You know the part I look forward to the most at the Key West Food and Wine Festival? Sitting. I spend a lot of time running around, pouring wine and helping others, so when I can finally enjoy a five-course menu, it is a spectacular treat.
After the Grand Tasting, I grabbed my flip flops, found FKGuy, and headed over to Spencer’s for the Banfi wine dinner. The restaurant is about fifty feet from the beach, so it wasn’t much of an effort to get there. I would not reclaim my shoes until I needed to put them on to get home. In Key West, nobody notices if you aren’t wearing shoes, even in the nicest of restaurants. (And you wonder why I like it here?)
Our dinner was fantastic, as we sat with friends we met a few years ago and some new friends. Coincidentally, some of the new friends live in Park City and know our (dare I say “old”?) friends that live there. Because every time we meet people from Park City, they know our friends. Last time it was in a cruise ship hot tub, and this time over a fantastic dinner. I’m fairly certain next time will be somewhere equally random. (I know there will be a next time.)
Food, wine, and conversations were all wonderful, and we left full and happy, but badly in need of some sleep if we were to stroll Duval Uncorked with our friends, or as I like to call them, “enablers”.
Over the course of the festival, Tesla had set up an Airstream and cars to test drive. For the record, I am not a car person. Give me one that gets me from point A to point B, preferably with Satellite radio so I can have Radio Margaritaville and First Wave at all times, and I am a happy camper. But these cars are awesome. Yes, I know they cost between $80,000 and $120,000, but they are so incredibly cool. They drive nicely and the only parts to replace are brake pads. Plus, there is a full-screen navigation and radio setup that will get you anywhere you want, listening to whatever your heart desires. I pushed a button, said “play the B-52s” and within seconds was bopping along to Rock Lobster. That is cool.
Several Tesla representatives came to the festival, explained all of the cool features, and drove me – and several other people – everywhere I needed to go. It was fantastic. If only I could always have someone else drive me around.
By Saturday afternoon, my new Tesla friends drove us downtown, and we met up with our friends. Glasses in hand, glass holding lanyards around our necks, we sauntered up Duval Street. Here is the thing: if you sell clothes in your store, you probably shouldn’t be pouring red wine. Just saying. Drunk, stumbling festival-goers (or clumsy ones, like me), combined with red wine, do not make for a stain-free environment. In an odd twist of fate, I managed to keep my clumsiness in check and not spill anything.
We strolled through shops, galleries, wine bars, and restaurants as we made our way to the halfway point, the Little Jazz Room. I should note that the fine folks at Graffiti have figured it out: they sell clothes, and therefore only serve white wine. Smart. They also have a cheese and cracker platter out each year. Why? People that are snacking are also shopping. Very smart.
Making our way into the Little Jazz Room, I spotted a sign letting people know there was a choice of red or white wine, or Frosé. Yes, that is frozen rosé wine with a bit of elderberry liquor thrown in for good measure. Oh. Em. Gee. I expected a nasty, sweet concoction, and what I received was a frosty, tangy, delicious beverage that I could consume on a regular basis. I will track down a recipe, try it out, and let you know how it goes.
Because we were savoring our small pours of Frosé, we sat outside in the beautiful Florida sunshine. At this point, plenty of people that started at the other end were also meandering through the halfway point and we saw a bunch of people we knew, leading us to overstay our welcome (and beg, with limited success) for extra Frosé. We were there so long, I took a quick power nap on the couch. Eventually, I roused myself for the remainder of the stroll.
Perfect weather, good friends, and frozen wine make for a remarkably entertaining afternoon.
