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The South Beach Food & Wine Festival

Feb 23, 2009 by Tina Ruggiero

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Miami’s South Beach certainly boasts its share of models and buff, beach bodies, but this weekend, they were outnumbered by Foodies from all over the world who came to the metropolis to be part of the Eighth Annual South Beach Food & Wine Festival.

On Thursday, I drove down to South Beach (which is just a few hours from where I live) to take part in the festivities and see the likes of Tom Collichio, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, Guy Fieri, Paula Deen, Bobby Flay and a host of others.  As always, it was a terrific showcase of star-studded talent, amazing food and impressive event planning.

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What I enjoyed most was the third annual Burger Bash, held outside on the beachfront of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.  It was relaxing, entertaining and the perfect opportunity to enjoy a cold one along with an amazing variety of burgers.

More then 1,000 people packed an eye-popping tent filled with nearly two dozen TV Food Network chefs grilling their favorite burger creations and vying for the “People’s Choice Award,” or the best-loved burger of the night.

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Chef Michael Psilakis of restaurants Anthos, Mia Dona and Kefi, all in New York, made a lamb burger that just melted in your mouth; Chef David Walzhog of SW Steakhouse in Las Vegas made a truffle-infused burger served on a mini muffin that was my favorite, and a host of other chefs including Rick Bayless, Thomas Connell, Jeremy Fox and Katie Lee Joel pulled out the stops with burgers made with a variety of cheeses, herbs and creative breads.

If you’ve never been to the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, it’s a destination event you must attend at least once.  If you have participated, I’d love to hear from you and learn about your most memorable or inspiring culinary moments at the festival.

Filed Under: Cooking

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Comments

  1. Jeannie says

    Feb 24, 2009 at 12:24 am

    So jealous Tina 🙂
    I’m happy to hear that you had a great time eating your way through the festival!
    What’s the future of gourmet burgers – kangaroo perhaps?

  2. Tina Ruggiero says

    Feb 25, 2009 at 8:59 am

    Hello, Jeannie! Thanks for your post. Believe it or not, burgers are more popular than ever, despite concerns about personal health and the environment. I think this is due to our quest for a satisfying meal that’s loaded with taste yet affordable at the same time. Trends I see in the burger arena include bigger burgers; those made from grass-fed beef or buffalo meat (4% fat), and burgers with cheeses such as blue, goat, aged white and provolone. To enjoy these great menu ideas while keeping an eye on calories, I suggest buying lean ground beef, keeping your burger portion small (4 oz.), serving it on a mini-English muffin and halving the amount of cheese you’d usually enjoy. Serve this burger with a big salad, some corn-on-the-cob, and you’ve got a delicious, inexpensive meal. Happy eating!

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