The Ultimate Guide to Food and Drink Festivals

If you’ve attended any food events in the past, you’ve learned a few things. You usually need to carry everything, walk a good distance to the festival from your transportation, and be prepared for whatever the weather brings.  Here’s a compilation of tips I’ve learned over the years of going to food, wine, cocktail, and beer events along with links to past posts about it. 

A sling for your glass means your hands are free to stuff your face.

General Tips

1. Wear comfortable shoes.  You'll be walking from where you parked to the festival, and all over the festival.  

2. Sunblock.  Sunblock.  Sunblock.  And sunblock.  UV rays don’t discriminate when you’re eating foie gras.  

3. If you must wear a dress or a skirt, make sure it has some structure and substance so it doesn't get blown around.  The wind was causing some free peep shows.  

4. Neti-pot (with distilled or boiled water) when you get home.  Festivals are usually outdoor, and they can get quite dusty.  Your sinus will thank you.

5. Phone charger.  Also bring a portable charger if you can.  You don’t want to be glued to an outlet. Keep it in a plastic bag big enough for your phone and camera in case it rains. 

6. Bring your own fork and spoon, because you might need your own when the disposables run out. Bring your own glass sling too.  Instructions here: http://misohungrynow.blogspot.com/2013/04/make-your-own-wine-or-beer-sling-for.html

7. ID. Even if you look like you’re 85 years old, TABC could be watching.  No one wants trouble with TABC so bring your license and don’t pitch a fit if you’re required to show it.

8. A designated driver. You can destroy your own liver, but please don’t destroy another person’s life.

9. Cash. While many vendors may take credit cards onsite, cell service can be spotty at large events.  Cash is king.  

10. Your manners. Don’t piss off people.  Don’t be rude.  Everyone here wants to have fun, including the volunteers.  

11. Drink water.  And more water.  And then more water.

12. Benadryl and band-aids.  You never know when you or someone at the festival will have an allergic reaction to food or insect bites.  I always carry benadryl, just in case.  And you never know when you're going to need a band-aid for a blister, burn, or cut. 

12. If Franklin's is at the festival, run to the line first.  RUN! RUN! RUN!

Nothing more satisfying than a man and his meat.  Get your head out of the gutter. 

Great American Beer Festival and Tales of the Cocktail Tips

1. Bring an umbrella to New Orleans if you don’t want to get wet.  It rains almost everyday.

2. Bring some pretzels or a turkey leg on your neck for Great American Beer Festival.  Unless you are going to a food event, you will need food reserves. There are food vendors inside with limited selection.  I would bring my own vittles. 

This man is simply awesome.  Turkey leg necklaces are a must for the ultimate beer loving carnivore. 

Austin Food and Wine Festival Tips

1. Unless you have a VIP pass, it might be wise to wait until the last hour of the grand tasting.  During the VIP period, it was pretty tame.  However, during general admission, it could get a little squishy.  If you wait until after most of the crowd had eaten their fill, the tents started to clear out.

2. Arrive very early to the cooking demos.  The lines can start as far as an hour in advance.

3. Bring a bag big enough to carry all the books and swag that you'll collect.  They do give you a resuable tote bag, but it does get difficult to carry.  I bring my own sling or shoulder strap style bag. 

The cooking demo line for Qui Ingredients at the 2013 Austin Food and Wine Festival. 

Viva La Big Bend!

1. Helmet.  This might seem odd.  There are many bikers (the motorcycle kind) out in West Texas.  You’ll never know when you need one for a ride on a Harley.

2. Boots.  This is mandatory dress code for West Texas.  Boots.  

3. Lotion and chapstick.  Did I mention that this is the desert? You'll dehydrate quickly. 

Boots are a must.

Brewery Events

1. Chair.  If you can’t stand for long periods of time, bring a chair.  The brewery most likely will not have any.

2. Snacks. And sometimes there is no food provided at brewery open houses, though it is becoming less common.  You might find a food truck or two, but selection is usually limited.  Pack a power bar, banana, apple, or some crackers.

Wish you were Beer.....at Big Bend Brewing Company in Alpine, TX. 

Dog Friendly Festivals

1. Dog on leash. Do NOT bring your dog off-leash.  I’ve been to so many festivals where dogs are running the street because the owners are too busy doing something else.  The leash is for safety.  Use it.  No one wants to leave a festival early because their dog got hurt. 

2. Water + drinking bowl.  I bring a water jug with a shoulder strap for my dogs because they drink directly out of the jug.  Dogs need water throughout the day as well.

3. Poop bags.  Nature calls.  Clean it up.  No one wants to step in dog poop.  Or human poop either.  Keep a diaper on the babies.  

4. Snacks.  If you’re out and about for a long period of time, bring snacks for the puppies.  If you can’t go eight hours without food, why should your dog go without food.  I also bring treats for my dogs because I use every outing as a training session.  

5. Your dog’s manners. No one likes cranky people, and no one likes rude dogs.  Please train your dog how to behave appropriately in public before bringing it out to play.

This durable $10 dress gave me the freedom to shuck 450 oysters at Viva Big Bend and run around.  And it was machine washable.  Get over here and have an oyster!

Working festivals:

If you’ve worked a food festival, there requires just a little more.  

1. Prepare your stomach in advance.  You may not get to eat as you’ll probably get caught up in work and forget to eat.  You might have to eat after midnight after clean up. 

