Devoured Culinary Classic

Amazing each year.

Amazing assortment of foods to try! I am so glad that I went for the first time to Devour. It was a little hot outside though this year. I am just not ready for summer!
There are so many things I ate I can’t even remember all of them. I do remember the maple glazed salmon from the Vig, and the macrons from Phoenix public market. There was some wonderful chocolate thing from Tammy Coe bakery and lots of wine!
My only complaint is that I wish it was at a bigger location. It’s pretty packed in there times, and a few people were a bit rude. I think we needed more space. Yes it’s nice that it’s at the art museum but if you’re someone who doesn’t like crowds how are you supposed to really enjoy yourself? It gets a bit overwhelming. I’m considering VIP tickets for next year but wow it’s so expensive!

BEST DAY EVER! But, seriously, this has to be one of the best events in phoenix. I highly recommend the VIP tickets if you are like me and don’t like waiting in lines. It enabled us to hit all of the more noteworthy spots before the crowds. We were then able to spend the rest of the day grazing the less popular spots; however, all were fantastic. Art, food, and wine. What could be better!

This gets better every year. Better organization & less tickets sold make for a happy camper. Can’t say enough good things about this foodie event.
Bring your own plate to hoard your tastings on. I saw some really fancy ones this year made of wood (gorgeous) & held wine glasses. Mine was plastic & had a place to hold a wine or a cup compliments of my best foodie friend. She got these at Target in the summer section. They don’t have DD tickets anymore & that would be my only complaint. I wish they had those still.

Two words: FOOD COMA.
How anyone spends the entire time here is beyond my comprehension? We tried to hit all the hot spots where a line was expected (Kai, Hana, etc) early to avoid some waiting. And we did a really good job to where we really only waited if we had a question for the chef.
We gorged… and gorged… and gorged… until we pretty much felt sick. And my stomach was carrying a 6-​month food baby. (Thank god I planned ahead and wore loose clothing!) We focused on food and actually didn’t drink… strategic plan to save tummy room for grub.
The event was well organized between the Art Museum, SAACA, and Local First. Plenty of security, and no «bros» to deal with, at least while we were there.
Looking forward to next year! But plan ahead — GA tickets sold out months in advance!

As someone in our group put it: «This is the best thing I’ve ever been to in my 10 years in PHX». This is the festival to eclipse all other foodie festivals! I guess my favorite part was getting a chance to sample all of these different restaurants that I’ve read about/​heard about but not been to yet and seeing where I want to go to for more than just a taste. The standouts for me were: Crudo, Phoenix Public Market, J&G, Phoenix, City Grill, Barrio Queen, Kai… ok really I could go on and on. I think the beauty of this is that because no money is exchanged and there is really only 1 – 3 things to take, the lines goes by very quickly. I would suggest pacing yourself. this is a marathon of gluttony. not a sprint. you will feel a level of fullness that far surpasses Thanksgiving dinner. Get your tix early. I think it sells out within a week. and wear something not confining. I would suggest a muumuu.

