Savor Dallas Festival

I have attended this event since it was held at the Sheraton. I even went to the event that had opened its doors to Groupon one year. The 2017 experience was worse than the Groupon year. The layout was too open and created confusion, overcrowding, and line complications. You sometimes couldnt tell that you were in a wrong line until you got to the front of it. It was also too hot for the number of people. Vendors ran out of food. As previously mentioned, with a sold out crowd, the vendors should have had a good estimate of how much to prepare. Previous years I have left so full I was miserable. This last year I had to stop off for food afterwards because I maybe ate 10 samplings due to lines and food shortages. I dont know about you but if I'm going to spend over $100 for food, I shouldn't be hungry, hot and miserable when I leave. Maybe they should consider reservation times for better crowd control or creating roped off lines for each vendor. Until they figure it out, I can't say I will be back.

This was my first year to attend Savor Dallas, and with complimentary press passes for the entire weekend (yes, FTC... I'm following your guidelines!), I was determined to make every single event. Sadly, I failed at my mission. But I still had a great time!Here are a few tips to make sure you get the most out of the weekend:- Arrive early to the wine stroll on Friday night, drink a bit, then leave. It gets packed and by mid-event, some vendors will start running out of wine. I overheard that they accidentally oversold this event, but the lines and crowds were out of control.- We missed the after-pARTy at Gables 17 due to poor planning. Le sigh. Be sure and double check (heck, even TRIPLE check!) the times on the website to make sure you arrive on time. - If you can only make one event, make sure it's the Reserve Tasting. The selection is impeccable, the lines are short and the crowd is small. It's a dressier and classier event for those who really enjoy wine to make the most of it. It was by far my favorite event all weekend.- The International Grand Tasting is a cattle call with massive crowds. However, they do a great job and keeping it as organized as possible. Either get there early to get in line, or make buddies with a sponsor so you can jump ahead. Once inside, hit the tables/booths in the back where no one is; you'll get the best food and drinks back there anyway. Whatever you do, just be patient. It's a popular event that keeps growing, and even with the crowds, I plan on going back next year!

I saw a Groupon for the International Grand Tasting so it was a no-brainer to go. I must say the event is pretty crazy. It's a gigantic spread which is half wine, beer, and liquor so you won't have to leave thirsty or sober. The other half is food samples from various high-end restaurants. If you rush through the whole thing you might be able to visit every station, but I'd set some priorities because the best ones will run out before the end. Also, it's very difficult to try the food whilst holding a glass of wine or beer. A tray with a drink holder would have been a welcome addition. Highlights: - D Magazine cover photo.- Carrot cake in a shots glass.- Trying sweetbreads for the first time. (loved 'em!)- Pork belly at the culinary institute.It was definitely a super fun and cool experience, but I don't think I'd pay the full price ($85-$100) to do it again. But if another discount ticket pops up in the future, I'm so there!Tip: Show up 20-30min early to get in line for admission. Or just show up 20-30min late and walk right in.

This was my 4th year of Savor Dallas; it's a four day foodie paradise that I look forward to every year!The Grand Tasting (Sat nights) keeps getting better. Past locations (Irving Convention Ctr, then Dallas Convention Ctr) didn't provide the traffic flow that participants enjoyed this year at Fair Park Centennial Hall.The addition of the Grand Tasting booklet & map of participating vendors was great. Also, this venue allowed space for strategically placed bar height tables/chairs and cushy lounge seating. With the increasing popularity of the Wine Stroll (Thu nights in Arts District) the crowd management at the smaller venues (Crow Collection) will need to be addressed to keep this fabulous annual event from losing momentum.I frequently overheard the comment that it would be helpful to include a venue map of the Wine Stroll vendors' specific locations with the card that listed the taste they were pouring. Makes sense! Yes, the Crow was crowded with long lines, but food is SOCIAL! Take advantage of the time on line to make new friends and enjoy the great people-watching. SD fashions range from the truly ridiculous to off the designer's runway (OK, sometimes those are synonymous :-) BOTTOM LINE... Savor Dallas is still the best event of its kind in DFW! TIP : Have at least a little something to eat BEFORE you get there (small light salad) so you don't go on a ravenous rage upon arrival. Eating indiscriminately and too fast is a waste of the experience and ticket $! Start with the 'big guns' of culinary; then, if you still have an appetite, fill in with the '2nd tier'. For obvious reasons, ignore places you already frequent.

2010 was my first SAVOR experience - thanks to Pegasus News! I had a fun time snacking on local grub and tasting a multitude of liquid concoctions!If I had paid for the tickets, I would have had some decent sized complaints about the logistics of the night. For example, why didn't they provide those little plates with a place to rest your wine glass. I had a hard time all night, maneuvering where to hold my wine glass while trying to sample the food. There were hardly any tables throughout the entire ballroom to place your glass on or use to rest a plate. The few tables in the lobby were full most of the night, and it felt strange walking through the entire ballroom and into the lobby just to taste one sample at a time. Also I wasn't able to take as much paper information / coupons, recipes etc. because I had no where to hold them. I felt awkward all night juggling pamphlets from restaurants, my glass and plates of food. Also, I wasn't blown away by the food in general. A few dishes were memorable, but with so many options and what was supposed to be the best restaurants in Dallas - I would have liked to have a few more stand -out dishes to remember. Other than those little nit picky items.....it was a lot of fun!

