Hot Tickets at the SoBe Wine & Food Festival
Just as the winter chill is setting in, food lovers everywhere will take to the sun for a four-day respite from moderation at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Some of the world's biggest culinary personalities will be in Miami Feb. 25-28 for the festivities, including Daniel Boulud, Emeril Lagasse, Rachel Ray and more.
The weekend's filled with dinners, seminars, parties, tastings and more. We've combed through the calendar and pulled out the festival's top events. Here are the hottest tickets of the weekend:
- Wine Spectator's Best of the Best at the Fontainebleau
Forty-one top chefs' creations, 15 Champagnes, 56 international wineries, and the ambassador to France will all be at South Beach's hottest hotel of the moment, the newly renovated Fontainebleau for this top ticket. Guests will enjoy sampling plates assembled by celebrity chefs and fine wines recognized by Wine Spectator as superior. Also a silent auction of exotic trips, rare wines, one-of-kind dinners, and more. Tickets, $350. (Friday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.)
- Amstel Light Burger Bash hosted by Rachel Ray
This event sold out so quickly that festival organizers have decided to expand the outdoor area behind the Ritz-Carlton South Beach to accommodate more fans of America's favorite comfort food. Twenty-seven restaurants will put their best patty forward, competiting for best burger with the awards given by the EVOO queen herself. General admission tickets at $200 are still available, but a second batch of $300 VIP tickets will be released Sunday, Jan. 10 at 9 a.m. A portion of the VIP ticket proceeds will go to Ray's Yum-O! foundation. (Thursday, Feb. 25 at 6:15 p.m.) - Perrier-Jouet BubbleQ hosted by Emeril Lagasse
Barbecue and Champagne are not a common combo, but they'll both be flowing at this, the hyped event of the weekend. Twenty eight chefs and restaurants will be behind all manner of meats, fish and veggies coming off the grills on the private beach in front of the stunning Delano hotel. The VIP reception with Emeril is sold out but general admission tickets are still available for $350. (Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.) - Tribute Dinner Honoring Daniel Boulud
Superstar chef with 10 award winning restaurants from New York to Beijing (and more on the way), Boulud is a worthy honoree. His eponymous Manhattan restaurant, Daniel, was just awarded the coveted three-star Michelin rating, making it one of only five ever to receive that recognition in the city. Guests will enjoy a Cristal Champagne toast and appetizers from Boulud's own restaurant's menus then six star chefs (including Nobu and two from Le Bernardin) will prepare a meal in his honor. Tickets $525. (Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.)