After making it to Devoured for a few years in a row now I can say they weren’t at their finest this year to me. But still Good enough to be a five star event. General public tickets ran about $ 80 a day or a two day price of about $ 140. They offered a VIP option that got you in an hour before they opened and had some exclusive items just for VIPS. The VIP tickets cost $ 150. A DAY.
Last year were hundreds on intricate tiny desserts that were mesmerizing when you waited to enter the event. This year were a few that seemed solid both days. Last year you could be dazzled by Iberico Ham that runs 50 – 70 $ for just 4oz. This year you didn’t see that! I didn’t think Kai was as exciting this year or had as big of a spread as they usually do but they did prepare three different dishes.
I do note I didn’t try everything but most things I tried were good only one dessert I thought was horrible but only a few main dishes were memorable. My husband tried many more things than I did and preferred different items than I did. Some restaurants I’ve visited and had their food before DEVOURED but when I tried the same here THEY DIFFERED. One for the better and the other not. The one Constant of places that I do go out to eat at was Los Sombrero’s and the Trout was prepared tasting exactly the same as when I dined there 3x between their two locations.
I really enjoyed when the Chef from Hana took the time to explain to me her whole buffet she was serving and how to eat the food. Her Sea Bass was tiny and intricate and one of my favorite dishes of the two day event.
The tastiest small bites thing I ate was from Little Cleo’s Seafood Legend. I wasn’t sure if I would like it because I don’t like smoke flavor too much but all together The buttery oozy seasoned Quail egg over the house made sturgeon with herb ed crème fraîche on toast was popping like magic in my mouth. Will it be that good when I visit that restaurant? Hope so…
I don’t get wowed by too much by a slab of beef it’s just not that special to me and is very filling but one of the best I tried was from Roka Akor and it was only skirt steak however the shiso chimichurri sauce made it special.
The simple vegetables and dip from Phoenix Public Market was stunning.
The Vegetable Terrine from Tertio Wine Bar was tasty and pretty and a bit zippy. I thought it was a very thoughtful dish among the mostly heavier foods offered.
One of the best desserts had to be from the Gladly. They did some sort of Whiskey Blondie that was delicious. I wasn’t going to eat more than a tiny taste but it was one of the things I finished after sharing with my husband.
For my taste I enjoyed the wines most from Merry Edwards.
There is a lot that I left out…
OK not as Grand as last year but still well organized and the best of the area. Still five stars just on the lower end this year.

So many samples and so little time. With the event happening just over a mile from our place, we decided to walk to and fro. Overall, I’m glad we did, but was regretting it the moment we had to waddle our way home.
It’s not every day you get to eat yourself silly; only on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and at Devoured. What seemed to be an endless supply of beer, wine, and great food, turned into tomorrow’s ‘regrets’. Regret that I ran out of space in my stomach with the ambition to sample everything, regret that I only got tickets for one day, regret that I’ll be at the gym for a month working off one day of caution thrown to the wind, and regret that I have to wait an entire year to do it all over again.
Pork taco’s, venison steak atop polenta, hand made ice cream, bacon meat balls, blue berry fritters, hamburger bites, macaroni and cheese, saffron ice pops, churros, pretzels, deep fried deviled eggs, milk shakes, root beer floats, duck salad, home made dulce de lece twix bars, chocolate strawberries, brownies, cookies, bruschetta, salads, goat tacos, goat cheese, goat milk, short rib ravioli, meat loaf bites, and on, and on, and on, and on.
After getting sufficiently stuffed, we took a quick tour of the Phoenix Art museum; an awesome spot for an event by the way, then we rolled our way home. Not really thinking this one completely through ahead of time, the walk home took an added 25 minutes, thanks to the ‘brisk’ pace we were able to keep. I certainly wish we had driven now :-/​
Until next time devoured, you won this battle, but I will certainly win the war.
Happy Unilocaling Phoenix! :-)

Devoured is an event we’ll do every year. Some of the greatest restaurants show off their skills here in an effort to woo those in the PHX area to their establishments. Rarely do you see a sub par restaurant showcasing their skills.
When you have an opportunity to sample from the likes of Kai, Citizen Public House, etc… take it and run for dear life.

What an amazing food adventure. I wish I had an additional stomach in order to be able to sample more of the amazing bites.
the Bad: So the space was a bit on the crowded side and there really not much room to maneuver around. Layout was kind of strange, but it fit the overall space provided by the art museum. Weather was kind of warm, but that’s not something that can be controlled, contrary to popular belief. Who brings their kids to events like this? There is a time and place, this was not it. Leave the kids and strollers at home. Pretty weak bad list, I think.
the Neither here nor there: Beer selection was pretty weak, but I feel this was by design since it was a showcase of food and wine. Beer has not quite made the foodie scene in Phoenix. There were some strange selections/​choices of food by the restaurants themselves that seemed odd. It’s been pretty well documented out in the web, but Federal Pizza not having pizza was strange. There were only a handful of examples of this, so really a minor thing.
the Good: Great selection of restaurants. Amazing selection of wines. The food being put out by all (even the strange choices) was tops. Add to the fact that they were not cooking inside their actual restaurants, but outside, and these wonderful chefs/​cooks/​helpers deserve a standing ovation. I can’t believe the level of quality and tastiness that some of these chefs are capable of. What a treat for all the senses. Really a fantastic time and I can’t wait till next year.

