Find Euphoria in Greenville

euphoria, 2013

september 26-29, 2013
greenville, south carolina

Euphoria is a weekend-long event that includes exclusive tasting events, cooking demonstrations and wine seminars, as well as multi-course dinners and live musical performances. Euphoria features domestic and international wines, celebrity chefs, master sommeliers, and national recording artists.

From September 26-29, 2013 Greenville’s best chefs will intermix with chefs from New York, Miami, Alabama, Louisville, Memphis and more. New events for 2013 include a whole-hog roast, a food truck traffic jam, a wine auction and reserve tasting and a Night in Paris progressive dinner.

The signature event Taste of the South will feature singer/songwriter Kim Carnes. True foodies won’t want to miss the ultimate VIP event – The Sunday Supper featuring a family-style dinner prepared by Charleston chef Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary.

Tickets are available at www.euphoriagreenville.com.

reflections of 2012 euphoria

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step - or should a say, the first mile begins in a little green jeep heading north on I-85 toward Greenville.

Euphoria 2012. The name says it all. You know the moment your mind and mouth fuse with that first bite of chocolate, how your eyes close and the world slows down to a crawl, and an "ah" escapes. I have experienced a four-day continuous "ah".

Euphoria Greenville is the brainchild of Edwin McCain, singer, songwriter and hometown boy. In its 7th year, its gets better and better, adding more and more events to drive some four-or-five thousand visitors into the city. Trust me, there's no persuasion needed to encourage attendance. Calendars are marked a year in advance, and by the last event of the weekend, somber faces replace the electric smiles simply because the love fest is over and the wait begins for next year.

Everyone involved, from the chefs to the mixologists to the attendees, are in the middle of a red-hot love affair with Greenville. For a moment, forget the event; it's the allure of Main Street showcasing over 100 exclusive restaurants plus a variety of stops including a cupcake heaven, a beer distillery and the local favorite pine-floored Mast General Store. There's the Liberty Bridge, the Andrew Wyeth collection at the Greenville County Museum of Art, Falls Park and a few miles up the road, Perdue's Fruit Farm where the varieties of fresh fruits and homemade creations are only limited by your imagination.

My favorite moments and tastes? Soby's Crab Cakes at the Jazz Sunday Brunch. Row Eleven's Stratton Lummis "The Riddler" Lot 2 at the Saturday Breakwater hosted dinner. Virginia ham carved by Restaurant Eugene (Atlanta) executive chef Linton Hopkins (named best chef in the Southeast 2012). Experiencing jazz trumpeter Mark Rapp, live! The soulful sounds of Edwin McCain and tearing up to "Walk with me." Meeting the real Ale Sharpton! Evan Williams bourbon. Endless Sweetwater. Goat Cheese Panna Cotta by Chef David Guas of Bayou Bakery in Arlington, Va. My "ahs" continued four days later...