Delray Bash

A nice sized event in school House Square just off Atlantic Avenue in Delray beach.
A good selection of local restaurants and wine tastings of house wines as well as some select wineries, mainly from California.
A few of the food vendors did a particularly good job and consequently the line was so long that I was not able to sample there cuisine.
Overall a very fun event with great live music and I look forward to going back next year and supporting the local cause.

I was invited by my good Unilocaler friend Nancy M and let me tell you I had a blast. We started to Bombay Sapphire booth and I finished at the Bombay Sapphire booth (definitely my favorite) with a few visits to the Jack Daniels booth. We sampled a lot of foods but the one that stuck out to me and got my vote was the gelato from gelato petrini.

I really loved the Delray Bash. We tried food from about 15 restaurants and about 5 didn’t beer/​liquors. We loved the dessert from seasons 52, the rice from Buddha sky bar and the pasta from Brio. We didn’t like the bacon wrapped dates from DaDa which usually has outstanding food. The Tullamore Dew whiskey tent had a really unique cocktail that tasted like apple cider. They were handing out free bottles of water. There were plenty of tables to eat at. The lines were decent length.
The band was great. They even had a two year old boy dancing along with them. They had several games to play including supersized jenga and connect 4. Two radio stations were there with games to win prizes. We won a water bottle but could choose from multiple CD’s. They had a few new cars there to take a look at.
We walked from our apartment but there’s a parking garage a few blocks away. I believe it’s $ 10 to park there. We bought tickets for the event through livingsocial so they were pretty cheap.
I highly recommend this event and will be attending next year!

Had the opportunity to attend this event with my friend that was invited by Unilocal and given two free tickets.
When we got to the event we noticed the line wrapped around the block. But by the time we parked right next door valet for $ 10 and walked to the line it was moving fairly quickly. The event was sold out and we had to pick up our tickets at will call which was very well organized. We got our tickets and continued doing the line. When approaching the entrance they only had one volunteer doing the wrist band which I thought maybe one more wouldn’t hurt to help.
As soon as we entered we went for the drinks. There was a lot of options for wines but we went straight to the Bombay stations. I love how they served the drinks in their signature glass which we ended up taking home! The drinks were all good. But the first line was super long but we waited it out, the drink was worth it.
After we had our drinks in hand we went out to try the food. The best was the burger from MEAT the line was a 30 min wait but worth it.
The worst was the quinoa salad from Brio. Unfortunately this was one of the last items we had and we were quite disappointed.
All the other food wasn’t really out of this world. But with limited time and some of the restaurants running out of food (the melting pot) and long lines we weren’t really able to taste everything.
For dessert we had way to many seasons 52 signatures dessert I loved the carrot cake and the chocolate cake was also very rich!
I don’t think I would pay the 50 dollars for this event unless your a huge wine drinker. There was a lot of selection of wine and easily you can drink way more than fifty dollars in wine! I think with the six Bombay drinks we had was more than 50 bucks. Just the variation of food and the lines were a bit unwelcoming also very limited areas to sit or tables to eat at.
This event was definitely an older crowd, if you know what I mean.

Thanks Unilocal for my tix! It was my first time attending Delray Bash, what a great event for a great cause. I was surprised by the size and overwhelmed by the array of choices. There were a handful of stalls that I did not get to try, simply because I’m too inpatient to wait in lines of 20+ people. The winner of the night MEAT was one of those, but it didn’t bring down the night for me.
I arrived approx 7:30 because parking was awful, as should be expected of downtown Delray. Next time I’d definitely Über it. I was able to get my tickets at the will call booth with no line and take my behind straight in. I started with the drinks because, well, there was no real reason, I just like a good drink. There were many wine and craft beer stands which I chose to leave till last. I tried a couple of whiskies, scotch and ginger beer, Disaronno, Sake, New Amsterdam peach vodka, homemade ginger bourbon tea, and lastly my favorite; the Bombay Gin booth, which boasted of 3 different cocktails which they had you construct yourself — so much fun, delicious drinks, fun staff and great freebies!
For food the selection seemed endless. My coin vote went to Free House which showcased a phenomenal homemade mac ‘n’ cheese with smoked prosciutto and breadcrumbs… it was so good I had more than one. Dada came a good second for me with their bacon wrapped date stuffed with goat cheese and chorizio. As far as non local joints, I also was super impressed with Ian’s Tropical Grill out of Stuart with his huge Snapper, which he told me fed about 400 people and he went through 2 fish, if you don’t believe me, take a look at the picture… it was impressive and most importantly — delicious!
As far as non food, it was great to see the Unilocal booth at the far back, got me another bottle opener (thanks Unilocal for being an enabler in my liquid diet: P) Delivery Dudes also a great company that got some airplay at the event, got a coozie, bottle of water, and a ticket for a free delivery, since they cover all downtown Delray and the staff we just the coolest, I’ll definitely be hitting them up.
And to top it off, I just loved the live band, The People Upstairs Band were just the bomb, and I’ll be stalking them around Lake Worth, since that seems to be where they play most frequently.
So that caps off my first Delray Bash, too much food, too much drink, too much fun and I’ll be back next year for more, thanks :)

