We have been looking forward this event for awhile now. We have both been to "taste of" events before (Roswell, Alpharetta, Norcross, etc.) but never had to pay for it, so we didn't really know what to expect. The event featured "tastes" of local restaurants around Brookhaven and Buckhead. They also had live music which consisted of a guy playing guitar to a backing track and a silent auction with items donated by local artists and such.
The clientelle was interesting (and older). Lots of plastic surgery and leather skinned women in dresses that were too revealing (not in the good way). We expected more of a festival atmosphere and got more of a summer garden party vibe. Seating was limited and the wine line was long so we ended up standing up most of the time without anything to drink. I was quickly asking myself what we paid $30 for. Wading through the perfume and fake tan smell, we finally hit up some of the restaurant booths.
The first booth we hit was from Kaleidoscope. We were glad to see them make an appearance and they said they're still on schedule to open this fall. We were excited to see what they were making. They offered a pulled pork slider with a pickled coleslaw on top. They also offered a sliced beef tenderloin on a soft pita-like bread topped with a peaunt bbq sauce and fresh pickles.
We stopped by Eclipse di Luna's tent. I think this is technically located in Dunwoody but close enough. They had their chef making paella right in front of us. They also had sangria which was excellent. The paella was definitely authentic with mussels, calamari, sausage, chicken, and saffron rice.
This is from the Brookhaven Bistro which is located behind the health food store on Peachtree called Nut's 'n' Berries. We've always wanted to try it but the thought of eating somewhere healthy and attached to a place called Nuts 'n' Berries always scared me. This was actually our favorite booth. The offered a falafel on a pita wedge with a yogurt sauce and a salmon quesadilla. Both were very unique and I love falafel. Can't wait to try this place.
Finally, we stopped by the Sugar Shack. They had little cupcakes and cookies. Our favorite was the lemon cupcake and the plain old chocolate chip cookie. They win the award for the best presentation.So all in all, the food was good (there was plenty more than shown here), atmosphere was a little too formal and the people a little too... "buckhead". Unfortunately, it was only a small "taste" of all these restaurants. All of their menus are excellent and expansive and I wish we could have tried a couple more dishes from each of the restaurants, but obviously resources were limited. I can't say that we'd go back next year. Maybe we'll wait until our skin gets a little more weathered and we can spend some money on nose jobs. I think we'll just stick to going to the real thing.
