Tastemakers At Mizner Park

Tastemakers at Mizner Park was a fantastic event. It was very well planned except for the Ruth’s Chris area which was sort of idiotic. They had their booth well away from the restaurant where I’m sure many people didn’t think of looking. It was sort of a a half-​assed effort that didn’t quite cut it.
I’m sure many people bought their Tastemakers ticket because they love Ruth’s Chris as I do. They were no doubt very disappointed as I was.
If you contrast their effort with the effort of the owner of Dubliner and Kapow who went way out of his way to make sure his customers were well satisfied, it was pathetic. Sean did a fantastic job going from table to table to see that everyone had what they needed and were pleased. This type of effort is what builds a relationship with customers. I had a great time at Dubliner and most of the other participants at Tastemakers.
Overall it was a fabulous evening. Not too hot, a very pleasant night of great food and drinks.

I enjoy events where you pay one price for different samples of food and drinks. I’ve gone to Tastemakers at Mizner Park for several years. The event has changed, but the concept is the same. It has gotten smaller with fewer restaurants participating. A few years ago it changed from two days to one. With fewer restaurants it’s not hard to get to every one in an evening.
What remains the same is you can purchase a booklet with a list of participating restaurants. You can go to each restaurant for a sample of their food and an alcoholic drink. You can use your Tastemakers booklet to get discounts at participating restaurants for three months, September through November.
A little about each restaurant:
Dubliner — Food– Shepherd’s pie and Guinness mac and cheese. Drink– Guinness and cider.
Delicious Shepherds pie and mac and cheese. My favorite of the evening.
Kapow — Food– Banh mi Vietnamese sandwich. Drink– Spicy lover — tequila, cucumber, lime, Tabasco. Sweet and spicy.
I’ve had better Banh mi, but it was okay. The drink was very good.
Max’s Grille — Ahi tuna poke. Drink– Sangria.
Food– small plastic cup of ahi tuna. It tasted good and was very tender. Drink– choice of red or white sangria. I got red. It was just okay.
Racks — Food– Chicken taco Drink– Ginger my apple which was vodka, ginger, apples, citrus.
Good size taco with chicken and other toppings. Food and drink were both very good.
Ruth’s Chris — Food– Ahi tuna. Drink– Chardonnay.
They served a plate with sliced ahi tuna. The tuna was good. The wine was good also. This was the second year they served tuna. Ruth’s Chris is a steak house. A few slices of steak or even a hamburger slider would have made more sense then tuna. The food and wine was served away from the restaurant. An employee led me half way around the block to a dark courtyard with no chairs or tables. I think we were the last people served before they ran out. They turned a few people away.
Tanzy — Food– Beef short rib with barley. Drink– Norma Jean which was strawberry vodka and strawberry lemonade.
They gave out a plate with short rib on a bed of barley. The meat was very tender and had a nice sauce. There was no place to sit, but they had high top tables outside which was okay. Food and drink was delicious.
Truluck’s — Food– Crab claw. Drink– Poema Cava.
Small crab claw not completely cracked, served with a dab of mustard sauce. Tiny serving of wine. My least favorite.
Uncle Julio’s — Food– Guacamole. Drink– Margarita.
Plate of chips with pineapple guacamole. The food was very good. For the drink they served a fruity margarita. I loved the drink.
Villagio — Food– Bruschetta. Drink– Bellini.
Crispy bread served with a cup of chopped tomatoes. The food was good. The drink was good also. We went to sit at one of their outside tables. One of their employees immediately ran over and apologetically said that management told her not to let Tastemakers people sit there. We found a few chairs nearby and balanced our plate and drink on our laps. What a turn off. I’ve eaten there several times but I don’t think I’ll be back.
Yard House — Food– Choice of chicken or swordfish taco. Drink– beer.
I chose the chicken taco with all the toppings. It was delicious. It was so loaded that I had to eat it with a fork. The half glass of beer was cold and frothy. I enjoyed it.
Best and Worst
First Place– Dubliner. Second Place– Yard House.
My favorite of the night was Dubliner. The food was absolutely delicious. There was plenty of places to sit and enjoy the food and drink. The people who served us went out of their way to be friendly and helpful. Thank you Sean.
Worst– Truluck’s and Ruth’s Chris
My choice for worst was Truluck’s. They served one small crab claw and a tiny serving of wine. My crab claw wasn’t cracked and it was almost impossible to eat. I told Stacy, who was checking people through the line, that my crab claw wasn’t cracked. She could have asked someone to help me or offered another crab claw. Instead she did nothing. To their credit it was nice that they had tables and chairs in their courtyard.
There were only ten restaurants this year and two of them were serving ahi tuna and two were serving tacos. Yes the tuna and tacos were good, but that didn’t make sense.
Every participating restaurant should have provided at least a table and preferably a table and chairs. When I asked the people serving for Ruth’s Chris where we were supposed to eat i was told that most people had put their plates on an outside windowsill. That’s ridiculous. We ate ours in our car.
I still like Tastemakers Most of the food and drinks were great. I hope to go again next year.