This is my Number 1 "must attend" event of the year. I can skip any and all other food-related events (e.g., Taste Addison, Greek Fest, GrapeFest), but Savor Dallas is on my calendar and takes priority. I have only attended the International Grand Tasting ($125 PER!), but I would kill to attend some of the VIP and reserve events ("C'mon, sugar momma. I know you are out there!")The event is a collection of (mostly) Dallas' more well-known, highly-regarded restaurants and chefs with a large assortment of wine, spirits, beer purveyors. The $125 ticket price is proportional because the restaurants include places like Craft, Dragonfly, French Room, Kriby's, Lavendou, Nobu, and Victor Tango's (and the freeby was a crystal Reidel 'Savor Dallas' wine glass, if that gives you more insight into the type of event). My tip, after attending for several years, is to download the list of restaurants that will attend. Go through the list and locate the restaurants you haven't been to yet (ie, too expensive to go to, or ones you've heard about but want to test drive first) and skip the ones you've already eaten at. Next, get there early because one hour before it starts, there is a considerable line with people doing exactly what I am telling you to do. When you get to the venue see if you can find a map or layout of where your favs are located in the hall and make a bee-line for them. The high-end places give away their food very quickly. For example, everyone wants to see what Nobu is giving out. After you have hit all the places you've been dieing to try, THEN go back and sample stuff from familiar favs. And this is also the time to start sampling the booze. The place is crawling with beverage reps wanting you to try their product.

Did the wine stroll at the Nasher, Crow, and Meyerson on the first night of the event. Fun, fun, fun! The lines for wine were a little crazy, and at the beginning of the night the vendors were pretty stingy with their pours (especially at the Nasher), so I did spend a while walking around with an empty wine glass for half of the night. On the other hand, I feel like there was a LOT more food available than I'd expected (a fave was the chorizo mac n cheese from Texas Spice on the 2nd floor of the Crow--spicy and delicious), which was great, because by the end of the evening I didn't feel like I needed to go to dinner. My one complaint is that there wasn't a "map" of where the vendors were... we ended the night at the Meyerson, and that was where the liquor vendors all were, and we sadly missed out on the St. Germain cocktail because they ran out by the time we reached their table. Boo. In the future it would be helpful to know where the vendors are, because starting the night with liquor is generally better than ending the night with tapped out liquor vendors. Cool event though. I'd do it again.

I have been to International Grand Tasting for the last 3 years and this year was VERY DISAPPOINTING...ahhh!!!! In a nutshell, they are still charging just as much $ for the event, but cheapening the experience. Almost all of the wine was cheap. Many of the nice restaurants were not there (there was about 20 less vendors this year). Those that were there served sub-par samples compared to previous years (think...meatballs).Places I remember from last year that weren't there this year were Private Social, Mansion at Turtle Creek, 560, and Kenny's to name a few.If they charged, let's say 50$ per ticket, it would be ok but this certainly isn't worth 100$ per ticket. It was slightly better than Taste of Addison or Dallas Food and Wine.I do think Max's Wine Dive, Lazaranda, Velvet Taco, and Urban Crust were good for the record. Again, for the $ though, I could just go eat at each of those places.This was an event my wife and I looked forward to each year, but next year we'll have to find something better to do. I would have much rather attended one of the wine events, then go dine at a nice steakhouse.

I'll start out by saying we were lucky enough to win our admission tickets for the Grand Tasting valued at $100 each. If I had actually paid for admission, I probably would have only given two stars. But I'm going to echo some of the other reviewers who said they felt gypped. I say this because there were several restaurants who ran out of food long before the event ended. Knowing that tickets to this eventually sold out it's reasonable to assume that each restaurant had a fairly accurate headcount before the night of the event. Why they didn't plan accordingly with their food counts is beyond me and certainly disappointing. Places like Seasons 52 who were serving desserts in shot glasses or Eddie V's who was serving I don't even know what because they ran out less than 2 hours into the event left a really poor taste in my mouth. I agree with others who said they would not pay full price to attend in the future. If you're going to charge $100 per person you better blow me away with amazing tastes, experiences and efficiency (I'm looking at you, ridiculously long lines for a spoonful of ice cream at Henry's). Aside from all those gripes, this was a fun event. It was a pleasant surprise to run into some fellow Yelpers and a few Instagram bloggers I'd only seen in the virtual world. The foods we did sample were good- but some of them didn't even really impress if I'm being totally honest. The Glenlivet experience was really fun and interactive (I wish there would have been more like this). Upon entering their area, you get a sample of whiskey. Then you walk around to a small bar and can choose from either of two pre-made options or you can take a brief survey that gives you a personalized drink which the bartender then makes. I learned that no matter how personalized the drink is, I am just no whiskey drinker! There was also a guy engraving the glasses with your name near the front entrance- another really cool experience which elevated the event a bit.Overall, I love tasting different foods and wines so we still had a good time. The cafe string lighting added a nice touch as well.Pro tip: You may want to step up your outfit game for this event. Think dinner at an expensive restaurant or the prom you never attended. Seriously, I saw one girl in an all sequin dress- a bit over the top or totally Dallas? You decide!

Review for Savor Dallas Food + Drink Festival 2018...After reading the very mixed reviews we were pretty worried that this would be a colossal waste of cash; however, for what it is and compared to other fancy food festivals we've attended, this one on this year was GREAT! We had Master Passes for all four events over four days.Please don't expect 'value'...you will not get heaping baskets of food for your money. The plates of food were generous compared to other festivals....especially the Dallas Arboretum's Food and Wine festival. The cocktails were entire drinks...not tiny samples. The lines were VERY tolerable. The wine choices were okay, but surely one's opinion is very much based on experience and palate. Prisoner to the rescue. The entertainment was advertised as "live entertainment" but there was just a DJ. The music for the Shaken/Stirred night at the FIG was the best! Biggest disappointment was Sunday. Only three tables of hot breakfast food on the Retox/Detox day thus pretty long lines. Would've liked a lot more choices. Maybe a chafing dish of scrambled eggs, breakfast tacos (Rusty Taco style), kolaches, southern casseroles, cheese grits and bacon? The free swag was pretty awesome too.