Best of Boca 2011

My first Elite event, and I must say — I had an amazing time!
Best of Boca served up so mean cuisine from 30 local favorites and some up and coming restaurants, too. Elegantly presented with just the right hint of pretentiousness. A live band played some great covers. The lead singer had a lovely voice. As the night progressed, the crowd got a little bigger and it became difficult to maneuver around the different tables, wish they had allocated a bigger space to avoid all the bumping, but no worries– I still managed to hit up all tasty offerings.
My personal favorites: Max’s Grill, Max’s Harvest, Uncle Julios, Sunday House, Cucina Mio, Piñón Grill, Oceans 234, and Brio.
Max’s Grill served up their amazing mushroom ravioli, served with seasoned arugula. People were avoiding this one, I think because it looked very «saucy» on the plate, but it was incredible!
Max’s Harvest had thee most amazing gouda pancheta mac & cheese. The best version of mac i’ve ever had. They paired this bad boy up with some pulled pork and it was delicious!
Uncle Julios– Already knew this was going to be tasty. They had their bacon wrapped jumbo shrimp and steak and cheese quesidillas, queso, guac and chips.
Sunday House: Shrimp and lobster ceviche, nicely seasoned and definitely on my list of new places to try.
Cucina Mio– Pene vodka with shrimp. Really, really good and hearty with the right hint of cream.
Piñón Gril: Crab Cakes! loaded with crab meat. Paired with a savory chili sauce.
Oceans 234: Tuna satay. This one was blasting with flavors! So yummy.
Brio: Creamy carrot cake for dessert. I’ll admit, I went back for seconds.
Disappointments:
Capital Grill, Phillppe Chow, Arturos Ristorante, and Rocco’s Tacos.
Capital Grill prepared top sirloin with mash potatoes. The steak was chewy and the potatoes were cold. Not sure what Phillppe Chow was thinking when they decided to hand out cardboard flavored chicken spring rolls and «rubbery» chicken satay on a stick that could probably bounce off a wall. Arturos Pene Primavera tasted like canned tomato sauce, possibly Prego, or maybe Publix tomato sauce. Rocco’s Tacos was dripping with grease and fat. I took one bite and couldn’t imagine eating the rest.
Overall, I had a great experience and it was great hanging out with Greshka P and Guil M. Best of Boca definitely stirred up my curiosity and appetite.

Samples of dishes from 30 different restaurants from around Boca, open bar, and a fat boy on a diet– sounds like a parody of Wilde’s quote «I can resist everything except temptation.» I had the pleasure of going as a +1 to Thais A’s first Unilocal Elite experience and I think it’s safe to say we had a great time.
THE PEOPLE in attendance were very representative of Boca so it was like a breath of fresh air when we saw someone else from Unilocal– the one and only Greshka P!
THE FOOD had it’s ups and downs: my favorite was Max’s Harvest’s gouda mac and cheese with short rib (?) and I’m pretty sure it had truffle oil. That thing was so good! I might have gone back a few times. Another great one was the crabcake from Piñon. It came with spicy tatar sauce and a delicious corn salad on the side. Uncle Julio’s was there also and I already knew how amazing their food is so I wasn’t surprised when I tried their bacon– wrapped shrimp. Still my favorite «Mexican» restaurant! I tried the taco from Rocco’s Tacos and I couldn’t even swallow the one bite I had from it. It was greasy and tasteless– truly a waste of calories. On top of that, the people representing Rocco’s weren’t too friendly. Bad move! We’ve never been and won’t be going anytime soon. Another interesting one was the ceviche from Sundy house in Delray. I’d already heard many good things about that place, now I’ll have to go check it out soon.
I’m looking forward to go to the actual restaurants of the places I tried. First on the list is Max’s Harvest but it seems difficult to make reservations for the same day because of how busy they already are (good sign).
There was a cool band with a female lead singer performing jazzy covers of pop songs and even some Adele! We had a great time!

With plenty of food to choose from more than 30 or so local restaurants, this event continues to be a huge success.
Dress to impress as the attire here is a bit more dressy than the tshirts and shorts that you will find at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, but at least you wont have to drive three hours. Also paying a flat fee of $ 40 for as much food, wine and dessert that you can handle is a bargain.
Further it gives you the opportunity to try a bunch of the high end restaurants such as Capital Grille and Morton’s. Also, I was able to try food from Brio’s newest location in Boca Center. After tasting their pasta a la vodka and desserts, I am really excited about this place. Although I loved all of the food, in addition to Brio; Mortons sliders, Max’s Harvest short ribs with smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese and English Tap & Beer’s brick oven pizza were stand outs. Also a number of drink vendors, including Bombay Sapphire, kept the embidements flowing. Also BOB showcased local stores and services including Bliss Spa, It’s Sugar Candy Store and J Stern Jewelers.
What a great event, with money going to help a worthy organization, Hospice of Palm Beach County!

If you read my previous review, you’ll see I just came back from the Food & Wine Fest, in Orlando, and was left wanting to go back for more. Well, I didn’t have to drive far…
The Best of Boca offers food from about 30 different restaurants (instead of Countries like in Epcot) for you to try. Most restaurants bring one signature dish, others spoil the guests with more. Try them all, have seconds, if you want (or I should say, if you can), all included with your ticket.
I was not able to try every single station (so much food) but, from the ones I did, here are my favorites, and restaurants I’m bookmarking to visit:
* From Brio — opening this Wednesday at The Shops at Boca Center (can’t wait to go there) — Pasta a la Vodka and the Carrot Cake Dolchino was perfection. I would go back just for that dessert.
* From English Tap Beer, at The Shops of Boca Center — Flatbreads (also learned they have ½ off happy hour, including some appetizers)
* From Luna Rosa, in Delray Beach — Ravioli with mushroom in a white sauce
* Maxx’s Harvest, in Delray Beach — Mac & Cheese with Short Braised Rib. LOVED this one, the Mac & cheese was cooked and coated perfectly with creamy cheese, and the meat just melted in your mouth. Tender and full of flavor.
* From Uncle Julio’s, at Mizner Park, Boca Raton (a personal favorite already) — the quesadillas, guacamole, and the bacon wrapped shrimp — delicious.
* From El Piñón, Boca Town Center Mall — the Crab Cake. The Tartar sauce had a subtle kick to it.
On top of all this food, they also offered drinks made with Herradura Tequila, Jack Daniels Honey, Chamboard Vodka, plus wines (Prosceco, and Chianti Classico).
They also had live music — the lady singing was covering songs from popular artist, like Adele, and Maroon 5, and did a pretty good job.
The only problem I saw was the narrow spaces you had for walking between both sides of the food stations, and some people not respecting the lines. Other than that, a very well put together event, with great food for all to enjoy. Great way to promote the businesses.