Local Wally's Guide to San Diego

Local Wally's Guide to San Diego

SD Bay Fest

San Diego Wine + Food Fest 2023: Grande Fiesta Taco TKO, Nov 12th, 2023 - Info and Tickets

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Sam the Cooking guy cooking up tacos at the San Diego Wine and Food Fest TKO

Explore some of Southern California and Mexico’s best wines, spirits, and cuisine at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival finale, Grand Fiesta. Celebrating the cross-border culinary influence of Latin America on Southern California, Grand Fiesta showcases the vibrant culture of Mexico through cuisine, wine, beer, spirits, art, live music, and more. 

Dance your way through expertly crafted culinary stations curated by chefs from throughout San Diego, Southern California, Baja and beyond.

The event is held on Nov 12, 2023, in the large grassy park called Liberty Station Ingram Plaza, 2751 Dewey Rd
San Diego, CA 92106. Expect tons and tons of tacos, all you can eat, along with glasses of wine and beer, all you can sip, and plenty of sunshine, music and good vibes all around.

Duck Birria Tacos at the Grand Fiesta, San Diego Wine and Food Festival

TACO TKO

The mouthwatering battle for the title of San Diego’s Most Awesome Taco is on! Your challenge, should you choose to accept it: Put your tastebuds to the test and cast your vote to determine which taco will take home top honors in our annual Taco TKO competition. 

ATTIRE: Casual

IMPORTANT INFO:

Ticket is all inclusive. All food and beverage tastings are included in ticket price.

Must be 21+ to attend.

San Diego Wine + Food Fest 2023: Sonoma Wineries Will Be There and So Should You!

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Get ready to experience Sonoma County, one of the world's premier winegrowing regions, at the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival!  The Grand Tasting Event will be held on Nov 11th, 2023 - this is the huge tasting event on the large grassy area behind Seaport Village with rows and rows of pop up eateries and wine samples, unlimited food and wine and sunshine!

Sonoma County is known for its commitment to sustainably farmed grapes, multi-generational family farmers, and for producing word-class wines. With over 100 varietals, 19 distinct growing regions, over 1,800 grape growers and more than 425 wineries in Sonoma County, there's never been a better time to explore and taste. 

Sonoma County Winegrowers is bringing your favorite wineries and wines to the Grand Tasting. Come visit the Sonoma County Winegrowers tent, taste incredible wines, meet the winemakers, and experience the region while enjoying the beautiful views of San Diego Bay. 

San Diego Wine and Food Festival 2023: Everything You Need to Know, Discount Tickets, List of Events

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San Diego Wine and Food Fest, aka SD Bayfest, is back for 2023

San Diego bay food and wine festival: nov. 8th - 12th, 2023 - Everything you need to know before you go!

AT A GLANCE: A week long wine and food exposition featuring dinners and events during the week and culminating with The Grand Tasting event held at the Embacadero Marina Park North, the grassy area behind Seaport Village that overlooks the San Diego Bay.

The Grand Tasting event offers rows and rows of pop up booths handing out gourmet bites, wine, beer and spirits. It’s a true San Diego celebration! The next day is The Grand Fiesta, aka Taco TKO competition, which is a separate event held on Sunday at the Liberty Station Ingram Plaza that features dozens of taco professionals battling it out to decide who makes the best taco in San Diego - and you get to try them all!

Celeb Chef Brian Malarkey is in the house!

I’M CONFUSED - the san diego wine and food fest 2023 IS A WEEK LONG EVENT?

I know, it’s confusing but basically most people focus on The Grand Tasting event. People come to this year after year and it’s super fun to grab some friends and all go together. If you’ve never been to the San Diego Wine and Food Festival then just go to this event.

During the week are various dinners and wine tasting events for those with more time (and more budget) and you can expect some incredible experiences, such as chef driven dinners or blind tasting events.

The Grand Tasting is the fireworks grand finale… but as they say, wait, there’s more! A bit under the radar is Grand Fiesta which is arguably one of the very best food events in San Diego. Look, we love tacos, right? So what’s not to love love love about an event where you can sample literally dozens of tacos along with wines from Mexico and beer and spirits in a leisurely and casual setting? It’s a bit like the afterglow of the big event and an exceptional way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

let’s get back to the grand tasting event - what’s the vibe, what’s the dress code, what to expect

The San Diego Wine and Food Festival’s Grand Tasting event isn’t your average street fair sort of thing. The food is gourmet, the wines impressive, and the setting right on San Diego Bay is breathtaking. We are so lucky to live here, right?

