Taste of SanTan Re-cap

Last week, PhoenixBites had the pleasure of attending the Taste of SanTan event held on Friday, October 8th in SanTan Village.

Restaurants nestled in the posh SanTan Shopping Village offered samples of their best menu items, while guests enjoyed music and entertainment.

The $40 entry fee included unlimited samples of food, Starbucks coffee and non-alcoholic beverages as well as two drink tokens for the alcoholic beverage offered. The entry fee also included one raffle ticket to be entered in the Grand Prize Raffle of a one week cruise from the Norwegian cruise line (pretty fantastic raffle, eh?). Sadly, we didn’t win.

The event had a generous turnout, which was not surprising in the least, considering all proceeds benefited Save the Family, an organization dedicated to helping homeless families with children, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Check-in was a breeze as the event was well-staffed, helpful and made sure we had a good time.

Participating restaurants included:

• Blue Wasabi Sushi & Martini Bar
• Brio Tuscan Grille
• Cantina Laredo
• Famous Dave’s
• Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant
• Grimaldi’s Brick Oven Pizzeria
• Johnny Rockets
• Keg Steakhouse & Bar
• Kona Grill
• Paradise Bakery & Café
• Red Robin

Samples we devoured:

Famous Dave’s offered a plentiful plate of their Chopped Pork Sandwich, slathered in their signature BBQ sauce, a heaping pile of coleslaw and a portion of Dave’s Famous Bread Pudding. I’d say it was my favorite food-vendor of the night, and it was the first table we visited. I’m a sucker for BBQ.

After this plate, we couldn’t imagine how we could eat MORE, but we kept trekking on, we’re PhoenixBites after all!

Blue Wasabi served two pieces of their signature sushi rolls, Wango Mango (Spicy krab and juicy mango, wrapped in soy paper) and Get Clucked (Tempura chicken, asparagus, and cucumber topped with avocado and sweet chili glaze). Normally, I wouldn’t order the Get Clucked roll if it were on a menu (because chicken isn’t really sushi, is it?), but it was quite delicious.

Red Robin dished out two of their favorite offerings: Spinach & Artichoke Dip and Hot Wings, accompanied by a cup of their Freckled Lemonade (strawberry lemonade).

Kona Grill’s chef immediately greeted both of us and handed out plates (not that we would have declined) eager for us to try. He offered us edamame (traditional steamed soybreans, lightly tossed with kosher salt), a slice of their Big Island Meatloaf (traditional meatloaf enhanced with sweet Italian and andouille sausage, served with shoyu-cream sauce), and four pieces of their Crab Crunch Roll (crab special roll, topped with tempura flakes and eel sauce). We quickly devoured the edamame, and went on to try to Crab Crunch Roll, which was absolutely delicious. – my favorite sushi pick of the night. Skeptically, Taryn and I tried the Big Island Meatloaf, which was absolutely not my favorite and only required one bite. However, the friendliness of the staff at this booth, added with the tastiness of the Crab Crunch Roll, will warrant a trip to Kona Grill for me.

Keg Steakhouse & Bar served us a slider of their Prime Rib Sandwich and Bruschetta, made with goat’s cheese. Personally, I would not return for the Prime Rib Sandwich, but their take on Bruschetta was appetizing.

Brio Tuscan Grille offered a Roasted Red Pepper & Fresh Mozzarella Bruschetta that I thoroughly enjoyed. The two girls working this table were, hands down, the most-welcoming and informative of the bunch. I’ll definitely be visiting Brio on my next trip out to SanTan.

Finally, Grimaldi’s presented us one of their famous Cannolis and boy, was it good!

That’s a lot of food, huh? We had a great time out at Taste of SanTan and are looking forward to the event again next year!

To learn more about the benefiting organization, Save the Family, visit their website at savethefamily.org

*This meal was provided to us complimentary as a part of a media invitation. However, this has no effect on our opinions and comments regarding our experience. View our Disclosure Policy for further explanation.