I went for a second year in a row and was impressed once again. Entrance was very quick because they collect tickets while you are in line and give you a wristband before 7pm. When they open the gate at 7pm, you are in within 5 minutes. They give you a wine glass and plate that holds the wine glass… this is very important at an event like this so you have a free hand to stuff your face:)
The only booth with a line was MEAT. The burger was worth the wait! There was plenty of food and drink throughout the night. They had more tables this year to rest your plate and stand and eat at. The event is spread out so you don’t feel overcrowded. All the vendors were friendly. There were plenty of trash cans to throw your sample plates away.
You got to vote on your favorite dish. I chose Dada’s bacon wrapped goat cheese stuffed dates. They are amazing!
The live music was great too. There is parking in the garage just to the north of the venue.
Overall, a great night!

All I can say is Delray bash was a blast! Lots of wine, lots of liquor and plenty of food. This was my first year attending and the girls & I are already talking about next year. Kudos to the city of Delray for putting on a fabulous event.
Sunny

This was my first year attending the Delray Bash (thanks to Unilocal) and I brought along Vianka A, as my guest.
There was a pretty long line at the entrance into the event, but surprisingly it moved quickly. Once we made it inside the event, we were handed a plastic tray along with a plastic wine glass (which made is 10xs easier to hold our samples/​drinks).
Of course we didn’t know what to sample and drink first, so we started at the Bombay booth. We grabbed a spot in line for some type of mixed drink that was made with Bombay (of course). When we finally got to the front of the line, the bartender provided us the steps with making our own drink and we were able to make our own drink.
We then made our way down to the booths with food. We started with Cabo Flats Cantina and sampled guacamole and ceviche. I thought the guacamole was good, but it wasn’t anything to rave about. And of course I didn’t try the ceviche, since I don’t eat seafood/​shellfish.
We then went over to M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom and stood in line for 30 minutes, literally. We sampled the King Jelly, which was an enormous bite of burger, bacon, onion ring, fresh banana, and spicy jelly. I thought this burger was DELICIOUS and dropped the golden coin into their jar, hopefully they win! If i had to change one thing about the burger — I would fry the banana, LOL.
We then went over to Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza and sampled a slice of cheese pizza, a meatball, and mozzarella in carrozza. I thought the food was good. But out of all 3 samples, I enjoyed the mozarella in carrozza. It was a perfect bite of freshness.
We then went over to Mastino Italian Soul Food by Solita and sampled a meatball. This meatball wasn’t just a plain old meatball. This meatball was delicious and packed with flavor.
We then went over to Nature’s Way Café and sampled avocado hummus served on pita bread. I didn’t think this dish was going to be anything special, but it was actually great. It had a really great freshness that I enjoyed.
We then went over to Buddah Sky Bar and sampled pineapple fried rice. I’ve never had pineapple fried rice before. I thought the combinations of the flavors were pretty good.
The event was only 2 hours long and time was running out, since we were back and forth between the Bombay booths and the food booths. So the last booth we attended was Seasons 52 and sampled the mini deserts. I sampled the mini carrot cake and the mini chocolate cake. I thought the mini carrot cake was delicious. I’m usually a huge fan of J Alexander’s carrot cake, but this carrot cake could complete with J’s. And I’m usually a huge chocolate fan, but this mini chocolate cake had too much chocolate for me. It literally tasted like I dipped my spoon inside a container of chocolate icing.
There were a couple of downsides. There weren’t many tables to stand at. There weren’t many chairs to sit at. The lines were pretty long. The vendors ran out of food earlier than 9pm. But with all that being said, I had a great time at the event, thanks again to Unilocal