The spread was incredible, but the event was so extremely oversold it took away most chances for enjoyment. I’m glad those of you who posted 5 stars had fun, but admittedly am surprised, for most everyone I encountered at the event was extremely uncomfortable. Disappointingly, crowds this large lose their manners when food is around– elbows were flying in pitiful attempts to snatch a nibble of food or swig of wine.

So I was teetering between a five star and a four star but decided that my having a hangover on day two was not reeeally Devoured’s fault… lol. I went to both days and must say that I think day one was a bit more fun (it was rainy and dreary which made the lines a little less intense and the food a little more satisfying (IMO). One of my faves from day one (and the winner of my day one Unilocalee award for best overall performance and best dessert) was Gertrude’s … OMG they had a ‘cookies and milk’ play that was some kind of delicious ice cream on top of chocolate soup of sorts… I LOVED that. Other honorable mentions include: Davanti Enoteca (full portions of pork sandwiches au jus… ridiculously tasty and the smell was out of this world), the tiramisu from North, the ice cream sandwich from Churn (mint ice cream FTW), the whoopie pie from Whoopie Baking Company (seriously the best wp I have ever had… yum), and the short rib ravioli from Federal Pizza (When they had it again on day two I was doing a little happy dance, this ravioli was good… creamy cheese with amazing melty short rib in pasta… how could you go wrong? I was really turned off to FP, but now I am turned on once again! (TWSS)).
Day two was a beautiful sunny day in Phoenix, but also made for longer lines and more crowding. The crowd became close to unbearable in the back by Kai. I’m not sure why they had Kai and J&G and a couple of the other sought after booths all in the same section, but the crowd was completely insane. When I finally made it up to the Kai booth, the food wasn’t even THAT amazing, but I’m glad I got to taste it before paying for it. Kai had a funky cheese ‘cake,’ Foie gras mousse (this was off putting… everyone around me thought so too), and a delicious crème brûlée (that I have a feeling was not crème, but something much fancier). They served their food in cute reusable dish wear, but only had ONE recycle station that was completely engulfed in the mob of a line that was around Kai. Needless to say, a lot of the adorable glass bottles and bamboo spoons were left on the tables in that section.
Ok, on to my own personal Unilocalee awards for day two: Best overall performance– Different Pointe of View for their Venison. Holy mother of someone… this was so flippin delicious. The meat was the most tender meat I have had in a very long time. The polenta cake was amazing. The personal talk with the employees at the booth was even great. I never wanted to go to their restaurant, and now I definitely do, so bravo to them! The winner of best dessert goes to Kai for their delish crème brûlée thingy (although they definitely get the winner of most pretentious booth with the biggest crowd sooo…). Honorable mentions go out to: Short leash… always delicious, friendly, and personable (Thanks Brad and Kate!), J&G — their steak with the cheese ball was really good, my only issue was the steak was super rare for me, but the flavor was great, House of Tricks — their duck soup was my second favorite dish overall of the day, so yummy with an awesome play on flavor and texture, Federal Pizza’s short rib ravioli (again), Barrio Café (always delicious… this was no exception), and (surprisingly) the vegan salad from Brat house was very fresh and delicious.
The Unilocalee for best drink? Definitely the cucumber concoction from Windsor… I drank too many of these.
Ok, Ok, this is all nice, but there are a few things that can be improved upon for this event next year including: Consider the lay out of the restaurants to include some lesser known or less desirable restaurants near the big draws to reduce the crowding in certain areas, make announcements of some kind when the demos start (maybe they did, but I didn’t hear it and the one demo I went to started 20 minutes late so we were all sitting there like wtf for 20 minutes), put out recycle bins, don’t make us carry one wine glass around all day so we don’t have two hands to eat the food with… or provide one of those nifty wine glass slings or trays with the glass, and (I never ever thought I would say this but…) make the portion sizes smaller! Yes, I did say smaller. I had full plates of food being passed out by some of the vendors (*cough* chelsea’s kitchen and Davanti*cough*…in fact, I didn’t even try Chelsea’s kitchen because I knew I wouldn’t want that whole plate and didn’t want to waste it). I love getting a big plate of food, but when there are 30+ places to try, I felt guilty wasting a ton of food due to either not liking the item or just being too full to eat that much. I bet at least 5000 $ worth of food was just thrown away over the weekend due to large portion sizes. If the restaurants gave out a bite or two each, that would be perfect and reduce all of the waste (and allow people to go back and try their favorites again without being WAY too stuffed to do so). Overall, this event was amazing and I will attend next year again!

