If you aren’t familiar with SOBEWFF, it’s the annual South Beach Wine and Food Festival that usually takes place in February across South Florida. This incredible event is held over the course of a week in a bunch of different locations, featuring some amazing eats from fantastic restaurants throughout Miami. You might even run into some cool celebrity chefs like Guy Fieri! Luckily, I was able to snag tickets to some great events this year: Goya Foods’ Swine, Wine & Spirits presented by The National Pork Board and Rooftop Rosé Happy Hour hosted by Kristin Cavallari. Here are some of the highlights from my experiences so you guys know what to look out for next year!
How it Works
Each event is priced differently ranging from more economic choices under $100 to about $350 for the bigger events like Burger Bash. Each event is different but fundamentally the same, you eat and you drink, which is always my kind of outing. Most of the events have tables set up with local restaurants that serve a specific dish and you go around and sample a bunch of them ranging from appetizers to desserts. So make sure you go on an empty stomach so you can take full advantage of all the food.
#SpoonTip: look at Groupon when it’s getting closer to the events to get some good deals on some tickets.
Goya Foods’ Swine, Wine & Spirits presented by The National Pork Board
I’ll start off with my favorite of the two. The Swine, Wine, and Spirits event featured over 20 restaurants from the South Florida area such as Finka Table and Tap and Barley, the second having my favorite dish of the night: Cazuela made with Roasted Pork Belly. Most events have an underlying theme, as you can probably guess the most served dish at the Swine event was pork. I have to say every dish I tried was amazing, but shoutout to Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar for serving pork sandwiches from a whole pork and Night Owl Cookie Co. for serving up my favorite cookies of all time with milk for dessert. If you haven’t tried any of the restaurants mentioned above, do it. You will not be disappointed.
Rooftop Rosé Happy Hour hosted by Kristin Cavallari
The Rooftop Rosé Happy Hour was another great event that was a little different than usual as it was hosted in Ft. Lauderdale Beach at the W Hotel. The rooftop view overlooking Ft. Lauderdale Beach during sunset was spectacular, but lets get into more important things. Food took a little bit of a backseat at this one since it was a happy hour. There were endless glasses of Whispering Angel to satisfy those rosé cravings and hors d’oeuvres were served throughout the night. They had dishes such as crab and lobster ceviche, sliders, and goat cheese stuffed roasted jalapeños, which were surprisingly delicious considering i’m not a huge fan of spicy. All in all, it’s a great event to hang out, grab some wine, and catch up with old friends.
#SpoonTip: eat before or after to keep that rosé from going straight to your head.
So there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Be sure to be on the lookout for the lineup of next years events so you don’t miss out!