Latest news with #SouthBeachWine&FoodFestival
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Megan Thee Stallion just officially kicked off Hot Girl Summer in Miami at Swim Week
Talk about bringing the heat. Megan Thee Stallion channeled a supermodel Thursday night, strutting in her very first Paraiso Miami Swim Week at the tents set up at Collins Park in Miami Beach. The 'Savage' singer, who was last in town promoting her Chicas Divertidas Tequila at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, wasn't just making a celebrity appearance. The 30-year-old stunner just launched her own bathing suit line conveniently named after her 2019 breakthrough hit, 'Hot Girl Summer.' Models of all shapes and sizes were sent down the runway in styles hotter than Kendall in August, from bright colored string bikinis to shimmery, bare-all maillots and cute mini dresses with spaghetti straps. The star of the evening eventually showed to cheers, rocking a Space Age silver two piece suit, accessorized by skyscraper heels and a giant, untamed wig. 'Thank you to my team for making my first runway show be so special and amazing!' the Houston rapper wrote on an Instagram carousel of fabulousness. 'Thank you to all my beautiful models for showcasing my collection so beautifully with lots of positive energy. I can't wait to keep growing in this space I'm so excited for what's to come!' You can shop 'thee' affordable collection at where skimpy halter tops start at just $18. (Pro tip, ladies, don't delay: The summer solstice falls on June 20 this year.)
CBS News
21-02-2025
- CBS News
French Bistro Argentinian Steakhouse is a delicious experience in every way
MIAMI — French Bistro Argentinian Steakhouse may be a mouthful to say, but it's also a delicious experience in every way. Tucked away in Palmetto Bay, this charming eatery is run by Melina Traituros, a pint-sized bundle of energy and mother of three girls, who often needs a step stool to greet her customers face-to-face. "We bought the restaurant three years ago and this is like our home," Traituros explained with enthusiasm. The restaurant's unique concept came from an unexpected source: her daughters. "When we bought it, my daughters came and told me, 'Mom, we have to say it's Argentinian too because after the World Cup we say come on French Argentina... celebrate it all,'" Traituros said. Behind the scenes, her husband Christian Ramirez made a bold career change, trading 14 years in aeronautics to return to his true passion for cooking. He's crafted a menu that honors their family's rich heritage, seamlessly blending traditions from France, Argentina, Italy and Uruguay. For Traituros, the restaurant is more than just a business. "I love it. I totally love it," she explained. "This is my home and I like to have fun here and meet the clients, who to me are friends." Return to the South Beach Wine & Food Festival The couple's success has earned them a spot at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival for the third consecutive year. "It's lovely. It's party party party. It's more than drinks, more than food. It's an experience," Traituros described. Their standout dish, the Flank Steak al Malbec, is a testament to their culinary fusion. Cooked for three hours with herbs and vegetables, it's their unique take on beef bourguignon. "This is a dish my mom used to make at home in my childhood, like a Sunday lunchtime in cold Buenos Aires," Traituros reminisced. The menu seamlessly transitions from Argentina to France with elegant escargot prepared in a traditional butter, parsley, and garlic sauce. Their octopus chimichurri, served with roasted potatoes and kalamata olives, rounds out the international offerings with a perfectly tender texture and beautiful sear. You can catch French Bistro Argentinian Steakhouse at the Steak and Whiskey event in the Miami Design District and at Sunday's Grand Tasting Village during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival.
