NY FoodGasm

What to expect at South Beach Food and Wine Festival, is it worth it? You like food? Then check this out.

Okay so things started pretty boring... waiting in line for an hour. We had tickets and were waiting that long on line. So that SERIOUSLY sucked. Below is the line, you cannot even see where they take your ticket. BUT it was February and it was fabulous weather in Miami. As a New Yorker I cannot complain. I was surrounded by Palm trees and other food loving people!

So finally I can see some signs we are close!  Smiling faces welcoming me and giving me a Goody Bag and a wine glass. The goody bag just has some food samples and some brochures no one is keeping.

FINALLY I am gonna go in.... YAY!

First Stop, the Barilla Tent because the line was not insane. Perfectly al dente pasta! YUM! Plus how Italian is this chef, I loved that!

Speaking of lines, there were lines EVERYWHERE. Honestly it was a bit of a cluster fuck. You are not sure if this is really indeed a line or people chillin. Well I pushed past it and no one complained. You kinda gotta wrestle your way to a taste of some good food.

What you can expect at the Grand Tasting Village

• Tents and booths from major food companies showing you what you can do with their products.
• Stages with your favorite food stars cooking or just talking (RR was dropping the f-bomb)
• Restaurants serving up some small bites (yum)
• Liquor and or beverage companies serving up some drinks (the funnest part)

I found the mixer I NEEEEEEED!! Like holy shit, how awesome is this thing?! Right? Soooo me! If someone from Kitchen Aid is reading this... I will love you FOREVER if you send me one! Please and thank you!

I discovered I LOOOOVE Mezcal Margaritas A LOT!

Funny story- liquor lines were shorter than food lines, so I drank a lot before I ate... well not A LOT A LOT... but a little a lot. LOL

Okay I drank and THANKS Uncle Michael for being my DD- you're the bestest!

The Hard Rock had a tent where it looked like a bar inside. Chicks in bikinis and shit. Yeah it's Miami so it comes with the territory. How sexy is the bartender below?!

Oh and you get this killer awesome view of the ocean the whole time!  So damn pretty!
Like how is this the same ocean we got here in NY?

Full service bar tent with sexy lady bikini bartender- SWEET!

So THIS was what I loved the most that I ate... Plantain pot pies or some shit by this AMAZING Cuban Restaurant. I am obsessed with Cuban Food!

It was plantain on the bottom, then some cuban rice and beans with mojo pulled chicken. It was like Cuba in a bite.

Random idea: it would be awesome to make cultural bites, one for each culture. Like an appetizer or amuse bouche.

They also made a killer mofongo sooooo effing good! I NEEED to make some of this!

I just looked up and pinned a recipe!

I saw Rachel Ray and was pretty close... she was drinking, a little drunk and totally dropped some f-bombs! LOVED it! She seems so real! Her husband was there making one hell of a margarita too.

Never was a HUGE fan of hers, but I can see the appeal. She is generally really sweet and seems genuine.

But you cannot leave Miami without drinking from a coconut... they say there was rum in this, but I think it was a lie...

So all in all, shit was crowded. Get there an hour before the thing starts and be prepared to wait in line.

When you see a line, it may not actually be a line. Just kinda shove your way to a table... nicely.

Drink lines are shorter, so get your drink on first to tolerate the madness.

So if you can stand waiting in line and events with many people it is totally worth doing at least once. It is quite pricey and you gotta wait, but it's pretty fun!