Downtown Fort Lauderdale was filled with the sounds of it's semi-annual "Get Downtown" benefit with one notable empty table; Chima didn't show up. While one vendor not attending an event usually can go pretty much unnoticed; Chima is a bit different. Usually the "vendor with the longest line", Chima is known for lighting up these events with their flame broiled grilled meats.
There was no explanation on their Facebook or Twitter feed; so maybe they just didn't get their shipment of lamb chops or something? I'm sure there was a good reason. As a headliner they should at least provide some explanation; the entire point of facebook and twitter for businesses is to keep a line open with the community to defuse these types of public relations blunders.
Without the massive line that Chima usually attracts, the event seemed a bit mundane. The only other vendor with a line was Rocco's Taco's, but to me it doesn't seem worthwhile to wait 1/2 hour for a $2 taco sample. Rare Las Olas sampled their Prime Filet beef Carpaccio; I was surprised at the amount of stuff they put a paper thin slice of beef.
Mancini's had a penne pasta dish; it looked like some sort of pesto, but it just tasted musty to me. I'm not a big fan of Mancini's. America's Backyard had Mac and Cheese; it's nice of them to attend but I don't think of America's Backyard as a place to go for food. Jet Runway cafe continues to serve EXACTLY THE SAME THING at every event; I guess pulled pork sliders are the easiest thing to serve at an event. But don't these vendors know that all of these events are the exact same people with few exceptions; we've all already tried their pulled pork sliders and I know that I'm not driving out to NW Lauderdale for anything like that. If you want to convince us that it's a worthwhile journey, it's time to try something else. Yolo had something they called a "Vietnamese Dip"; the bread was a bit too hard and the dip not very Asian. After I panned their potato risotto last year it promptly appeared on the menu; so I guess we can expect this misguided offering to appear shortly as well.
There was a lot of ice cream at this event; Kilwins, Pop's / Yo Mama and Cold Stone Creamery all had setups. The best sample I had was Yo Mama's Chocolate with smashed M and M's. How can you go wrong with M & Ms?
Funkette manned the stage; they play at Dicey Riley's and Murphy's Law quite often.
These events used to be infested with Condo Sales offices with their floor plans. 3 Years ago the event was dominated by real estate vendors; one good thing about the real estate downturn is that there wasn't one such vendor anywhere in sight at this event.
