By Terry Ward
A banner blue Florida sky and impeccable springtime temperatures hovering in the mid-70s set the scene for last March’s first ever–-and entirely sold out—Taste of Water Street event.
Drawing 17 of the district’s top food and beverage destinations, the ticketed gathering quickly morphed into a moving feast of sorts that took over Water Street, Raybon Plaza and Via Corazon for an evening of great taste, music and camaraderie.
The flavors dished up a globally-inspired mashup of Water Street Tampa’s diverse culinary offerings. Among the many dishes being proffered streetside for the passing crowds were tomato burrata toasts from gourmet toast and juice bar, Toastique, duck confit crepes from French outpost, Boulon Brasserie and a brand new menu offering of crispy shrimp tacos that made its debut at the event from Small Giant Bar & Restaurant.
To watch Water Street Tampa come to life…has been an architectural, zoning and planning marvel.
There were elote-style corn cups from Sparkman Wharf’s Mexican favorite, Jotoro, braised short rib with horseradish mash from The Pearl and typically innovative ice creams from Chill Bros. (this time, the Burnt Basque Cheesecake Ice Cream—an insanely rich melange of mascarpone ice cream with chunks of caramelized cheesecake cut through with a ribbon of house-made strawberry balsamic jam).
Feeling full yet? Trust us, that was just a sampling.
Outside of Market at the EDITION Tampa, espresso martinis shaken with Ketel One vodka and cold brew—a specialty at the coffee bar’s nighttime metamorphosis into an espresso martini bar—flowed. The cocktails paired perfectly with chocolate pistachio Italian donuts from Market’s bakery, called bomboloni.
“It was nice to see new and old faces and see everybody out,” said The Tampa EDITION’s MICHELIN star chef, John Fraser. “People were interested to see what we’d come up with, and it was great to connect with our neighbors as well as new clients.”
Fraser said the event was mostly about building relationships for him as well as seeing the neighborhood being enjoyed the way it was meant to be.
“To watch Water Street [Tampa] come to life from dirt to where it is today has been an architectural, zoning and planning marvel,” he said.
Heron resident Sydney Barker, 27, was among the district’s many locals out enjoying Taste of Water Street’s spring gathering.
“There were all these booths set up, a bunch of fun music playing and people everywhere,” she said. “There was a guy playing music on the street when I stepped out of my building that really set the mood. And, of course, everything was delicious, too.”
Heather Rivas, Director of Operations for Next Level Brands, whose restaurant, Boulon Brasserie, participated in the event, said she was impressed by how well the event was received by the community.
“Pretty much the entire neighborhood came out, with everyone offering small bites and beverages to the passing crowds,” she said.
Guests were provided with a fun interactive way to eat their way through the stops, too, with a “Passport to Deliciousness”—a booklet to carry throughout the district on their tasting journeys, collecting stamps along the way and racking up complementary appetizers, discounts on ice cream and the other perks to cash in on a return visit to Water Street Tampa.
“Our first annual Taste of Water Street was a phenomenal success,” said Liza Berger, Vice President of Marketing with Strategic Property Partners, the developer of Water Street Tampa.
And so successful was the spring event, for which 350 tickets were sold, that October’s fall Taste of Water Street will include even more restaurants as well as potential involvement from retail outlets in the district too, she said.
“We feel confident we can still execute the same standard of event and almost double the ticket sales for the fall version,” Berger said.
For her, one of the most satisfying elements of Taste of Water Street’s inaugural edition—besides the simple joy of seeing how much everyone was enjoying themselves—was drilling down with post-event surveys to find out how guests had heard about the event and from how far away they’d come to enjoy it.
“I loved to see guests coming from different parts of the area beyond the immediate Water Street [Tampa] neighborhood,” she said. “We had visitors from St. Pete, Brandon, Palm River, Town and Country, Odessa, West Chase, Land o Lakes and beyond.”
“This is one of the brightest points,” she added. “Water Street [Tampa] is really opening up downtown Tampa to people who may not come to the city so frequently.”
On a personal note, Berger said she had a lot of fun during the event basking in all the neighborhood’s restaurant and retail creativity so proudly on display.
“Wagamama had these great dumplings they were cooking onsite,” she said. “And in addition to their tasting, Predalina had a pop-up shop with gift items that was a real surprising delight moment.”
Event planners are targeting October for the second Taste of Water Street event for myriad reasons, Berger said.
“Menus will be updated, so we’ll be getting into fall menus. Our restaurants will have some new variation to showcase,” she said. “Also, it’s the time of year when the weather is starting to settle back down after summer as well as that sweet spot just before the holidays.”
Locals can consider taking advantage of the event as a way to sample flavors in advance of planning potential holiday gatherings with friends and family at the district’s restaurants.
And while the event organizers had considered sticking to a theme or genre for the October fun, Berger said letting the participating restaurants and retailers run with their creativity made the most sense after such a successful spring gathering.
“The incredible response we got the first go-round just solidified that we are doing the right thing,” she said.
Residents of Water Street Tampa can look forward to early-release ticket sales to ensure they have access to all the fun happening right in their own backyard. But the hope, of course, is that people will come from all over the region for a taste of what makes Water Street Tampa so unique.