SBWFF 2011: Jamie Oliver Makes Pasta at Fun & Fit as a Family

Only 75 kids got the chance to sit in Jamie Oliver’s presentation at Kohl’s Fun & Fit as a Family Saturday at Jungle Island. At 12:30 p.m. a line already snaked outside the room where Oliver’s 1:30 p.m. presentation took place, but to some parents’ discontent, most didn’t get in. Several…

SBWFF 2011: Thrillist’s BBQ and the Blues

At Thrillist’s event, BBQ and the Blues, a huge line stretched from the entrance of the Oasis, at the Raleigh Hotel, toward Collins Avenue last Saturday night. The fine smell of barbecue just over the wall inspired impatience.Once inside, guests didn’t know whether to grab a drink from one of…

SBWFF 2011: Best Thing I Ever Ate at the Beach Was Feh

​It’s no secret that different types of crowds are attracted to particular events offered during the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Those who love schwag and want to drink their ticket price in alcohol attend the Grand Tasting Village. Parents and those whose enjoyment of the festival depends only…

SBWFF 2011: Food Porn from Wine + Dine + Design

Wine + Dine + Design was held last night in the ever-growing Design District, home to a handful of our city’s most popular eateries. Here’s how the event worked: Ticketholders gathered in front of Vino E Olio and were grouped into three lines, one for the folks who would start…

SBWFF 2011: Grand Tasting Village Was a Satisfying Feeding Frenzy

​With the white sand, clear skies, and heat, SBWFF’s Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village would have resembled the Sahara if it were not for the sparkling backdrop of the Atlantic.After receiving a Waterford glass, but no neck lanyard cup-holder to keep our eager paws free (they were deemed defective),…

SBWFF 2011: Bubbles, BBQ and Big Shots at BubbleQ

The BubbleQ is one of The South Beach Wine and Food Festival’s premiere events. It’s the one that people talk about – and who wouldn’t? To be honest, any event that offers free-flowing Perrier-Jouët and meat cooked by celebrity chefs should be worshiped like a minor demi-god. Without a doubt,…

SBWFF 2011: Danny Meyer, Shake Shack, and The Matrix

Danny Meyer, superstar restaurateur and CEO of the group behind Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Café, led an unconventional wine tasting at the W Hotel today. Participants tasted each of six Shake Shack menu items with six wines each. We rated these 36 combinations on a matrix. Meyer instructed us…

SBWFF 2011: More and More at Best of the Best

What’s your idea of the good life? Is it a sprawling private event held in something called “the Sparkle Ballroom” in a glamorous over-the-top Miami Beach resort? Is it top-rated bottles of rare, aged grapes all silently glistening, clamoring to fill a complimentary Riedel glass hanging from a nifty cord…

SBWFF 2011: Martha & Emeril’s Let Them Eat Cake Is A Blast

Each year the SBWFF introduces new events. Some fly higher than others. Let Them Eat Cake, a celebration of the Festival’s 10 Year Anniversary expressed in desserts by some of America’s best pastry chefs, was stratospherically successful.For one thing, it took place on the rooftop of the parking garage at…

SBWFF 2011: Dim Sum & Disco, Dancing and Bites

When we arrived at Dim Sum & Disco at The Setai last night, guests lined up around the restaurant’s open kitchen to taste the small bites prepared for the evening, but as the clock ticked past midnight the party moved to courtyard where people danced to ’70s tunes and sipped…

SBWFF 2011: Dim Sum & Disco Takes A Dive

Anytime you have plates of Asian cuisine prepared by Ming Tsai (Blue Ginger), Richard Hales (Sakaya Kitchen), Gregory Yu (Tropical Chinese), Joe Ng (Red Farm, N.Y.), the chefs from China Grill and Asia de Cuba, and Setai’s host chef David Werly, you’re going to have plenty of fine fare to…

The Scotto Family Brings Food & Fun To SBWFF Today

​If you watch the Today Show on NBC, you likely know the Scotto family pretty well. If you watch Wake Up With Al (Roker) on The Weather Channel, you likely know the Scottos. Or maybe you’ve eaten at their New York restaurant, Fresco by Scotto on East 52nd. Street, or…

More Miami Food Truck Gatherings Cancelled, Future in Doubt UPDATED

Update: It’s been confirmed that The Tamiami Truckers Food Court has temporarily moved to their old spot at SW 127th Street and SW 137th Avenue (near Tamiami Airport), at least for this week. Code compliance issues forced the food trucks from their regular spot at Lexus of West Kendall and…

Bongos and Tatu at Hard Rock Offer Industry Nights

Calling all bartenders, servers, bussers, managers, chefs, and cooks! Those “in the biz” are invited to enjoy the ambiance, and most importantly, discounted food and beverage, at Bongos Cuban Cafe and Tatu, two heavyweight restaurants at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. Just a few weeks after launch,…

SBWFF 2011: The Unofficial Short Order Burger Bash Awards

No we’re not all professionally trained in the culinary arts like those who handed out the official honors last night, but we know our way around food and the celebrities who hawk it. Therefore we deem ourselves qualified to bestow upon last night’s Burger Bash entrants the following Unofficial Miami…

SBWFF 2011: Tasty Libations at Moonshine’s Shine & Swine

There was more shine than swine at last night’s Original Moonshine Shine & Swine party at the W Hotel. Not that we needed much more food after stuffing ourselves at the Burger Bash, but anyone expecting much food likely left disappointed. There was plenty to drink, however, as the W’s…

Two Chefs’ Jan Jorgensen Talks Soufflés and Simple Food

Jan Jorgensen has operated Two Chefs in South Miami since 1994. During that time he has successfully surfed the turbulent waves of South Florida’s fickle economy, fussy diners, and vacillating trends, while putting out consistently great fare at his restaurant.In part one of the interview, Jorgensen discussed pork belly, small…

Food Trucks Moved From American Legion Site

The Thursday’s On The Bay Food Truck Roundup at the American Legion Post # 29, which featured food trucks circling a wine and beer tent, was put on hold today after the city’s code department noted each truck had to register its business with the City of Miami and have…