This year’s Devoured Phoenix was incredible! I attended this event with two good friends and we had a complete blast. I ran a half marathon on Sunday morning and was ready to pig out throughout Sunday afternoon. It was great to see so many friends all in one place enjoying amazing food samples from various Independent restaurants throughout the valley. Loved so many of the wines from many of the wineries here in our state. Food wise, I had so many favorites I can’t even remember the samples or the restaurants. As for the wine, my fave was Arizona Stronghold’s Nachise.
After the event, we took the light rail back to our cars, headed home, and slept like a baby. Thank you to the The Phoenix Art Museum, the organizers, restaurants, wineries, and the amazing volunteers. I look forward to next year’s event! Cheers***

This was our 3^rd year attending Devoured and while we had a great time, I think it may be our last.
What made Devoured a stand-​out for me is the all-​inclusive price. No lame tickets or having to run around the event so you have the appropriate currency for the appropriate thing. We swore off any food events that operate like this because we generally end up frustrated and hungry.
Each year, we’ve discovered gems we never knew existed and that’s been great.
My main issue this year were the crowds. I read something somewhere that there was less space because of construction but it seemed like the same size to me. I’m wondering if they upped their capacity. There were times when I was literally in a crowd of people and could not move. This is even worse when most people are holding food and drink. I’ve got no problem having to wait my turn for a sample but when I cannot walk freely up and down the aisles, it starts to erode the fun factor.
I’ve had a lot of success finding those gems year round with Unilocal so perhaps that’s taken some of the appeal out of this event too.

Our Favs 2013: Breadfruits’ Grilled calamari and Beckett’s Tables’ deep fried Deviled Eggs. We were happy Santa Barbara wines were featured as well as many local vinos. Did I mention the foie gras tacos? Or Relishes smoked pulled pork tacos?, or the pork belly Reuben’s on pretzel bread or Fez’s cold duck salad? A great day indeed! Oh, that carrot coconut soup and the salmon cakes and…