Miami Herald
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Argentine chefs dominated this year's Burger Bash on Miami Beach. Here's who won
One of the most popular events of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival kicked off with cool breezes and hot burgers, with two burger joints from Argentine owners earning prizes for their perfect patties. At the popular Burger Bash, meat lovers gathered under a tent on the sands of South Beach to sample the offerings and vote for their favorites, while a panel of celebrity judges chose their own winner. The night was loud and crowded in the best possible way. Host Rachael Ray, who hosted the first Burger Bash in 2007, told the audience: 'It's just so much fun always to be in this tent with this energy.' The People's Choice Award went to La Birra Bar from Argentina, which took home a $5,000 check for its smash golden chimichurri burger, a twist on the brand's burger that won in 2022. This new version was two smashed patties, American cheese and red onions dripping with a special Argentinian chimichurri mayo. Renzo Cocchia, who lives in Argentina and owns La Birra Bar with his father, celebrated happily with his team, reiterating on stage with Ray and festival founder Lee Schrager that La Birra Bar is a family business. 'We have no words,' said Cocchia when he came off the stage for photos and overwhelming congratulations. 'It's very emotional. We thank the people who came and voted for us and the amazing team we have behind us. And we want to thank the organizers of the event, it was huge. Year to year, they are doing the best job.' La Birra Bar has four locations in South Florida — North Miami Beach, Wynwood, Fort Lauderdale and Weston — and 14 in Argentina, plus restaurants in Spain and Chile. Cocchia said he started making specialty burgers for the first time in 2014. 'The first time we tried to make them, we loved them. We try to do the best burger we can, and I think we did a really good job.' It's easy, in a way, he says, because 'everybody loves burgers.' La Birra Bar, which is also planning to open a restaurant in Doral, also won the Idaho Potato Side Dish award, earning a $2,500 check for its 'smashbrowns,' loaded hash browns with lime pepper seasoning. The competition included a variety of fries, truffled and untruffled, as well as cacio e pepe tater tots from Daniel's, A Steakhouse in Fort Lauderdale. Meanwhile, the judges had another favorite burger. Skinny Louie earned the Very Best Burger Award and $2,500 for the Wagyu Louie, with double smashed wagyu beef patties, melted smoked gouda and truffle aioli, topped with pickled jalapeños on a brioche bun. This was the first Burger Bash win for owner Gonzalo Rubino and his team, all of whom were screaming, smiling and hugging. Rubino, who was born in Buenos Aires, and is co-founder of MPGR Hospitality, said it was the quality of the ingredients that made the Wagyu Louie stand out. 'The quality of the meat, the high-quality cheese — they're really good,' he said. 'I'm super happy and so proud of my team.' Skinny Louie has locations in Wynwood, Little Havana and the Kaseya Center, and plans to open restaurants in Aventura, Coral Gables, South Miami, West Palm Beach and New York. This year's judges were Rita Tennyson of Burger Bob's; the TikTok king of sandwiches Owen Han; Tyler Cameron of 'The Bachelorette' and 'Special Forces: World's Toughest Test'; Manolo Vergara of the culinary brand Toma and Meg Radice and Audrey Jongens of The VIP List, famous for comedic food reviews on social media. The South Beach Wine & Food Festival continues through Sunday with events across the beach and other parts of Miami-Dade. All net proceeds benefit the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University.
Miami Herald
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
South Beach's food fest had a different vibe when it started. Look at those early days
The South Beach Wine & Food Festival didn't start in South Beach. In 1997, the annual event made its debits as the Florida Extravaganza on the north campus of Florida International University in North Miami. It remained there until 2002, when it moved to the sands of SoBe and renamed. The first festival at FIU was so under the radar that there is no record of coverage in the Miami Herald archives. A short story in 1998 mapped out the second festival. Here's a look in words and pictures at how the world famous food fest got its start at FIU and then the first year in South Beach: When the food fest moved to South Beach First published Nov. 24, 2002 When the South Beach Wine & Food Festival debuted in March on the sandy shores of Miami Beach as an outgrowth of the Florida Extravaganza that Florida International University had hosted for five years, festival director Lee Brian Schrager made a vow: 'We hope to be on a par with the Aspen festival.' No small ambition. The Aspen Classic, which each June since 1983 has brought hundreds of wineries and up to 5,000 visitors to that Colorado ski town, is considered the premier event of its kind by many wine aficionados - bringing in top winemakers, superstar chefs, even Hollywood celebs. The 2003 SoBe event, Feb. 28-March 2, has taken a major step toward its goal, luring Aspen's big-name sponsor, Food & Wine magazine. The magazine's VP for marketing, Christina Grdovic, was in Miami Beach earlier this month at a kickoff event. 