This weekend is all about the yin and yang of eating and drinking in Miami. Jimmy Buffet may sing, "I treat my body like a temple...you treat yours like a tent", but we encourage you to do both.
You can enjoy some of our finest local chefs embracing the slow food movement, dine at a farm (there are two farm dinners this weekend), and then drink plenty of rum.
It's all about balance. How can you be good when you haven't really been bad? Weekend starts now.
See also: Rum Renaissance Festival: Judging 19 Rums in Less Than an Hour
Drink Like a Pirate at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival
Say you're in Miami for the weekend on shore leave, fresh from a long season of plundering and pillaging with Captain Jack Sparrow throughout the Caribbean. What's a pirate to do for fun?
Take in the Rum Renaissance Festival, matey! This weekend-long salute to rum kicks off today with a trade-only tasting session (although all you landlubbers can purchase a three-day pass that allows you access). Over 200 different rums are offered up for your tasting pleasure, along with seminars, live music, and a lifestyle expo where you can purchase all things rum-related (except a new liver). It all goes down at the Doubletree Miami Airport and Convention Center. The festival is open to the public Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, from 3 to 7 p.m. VIP ticket holders can access the festival at noon each day. General admission is $50 each day and VIP admission is $75 per day. Tickets are available online at rumrenaissance.com.
Slow Food Tasting Party: Slow Food at the Raleigh Hotel
The Slow Food Movement's Snail of Approval winners are getting together and having a party. No...that doesn't mean dinner will take 100 hours. It does mean that Miami's best chefs will serve up some of the tastiest, cleanest, most local bites you'll ever have. Tonight, Michael Schwartz will host the event at The Raleigh Hotel from 7 to 10 p.m., where 18 of the best restaurants will serve up some great food and drink. Of course, this being Miami, there's also an after-party at The Bazaar by Jose Andres and Katsuya for VIP'ers from 9:30 p.m. - midnight.
Tickets for the Snail of Approval tasting party at the Raleigh cost $85, and VIP tickets cost $165 (includes admission to the tasting party and afterparty at the Bazaar). Tickets can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com. Event proceeds will benefit Slow Food Miami's Edible Garden Program, which helps schools and local communities start and maintain edible gardens. Discounted valet parking will be available for $20.
Veggie Love and a Movie at Earth N' Us Farms
Want a more earth friendly take on dinner and a movie? Take your date to Earth N' Us Farms this Saturday for the Love & Vegetables pop-up Love and a Movie event. A $50 suggested donation gets you a multi-course vegan meal, served al fresco. Believe us, folks, nothing is more romantic than the soft bleeting of some contented goats in the distance. Just make sure it's your date nibbling on your ear. The dinner starts on Saturday, April 26 at 7 p.m. To get tickets for Saturday's event, sign up for the Love & Vegetables mailing list and you'll get email instructions.
Dinner in Paradise One Last Time
Though it's shocking, it's no secret that Paradise Farms is on the market. That means that Sunday evening's Dinner in Paradise might be the last one ever. If you haven't been, you need to experience it just once. The evening starts with Gabriele Marewski hosting a tour of the garden (with a welcome cocktail) before the lush dinner starts. Sunday's chefs include Alberto Cabrera of Bread + Butter; Angelo Masarin of Salumeria; and Sergio Sigala of Cecconi's. The dinner starts at Paradise Farms on Sunday, April 27 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $165.50 per person, plus tax and processing. Reservations are required and must be made by noon today (Friday) at paradisefarms.net.
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