What a great event! Thank you Unilocal for the chance to experience this event for the 1^st time. Delray bash really has it all: food, drink, and great live music. It was an awesome showcase of local restaurants and there was a contest on who offered the best item. The event was sold out, yet so much food to be eaten and drinks to enjoy on.
The standouts for me: café Luna Rosa with an awesome pasta dish, Dada with the bacon wrapped stuffed dates (they got my vote), m.e.a.t with a slider burger that had an easily 30 minute line just to get (the winner of the night). Everything was just top notch. There was maybe only a couple items I didn’t like in the whole festival. The drinks were a-​flowin with Sam adams, cooperpoint, funky buddah and saltwater brewery on hand. As well a bunch of wine, and liquor galore. I was stuffed with food and glad we used lyft to get to the event so we can really enjoy ourselves!
It was great that everyone was given a tray with a wine glass holder something that really makes the experience easier. I am totally saving mine for other events like this.
This is definitely an event I’m going to make a new annual tradition!

I’ve gone to Delray Bash in the past at this location. This year it was very good. They had foods from various restaurants in the area as well as many booths including a great one from Unilocal.I enjoyed almost all of it.
They needed more beer booths. They had very few beer outlets. The only one I saw was Sam Adams not one of my favorites, but they tried hard. I prefer light beer but there was none to be found.
Meat balls were everywhere. Really good ones. Great wine was all over the place as well as Vodka.
A great many restaurants were represented. Brio, the Melting Pot, Dada, Pizza Rustica and many, many others.
I had a great time eating and drinking my fill.
They had great music performers playing throughout the evening.
The evening was wonderful.

Saved number 250 for this precise event The Delray Bash! This is my first year attending (thanks Unilocal) and I brought fellow Unilocaler Michael B along with me for the fun evening. Anything DelRay does they do with decadence and grandeur and tonight the Lung Association was honored for the Delray Bash 2015. What a great event. I began with the Bombay gin booth, they had us make our own cocktails. that was really fun! Then we were off to the food. We began with a pasta and lobster dish that was great and a stuffed date wrapped in bacon (from dada’s) and shrimp cilantro and an aged couscous (that was my favorite) along with the Pumpkin Pie Gelato (from gelato petrini) (That was the supreme winner of the evening). I also had a cheviche and a guacamole that was outstanding from Cabo Flats!!! Stopped by the Funky Buddha tent and had to get a bottle of the pumpkin ale they had. boy was that good. I also had an EXCELLENT Cabernet called Bianchi Paso Robles (I WILL be getting a bottle of this from whole foods. thats where they sell it at I was told)! I skipped the vodka and jack daniels booths I couldnt drink another drop! I had a margarita flat bread (from Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza) and a tabouli with a pasta that really was delicious. I did not get to try anything from melting pot because by the time I got to their booth they were sold out and cleaned up and gone, The one item i did not enjoy all that much was the pork slider from Brus room. The roll it came on was great but i didnt much like the pulled pork that much. I loved the pineapple fried rice from Buddha Sky Bar and I also loved the avocado hummus that Natures way presented on pita triangles. For my sweet tooth we went by Seasons 52 and I got a pecan Pie in a small cup it was pretty good but i never tasted the pecans all that much to be honest. The Pumpkin Pie Gelato was the winner hands down for dessert! It wasnt too packed there was a live band that rocked out the entire event and the location (downtown delray beach) was the perfect spot the weather even held up nicely as it wasnt warm or muggy at all for a great evening. Congratulations to MEAT who took home the prize for best of the best for the event!!! It was great seeing hiram and vanessa and diane and clyde and sherry! Love my Unilocal friends and especially Blue who was on hand for the fun! Thanks again Unilocal for the wonderful night out and all the great food and drinks! Thank you Delray Beach for hosting a decadent event and the Lung association for being a part of the entire event as a host! I will be back next year for sure it was THAT great!!! I will wear flats or sandals because it was a little rough walking partially on grass and concrete in low heels. i couldnt imagine doing it in high heels. There was seating all around so that really helped when my dogs were plain pooped! Wear loose clothing as you WILL be over stuffed with great samples from many of the local restaurants in the area!