'We've been asked many times to recreate the Aspen festival in other cities, but we've always said no,' she said. 'But our editor-in-chief [Dana Cowin] was at the Miami Beach festival last year, and she had a really great time. So here we are.' Grdovic predicts great things. 'The one thing the Miami Beach festival can do that Aspen can't is grow. Aspen is a small town without enough hotel rooms or air flights.' Not that growing fast is always a good thing. One thing the SoBe Fest is working on is crowd control. Last year, the waiting line at an $80-per-person Dom Perignon Champagne tasting tent got so long that New York magazine restaurant critic Harold Rubenstein was led away in handcuffs, allegedly for trying to push his way in past a Miami Beach cop. This year, the festival's biggest event, the Grand Tasting, will be held over two days, with a trade-only tasting on Saturday and a public tasting on Sunday. 'This will make things a lot more leisurely, and it will eliminate 1,000 people from the tasting tent on Sunday,' says Schrager, who also is director of special events for Southern Wine & Spirits, the festival's host sponsor along with FIU. Heading the list of stars at the 2003 festival is the legendary Alice Waters of Berkeley's Chez Panisse, who will hold public cooking seminars and be honored at a March 2 lunch as 'the most influential person in the past 30 years of the American kitchen.' On Friday, Feb. 28, the festival will recreate last year's eccentric but popular pairing of champagne and barbecue, this time under the culinary supervision of chef Norman Van Aken, in an event called 'New World Bubble Q,' at the Delano Hotel. The champagne sponsor is Moët & Chandon. NBC Today weatherman Al Roker will attend, assuring the festival time on that morning show. Saturday, March 1, will see wine seminars at Hotel Inter-Continental in Miami by Au Bon Climat, Krug Champagne, Beringer-Blass Wine Estates, Dominus, Ridge, Arieta, Lancaster and others. That evening, wine dinners will be held at 19 restaurants including Pacific Time, Blue Door at the Delano and the Atlantic Restaurant at Beach House. Diners will be served by each restaurant's own chef plus a guest, from Julian Seranno of Picasso in Las Vegas to Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger in Boston. Each dinner will have its own winery sponsor, from Dominus to Far Niente. Saturday will also feature for-the-trade-only wine seminars from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and a private wine tasting from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Grand Tasting Village Tent at Lummus Park, Ocean Drive and 10th Street. The public event is Sunday, March 2 - a grand wine tasting plus seminars, cooking demonstrations and chats with chefs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., featuring Waters, Andrea Immer, Alton Brown, Todd English, Bobby Flay, Roxanne Klein and others. Lineup for the first food fest in South Beach First published March 10, 2002 Champagne and barbecue? Well, you've got to think outside the box when you're trying to turn Miami Beach into 'the Aspen of the South,' which is to say one of the nation's biggest, most glittery wine-and-food fests. The official name for next weekend's event is the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. It's a bigger and, promoters vow, better version of the Florida Extravaganza that has been hosted by Florida International University on its North Dade campus for the past five years. This time they're pouring the wares of 200 international wineries, breweries, distilleries and coffee producers, up 30 percent from previous years. They have such icons as chef Alain Ducasse, who stunned the culinary world in 2000 with his $160-a-plate prix-fixe menu at Manhattan's Essex House hotel. This time they're grabbing for glamour by moving to South Beach, with wine and food seminars at Loew's Hotel, an audacious, $200-per-person champagne and barbecue dinner at the Delano, a $75 Sunday brunch at Smith & Wollensky and a series of seminars and tastings, both paid and free, in tents at Lummus Park. They've hired a New York P.R. firm, The Hall Co., in addition to Shapiro and Zarikian of Miami, are advertising in Wine Spectator magazine and The New York Times, and are working out deals to sell packages to American Express platinum cardholders. Romero Brito created signature artwork for the posters and invitations. 'We hope to be on a par with the Aspen festival,' says Lee Schrager, festival director and head of special events for Southern Wine & Spirits. 'We hope to make it a destination for people from New York. It takes so long to fly to Aspen or Napa. With South Beach, they could get off work at 2 p.m., be on a plane by 4 and be checked into a hotel here by 8. 'We want to attract newer, sexier groups,' says Schrager. 'We think we can pick up the national tourist crowd.' They're bringing in nationally known food writers John Mariani of Esquire, Hal Rubenstein of New York Magazine and Florence Fabricant of The New York Times. 'Last year people like this wouldn't even look at the invitation,' says Schrager. 