The dress code is pretty flexible. The young and trendy come dressed to impress but you’ll find plenty of jeans and casual wear. It’s San Diego attire so come as you are, perhaps bump it up a notch, but don’t worry, it’s not stuffy or snooty or the slightest pretentious. The age demographic is also pretty wide with every age group represented, so whether you are 20-something or retired if you like food, if you like wine, if you love a good San Diego event, this is for you.

Dress nice, but don’t worry about dressing up.

discount tickets to the san diego wine and food Fest 2023 - how about free tickets?

Purchase tickets early and take advantage of the various packages they offer, such as the Grand Tasting 4-pack which is basically 4 tickets for the price of 3 - a really good deal. Here’s the link for all of the ticket offers.

FREE TICKETS? Well, not really free per se, but if you volunteer to work the event they pay you back by allowing you to attend the various events. Here’s all the info you need on how to score free tickets just by volunteering.

SAN DIEGO WINE AND FOOD FEST VIP TICKETS - WORTH IT?

There’s enough to keep you busy in the main section of the event but if you can swing it the VIP section gets you into a sectioned off area with live music, better bites, and elevated tastings. It also gets you into the event early so yes, it’s definitely worth it!

The BEST AYCE Tacos in San Diego | San Diego Food + Wine Fest 2023 Taco TKO

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Where can you find the BEST tacos in San Diego? Wait. I mean, where can you find the best ALL YOU CAN EAT tacos in San Diego. What are you talking about????

The San Diego Wine & Food Fest is well known as one of the best food festivals in the country. Held every year before Thanksgiving at the large grassy point behind Seaport Village, this year it’s November 8-12, 2023. It’s very cool, I go every year, and it’s totally worth it.

But that’s not what I’m talking about.

MEET THE GRAND FIESTA, AKA san diego TACO TKO

The big event at the San Diego Wine + Food Fest is held on Saturday, this year on Nov 11th. On Sundays the activities at the main event cool down but the heat is definitely ON at THE GRAND FIESTA, sometimes known as the San Diego Taco TKO. Held on a huge open grassy area in Liberty Station, in some ways it’s BETTER than the main food festival because it’s a much more low key event. This means food lines are short, the crowds are manageable, and because of this you can eat as many tacos as you can in a three hour period. So many tacos.

And trust me, the tacos being served are serious tacos and for the most part “full size”. No happy size tiny bites here, the hardest part is not filling up after the second stop. Even the street tacos were big!

Sam the Cooking Guy was the big chef last year and it was cool to see him actually cooking and serving and handing you the food. His Korean Short Rib Taco was my favorite… or was it? I mean, there were so many GREAT tacos that it’s hard to decide.

Full sized delicious Korean short rib taco from Sam the Cooking Guy

Baja California wineries were well represented as well and like the tacos it was unlimited servings. Baja is making some really nice wines. I’m a huge fan of Napa wines (of course, I write Local Wally’s Napa Tourist Guide as well) but Baja is no slouch. Some of these wines were very impressive so get ready to be surprised if you haven’t tasted Mexican wines yet.

And the lines, so short, keep going back, try them all. Cocktails as well. Whatever you want. As many as you want. Did I say already that there were barely any lines? Did I?? I mean, lines shorter than the chicken nuggets shaped liked dinosaurs sample line at Costco.

And there was live music and plenty of space to kick back and just enjoy the sunshine. Last year was my first time and it was so amazing that I think it gives the main event a run for it’s money. Oh sure, the main San Diego Wine + Food Fest is the place to be seen, the setting on the bay is so luxurious, the vibe is so hip, but sometimes you just want to hang out with friends and eat tacos and drink beer all afternoon while listening to live music. Man that sounds good!

And guess what? The Grand Fiesta tickets are only $85! Have you ever looked at your credit card statement after a movie at Cineopolis with one glass of wine and one taco? I just did and it came out to nearly $60, and the movie was terrible! Don’t do that, do this instead. Much tastier, much more fun, much more like a perfect San Diego Sunday.

There’s more info coming on the 2023 event so always check back - until them check out the pics of tacos from last year because I want you to go to this event!