Best event by far. lots of everything for everybody. already bought tickets for this years event, oct.3^rd.go early, long line, but it’s worth it, stay till the end, better pours, and larger portions the last half hour.

Saturday night’s Delray Bash was very well-​organized and from what I could tell, it was also very well-​attended.
The line to get in was quick because they collected our tickets and gave us wristbands while we were in line. Then we smoothly moved in and were given a cool plastic tray and wine glass. Some people brought their own trays — I didn’t know what to expect so I’m glad the organizers had trays for us — as a first-​timer, I wouldn’t have thought of that.
All of the food vendors I visited had delicious offerings, but as others have commented, the bacon-​wrapped date with goat cheese form Da Da’s took the prize! I just wish they hadn’t run out before I got a 2^nd one.
In my opinion, some of the alcohol vendors were heavy-​handed in their servings and I saw a few really drunk guests.
The band was very good and there was a little dancing going on. We played some of the games which was a pleasant break from drinking and eating.
All in all, it was a great event and I’m glad I went.
Good music, good food, good drink, good weather. What more could you ask for? Well, I wish there had been more seating available — some of us cannot get up off the ground once we are down there!

When my husband and I arrived, we were greeted and presented with a plate that a wine glass holder. It made things a hell of a lot easier when we were trying to eat our food while waiting in line for more.
There were lines that were longer than others and we weren’t sure if the lines were going to all the tables or to just one vendor at a time. We realized that after some people got out of our line and moved on to the next vendor that it was to each vendor when we first started. Needless to say, I wasn’t a fan of the disorganization of that part. There were tables spread out and it wasn’t crowded at all on a good note. They had a couple of adult games to play, which was Connect Four and Jenga. There was also a band that played for added entertainment.
The cocktails and wine along with the food was good. There was a variety of cocktails, beer, and wine for everyone to enjoy. I enjoyed all of the ones I tried, especially the rum punch. Some of the vendors we weren’t too impressed with and was surprised on what they offered. For example, Bru’s Room had salad and meatballs for their portions. I get that they want to expand their menu to customers, but it’s not an Italian restaurant. There was plenty of pasta offerings last night from other vendors, so I least expected chicken wings or burgers. But an Italian meal from a sports bar doesn’t go hand in hand. On the other hand, Baja Cantina had a delicious pulled pork taco with different sauces to put on top along with a side of chips. The meatballs from Solita’s and the bacon wrapped dates filled with goat cheese and chorizo from Dada were my favorites of the evening. Ben and Jerry’s had the pumpkin cheesecake ice cream as well as the Melting Pot offering their delicious pumpkin and chocolate fondue with a marshmallow, strawberry, and a cookie stick. Both of those desserts were out of this world.
It was so fabulous to win tickets for this event. Thanks Unilocal!It was a great time and we had fun supporting for a good cause. What can get better than that? :D

Please don’t think I’m crazy for writing this now, since it’s been over a year and a half since I went to Delray Bash. I’m catching up on my list of food and wine events I’ve been to. Check out my list for other events.
I went to this event with my husband on October 15, 2011. It was held in a big vacant lot in the Pineapple Grove Arts District in Delray Beach, just a short walk from Atlantic Avenue. It was so well planned. We purchased our tickets when we got there. Buying our tickets and checking in was quick and easy. There was plenty to eat and drink. There were tables and chairs at various places, although they could have used more. They even had a stage set up with live music. If you’re like me, and you love food and wine festivals, this one should be on your list. The food was delicious. There was a lot of variety. Some restaurants gave out appetizers, others samples of their entrees, and a few gave out yummy desserts. I didn’t see any long lines for food or drinks. That’s probably because it wasn’t very crowded.
One vendor, Slainte Irish Pub, had apparently run out of food before I got to their table. When I got there everything was packed up and their table was cleared off. Hey I paid $ 50 to go to this event and you’re going to run out of food less then halfway through. It doesn’t seem right. Since it wasn’t crowded I don’t understand why they would run out.
I was looking forward to going back in 2012. Unfortunately I was out of town and couldn’t go. I’ve already marked my calendar for October 12, 2013 which is the date for this year.
The Good
Lots of good food and drinks.
Not crowded
Places to sit.
The Bad
A few vendors ran out of food early in the event.