Taste of Park Plaza

The Taste of Park Plaza was such a cool event with so much delicious food! I’m so glad that I went! It was, however, one of those events where you could easily over-do-it, so I tried to pace myself with Bethenny Frankel’s “taste everything, eat nothing” motto. Even with the best intentions, I still ended up stuffed to the gills by the end of the night!

Oh well, I had a great time!

I was expecting a big function room filled with booths from the featured restaurants, but instead, each attendee received a “passport” to sample various foods and drinks at each of the 8 establishments. The event was sort of like a food pub crawl!

Mal and I met Mary Kate at the start of the “crawl.”

Bonfire was our first stop.

Bonfire was easily my favorite of the evening! It’s a modern restaurant with a gorgeous bar and laid-back vibe. I could definitely see myself going there for drinks and apps with friends.

At Bonfire, we enjoyed a Black Garlic Empanada and a Surf & Turf Taco. Both of which were excellent!

At Bonfire, we met Shannon and her friend, who joined us for the rest of the event.

Our next stop was the Melting Pot, which was surprisingly disappointing. I’ve only visited the Melting Pot once and raved about my experience on the blog, but tonight it was just so-so.

I had high hopes for the Melting Pot’s cheese fondue, but their Cheddar Cheese Fondue was really bland. Usually cheese fondue has a nice, strong taste to it, so it wasn’t what I expected at all.

The Dark Chocolate Fondue was also weak-tasting and runny. It reminded me of Hershey’s syrup.

After the Melting Pot, we walked across the way to McCormick and Schmick’s which was absolutely packed with people!

The featured XYZin wine was excellent: full-bodied and smooth.

Just the way I like my red wine!

The food at McCormick and Schmick’s was tasty, but hard to come by. Eventually, I scored a couple of pieces of Pan-Seared Tuna with Wasabi Dressing.

Delish!

We met Anna and her sister Meg in the midst of the craziness at McCormick and Schmick’s, so we gathered the group and headed to the less-crowded Swan’s Cafe.

The group:

At the Swan’s Cafe, I tried a Tea-Brined & Spiced Chicken Wing and a piece of Tea-Cured Smoked Salmon. Both were tasty, but the tea flavors didn’t come through at all.

MJ O’Connor’s was the next stop on our list.

At this point in the evening, I became much more selective in my food choices. I was getting pretty full, so I skipped the Clam Chowder and only tasted a few bites of the Sheperd’s Pie.

The Shepherd’s Pie was AWESOME! It was hearty, flavorful, and perfect for a cool, crisp evening in Boston. The next time I visit MJ O’Conners, this is the first thing I will order!

I’ve eaten at Au Bon Pain a million times, so I passed on their BBQ Chicken Sandwich and tried a few sips of their Watermelon Lemonade.

The Watermelon Lemonade was a refreshing slushy-like beverage. Yum!

Finale = holy yum!

At Finale, I enjoyed their Dark Chocolate Decadence, which was a rich, flourless cake with a hint of espresso and made with Grand Caraque Cocoa Barry and bittersweet Callebaut chocolates.

Each bite was dessert heaven!

The decadent dessert paired well with a cool glass of sweet Riesling.

Our final stop on the Taste of Park Plaza tour was Ben & Jerry’s.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?), B&J’s was out of most of their flavors, so I selected the Chocolate Fudge Brownie to sample.

Of course, all Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is delicious, but I was SO FULL, I only ate a few bites before tossing the rest into the trash.

All in all, the Taste of Park Plaza was a fabulous event! I can’t wait until next year!

Tagged as: Taste of Park Plaza