What a GREAT EVENT! This was my first year attending it and I really enjoyed it to the fullest. I…read morerecommend to get the VIP band to have full access of all the food and drinks then REPEAT AGAIN, lol! It's burger world with beer as well as Jack Daniel Whiskey. The festival has entertainment through the night from band/DJ that's setup on stage in the front of all the vendors. Last night, I got to have Pincho Factory, Clutch Burger, Miller Ale House, Pisco y Nazca, Night Owl Cookies, Samuel Adams, Jack Daniels, Bulla, Doctors Hospital Sunrise Cafe, Shula's just to name a few. The lines aren't too long and move quickly. I enjoyed playing connect 4 while listening to the live music and drinking Rosé. I'll definitely come back next year.

Wow, yummy!!! It was a super fun and well-organized event…read more I parked two blocks away and as I walking to the event I saw the smoke of the BBQ where they were cooking the burgers. It looked so nice and smelled spectacular. The registration part was phenomenal. With many people kindly attending all the guests. How nice!!! Everything I ate and drank was exquisite. Thank you and see you next year. Uyyyyyy que rico!!! Fue un evento super divertido y muy bien organizado. Me estacione dos calles mas arriba y minetras caminaba al evento note el humo de los chefs que cocinaban las hamburguesas en ese momento. Se veia tan lindo y olia espectacular. La parte de registracion estuvo fenomenal. Con muchas personas atendiiendo amablemente a todos los invitados. Que bonito!!! Todo lo que comi y tome estuvo esquisito. Gracias y hasta la proxima!!

I usually love these type of events. Every time the SOBEWFF comes around I get excited, and look…read moreat all the events to see if I can make it to at least one. Unfortunately, this year, I wasn't able to but, found this "satellite" event and decided to give it a chance, with my friends. Local restaurants featuring one of their dishes, wines and spirits flowing, a DJ to dance, and all this at the beautiful Moore Building, it was sure to be an amazing event. We bought the General Admission ticket... figured, 3.5 hours would be enough time to sample all, at a comfortable pace. 8:30pm, right on time, they started letting us in. Pretty organized, friendly people working the ticket lines, and as soon as you walked in, there was the first station with, what else, drinks. There was also a picture wall and to the other side the LYFT photo booth (these are always fun!) First floor was more drinks than food but, we did get to try the Pastrami Sandwich from The Naked Lunch which was delicious! Cheese perfectly melted, very flavorful, and very friendly people working their station. Next to them was The Naked Taco serving SX Tequila cocktails and shots. My favorite has to be the coffee flavored one, and they had a Coconut Basil Caipirinha, that was very refreshing. There was also the Modelo beer station, vodka shots and drinks, and Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant. I've heard so many great things about this restaurant and, the dish they prepared for the event proved that right. It was some type of Ropa Vieja on top of a flat bread, with corn on top. So tender, and incredibly well seasoned. Definitely one of the best of the night. Second floor was a bit of a disappointment. First station was for a paella but it was completely done by 9pm. Two stations down, another empty one. Event ran until midnight, still 3 hours to go and they were running out of food. Not a good sign. You must understand why I have to deduct stars from the rating. We kept sampling floors 2 - 4. Some of the food was unmemorable, unfortunately but, the Rice & Chicken from Nikki Beach stood out, mostly because it was the most substantial dish of the night and flavor was good. Also, the sushi from Green Plate Asian Bistro was one I would go back for. I was happy to see a water bottle station, I mean, drinks are great but water is needed and not all events realize this. Now we went for desserts, unfortunately these were a little disappointing too. Krispy Kreme is not my idea of dessert, especially at a "foodies" event. Found it comical to see people carrying (dozen doughnut) boxes during the event. Of the few I tried the only one I truly remember, and the only business card I walked out with, was the Guava cupcake from Slice of Art. I'm not a cupcake fan but this one was perfection. The Guava flavor was on point and so fresh. What's dessert without coffee, right? Well, Segafredo got you covered. Their Espresso martini was a caffeine junky heaven. Loved it! At one point the 3rd floor got really crowded and was uncomfortable to walk by, especially when there's drunk people being loud and covering the area taking dozens of selfies (thankfully there weren't a lot of these... nice to see most people knew how to behave at this type of event). Also, the VIP lounge, other than for seating, if you were wearing painful high heels, not worth it at all, in my opinion. It was small and by what I saw, only 1 or two extra drinks there, that was it. To end the night we went back to the first floor where the DJ was playing great tunes for dancing. We joined in until he started playing some oldies, and that was our cue to say goodbye to the 2015 Eats & Beats. To be honest, I did enjoy the event but not to the point to pay again to attend. It's good to find "new" places but, this can also be done during "Restaurant Month" or Local food festivals during the year that are less expensive. I think it's just an OK event to experience once and that's it. In my opinion, you are better off investing the estra money in one of the official SOBEWFF.

