For this week’s Happy Hour event, we will be at Don Ramon Restaurant. Father and son team, Ramon and Jose Villarino, bring flavorful Cuban specialties like stuffed Yucca, croquettes and Arroz con pollo to Clematis Street. For this event, we will have the upstairs bar to ourselves giving us plenty of time to mix, mingle and enjoy authentic flavors of Cuba.
When: Wednesday, March 10
Time: 5:30-7:30 pm
Where: Don Ramon Cuban Restaurant, 300 Clematis St, West Palm Beach
Cost: $10 – includes 1 glass of sangria and a selection of complimentary hors d’oeuvres
Join DINE Magazine at Blue Martini in CityPlace for mingling, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Located on the 2nd floor in CityPlace, Blue Martini offers a sophisticated, yet casual setting. They are known for their extensive list of martinis, sumptuous tapas menu and lively atmosphere. Guests will enjoy 1 Van Gogh Vodka cocktail and a selection of complimentary hors d’oeuvres. We will be in the back room so when you arrive, go inside, pass the stage area and head to your right — you should be able to find the group. If not, ask for the DINE group.
When: Wednesday, February 24
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Where: Blue Martini, 550 S Rosemary Ave (in CityPlace), West Palm Beach
Cost: $10 and free for paid members of DINE’s wine & dine club. Members, you must RSVP to get in for free.
Please prepay and RSVP in advance so we have enough food for the group.
Be one of the first to experience Wild Olives Cafe by Todd English in CityPlace. Wild Olives Cafe — a joint venture between restaurateur Lirim Jacobi and Celebrity Chef Todd English — opened up a few weeks ago in the old Italian Oven Cafe Space. This casual restaurant features a menu of rustic, Mediterranean fare and serves many of Todd English’s signature dishes including: Asparagus Frites, Fig & Prosciutto Flat Bread and Tortelli with Butternut Squash.
When: Wednesday, February 17
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Where: Wild Olives Cafe, 477 S Rosemary Ave, West Palm Beach (Next to Macy’s on S Rosemary in CityPlace)
Cost: $10 – includes 1 drink and a selection of complimentary flat breads
Be one of the first to experience McCormick & Schmick’s — the brand new seafood restaurant scheduled to open up in CityPlace on Feb. 8. Like all of their other locations, McCormick & Schmick’s in CityPlace will prepare fresh seafood in a traditional style with a contemporary flair. There will be open air dining in the cocktail lounge and patio; three private dining rooms available for business or group meetings and 2 large dining rooms that are both warm and intimate.
Where: McCormick & Schmick’s, 651 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach
When: Wednesday, February 10
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Cost: $10
Guests will enjoy 1 glass of wine (either Mohua Pinot Noir and Mohua Sauv Blanc) and a selection of complimentary hors d’oeuvres.
As always, please RSVP and prepay in advance.
It’s Sunday afternoon. Why not cozy up to a glass of wine? What about 550 of them? This afternoon I stopped by Lincoln Culinary Institute to check in on the American Fine Wine Competition, and for someone who doesn’t frequent wine competitions very often, I was in awe. I was surrounded by a room full of wine.
I’m not talking about 10, 50 or even 100 bottles of wines, but hundreds of wines lined the room — bottles of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Syrah and more appeared in every direction. Wine lovers rejoice! This is the best the country has to offer.
Over the 2 day period, the judges this year will taste over 550 wines. The process is like this: Wine are poured in private and then brought out to the judging tables by students from LCI (Lincoln Culinary Institute). The glasses are marked to correspond to the individual bottles. The judges taste a series of wines at a time, of a given grape and price range. They jot down their notes, share their thoughts with the other judges at the table and in order for a wine to receive a particular medal, 75% or more most agree. When 100% of the judges agree that a certain wine should receive a gold, a Double Gold medal is awarded.
So it was time to taste some wine, and taste they did. I was even lucky enough to join in for a round — but for 80 rounds, it takes a talented individual — and this competition brings together some of the best in the business including Charlie Arturaola, Cynthia Betancourt (Azul), Jenny Benzie (formerly of Cafe Boulud), our wine and spirits editor, Patrick Sullivan and many more.
While not everyone can taste the wines during the competition, the public is invited to attend the AFWC Gala Dinner presented by Patriot Risk Management, scheduled to take place on March 13 at Lincoln Culinary in West Palm Beach, where all the wines in the competition will be poured. Yes, over 500 of them. In addition to serving amazing wines, this dinner will go to benefit the American Red Cross of Broward and Palm Beach Counties and the Quantum House in West Palm Beach. Information will be posted soon.