'This year they're all over it. The name South Beach sells it.' The reorganized festival is the brainchild of three groups: Southern, which is always seeking ways to promote its vendors; Florida International University, where it fits with president Modesto 'Mitch' Maidique's drive to move the university 'out of its buildings and into the community;' and the city of Miami Beach, which is seeking a tourism boost. The idea is not without peril. FIU this year took over the Miami Film Festival, moved it to Miami Beach - and suffered a 58 percent drop in attendance as local film buffs declined to cross the causeways and sent its new director packing. Schrager is undeterred: 'I think we can expand on our audience by moving off the campus and playing up the words South Beach.' It's not without competition, either. The well-established Biltmore Great South Florida Wine Festival takes place April 12-14 with fewer winemakers but a more ambitious auction benefiting the Baptist and South Miami hospital foundations and United Way of Miami-Dade. (The South Beach event benefits FIU's School of Hospitality.) Charlie Trotter leads the Biltmore's celebrity-chef lineup. While the South Beach festival is reaching high with its 200 producers, two dozen seminars, lunches and dinners and hopes of luring 3,500 fans to its Sunday auction and grand tasting, it has a way to go to catch Aspen. The Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, Colo., attracts 300 producers, 80 seminars and 5,000 fans. Still, it started small, in 1983, as a purely local event - '200 people sitting on a mountain drinking wine,' says spokeswoman Sheri Heedum. And it's a worthy goal. 'There's no question it's a financial boon to Aspen,' says Larry Thorson, the city's finance director. 'We used to virtually close down during that season.' 'It appeals to multimillionaires,' Thorson says. 'It's not unusual to see Fess Parker [TV's one-time Davy Crockett, now a California winery owner] walking down the street arm-in-arm with Wolfgang Puck. These are people who stay at the most expensive places, eat out every night, buy the most expensive wines.' Still, champagne and barbecue? On Friday night, 350 diners will pay $200 each to guzzle Moet & Chandon on the beach at the Delano (casual dress, comfortable shoes) while eating a barbecue dinner prepared by a team of grill masters from around the country led by Miami's Steven Raichlen, author of The Barbecue Bible. 'Moet has been trying for a long time to convince people that champagne is for everyday foods and not just for caviar and smoked salmon,' says festival spokesman Terry Zarikian. In a more traditional event (business attire), patrons who pay $300 each at Loews will rub elbows with Michael (and possibly Robert) Mondavi and dine on a meal prepared by Ducasse and chefs Nobuyuki 'Nobu' Matsuhisa, Todd English, Gary Danko, Cindy Pawlcyn and Francois Payard. In the festival's biggest event (beachside casual, flip-flops), up to 3,500 guests will sip wine, beer, liquors, coffees and waters from 200 producers and sample dishes from 75 local restaurants supervised by Mark Militello of Mark's South Beach, Allen Susser of Chef Allen's and Norman Van Aken of Norman's in a 50,000-square-foot tent at Lummus Park, 10th and Ocean Drive. A live auction will feature such goodies as a five-liter bottle of 1975 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and dinner with Dan Marino. They've made it casual, with kids invited (for the waters, sodas and snacks), and cut the price to $40 from last year's $75. They're counting on good weather. 'Rain?' gasps Schrager. 'We're not even saying that word.' The final Florida Extravaganza at FIU First published Jan. 28, 2001 The Fifth Annual Florida Extravaganza is gearing up for its food celebration Feb. 9-11, expanding to three full days of wine and food tastings, dinners and seminars that will feature prominent figures in the international wine, spirits and culinary industries. All events are open to the public and net proceeds will benefit the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Studies Endowment at the School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, located at the Biscayne Bay campus at Northeast 151st Street and Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami. Several ancillary events are slated to take place off-campus. Following is a schedule of confirmed events to date. February 9: Salute to Women in the Culinary Arts, FIU School of Hospitality Management, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are priced at $200 per person, and business attire is specified. The evening pairs South Florida's female culinary talents with FIU students to prepare a dinner with wines provided by the evening's hosts, Sterling Vineyards and Seagram Chateau and Estate Wines Co.' A Salute to Women in the Culinary Arts' will feature South Florida's rising and established female chefs including Elizabeth Barlow (The Blue Door/Delano), Michelle Bernstein (Azul/Mandarin Oriental), Andrea Curto (Wish/The Hotel), Hedy Goldsmith (Nemo), Cindy Hutson (Ortanique), Barbara Scott (Red Square), Donna Wynter (Donna's Bistro), Eve Montella-Smith (Armadillo Cafe), Daphne Macias and Ceci Seitz (Tantra) and Carmen Gonzalez (Silver Spoon Cuisine). Culinary coordinators for the event are Debra Lundy of The Delano and Wendy Kallergis of the Miami City Club. Attendance will be limited to 250 guests. February 10: Florida Extravaganza 2001 Seminars, FIU Wolf Center Ballroom - Biscayne Bay Campus, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets for the seminars are $175 per person. Some of the many estates in the wine world will be presenting their wines in a day-long event, including