All photos taken by Jake Romoser
Signature Duval Uncorked bottle with Cocktails Key West handpainted wine glasses.
The highlight of my Key West Food & Wine Festival weekend was definitely Duval Uncorked. The mile long street stroll allowed participants to peruse Duval Street's unique shops and funky boutiques while tasting single serving appetizers from Key West's most well known restaurants.
Starting at either Kelly's Bar and Grill on Whitehead Street or at the Southernmost Point, guests did the Duval crawl with a fun lanyard around their neck and mini wine glass attached to the end.
Three hours certainly wasn't enough time to make it to all 44 stops. FUN FACT: If we'd made it to every single one we would have consumed 2 1/2 bottles of vino.
So, maybe it was best that we didn't.
Starting at either Kelly's Bar and Grill on Whitehead Street or at the Southernmost Point, guests did the Duval crawl with a fun lanyard around their neck and mini wine glass attached to the end.
Three hours certainly wasn't enough time to make it to all 44 stops. FUN FACT: If we'd made it to every single one we would have consumed 2 1/2 bottles of vino.
So, maybe it was best that we didn't.
I've never been to ILONA's Restaurant on Applerouth Lane, but I just might have to become a regular after tasting their delicious Hungarian inspired cuisine. I went back for seconds after sampling the cabbage, sauerkraut, sausage and bratwurst with a dollop of sour cream.
Slightly spicy with a smokey flavor, the sour cream added a freshness to the surprisingly non-heavy dish. The slice of baguette was just the right amount of crunch to balance out the rest of the plates mushy textures.
Slightly spicy with a smokey flavor, the sour cream added a freshness to the surprisingly non-heavy dish. The slice of baguette was just the right amount of crunch to balance out the rest of the plates mushy textures.
Owners Dan and Aranka are extremely friendly and also knowledge about all of the restaurant's flavors.
Some of the stops took us inside Key West's neatest galleries and venues. The prominent artist featured at Key West Gallery painted a life size wine glass and cork while guests perused the rest of his artwork. He took a break to chat and explain his style, inspiration and where he was going next.
Artist at Key West Gallery
If you ventured all the way to the back of the gallery you were welcomed with the aroma of simmering post roast mixed with freshly baked bread. The French Dip on a Croissant from Tavern N Town was a full size sandwich made to soak up alcohol. A bit greasy for my liking, the meat was well seasoned and tender.
Bleu Cheese, Rum Glazed Walnuts, Tomato & Gorgonzola from Fin.
After drinking nothing but red and white wine at multiple vendors the girls of Swankey Events livened things up with a super sweet Sangria. The floral blend was a godsend to my tastebuds.
Swankey Sangria
This playful watermelon presentation gave a fancy twist to the old summer classic. Unfortunately, it didn't taste as good as it looked. Good thing the 7 Artists Gallery had lots of painted wine glasses and colorful tidbits to distract me from the too tangy taste.
Watermelon Shots
My mini wine glass! Too cute!
The wackiest wine I tried during our journey was one made entirely from avocado. One of a kind, this vino was fermented twice to bring out the tiniest nuances of avocado goodness. Although it was interesting, you won't find it gracing my wine rack anytime soon.
Tuna Roll
My favorite pairing of the night came courtesy of Great Events Catering. Stationed inside Towels of Key West and Cocktails Key West the island's premiere catering company shook a superb Pomegranate Martini. The drink was fun, flirty and I loved the mini martini presentation. The Tuna Roll surprised me with its fresh crunch. My only qualm? I wish the portion was bigger!
Pomegranate Martini
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