Taste of South End

I attended this year through Unilocal– Thanks Unilocal!It was a great night. I’ve been to events at the Cyclorama before and though the set up was similar, it felt a lot less crowded and easier to navigate. I always worry that these types of events result in waiting in lines and never actually getting enough to eat. Not this one! It was easy to go from table to table and there were rarely lines for anything. I ate way too much early on and wish I paced myself more.
Highlights for me were Myers and Chang (a spicy shrimp lettuce wrap that was so deliciously spicy yet refreshing), B&G Oysters (great freshly shucked oysters), Barcelona, and the Butcher Shop. But everything was great. Very innovative dishes and the chefs all seemed happy to be at the event.
Amazing wine selection as well!
Of course, as is typically the case with these events, there was no where to sit and after a while it’s a bit tiring. But I left with a full stomach and feeling good from tasting all the wines!

When I originally went to this event through Unilocal I didn’t see anywhere to review. However, I still wanted to throw my 2 cents into the ring for potential attendees next year.
The set up was great, similar to many events at Cyclorama friendly volunteers beckoned you in applying wristbands, taking tickets and coats and eventually giving you a plate. I might also note that the plate had a wineglass holder built in. Genius. I hate awkward events where I need to eat and hold a wineglass.
At first I was nervous that as a vegetarian I would have one, maybe two choices out of all the wonderful restaurants. Luckily as we worked our way around the options were plentiful and amazingly delicious. The restaurateurs (is that a real word?) were friendly and their presentation was amazing. The winner in my mind was Picco, which made a fantastic «Adult Ice Cream Float» with a tart cherry lambic and what seemed like the creamiest vanilla ice cream I have had in quite some time.
There was a lot of opportunities to continue supporting Aids Action Committee, everything from games like the Wine Ring Toss to a silent auction. They also had chef’s do cooking presentations (guess who learned that its not that hard to make mayo, this guy).
The only downside of the evening was it seemed like the wine tasting people were giving me dirty looks every time I saddled up for a refill.
All in all an amazing event with some amazing food from the South End. Thanks again for hooking it up Damien/​Yelp!

Glad I had the opportunity to attend this event via Unilocal (also the media sponsor for the event). For one night, under the roof of the Cyclorama — you’ll find a majority of the South End restaurant powerhouses showcase their culinary skills to support a worthy cause «Aids Action Committee of MA». To top it off, unlimited wine from different regions to sample.
The energy and vibe was awesome. All the volunteers I’d encountered were helpful and friendly. I had so much fun talking to the chefs and learning more about their restaurants. This was definitely a great way to get a sneak preview of the restaurants before booking dinner reservations.
The restaurants were so generous with their portions and quantity. One cannot leave hungry and can even go back for seconds. Huge variety of options — fresh shucked oysters (Kitchen), thin crust pizza (Upper Crust), tuna and potatoe au gratin (Petit Robert Bistro), plaintain wrapped crabmeat/​scallop (Orinoco), vegetable samosas (Mela), cupcakes (South End Buttery), whoopie pies (Flour Bakery) and chocolate chip cookies (Haley House Bakery).
Aside from the food and wine tasting — there were other activities — silent auction, mystery gifts, wine ring toss and cooking demonstration (learned a couple tricks from Gordon Hamersley). Wrapped the night up with a mystery gift (6 bottles of wine from Whole Foods).
Definitely looking forward to the next one!