Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Food & Wine Festival kicks off tomorrow (March 9) but we were lucky enough to be invited out to get a preview of the event. Guests will enjoy delicious dishes to pair with wines, craft brews and cocktails and an impressive concert series during this more than two-month-long event.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has served up some delicious food during their Food & Wine Festival in years prior, as well as during their various other events, but this year they have truly gone above and beyond. With 10 countries represented across 12 different booths, there is a wide variety of flavors available for guests to enjoy.
Check out some of the specific options that were put out on display:
We even got to sample some of the offerings. In the Festival Walkway area, guests will find six booths – South Africa, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia and Canada – each offering some delicious options. As savory options go, the Bunny Show from South Africa was my personal favorite. But you can’t go wrong with the Kiwi Marinated Grilled Lamb from New Zealand or the Watermelon Salad from Australia either.
Bunny Chow – South Africa
Latin Influenced Grilled Beef – Chile
Kiwi Marinated Grilled Lamb – New Zealand
Watermelon Salad – Austrailia
Now, if you’re like me and you have a bit of a sweet tooth, you’re really going to love some of the dessert options at this year’s Food & Wine Festival. The Timbits from Canada were the clear winner but the Macadamia Nut Tart from Australia and the Strawberry Lamington were also just fantastic.
Macadamia Nut Tart – Australia
Strawberry Lamington – New Zealand
Timbits – Canada
You can see the complete menu for this year’s Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival here.
Believe it or not though, the food and drink offerings aren’t all this festival is about. Busch Gardens also offers an incredible concert series. Opening up tomorrow night with Goo Goo Dolls, this series features some pretty big names in music. Check out the full lineup below.
- March 9 – Goo Goo Dolls
- March 10 – Starship ft. Mickey Thomas
- March 16 – Tauren Wells
- March 17 – Sister Hazel
- March 23 – Taking Back Sunday
- March 24 – TBA
- March 30 – TBA
- March 31 – Mark Wills
- April 6 – Owl City
- April 7 – Group Niche
- April 13 – Better Than Ezra & Vertical Horizon
- April 14 – Hoobastank
- April 20 – Michael Ray
- April 22 – Gavin DeGraw
- April 27 – Andy Grammer
- April 28 – Chris Lane
- May 4 – Boys Like Girls
- May 5 – 38 Special
- May 11 – Grupo Mania
- May 12 – TBA
- May 18 – TBA
- May 19 – TBA
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Food & Wine Festival runs Saturdays and Sundays, March 9 through May 19. You can get more information about the event and purchase your tickets here.