I attended the Devoured event this year with my sister and had a fantastic time. We both were overwhelmed and delighted by all the choices in food, wine, and desserts available for us to try. We went on Sunday and even though there were a lot of people there, it wasn’t so crowded that you couldn’t maneuver around. Having some seating available inside when you needed a break from the foodie throng out in the garden was a big plus. The weather was perfect, there was plenty of water around, and the staff was on top of keeping the place clean so overall it was just a really well executed event. The cop directing traffic outside made it easy to get in and out stress free and I also really appreciated the free parking.
My favorite dishes were actually the ones offered by the Santa Barbara group. I had not been to the new café in the museum, cleverly named Palette (it was formerly Arcadia Farms) and I really like what they have done with the place. They had samples of dishes they serve at The Farm at South Mountain and The House at Secret Garden and they were all just awesome. Butternut squash soup was creamy deliciousness in a cup, sweet potato salad was a fresh burst of flavor, truffle mac and cheesy was a-​ma-​zing, and the roasted pork croquettes were all of my favorite tastes mushed up together. I liked that they had recipe cards available too! Some other highlights were the mussels from Breadfruit, ice cream from Churn, bruschetta from Postino, Elote (corn) from Barrio, burgers from Relish… and so many others that all blended together in my post event food coma. And please, please, please… if anyone knows the name of that mushroom place from Glendale then message me because they are not listed in the program or the website. Even though it is clear on the other side of town from me, I am willing to drive 45+ minutes for those little delectable little fungi!
I also discovered my new favorite Spanish red wine called Tinto (Trenza). I was a little disappointed that all the AZ wineries were hidden away all together in the back since I didn’t encounter them until towards the end of the afternoon when I had already quit drinking (I was driving). I do think having the desserts and wine available for sale in the great hall was a genius move so that you could grab a couple of treats and bottles to take home with you. However, that was a bit of a hassle since if you did that you had to go thru a different exit because the docents were out in full force executing the «no food or drink in the museum» rule. So, instead we skipped the bottle purchase and decided to take a tour of the museums’ resplendent halls filled with wondrous, captivating, delightful works of art (yes, I like to use a thesaurus when I write my reviews sometimes). My sister had never been before so that was fun for her and a great way to walk off some off the excess food and drink before heading home.
With my museum membership the tickets were only $ 50. I know that sounds like a lot but after stuffing ourselves with as much fantastic food from all our favorite places (and some new ones) and as much wine as you want it is actually quite a deal. I agree with one of the other reviewers that this is way better than the GAP event that is part of the Scottsdale Culinary Festival because there you have to pay for food and drink in addition to the entrance fee and so I spent way more money there last year but the quality of selections just does not compare to Devoured. And I get to support my favorite museum and LFA! My sister and I agreed that we will make Devoured an annual event from now on. Next year we will probably bring some more friends or maybe our husbands… if they are lucky!

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW
Okay, I’m getting carried away but I was so impressed with our first time attending this event!!!
We will NEVER miss this event again! The food was amazing — good job to all the restaurant.

This has been the best food event each year for the past 2 years. It’s nicely set up, however this year was more crowded than the last. The range of food is always a plus, however many restaurants served small soft tacos which end up just blending together in my memory.
My favorite part of the event are the cooking demos given by chefs of well known restaurants. The chefs do a great job explaining the process of the dish they are cooking and it’s definitely a nice break from the endless eating that can go on at an event like this.
I loved Relish Burger’s Kobe beef burgers, so much so that I will probably try them out at the restaurant in the near future. Different Pointe of View served lobster ravioli with a delicious cream sauce. I was also pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Arizona wineries which were on hand.

Another really good event.
I went on Saturday and my favorites were Modern Steak’s kobe beef and lobster sliders and Talavera’s beef tenderloin.

Devoured Culinary Classic, formerly the «West of Western,» culinary festival, was a huge hit! I attended on this past Sunday, and ate my way through the many local restaurants that were there. It was well-​run, it happened to be a beautiful day, awesome people watching, and oh so many friends in attendance… what a blast!
I didn’t take the time to see the Ansel Adams exhibition, so I will have to return to PAM again soon to do that. I did, however, eat the following:
–Scallop with English Pea Risotto from Different Pointe of View
–Shrimp Ceviche from Chelsea’s Kitchen
–Gazpacho from Arcadia Farms
–Posole from Green
–Ginger Sweet Potato Pudd’n from Breadfruit
–Lambchop with Farfalle and Savory Crème Brulee from Talavera
–Waloo Tataki in lettuce wrap and Grilled Chicken Meatball from Hana
–Machaca from Kai
Apparently, I missed a kick-​ass Beef Wellington from Petite Maison as well as samples from a handful of other restaurants. Jared made up for what I passed on, including a Crab Cake Slider from Relish and three-​four extra servings of Cowboy Ciao’s Frosted Flake Ice Cream & Brittle with Malted Oatmeal Cookie.
Yes, I will definitely have to try to get in an extra workout or two this week to make up for all of those extra calories I «devoured» on Sunday.
Thanks to Phoenix Art Museum, Local First Arizona, and The Arizona Republic for putting it on… I look forward to this annual festival in the years to come!