I’ve lived in Miami for 10 years. This was finally the year I was able to attend the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. My wife and I attended the Swine & Wine event at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables this past Sunday, hosted by Cooking Channel stars Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar.
What an amazing event! There were approximately 15 pigs, each one roasted in La Caja China by an amazing chef. Think Ingrid Hoffmann, Marc Murphy, Marcela Valladolid, and Jonathan Waxman to name just a few. Even Mayor Carlos Gimenez had a dish to offer. Attendees were given wooden tokens to vote for their favorite dish, and in the end, Miami local Ingrid Hoffmann walked away with a giant pig trophy. She was so cute and thrilled with her victory.
Bustelo, Zafra Rum, and Padron Cigars were among the sponsors. I became a huge fan of that rum. So delicious I may drop the beer gig! Besides chefs with their own TV shows and the Mayor, the Real Housewives made an appearance and the Chirino Sisters sang and danced Salsa and Merengue for an hour or two.
If drinks are your thing, how about some awesome wines, mojitos, tropical drinks, Zafra rum on the rocks or a shot of espresso? Desserts? OMG, you have no idea what the Biltmore created to go with all of the pork dinners. The sides were terrific, and I will not lie that I stuffed my face with pastries afterward.
You all know the Biltmore is awesome. Well the weather, the people, the food, the atmosphere, the drinks, they all doubled up on that reputation. I will totally repeat this next year given the chance. For the record, I also write for host Gabriele’s site, UnderTheTuscanGun.com, and was able to obtain tickets at no charge because of that relationship. I hope you see my delight with this event despite that fact. It was freakin’ awesome!
If you were there, let me know what you thought. Heck, let me know what you think even if you were not there. Here are a few dozen photos to help you out
Until next time… Rob. (If you can’t wait until next time, find me on Twitter or my DailyBeerReview.com blog).
