Friends Of Jupiter Beach: Wine and Food Fest, Fla.

The "Friends of Jupiter Beach Food And Wine Festival," comes with a twist. It is held under an intracoastal waterway bridge in Jupiter, Florida.

Intracoastal waterway bridge, site of Friends of Jupiter
Beach Wine & Food Festival, Jupiter, Fla.

This three-year-old festival is advertised as a "Rain or Shine" event, and yesterday it rained! But the water did not stop the crowds of hungry foodies. And it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the presenting chefs.

Coolinary Cafe chef explaining contents of his
Florida sourced salad, Friends of Jupiter Beach
Wine and Food Festival,
Jupiter, Fla.

For a mere $40 at the door ($35 in advance), guests were treated to as much alcohol as they could drink, and as much food as they could eat. But what was offered was more than just food. It was art. And some of it was made with local Florida ingredients.

Coolinary Cafe' summer salad made with Florida
micro-greens, watermelon, candied almonds,
and tangy yogurt, goat cheese, honey dressing,
Friends of Jupiter Beach Wine and Food Festival,
Jupiter, Fla.

My favorite was Coolinary Cafe's fresh summer salad made with watermelon, Florida greens, yellow beets, curried and candied almonds, and a tangy yogurt, honey, goat cheese, and pablano pepper dressing. It was sweet, spicy, crunchy, and refreshing.

Guanabanas' shrimp ceviche made with Delray
ingredients and Cape Canaveral shrimp at Friends
Of Jupiter Beach Wine and Food festival,
Jupiter, Fla.

Next on my list was Guanabanas's Florida shrimp ceviche. It was made with Delray Beach sourced ingredients like lime juice and chili pepper, and succulent Cape Canaveral shrimp.

Little Moir's Food Shack Grouper cheeks made with
Florida peach avocado salsa, and yucca chips,
at Friends of Jupiter Beach Wine and Food festival,
Jupiter, Fla.

There was also a dish by Little Moir's Food Shack made with Grouper cheeks, local Florida grilled peach avocado salsa, and crispy yucca chips.

Cod & Capers Seafood Marketplace's rock shrimp roll
with St. Fernandina Beach sourced shrimp, Friends
Of Jupiter Beach Wine and Food Festival,
Jupiter, Fla.

Cod And Capers Seafood Marketplace and Cafe, made a tasty Florida rock shrimp roll with dill. The shrimp came from St. Fernandina Beach, Fla.

Tequesta Brewing Co. BH beer flavored with
Loxahatchee, Florida, chili pepper honey,
Friends of Jupiter Beach Wine and Food Festival,
Jupiter, Fla.

I also enjoyed a beer called Big Hitter (BH) made by the Tequesta Brewing Co. It was a saison brune beer made with Belgium hops and flavored with chili pepper honey from Loxahatchee, Fla.

My only real disappointment was with the wines. I tried some of the foreign and out-of-state wines, and found many to be less impressive than Florida wines.

Maybe next year the festival will have more than just Florida food on the menu, maybe they'll also have some wines.

Proceeds from the Wine and Food Festival went to help the Friends of Jupiter Beach continue preserving their clean and dog-friendly beach.