Event Coverage

Exclusive photos and coverage of high-profile food, wine, and spirits events.

Portland Cocktail Week [dailyblender.com]

Reminiscing On A Decade of Portland Cocktail Week

When the door finally opened on the Portland Cocktail Week tiki event at miniature golf mecca, Glowing Greens, guests streamed down the stairs into the dark of the black light. Bartenders from Seattle’s Rumba were glowing with neon paint, ready to shake and pour for the rush of crowd. As we packed ourselves in for the wait, perusing menus and adhering light-up bracelets and necklaces to ourselves and our accessories, conversations began between friends and strangers.

Saratoga Springs, New York

Summertime in Saratoga Springs

Amid the upstate areas where vacationers flock, Saratoga Springs is a popular pick. To some, it is the home of horse racing, where folks dress in finery and peer over papers as determined steeds propel past. To others, it is a performing arts destination, and its annual New York City Ballet season the most anticipated event of them all.

That Week Portland Cocktail Week Came To Town

Oh, those bartenders, those “mixologists”, the ones we write about, the ones we admire from the other side of the bar. They gather regularly, you know. It’s not all tips and ten-hour shifts. Sometimes in New Orleans, sometimes in Kansas City, sometimes in New York. One shining week a year in the heart of Stumptown.

2013 Ka’anapali Fresh, or How I Never Tire of Maui

I am always in awe of the all-encompassing community feel of Maui. The way the chefs, farmers, producers on the island work in amazing sync, combining their talents to make magic happen, each happily touting the star-worthy skills of the other.

2013 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival - Malama Maui [DAILYBLENDER.COM]

2013 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival Celebrates in Maui with Malama Maui Dinner

Hot on the heels of a very successful – and über-Maui-focused – Ka’anapali Fresh, the folks at the Hawai’i Food & Wine Festival swung into town to present Malama Maui this past Sunday – the first off-island, offshoot of the larger Oahu-based event taking place this weekend, September 6-9. Held oceanside at the beautiful Napili Gardens of the Hyatt Regency Maui, with honored guests, chefs Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi in attendance, the evening’s lineup included Iron Chef Japan’s Hiroyuki Sakai, Marcel Vigneron, Rick Tramonto, Hawaii’s Bev Gannon and Sheldon Simeon, and Greg Grohowski, executive chef of the Hyatt Regency.