COLA Food & Wine 2019

Posted: July 9, 2019 by Infamously Johnny

Everytime I visit Soda City, I ask myself, “Why don’t you come here more often?’. The drive from Charleston is quick and scenic while the vibe in the Capital city is completely different from the Lowcountry. The beautifully decorated Hotel Trundel made our stay amazingly comfortable.

Conveniently located downtown Columbia, the hotel provides spacious suites with stylish appliances featuring modern upgrades like USB outlets. The front desk offers a variety of draft beverages including a delicious Rose and local beer.

Hopefully, Hotel Trundel is a sign of what is to come, active tourist traffic throughout the main street area.

Coa Agaveria Y Cocina

We were also delighted to visit Coa Tequila Bar located right on Lady Street, the craft Tequila bar offered more than amazing tacos. We sampled a wide variety of cocktails ranging from very earthy Mezcal based cocktails to delicately floral Tequila cocktails. Each sip was complimented by their an assortment of small plates. The octopus was definitely a stand out.

COLA Food & Wine

The festival completely takes over the 5 points area. Tents are situated on the street giving festival goers free reign of the thoroughfare. Clothing stores and other shops remained open allowing attendees to take advantage of special pricing. Very fun! We meandered throughout the food stations, sampling bites and taking sips. My first nibble came from Sakitumi Grill & Sushi Bar.

It was a combination of 3 pieces from their menu. Delicious and easy to transport which is important at tasting events. Luckily, there were plenty of tables and seating areas to sit down and enjoy the festivities. Another plus, no long food lines. This is amazing.

Most tasting events of this sort have super long lines for food samples, often running out of food before the event is over. Not at Columbia Food & Wine. We left the tents with full bellies, which is rare.

VIP Lounge

The upstairs of Saluda’s restaurant was converted into the VIP lounge hosted by Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

The cozy, well air conditioned area featured signature cocktails, speciality bites from Soda City Chefs and live entertainment. As a keepsake, CAE custom stamped luggage tags encouraging attendees to travel well. Super cute.

Highlights

‘The Chill Zone’ – everyone knows that COLA is famously hot. Conveniently located in the center of the festival was an air conditioned lounge. Sponsored by Cool Care Heating & Air and open to the general admission ticket holders. This area was a welcomed respite with access to cold water, bites and industrial strength fans. Cool!
Speakeasy style bar – The White Mule was transformed into a hub for cocktail enjoyment. The bartenders served made-to-order cocktails, created by bartenders from some of Columbia best bars. My favorite from the speciality menu was a Roku Gin based cocktail called, “Cherry Blossom”. This spirited cocktail was the perfect drink to end a full day at #COLAFW
Columbia Museum – We took advantage of our time in Columbia to get in a little local culture. The Museum of Art houses an assortment of static and interactive exhibits. We wandered throughout the two level gallery being stimulated by the large scale sculptures as well as the elaborate paintings hung on the wall. Definitely a must visit while in the city. Insider tip: free admission on the 3rd Thursday of the month.