Westword Dish - Meridian Station

Love it. This was my 5th year in a row and I don't plan on missing anytime soon. LOVE the fact that they moved it to earlier in the day. The free mini cocktails this year were a nice treat and, as always, VIP is the only way to go. It's pretty easy to work your way around the entire place before they open the gates and let the masses in. Wait, maybe I shouldn't divulge that information? Be smart and remove the top bun from any burger/sammich item you may get you're just wasting valuable space if you cram yourself full of bread!

Absurd amount of meat at this event! WTH. Next time let 's clearly advertise event as Westword 's MEAT DISH . Being 2013 and with the growing Vegetarian population this event fails to have a clue. I know many of the restaurants present normally offer Veggie options and I believed finding pasta, sandwiches, tacos without meat would not be a problem. I was wrong. I will give 5 stars a hurray to Interstate, Nile, Paxti 's (and naturally Watercourse) and the Real Dill for providing Veggie options. But again considering the admission price paid only to find nearly every booth with pork/ beef/ chicken stricken food forces me to rate the Westword Dish 2013 as a 2-3 star venue.

However, the staff at the Scion booth had an unappealing demeanor. They just lounged in their camping chairs, appearing bored and a bit standoffish, arms crossed and legs shaking. I simply walked over, picked up a hat and an ice scraper, and left. I’m not sure what the representatives were even doing there—they could have generated some excitement about the new tC parked nearby or the orange FRS under the large statues in the event area. But unfortunately, there was no engagement from them. On the bright side, the rest of the event was fantastic! The Pink Taco truck and CHUBurger food trucks were lined up along the road, along with Dae Gee, Tin Star Smokehouse, Little Man Ice Cream, and Sugarlicious, all of which stood out to me. Breckenridge Brewery even served an amazing root beer float made with root beer, Jamaican five spice, and Breckenridge bourbon! It was such a great event, filled with delicious food in a spacious area. The atmosphere was friendly, and the music added a wonderful energy to the day!

We didn't have a specific strategy; we just started at one end and made our way around. Our first stop was my personal favorite of the event: the Honey Chicken Salad served on a pretzel roll from Trillium. It was absolutely delicious and came as a full sandwich rather than just a small sample. The portion sizes varied quite a bit from one restaurant to another—some offered just a few bites, while others served full sandwiches, like the ones from Tin Star Smokehouse. Mustard's Last Stand provided half hot dogs, and Paxti's served full slices of pizza, while some had smaller tasting cups and quarter sandwiches, which were a relief after a few rounds! The lines were manageable; the longest I encountered had only six people waiting when general admission was let in. I was in foodie paradise and loved that not only could I sample amazing dishes, but I also discovered many new restaurants in Denver and the surrounding areas. Every restaurant representative was friendly and provided coupons for free drinks (definitely one of the quickest ways to my heart). They were genuinely excited to hear that I discovered them through Yelp, which was a nice touch. The venue was fantastic—the sculpture garden across from the Performing Arts Center is spacious, and afterward, you can easily roll yourself over to the light rail station without worrying about parking. And can we talk about the DJ? He played everything from EDM to Labyrinth's "You Remind Me of the Babe"—there's nothing like enjoying great food while listening to David Bowie! He really got the crowd going and did an excellent job. Plus, there were clean portable restrooms on-site along with plenty of hand sanitizer available! So bring your stretchy pants and get ready to indulge. This was the best food event I've attended so far, and I can confidently say it was worth every penny spent!

I heard people saying on the discussion thread that this wasn't a good event to attend. While there may have been issues in previous years, this year was fantastic. There were plenty of restaurants, including some food trucks, as well as a vape business. I purchased a general admission ticket, and there were lots of booths offering alcohol, soda, and water. The lines at the vendors were manageable and moved quickly. There were plenty of stand-up tables and picnic tables to sit at while enjoying the food. DJ Rockstar Aaron was on the turntables, keeping everyone moving and dancing. There was no drama, and it was a great experience sampling dishes from various restaurants all in one place. Some vendors even provided enough food for a full meal, but I'm definitely not complaining. Looking forward to next year, Westword Dish, and thank you!