In April we attended the Columbia Food & Wine Festival Sunday Grand Tasting Finale at the Robert Mills Estate in Downtown Columbia. The festival was established in 2018 & by far, this year’s festival was the absolute best. There are special events throughout the week that culminated to the final event.

My top drink vendor pick was a tie between the Don Julio Tequila tent & Kombi Keg Columbia, a mobile bar serving kombucha from Dalai Sofia out of Charleston, South Carolina. I am now a kombucha fan thanks to their Cherry Bomb which can be purchased at 14 Carrot Whole Foods in Lexington.

Hannah’s food pick was the Pimento Cheese Grilled Cheese with Pepper Jam & collards from Spotted Salamander Cafe & Catering. Hannah’s a vegetarian so she had three… It was so good that Hannah took me to Spotted Salamander in Downtown Columbia, but unfortunately it wasn’t available since they have a rotating weekly menu. The lunch was still very good.

Dates for next year’s event Columbia Food & Wine Festival have not been released yet, but we will notify everyone when tickets go on sale. You do not want to miss out on this event in 2024!

• Patrick O’Connor