tator tots topped with black pearl caviar sitting on a mimosa creme Asian pear sauce and this is how I want my tator tots from now on. Napoleon Dynamite!
Want some oysters? You could stand here all afternoon and eat them like an otter, they just kept on coming!
DEL MAR WINE + FOOD FEST: WORTH IT!
I could go on and on and I will - I’ll show you all of my food shots with descriptions in an upcoming article. But for now let me just say that this is a very worthy contender for the best wine and food festival I have ever been to. No tiny bites, no baby sips, no lines, just an incredible day in Del Mar that you will not want to miss next year! Do it - mark your calendars not for next Sept 2024 to go to this event.
What to Expect for 2024
The party starts on Wed, Oct. 2 with Special Events all week at various locations throughout San Diego, ending Mon, Oct. 7.
Don’t miss the the 2-day event, The Grand Tasting, at the picturesque Surf Sports Park in Del Mar (formerly the polo fields) on Sat, Oct. 5 & Sun, Oct. 6.