The fifth annual Taste of the Gables was a sell-out event as more than 450 people gathered at the Westin Colonnade on May 31 for a night of fun, food and spirits.
Organized by Coral Gables Business Improvement District (BID), the affair for a second year provided a kickoff for Coral Gables Restaurant Week that started June 4. With a portion of the proceeds benefiting United Way of Miami-Dade County, guests enjoyed samplings from 20 of Downtown Coral Gables’ best restaurants with a complimentary drink.
The 1862 Restaurant and Bar area was open to those with VIP tickets where they were treated the music of singer-songwriter Cat Shell. The VIP area also provided a special menu from the Westin Colonnade, Morton’s The Steakhouse and Peterbrooke Chocolatiers as well as a gift bag and open bar.
With multiple bars and restaurant food stations both in the Rotunda Ballroom and upstairs overlooking the ballroom, party goers did not have to wait in line for anything. Upstairs also drew a crowd as people donned crazy accessories and posed for fun photos that will be posted on the BID’s website
BID’s Mari Gallet was blessed with some great event sponsors including Westin Colonnade, Yelp Miami, Bacardi USA, the Jackson Family Estates, Aquabanna and San Pelegrino. Among the many faces seen the evening were Gables Commissioners Frank Quezada and Ralph Cabrera; BID board members Gus Fonte, Jose Bolado, Wayne Eldred, Zeke Guilford and BID president Burton Hersh; Ramon Irigoyen; Season’s 52’s Denise Erwin; Modern Luxury Bride’s Vanessa Selva; Morton’s Katherine Perez; Angelique Euro Café’s Carlos Rossi; Westin’s Doug Bridegum, and Gina Guilford.
This year’s Coral Gables Restaurant Week, presented by Bacardi USA Inc., gives diners a selection at more than 30 fine restaurants in Downtown Coral Gables, all of which offer fixed-price three-course menus for lunch and dinner at a 20 percent savings off their regularly offered fare and will run through June 17.
For more information visit the BID website at www.shopcoralgables.com.
