Walking, eating and drinking my way through CityPlace

Even the fire truck was pink!

When a Taste of CityPlace happened on Thursday evening, the West Palm Beach restaurant and entertainment venue was awash in pink.

Female patrons wore pink blouses, belts, purses or shoes. Some even wore pink dresses to call attention to breast cancer awareness. The men were more subdued in their clothing, but a few donned pink shirts. And Palm Beach County sent its pink fire-rescue engine that allowed people to write messages on it.


Part of the proceeds of the $20 ticket went to the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Its West Palm Beach walk will be held this Saturday at the Meyer Amphitheater.

But I didn't have to pay. I received a complimentary ticket through @aGuyOnClematis, given so that I could blog about the event.

I did see a few people I knew: photographer Sunman Returns, aka Surej Kalathil, who works with Aaron Wormus of @aGuyOnClematis fame at HedgeCo; my favorite yoga teacher, Priyanka Shanbag, at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach; and my preferred pop music columnist Leslie Streeter at The Palm Beach Post.

Then it was onto to see how many of the 24 restaurants I could visit in the next 3 hours.

First stop was the food truck BurgerFi which offered
a sundae bar. I chose red velvet concrete custard. After
tasting it, I thought if I died right then, I would be happy.

Next came Mellow Mushroom where they offered  tastes
of  hummus with pita chips, cheese pizza and Brooklyn
lager. They encouraged patrons to try all three, so I did.
Both foods were tasty, and the lager paired well with the pizza.

Then I walked over to the Pampas Grille, which served coriander adobo pork or bacon wrapped chicken, with black beans and rice. But I was pacing myself and passed. I chose to drink some of their sangria.

Next destination was Ruth's Chris Steak House with a line for a prime slider and a pomegranate cocktail. I don't normally eat red meat, but I forced myself to have one -- for the sake of being able to critique it. The steak was so tender that I didn't need a knife to cut through it.

At Sweet Ginger Asian Bistro, they served spring rolls,
fried rice and pork dumplings. I had a spring roll, which
was hot from the fryer, and some fried rice.

Then I checked my pedometer and saw I had walked 1.25 miles since I left my car. Sweet!

Next stop was BrioTuscan Grille where they served
pasta pockets with vodka sauce, chopped salad and
white peach iced tea. I savored the small pasta pockets
which were stuffed with creamy cheese.

As I ate my Brio food samples, a few people were climbing
on the pink fire engine and striking fun poses for pictures.

Then I stopped in The Brass Tap to have a small craft beer. I chose Great Divide Titan IPA from the four available, and I was glad I did. It quenched my thirst without leaving me with a heavy beer taste.

At Tequila Cowboy Bar & Grill, I had some of the best
smoked fish dip ever. It contained chunks of veggies
so that I felt righteous while enjoying the high-fat dip.

At the soon-to-open Revolutions - Bowling with a bar and grill, they served
Bavarian pretzels with cheese sauce and beer. Against my better judgment,
I ate part of the pretzel with cheese sauce on the side. The beer helped
the pretzel go down easily.

On my way to my car, I passed by the Moe's Southwest Grill vehicle which was closing up for the evening. I took a mini-chicken burrito for the ride home.

By the time I returned to my car, I had walked about 1.75 miles or 3,500 steps. It was nearly 9, and I stopped at only 10 of the restaurants. Always next year, right?

Thanks to @aGuyOnClematis and CityPlace guest services for the special evening that offered better eats than the Bus Loop I did a few weeks ago.

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013, when I walked:

Steps: 11,358

Miles: 5.7