vertical tastings from Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Montelena and Jordan Vineyards. Additionally, a Syrah/Shiraz seminar is planned with winemakers from several properties. All the wines in the seminar will be served in Riedel glassware. Lunch, prepared by FIU students, will be provided in the Hospitality Management dining room at the FIU Biscayne Bay Campus. February 10: Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner at The Mandarin Oriental, Miami, Brickell Key, 7:30 p.m. Tickets priced at $300 per person, black tie. Also on Feb. 10: Miami's first 5-star luxury hotel, The Mandarin Oriental, Miami, will host a dinner at Azul, the hotel's waterfront restaurant. Sponsored by the Miami Beach chapter of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, the evening will feature wines of vintages matched to the cuisine of executive chef Christian Schmidt and chef de cuisine Michelle Bernstein. February 11: China Grill Management Block Party Brunch, Washington Avenue at Fifth Street, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tickets are priced at $75 per person. For Florida Extravaganza 2001's brunch, Washington Avenue from Fourth to Fifth Street will be transformed into a movable feast with live music. Brunch will be served at all three of China Grill Management's restaurants on the block, China Grill, Tuscan Steak and Red Square. Also on Feb. 11: 'Wine 101' Seminar from 2 to 4 p.m. at Herbert S. Joseph Lecture Hall - FIU School of Hospitality, Biscayne Bay Campus. Tickets for the seminar are priced at $150 and include a general admission ticket to the Grand Tasting. Veteran wine enthusiasts and burgeoning wine lovers can attend a special Wine 101 seminar conducted by FIU wine technology professor Patrick 'Chip' Cassidy. The seminar will cover all major aspects of wine, including tasting techniques, wine selection and pairing. Also on Feb. 11: Grand Tasting and live auction, FIU School of Hospitality Management - Biscayne Bay Campus. Grand Tasting is from 5 to 9 p.m. with a VIP preview from 4 to 5 p.m. Tickets for the VIP preview are priced at $150; general admission tickets for the Grand Tasting are priced at $85. In a gathering under tents on FIU's sprawling campus, Sunday's Grand Tasting is the Florida Extravaganza's signature event. This is an opportunity to partake of wines from 200 international wineries representing 14 countries, and to sample culinary innovations offered by more than 50 of South Florida's top restaurants confirmed to participate. How the Florida Extravaganza started First published Jan. 15, 1998 You don't need a crystal goblet to savor the taste of a merlot. And you don't have to be a wine connoisseur to partake in Florida International University and Southern Wine and Spirit's Second Annual Florida Extravaganza. The wine festival -- happening from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Roz and Cal Kovens Conference Center at FIU's North Campus at Northeast 151st Street and Biscayne Boulevard -- will feature more than 100 different beverage companies and food from 40 of South Florida's top restaurants. 'The event was started last year after Mel Dick, the president of Southern Wine and Spirits' wine division, suggested that we do a wine-tasting to benefit the school,' said Michelle Oney, Director of Development for the School of Hospitality Management. 'We had never done anything like that so we agreed to it. We had such a great turnout so it seemed like a good idea to do it again.' On board for a second time as culinary coordinators are Mark Militello from Mark's Las Olas, Allen Susser of Chef Allen's and Norman Van Aken of Norman' are $55 per person in advance, $60 at the door. Proceeds from the event will go to an endowment to support the new beverage management studies building now being built at the North Campus. 'The endowment will provide funding for an internationally-known faculty member to be the chair for the center,' said Oney. 'As well as paying for special lecturers, glassware and for students to actually visit some of the wine regions.' The Hospitality Management program at FIU trains students to become future restaurant and hotel managers. Part of the responsibility of a manager includes understanding the quality, inventory and purchasing of alcoholic beverages. More than 100 student volunteers will get first hand knowledge of the industry Sunday, when they are paired off to assist the wineries and restaurants. 'It's a wonderful thing for the industry, community and for the students,' said Mel Dick. 'The Beverage Studies center was our way of giving back to the community and helping everyone from management to chefs or anyone who has an interest to learn more about the alcohol industry.' In addition to the wining and dining, trips and wines -- a 1984 Far Niente Cabernet at a $750.00 value for example -- will be auctioned off. 'Even though we're expanding our beverage management program it's only a small piece of the school,' said Oney. 'We're not just a bunch of cork-sniffers, that's only a small part.' The Florida International University and Southern Wine and Spirits Second Annual Florida Extravaganza will be between 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday at the Roz and Cal Kovens Conference Center at FIU's North Campus, Northeast 151st Street and Biscayne Boulevard. Tickets are $55 per person in advance, $60 at the door.