OMG What a grand event!…read more So typical life probs of an everyday girl, what to wear? After stalking previous year's photos, I wasn't sure if it was just the models who were fancy, or if patrons should go all out. Why express my fashion woes, you wonder? Well, in Miami, you always feel unfashionable compared to all others and this event was not an exception. People were dressed to the nine's...or should I have nine million dollars considering the number of fur coats I witnessed. A great mix of food places and drinks. I hit up the Yelp booth. HOLLA! Alex manning the Yelp booth was dabomb.com. A few highlights: -ice bar...yes, it really was made of ice. -the eats were arranged beautifully, in cool little spoons. And they weren't sparse with some places giving out basically entire meals! -cupcakes galore -The Moore Building -VIP...haha two twenty-two year olds walking around with doughnut boxes. The bouncers apparently thought we were adorable. We were able to arrive at 7:30 and get first dibs on everything and the lay of the land when it was a bit quieter which was a real treat! -the entire boxes of Krispy Kreme they were giving out. We were laughing at the weirdos with Krispy Kreme boxes...until we were the weirdos with Krispy Kreme boxes. Kaaarma. Overall, a wonderful Saturday night of which I shall daydream about for the next week. I'll also remember it by my glorious...no, not hangover, sugar coma! Because....cupcakes!!!!!!! Feeling pretty and mingling with other foodies and eating cupcakes. Le Sigh.

Such a great time and a great way to end SOBEWFF! I got in 30 minutes late but didn't have to wait…read morein line, checking in and security was sufficient and quick. This event was a great way to wrap up the busy weekend. There were a lot of great local restaurants and they were very prepared for the crowd. Lines moved quickly and we were able to try a little of everything. Bacardi, Patron, Grey Goose and a few others sponsored the event and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of bars and how quickly lines moved. We didn't have to wait too long in one spot for too long. We were able to meet Andrew Zimmern, which was incredible! He was right next to his stand taking pics with everyone that came! He was also a great host! Rev Run was the performer and had us bopping to today's hits as well as some old school stuff. We had such a great time. I can't wait for next year's SOBEWFF!

It was my first time coming to this event and you can tell it was very organized days before it…read morestarted. They sent an email with the vendors participating with their menus and information about the event and parking. The day of the event, everything went well. I loved the giveaways that Chase, La Croix and DoorDash did. Chase had this fun memory activity and they give you a free pin for playing and La Croix had this beautiful set up for pictures. They were also giving out complimentary tote bag, cellphone pop socket, cap of your choice and various flavors of LaCroix during the whole event. I also loved how they gave free Dasani waters at water stands or at any bar. As to the food, Edan Bistro by Cotoa was delicious. I tried the green plantain croqueta with coconut shrimp, grilled txuleton steak, basque cheesecake and dark Ecuadorian chocolate brownie. Everything was so tasty but my favorite were definitely the desserts. The Cowy Burger by The Salty was delicious. The savory taste of the burger with the donut buns paired very well together. I also tried the beignet hot and sweet chicken sandwich at Willie Mae's Scotch House and it was very good. The chicken was seasoned very well and it paired so well with the beignets. The bacon and fig pizza and margarita pizza at L'Industrie was also very tasting. I truly enjoyed eating all of it. They had this event where you can ask questions to the editors and win some more prizes, in addition to DJ and some entertainers who played instruments. I will definitely return to this event next year as I absolutely loved it.

