out and about: del mar wine and food festival 2025

storyhouse spirits bullet with butterfly wings: sh dry gin, butterfly pea flower, aloe liqueur, jalapeno, strawberry, hibiscus, lime

There are food festivals, and then there are food festivals. And the del mar wine and food festival is definitely one of those festivals. Taking over the surf park in del mar, and bringing a whole host of local chef’s, food network stars, and notable personalities (shout out to rob machado - tell me you grew up in a socal beach town during the 80’s 90’s without telling me you grew up in a beach town during the 80’s 90’s).

So many old favorite restaurants, so many new restaurants on my lists to try.

Add that to beer, wine, and spirits galore.

What I love is the festival is held over two days… so you don’t feel forced to jam as much as you possibly can in the 3 hours you’re there. While some booths do double duty, some of those change it up and offer different bites.

We tried so many things. So many. So here’s just a small smattering of some of our favorites from the weekend.

wilson creek: peach bellini

So as soon as we spotted wilson creek, we knew that’s where we were headed first thing. Not only did we used to be wine club members, but it was my mother in law’s favorite sparkling.

Known for their almond champagne, we tried their new peach bellini (with a hint of almond), and it was perfection.

Crisp and clean, it was the perfect start to our food adventure.

crack shack mini smokin’ chicks: smoked chicken thigh bbq sauce, cotija, limey kewpie, purple cabbage, pickles, pickled jalapenos, brioche bun

Now this was a bite! Jamie had never had crack shack, so this was a great way for him to try it. And… now that we have a pacific beach location close to us, we can’t wait to visit.

This was such a good bite. All the different elements you want in a bite, smokey, tangy, umami… the list goes on.

Plus you know if it’s a chicken thigh and jamie likes it? They are doing something right.

coaster saloon: prime brisket, mac & cheese, onion strings, molassas bbq

Another favorite bite. The brisket was so tender, the mac perfectly cooked, and the bbq sauce? Next level.

the pendry: pork belly “blt”

This was the pendry’s take on the blt - throw in pork belly, some stewed tomatoes, micro greens, and make it bite sized.

Again. A great bite, and makes me definitely want to check out what they are putting out down there.

alesmith: sunpath peach

alesmith: party tricks ipa

Clearly I was on a peach kick.

And, no surprise, this was jamie’s favorite booth of the weekend. He may have earned some frequent flyer milage at this one.

sea & sky hamachi poke: cucumber, red onion, preserved lemon, masago, rice cracker

Y’all know how much we love sea & sky, so it was no surprise we loved this bite. Honestly it was the slightly pickled cucumbers that threw it over for me. Such a great bite.

marisi grilled bluefin tuna: salmoriglio, heirloom tomato salad

Marisi, another local favorite from right down the street. Loved seeing it here, and the bluefin did not disappoint. Super tender, and perfectly complemented with the tomato salad.

lola 55 smoked carnitas taco: smoked carnitas, avocado salsa verde, pickled red onion, cilantro

Loved all the flavors here, especially the salsa verde. If we had one complaint it was just that the tortilla to meat ratio was slightly off. Just too much tortilla which therefore overpowered the other flavors.

lalo tequila spritz

Perfect afternoon drink. Makes you want to pull up a lounge chair, an umbrella, and stay awhile.

matsu: hamachi

They literally flew out fresh hamachi the night before and were just carving it up when we got there. Drizzled with a tiny bit of oil and sauce that was reminiscent of ponzu, but not as heavy… if you can believe that.

It was light, fresh, and allowed the fish to shine.

Perfect bite.

wolf in the woods roasted summer beets: chilled summer beets, candied pecan, pickled onion, fennel goat cheese, citrus & new mexican lavender vinaigrette

Here’s where we diverge. Jamie, not a fan of beets, me? Huge fan. Which just means I got to eat all of this all by myself, and it was delish!

The perfect summer salad that has me running to the store for beet varieties before the summer versions are all gone.

luna grill: mariniated chicken, medi pico, hummus, pita

So the chicken was fantastic, not too tough. Loved the tzatziki, and the humus was great. But without a doubt, for me? The star was the medi pico. It tasted exactly, and I mean exactly like my childhood favorite milano pizza’s tomato cucumber salad. You know, the one I constantly make on repeat over here.

Cue me hitting up google to find the nearest location.

tequila ocho sandilla margarita: tequila ocho plata, watermelon juice, alma tepac pasilla liqueur, lime juice, liquid alchemist simple syrup

Y’all know how much your girl loves a watermelon flavor. So was this taster any question?

My kind of margarita… not too sweet - just perfect flavors.

ranch 45 smoked prime brandt beef shoulder: smoked prime brandt beef shoulder with pickled onions and a homemade bbq sauce on a brioche bun

What the description failed to mention, was that the chef was deep frying pickles and onions to order for each slider and the combo made the dish.

This was a collection of perfect bites. Everything worked so well together, if it wasn’t the longest line in the place I would have gone back for seconds and thirds.

sweetfin poke bowls:

spicy tuna: spicy mayo, avocado, edamame, cucumber, crispy onion

yuzu salmon: yuzu kosho sauce, avocado, edamame, cilantro, jicama, cucumber

Typically I’m a tuna poke girl. However… this time? It was the salmon that blew me away.

And you know I’m gonna work on my own verson asap. The flavors just worked so well together.

Although this reads like I didn’t like the tuna - which I most definitely did, and would 100 percent order; I just loved the salmon.

bebemos tequila golden hour: bebemos, aperol, grapefruit, lime, honey & salt

pechanga resort:

summer corn agnolotti: parmesan mousse, herb bread crumbs

slow aged wagyu tartare: caviar, savory tart

I wanted to like the gold hour, but it was just too sweet for me. But for anyone who likes their drinks on the sweeter side? This would be the perfect afternoon sip.

Pechanga came to play. Who does agnolotti at a food festival? They do. And they do it extremely well. The pasta was perfectly al dente, the vegetables cooked but not mushy, and the sauce was fantastic. I could eat a whole bowl of this on the regular.

And hello - wagyu tartare with caviar? Two of my favorite things. So cool. And the savory tart? Was a savory waffle cone. I don’t know if the dish needed quite as much of it, but the presentation and hit to the palate was great.

maillard: smoked brandt beef flat iron with kimchi nabe

Of course the beef is going to be fantastic - it’s brandt. And if you’re a local, you know. But to my surprise flat iron, which has never been one of my favorite cuts, was fantastic as well. And the addition of the kimchi and enoki? Yeah, they did it for me.

jimmy’s famous american tavern brandt beef mini smashburgers: brandt beef, new school american cheese, griddled onions, secret sauce

It may look understated? But this is one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time. Hands down the best smashburger.

Perfect in all its simplicity.

fever tree cucumber mojito: fever-tree mojito mix, topped with fever-tree sparkling cucumber, mint, lime wedge

I was so excited to see my favorite mixer have it’s own booth. And not only that… they have a new sparkling cucumber which means my drink game, both mock and not, has just leveled up.

And it was the perfect way to end the weekend.

Can’t wait ‘til next year! See ya there.