Denver dining has evolved over the past twenty years — and so has Westword's celebration of the remarkable culinary scene we have here in Denver. Over the years the names and venues for this culinary food and booze frenzy have changed and this year’s newly named, Feast, was a success! Held Sunday 15th at the McNichols Building in Civic Park, the event offered guests a spectrum of dishes from over forty favorite restaurants selected by Westword food writers and readers. There were also plenty of boozy beverages from 90+ Cellar, Tito's Vodka, Silvercoin & Exotico Tequila, Stranahan's Whiskey, Stella Artois and many others.
This event did not leave its guests thirsty or sober, and definitely provided plenty of food! We were actually very impressed by how much food each restaurant provided, because with many of these events they tend to gradually close down as they run out of samples. This event stayed strong to the very end and even saw some of the restaurants and local brand booths giving away handfuls of samples to happy guests! We walked away with a bunch of cupcakes from Milk & Cake and jerky from Duke’s, along with a whole bagful of coupons and swag we’d acquired.
What made this event one of the best food & booze events we’ve been to all year was the fact that general admission tickets were only $25 and really did get you as much as you could eat and drink. You left super full and happy because you weren’t wasting your time standing in long lines or being told they’ve ran out! Guests could truly try everything in the three-hour, or four-hour if you had a VIP ticket, time frame and even enjoy their food while sitting at a table outside. Another factor was the event was spread among three levels of the McNichols building so people weren’t cramped and stayed moving and exploring. It was a much more enjoyable and relaxing experience than most of the food festivals we’ve been to in our tenure.
Our best bites range from BBQ, to salad, to tacos and sweets; here are the top eight greats: Pig Out Smokehouse pulled pork & coleslaw, Roaming Buffalo’s pork belly burnt ends & coleslaw, Good Trip’s super smooth coffee, Taste of Thailand’s Northern Thai Garden Salad, Brider’s rotisserie Lamb Leg with couscous, Frijoles Colorado’s plantain with roasted pork, beans and rice, Chuey Fu’s tacos, and La Fillette with a huge selection of French pastries.
We really hope Westword Feast can repeat this success again next year with its winning combination of great food/restaurants, adequate amounts and variety of food and booze, an enjoyable environment, and affordable (cheap even), ticket prices!
Written by Tiffany Candelaria Photos by Jared Cody