Eeeeeatscon exceeded my expectations tenfold and officially became my second favorite festival…read moreafter Coachella lol (although t's all about food). First off, the exclusive collabs were insane. You're getting dishes from some of the best restaurants that you literally can't try anywhere else. Like, c'mon--Community Goods coffee from LA in Miami, and in collaboration with Boia De? That alone was worth the $25 ticket. Second, the prices were actually fair compared to other festivals, and the food quality was top-tier. I had the best ice cream ever, plus coffee, pizza, and a burger that all seriously delivered. You need to prepare for your stomach to work overtime. Third, the entertainment was way beyond what I expected from a food festival. I mean, everyone's here to eat, so I didn't have high hopes--but then we ended up front row for a 40-minute Hasan Minhaj stand-up set. A ticket for that alone would've been like $100 in the back row. And at Eeeeeatscon we got the full experience and a picture with him. And lastly, the amount of free merch we got from both the festival and sponsors was crazy. And we only had regular tickets, not VIP! We even spotted the editors of The Infatuation casually walking around. The only downside? Some food sold out way before the festival was even halfway through--unfortunately, exactly the things I was most excited to try. Overall, an unmatched experience, and I cannot wait for the next Eatscon!

Apparently this was the 3rd annual Heart of a Chef event at the Miami Science Museum. It was the…read morefirst time I heard about it. I was super excited to be going with friends, family, and classmates - the tickets were $20 with a promo code but goes to a good cause. Walking in the doors, it was instant chaos. There were lines upon lines and food stands everywhere. I didn't know whether to go right or left so I chose left. I was handed a goodie bag (but was disappointed that it had nothing but flyers) and headed over to collect some Sushi Maki sushi rolls, Pollo Tropical plate, Nespresso coffee, and some sort of cook-off was going on. I turned around and went the other way. On the other side there was Crepemaker crepes, the line was insane so I kept going and came here later. They had Smith & Wollensky potato chips with steak. They also had Success Rice and Mahatma Rice - and giving away entire packages of each. I tried some amazing conch fritters from some catering company, too bad I missed the name. They ran out of Smoothie King mini cups, but I snatched one later when they replenished. And the list goes on and on: Katiacake bon bons (I prefer Little Miss Sweettooth), Sweet Bliss ice cream, Gables Pizza (which I was told loudly is not Riviera Pizza), Cakes by Lucila (cupcakes were ordinary), Cabot Creamery (i love this cheese at the grocery store), RAAW juice (very interesting cucumber pineapple - will try again at JoAnna's Marketplace).... Somehow we got sucked into the Wine Seminar room until the event was almost over, leaving all the samples and food scarce. But I did learn about wine and the proper techniques for enjoying the different flavors, and somehow that wine is not just wine and may have ingredients like: peaches, green apple, chocolate, mocha, olives, who knew? All in all - this event was fun but a bit hectic. I felt rushed but enjoyed my time spent there. I was bumping into people left and right and knew that I will definitely come back again next year. So glad I got to try so many places in such a short time.

For a food festival, I thought Miami de Gusta was okay. We walked away full, but not particularly…read moreamazed by the food or the experience. I walked away thinking that I hadn't really learned what Columbian food is all about. General Admission was $38 for one, but I bought a Living Social voucher for $35 for two people. The event is organized by The Colombian American Chamber of Commerce so the food was mostly Columbian and so were most of the event goers. The "festival" was on November 28th, 2012. It took place in a large ballroom at the Miami Airport Convention Center. The inner circle of tables was mainly made up of the alcohol vendors, other drinks, and dessert vendors. The outer circle were mainly for the restaurants or food products. To me, this event went for a classy-ish, chill feel. At times a band played mellow, instrumental Columbian music. Sadly, most of the restaurants started to pack up 1 1/2 hrs into the event, before the official end time of the event. But it wasn't overbooked so visiting all the tables in an hour wasn't a problem. In general the lines were short. One of the tables displayed a whole bunch of bread: huge loaves and dry pastries which was kind of weird. There were a handful of restaurants that put more effort into their offerings. Most tables had about three items such as appetizers, starches, tacos, ceviche, desserts, and soups. There was a restaurant that offered three ceviches. Another had pulled pork tacos. Nobody could really complain about being hungry because there were some hefty sliders available. Some grainy fruit paste, Columbian cake, and a flan company were the dessert offerings.

