KAABOO, the three-day multifaceted entertainment and lifestyle festival featuring the best in music, comedy, contemporary art and cuisine, returns for its third year to the Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds Friday, Sept. 15-Sunday, Sept. 17. Headliners include Pink, Tom Petty & The Heart Breakers, Muse and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Impressive, yes, but what really rocks my world is the lineup of local chefs, restaurants, beers and wines.
Palate is the upscale culinary experience at KAABOO, where festival-goers can sample local and regional delicacies paired with limited production wines, specialty libations and craft beers. Guest chefs include Richard Blais, Claudia Sandoval and Shirley Chung.
Blais, a frequent judge on Bravo’s Top Chef and winner of the Top Chef All-Stars, is a partner at Juniper & Ivy and Crack Shack restaurants which will be expanding to four locations in the coming months. San Diego native Sandoval, winner of Master Chef season 6, pushes the boundaries of Mexican flavors and raises them to new culinary heights. Chung, trained in French and Italian cuisine, is a multi-season finalist on Top Chef and has opened restaurants for Thomas Keller, Guy Savoy, Mario Batali and Jose Andres.
Local restaurants represented at Palate include Puesto, Oceanaire, Poseidon Del Mar and STK.
Puesto celebrates the vibrancy of Mexico City’s cosmopolitan cuisine with handmade maíz azul stone-ground tortillas, sustainable meats and seafood, slow-cooked guisados, scratch salsas and carefully curated agave spirits. Oceanaire has been voted one of the best seafood restaurants in the nation and has product flown in daily from around the world. Local favorite and coastal landmark Poseidon, is famous for serving incredibly fresh seafood and using locally sourced ingredients. STK is opening soon in the Gaslamp’s Andaz Hotel and masterfully blends the modern steak house with a chic lounge.
Local spirits are highlighted, too. Revelers can imbibe with selections from Ballast Point, Saint Archer, Latitude 33 and San Agustin Vineyards.
Ballast Point Brewing, established in 1996 and recently acquired by Constellation Brands to the tune of $1 billion, has a brewery, tasting room and restaurant in Little Italy. Saint Archer is located in Miramar and the 57,000 square foot production facility is dominated by towering grain silos. Vista’s Latitude 33 was featured by CraftX, a national beer-of-the-month club, with two varieties of their craft beer distributed to 38 states. San Agustin, cradled in the foothills of Mount Palomar, utilizes modern techniques and ancient secrets to create unique wines made from grapes grown on the property.
One, two and three day passes are still available with discounts offered for students and military personnel. If you plan on going to the event, consider taking the train and avoid traffic and parking hassles. A shuttle from the Solana Beach train station will whisk you to the fairgrounds and back for a nominal fee.
KAABOO promises to be an unforgettable experience for all your senses. Get ready to rock, hungry readers. You’ll be glad you did.
Palate at KAABOO
Del Mar Racetrack + Fairgrounds
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.
Del Mar