Miami Herald
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Here are some South Beach Wine & Food Festival events that still have tickets available
So you still want to attend this year's South Beach Wine & Food Festival but haven't gotten it together to buy tickets. It happens to the best (and hungriest) of us. There's good news, however, if you still want to go. Many events are sold out, especially the smaller dinners, but you can still get tickets to some of the larger events at the festival, which runs Feb. 20-23 and features more than 100 culinary events around Miami-Dade County. Net proceeds benefit the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University. Here are some of the events you can still attend. All tickets are available at Thursday Alex vs. Miami Alex Guarnaschelli of 'Alex vs. America' and Eric Adjepong of 'Wildcard Kitchen' host this late-night walk-around event that features locally and nationally famous chefs competing to create the best dish. Local chefs include Adrianne Calvo of Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant & Bar in Kendall; Karim Bryant of Lil Greenhouse Grill in Miami; and Mercedes Kozlowksi of Prime 112 on Miami Beach. 10 p.m.; Loews Miami Beach Hotel, 1601 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; $155 Friday 'Tournament of Champions' The first live competition of the popular Food Network series premieres on Miami Beach with host Guy Fieri under the big white tent near the Ritz-Carlton. At this walk around event, you get to be the judge: Four six-person chef teams of former Tournament winners and local and national rising stars will battle for the People's Choice Award, which you get to bestow. 7:30 p.m.; AmericanAirlines North Venue, off Lincoln Road and Collins Avenue, Miami Beach; $215 Steak and Whiskey If you are the sort of carnivore who likes his meat paired with whiskey, this event with Food Network star Michael Symon is for you. Expect grillers from far and wide and a variety of whiskey cocktails (wine is also available). 8 p.m.; Jungle Plaza in the Design District, 3801 NE First Ave., Miami; $250 Saturday FoodieCon Meet your favorite digital content creators as they participate in cooking demos, panels, signings and photo opportunities. Noon; Mondrian South Beach, 1100 West Ave., Miami Beach; $100 Drag Brunch It's not the SOBEWFF without a drag brunch, and this year's extravaganza will be hosted by Antoni Porowski, Ana Navarro and ChaCha, with Athena Dion as mistress of ceremonies. You can attend the show with beverages only or opt for the show/beverage/food package. Noon; Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; $95 for show only; $185 for food and show Sip & Swirl Just because it's a food festival doesn't mean you have to forget about a wine-filled happy hour. This one takes place at the luxurious Casadonna and will feature more than 10 wine stations. 4 p.m.; Casadonna, 1737 N Bayshore Dr., first floor, Miami; $139 Sunset Feast You'll get a lot of bang for your buck at this Coconut Grove event, hosted by Belkys Nerey and Dan Le Batard, which will highlight dishes from chefs like Jeremy Ford, Jose Mendin, Brad Kilgore, Cindy Hutson and Alex Meyer and Luciana Giangrandi. 6 p.m.; The Hangar at Regatta Harbor, 3385 Pan American Dr., Miami; $139 Tacos & Tequila It's one big taco party on the beach at this lively gathering hosted by Aaron Sanchez, which features everything from veggie tacos to birria. There's also plenty of tequila drinks in the house — er, tent. 7:30 p.m.; AmericanAirlines North Venue, off Lincoln Road and Collins Avenue, Miami Beach; $219 Chicken Coupe Forget peanut butter and jelly. The real match made in heaven is fried chicken and champagne, which you can try for yourself at this Design District event hosted by Kardea Brown. 8 p.m.; Jungle Plaza in the Design District, 3801 NE First Ave., Miami; $259 Noche Cubana Michelle Bernstein and David Martinez of Sra Martinez and Cafe La Trova join Gio Gutierrez of @ChatChowTV to create a night of Cuban food, rum and music. We are in favor of all three of these things. 10 p.m.; Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel, 1717 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; $155 Sunday Farmers Market Brunch Chef Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine and Amara at Paraiso curates this family-friendly event that pays tribute to local farmers (and feeds you, too). Jungle Plaza in the Design District, 3801 NE First Ave., Miami; $149 adult, $59 under 21 Grand Tasting Village Saturday's event is sold out, but you can still attend the last day of the festival under the big tents. Noon; Grand Tasting Village, 14th Street and Ocean Dr., Miami Beach; $279 Heritage Fire Grilling is king at this Coconut Grove gathering, where grillmasters will vie for the title of 'Heritage Fire Hero.' 5 p.m.; The Hangar at Regatta Harbor, 3385 Pan American Dr., Miami; $155 Asian Night Market Enjoy a wide variety of Asian bites and a musical performance by rapper Rev Run. 6 p.m.; AmericanAirlines North Venue, off Lincoln Road and Collins Avenue, Miami Beach; $165
