Columbia Food & Wine Festival

This past weekend, I took a little trip back down south for the fourth annual Columbia Food and Wine Festival. Hosted by The Free Times, the festival is an outdoor culinary celebration of Midlands-based restaurants. Each restaurant has their own tent with a chef-curated sample of either a menu offering or something to showcase their talent. You can walk around the beautiful Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens and not worry about losing your wine glass ⁠— a convenient lanyard holds it for you.

In addition to the main event on Sunday, there were multiple satellite events to attend in the week leading up. Some of these included a kickoff dinner, a sushi and sake pairing and a kid-friendly food event. I was able to go to the "Ladies who Lunch" event in 2021, but opted out for this year ⁠— mostly because of the price.

The general admission ticket includes basically all-you-can-eat samples from some of the best spots around town along with tastes of beer, wine and cocktails. Two other options are the early access pass, which allows guests to enter an hour before general admission, or the VIP ticket which includes that perk plus a whole separate VIP section. For just under $70 (general admission, fees included), I can't think of a better deal for a food festival. There were fewer vendors this year, but it was still incredibly easy to fill up on creative dishes.

It's not just tasting though! There were several demonstrations being held for cocktails, fun recipes and more. There was a FAQ session about wine and a lesson on cutting up whole chickens. Admittedly, I was more focused on trying everything so I wasn't able to see any of them.

I went with a few friends, and by the time we got around to the fifth or sixth tent, we were already sharing samples. The plates were small, but they really add up. Almost everything I tasted had some sort of a "wow" factor, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have favorites.

Bodhi Thai Dining, an authentic and upscale Thai restaurant in Lexington, had a great pork belly dish that I wish I could've gotten seconds of. Spotted Salamander made their famous oatmeal cream pies ⁠— an elevated version of my childhood favorite. Hendrix, one of the best rooftop bars I've been to, served an immaculate peri peri quail lettuce wrap. Liberty Taproom offered ahi tuna on a wonton crisp ⁠— one of my top five favorite foods. All the deliciousness would take too long to list.

The only downside to the festival was a lack of seating. Although the VIPs may have a few more options, there were only about six tables for the general population. It's not a huge issue since most of the time you're walking around getting bites, but once you have some wine, a cocktail and two sample plates, it gets a little hard to juggle. Being able to sit in the shade for a minute to enjoy my Mexican street corn off the cob would've been nice.

That being said, I'd say there's a great chance of me attending the festival again next year. How else could I go to 30 five-star restaurants in a day?