The second annual Laguna Beach Uncorked! food & wine event was held at the Festival of Arts Grounds in Laguna Beach, CA. The event was presented by the Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau.

The Orange County festival featured over 20 restaurants and dozens of wineries dishing out and pouring up some of the best eats and sips that Laguna Beach and the OC has to offer.

There were many fresh and delectable seafood samplings, such as prosciutto-wrapped jumbo shrimp with chimichurri sauce (from 230 Forest Avenue), and a saffron rock shrimp in avocado gazpacho with lychee foam (Broadway by Amar Santana), as well as lobster meatballs atop truffle risotto (K'ya Bistro), and a hearty lobster mac n' cheese (House of Big Fish).

It was an enjoyable three-hour eating marathon, going from booth to booth, where restaurants garnished and dished up their fare. Many chefs cooked or put finishing touches to the food on-site at working stations, which added to the freshness and flair of the event.

The Montage Laguna Beach boasted a jaw-dropping array of treats, by sheer volume alone, not to mention its creativity and variety. Servers held trays of grapefruit macarons and tea cakes, as well as tangerine homemade marshmallows. They even had a station serving sweet and creamy vanilla bean risotto in tangerine rind bowls, then topping it with a tart and refreshing pink grapefruit sauce. The entire adorable dessert bowl was then topped off with a slight drizzle of citrus olive oil before being handed to the eagerly awaiting guest.

Wineries such as Nickel Nickel wowed with its Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and chardonnay. Northern Italian winery and one of the first certified organic producers of the region, Camparo, also poured glasses of its wine for eager drinkers.

The sunny, breezy second Saturday in March was the perfect day for an outdoor tasting event filled with creative plates. Speaking of plates, almost everything was served on mini biodegradable serving ware. The event also made an effort to be green by encouraging people to dispose of their waste in designated bins, such as a compost bin.

Bananas foster bread pudding (from House of Big Fish), Kahlua pulled pork sliders (Tommy Bahama Laguna Beach), tortilla soup shooters (Mosaic Bar & Grille at Montage), pâté cream puffs (Dizz's As Is), blackened fish tacos (Sapphire Laguna), and freshly griddled crab cakes (Las Brisas) were other outstanding highlights of the deliciously fun event.

In addition to a beautiful outdoor location with live music and plenty of water provided in addition to a souvenir wine glass, what set Laguna Beach Uncorked! apart was its event program. It not only listed the participating restaurants and wineries, but also included information on each of them, and most importantly, what they were serving at the event. This helped tremendously in remembering favorites and even for strategizing a game plan beforehand so we could prioritize and maximize valuable stomach real estate! The wineries were even listed by region, with space at the bottom of each page for "wine notes."

All this combined to create a memorable experience for guests, who left completely satiated and looking forward to the next one.

Reach Tanaya Ghosh here or follow her on Twitter.