2. Wear something that is durable and machine washable.  You might be hauling 50 lb cases of raw seafood or have someone drop a bowl of salsa on you.  If it wasn’t totally out of theme with the event, I might even consider wearing workout gear.  You might be getting a serious one.  

Eleven Things I Learned at Tales of the Cocktail #TOTC

This year, I finally did it.  I visited Tales of the Cocktail for the first time.  Tales has always conflicted with the Houston Reliant Dog Show so every year, it is clear that the dogs came first.  This year however, I split my time between Tales and the dog show.  Here's the list of things I learned as a first timer, and with full disclosure, I did work with Tenneyson Absinthe, St. Germain Elderflower, and Balconies Brimstone during this trip.  Luckily, I was invited to stay with Beth Bellanti during Tales.  I also found this event to be quite interesting, because from a brand's perspective, this event should be geared towards building relationships with ambassadors (craft cocktail enthusiasts, bartenders, and etc...).  However some of the events were set up like a branding event with the goal of acquiring new consumers.  I only had time to attend several complimentary events, but that was my impression from the limited time spent at Tales. 


Balconies Brimstone caramels?  It's a layer of shortbread, Brimstone caramel, chocolate, and smoked salt.  Thank you to @lisaiscooking for the inspiration and to @laboite_atx for the salt!

1. The adult beverage laws are nonexistant loose. You can drink in the streets.  Bars can serve 24/7.  Coming from Austin, I was a little weirded out that people were walking around with open containers.  "Wait, you can do that?"  That makes for set ups like the St. Germain bar on a bike (see below) legal.  You can ride around handing out drinks.  Even though the laws are loose, one should practice common sense and do not over indulge. 




2. Drinking Tasting starts early.  Take part in the Kahlua coffee bar in the morning.  The morning I went, churros were served with the coffee.  Iced, Latte, Cappacuino, or plain, Kahlua will take care of your caffeine needs.  


3. It wasn't as hot in New Orleans this year as everyone had warned me, but it was humid!  Bring an umbrella as the locals say that it rains quite frequently, and wear some walking shoes.  Also, bring sun block as you'll be mostly walking in downtown. 

4. Eat at the Clover Grill.  As the Tex part of @TipsyTexan would say, "it is legit."  Also, I love the way they marketed their ice cream.  Go ahead. Have 9 inches of fun and yum.  However, be aware that much of the marketing in New Orleans in overly sexualized, and given what I study, I have a pretty high tolerance.  Just be aware that it isn't kid friendly, and referring to sexual acts or body parts in all contexts is pretty normal.  Also, don't be surprised if you see half naked men and women in the streets at all hours. 


5. When in New Orleans, eat the food.  Beware that even lunch can set you back $15-$20, but I'd splurge anyways.  I'd highly recommend the muffaletta at Cochon Butcher. When you aren't splurging, there are plenty of complimentary events at Tales that serve food.

6. Some brands have an endless marketing budget recognize the need for brand awareness.  I attended the William and Grant Party at the National War Museum, and their party made anything I've seen look like child's play.  Bars were set up all over the gigantic museum along with a hot dog cart outside and raw shucked oysters inside.  Singers and dancers were on stage.  A photobooth was set up in one of the exhibits.  Farm animals were brought to the party for what I think was a Farm to Bar demonstration of sorts.  I milked a cow named Cassie (below). 

Other brands blocked off entire streets to build their parties, and one brand even transformed a street into a beach completely with sand.  I hope no one is asking about the ROI on that one. 


7. Watch out for the horses.  Horses are all over New Orleans giving buggy rides to as part of the police department.  Watch out as they are large animals that might accidentally run into you, kick you, step on you, or leave you a nice pile of fertilizer. 


8. Other random tips: AT&T service in New Orleans was spotty at best.  It kept going in and out randomly.  So you might have to resort to old fashioned means of navigation, like using a hard copy map or asking for directions. 

9. Hotel service generally stinks.  Most of the hotel staff was unhelpful when it came to directions.  I would ask the doorman if he knew where a particular restaurant was located, and he acted as if he had never heard of it.  The restaurant was a 30 second walk away. A Tales volunteer and I asked a hotel staff member at the Monteleone about the location of a room inside the hotel, and she did not know.  I'm unsure if hotel staff across the city truly didn't know about rooms and other businesses in New Orleans or if they were trying hard to be really unhelpful.  Nonetheless, it isn't very much like traditional Southern hospitality. 

10. If you can avoid it, don't drive.  Driving and parking in the French Quarter is only slightly easier than driving in Taiwan during rush hour.  I left my car at the hotel valet (in which they managed to drain a new battery), and I opted to walk.  Next time, I will not be leaving my car at that hotel valet.  See number 9: poor hotel service. I'll also add that all the valets left my lifeless car in the middle of their drive for two hours without offering to help.  Even passerby's offered to help me.  I managed to fix the problem myself. 

11. The attendees there can be extra amorous and need a good cattle prod to keep them away.  I met two men who I assumed were a romantic couple given their behaviors, but it took some strong words and defensive moves to get the message across that I was not interested.  I spoke to a married (heterosexual) couple at Tales who also had the same problem even with their partner physically present and trying to ward off the advances.  If I go to Tales again, I'm bringing some neutering devices and lowering the device engagement threshold.  No, I'm not joking.  When you see the hemostats come out, you better start running.