Came to the tasting village on Saturday and had a great time!!!…read moreThe event was super well organized - Had plenty of food tents, drinks everywhere and great live music! All the food was vegan, they had so many options! Some of my favorites were: Quinoa croquetas, impossible empanadas, acai bowls, fried rice, chocolate cookies and pecan pies! Can't wait to be back next year!!

Horrendous guest experience…read more I became faint while standing in line for the vegan burger event and collapsed. As I came to, it was a struggle for the event workers to assist me, bring me water, etc. We had to leave to go get me food (Tacombi saving the day) as I was weak and could not stand in the long lines with the reggaeton blaring in the background. I emailed a day or so later requesting a refund as we were not able to properly attend given the circumstances. I received smug and unprofessional responses with examples of something like, "if you were driving on your way and got stuck in traffic and missed, we could not refund." That was not the case. They laid eyes in me while I was motionless on the floor. Appalling guest experience. 0/0

It was amazing! plenty of food and wine. to us it seemed like a mini SOBE!…read more except better cause it was for an amazing cause. Like Michelle wrote, location was awesome, right in the middle beautiful garden area of Village of Merrick Park. We tried several wines, including some which had received 90pts and up! the serving of the tasting for the most were a generous amount. And you were welcome to get repeats if you wished to do so. None of them were being stingy with their wines. The food - hard to just pick one as the best. Each had its own special place. there were some stand outs thou at least to us, such as the following: Meat Market - a slow cooked Lamb chop - this was so tender fall off the bone delicious!! Mercadito - its delicious fish taco - this tiny but full of flavor delight is always on the money!! fish cooked to a nice crisp texture served warm in the center of a small soft tortilla topped off witha cool slaw and special creamy sauce!!! La Cofradia Restaurant - tasting - a nice spoon of their fresh mango ceviche! sweet and tart combination of flavors! Peruvian flare! Seasons 52 - new in town - this was amazing dessert! they had several to choice from - lemon, rocky road, carrot cake - all in beautiful glass cups layered like a parfait of scrumptious flavors! best part - they base their menu on all items being less than 475 calories - YES including these desserts! you would never guess it from its flavors!! L.A. Sweets - my new favorite cupcake vendor! found out that now instead of 84 flavors they offer 92! they had several available, rocky road, red velvet, guava, dulce de leche!!! gosh, sugar overload!!! Giangrandi Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil - this vendor offered several flavored olive oils - including a very nice dark one which was amazing. this was a great opportunity to not only do a great thing for such a wonderful organization, but it was an amazing opportunity to taste food flares from various local restaurants. can not wait to actually go back to a few and give them a try!!!!

After attending the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, I was much more impressed with this "little"…read morefestival. Despite the low admission price, I was suprised that the event was not more crowded. Though in the heat and oppressive humidity, the event certainly FELT crowded. Merrick Village is a great venue because it offers nice scenery and ample parking, but the organizers only used a single sidewalk. With people gathering in the middle to eat and chat, it quickly became unbearable in the heat. Traffic flow and space is something that can be easily fixed for next year. (I must admit I was in a business suit, which didn't help matters) Having said that the restaurants and wine selections were awesome. I tasted food from restaurants that I am now dying to visit. I didn't recognize any of the wine producers, but I could tell they weren't normal "Publix" wine selections like the SBFW had! The event was topped off for me with the inclusion of not one, but two of my favorite cupcake bakeries! I'm definitely attending this event next year and I'll be sure to dress appropriately so I can enjoy it more!