Miami-South Florida Culinary Events

Hungry? Need to fill your culinary calendar? Here is where you will find all the restaurant and culinary happenings in Miami-South Florida. We feature a calendar of special dinners, tasting menus, prix-fixe meals, food festivals and other culinary events, including regularly occurring food events as well as special one-time-only events featuring top chefs. Keep checking back so you can know all that's going on in the world of restaurant and food events in Miami-South Florida.

<< Back to Miami restaurant news

CULINARY EVENTS

Find the Best Valentine's Day Restaurants Near You

SET THE MOOD
• Best Valentine's Day Restaurants
• Top 10 Wines for Valentine's Day
• Top 10 Romantic Hotels Worldwide
• Top 10 Sexy Movies

February 23-26
Foodies and wine connoisseurs love the annual South Beach Food & Wine Festival where chefs and vintners treat guests with their cooking demonstrations, wine seminars and educational discussions. For the festival's eleventh year, participants will include Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Marc Forgione and Paula Deen. Among the highlights are: Moët Hennessy's The Q (presented by Allen Brothers and hosted by Emeril Lagasse and Guy Fieri); Gourmet Market hosted by Robert Irvine; Farm to Table Brunch hosted by Michael Schwartz; Dining in the Dark hosted by David Burke; and Trucks on the Beach presented by Diet Pepsi and hosted by Andrew Zimmern. For a full list of activities, guest chefs and ticket prices and to purchase tickets, visit 2012.sobefest.com.

April 18-21
Celebrating seventeen years of food, wine and the people who bring them together, the United Way Miami Wine & Food Festival is a four-day event for beer, spirits, wine and food lovers. This year’s event will feature a Best in Glass Wine Challenge, top sommeliers, notable chefs, prestigious wineries and winemakers, breweries and auction lots. For more information, visit http://miamiwinefestival.org.

ONGOING EVENTS

Sundays
Poolside Sunday afternoon recovery parties are a longtime tradition in hard-partying South Beach, but which pool's the most cool changes seasonally. Current favorite: Shore Thing Sundays, presented by Tommy Pooch and Alan Roth, every Sunday from 12 p.m.-2 a.m. at The Shore Club. Outdoor loungers are treated to beats by Ani Phearce and Louis Dee, while those who can't quite face the sun can revive in Sky Bar's Red Room to sounds from DJ Irie. The Shore Club, 1901 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 786-276-6772.

Wednesdays through Saturdays
Four Seasons Hotel Miami upholds the tradition of Four Seasons hotels around the world by offering afternoon tea Wed.- Sat., 4 p.m.-6 p.m., in the intimate setting of 14-Thirty-Five lounge and lobby. Service begins with a choice of thirteen tea blends, ranging from aromatics herbal infusions such as lemon verbena and mango rooibos to green teas with high antioxidant content to traditional, fully fermented teas such as Darjeeling, Earl Grey or English Breakfast. Trendy tea-infused cocktails are also available such as the mountain berry-infused martini and the pear green tea vodka. Savory snacks include European cucumber and minted Neufchatel sandwiches, pinwheel of oolong tea-smoked salmon with dill and avocado and Miami-influenced sweets such as tropical fruit mousse cake and dulce de leche religieuse. A choice of blueberry or cranberry orange sconces is served alongside clotted cream and homemade orange marmalade and strawberry jam. $24 per person. For reservations, call 305-381-5590. 1435 Brickell Ave., Miami.

Fridays
Friday evening's Happy Hours (5 p.m.-8 p.m.) at Doraku, a stylish sushi/sake lounge, have long been a locals' insider favorite: The normal price of one specialty cocktail (roughly ten bucks) gets diners two drinks. Doraku, 1104 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach, 305-695-8383.

Saturdays
Two Chefs offers cooking classes at 11 a.m. with themes like Asian Sensation, Caribbean Spice and Traditional Foods from Spain. Two Chefs, 8287 S. Dixie Hwy., South Miami, 305-663-2100.

Ongoing
Daily from 5 p.m.-8 p.m., db bistro moderne offers happy hour featuring half-price beer, wine and specialty cocktails. There's also a menu of $7 small plates such as ratatouille and curried duck rillette with dried apricot, almonds and baguette toast. db bistro moderne, JW Marriott Marquis Miami, 255 Biscayne Blvd. Way, Miami, FL 33131, 305-421-8800.

Monday through Friday
Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill offers happy hour from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. Normally $12 drinks are $7 and bar bites run $2-5. Options might include the Eden (Herradura Silver tequila, Japanese cucumber juice, cilantro, and aromatic celery bitters). Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill, Midtown Miami, 3250 NE First Ave., Miami, FL 33137, 786-369-0353.

Thursdays
Free food---of a sort---is found at Happy Hour events everywhere. But if you're over the pretzels/peanuts and would prefer sampling substantial snacks that really represent the restaurant's best, we recommend Fratelli Lyon's Aperitivo in Milano, every Thursday from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. The weekly event features complimentary antipasti (truly tasty tapas like artisanal cheeses, prosciutto and fig crostini, olive tapenade or chicken liver bruschetta) created by chef de cuisine Alex Pinero to accompany each week's selection of wines. The focus is on varietals from comparatively unknown parts of Italy. Wine's priced at $6 for a single piccolo, or $15 for a flight of three wines. Fratelli Lyon, Driade Miami, 4141 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33137, 305-572-2901.

Saturdays
At the Mandarin Oriental, Miami's Azul, chef Joel Huff is now offering private cooking classes in the restaurant's open kitchen. Held on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the hands-on culinary experiences include a three-course lunch (planned between the chef and participants), plus paired wines by Azul sommelier Cynthia Bettancourt, recipe booklet and an Azil apron. Price: $575 for one or two people, with a supplement for larger groups. For reservations, call 305-913-8358. Azul, Mandarin Oriental, Miami, 500 Brickell Key Dr., Miami, FL 33131, 305-913-8254.

Wine dinners & tastings at NovusVinum.com

RESTAURANT AWARDS

Subscribe to receive the 2012 edition of our annual restaurant issue, and check out our current Top 40 U.S. Restaurant selections, and more!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

DINING ON A BUDGET

Splurging at top-rated restaurants is fun for special events, but where can you go for a good quality meal that won't break the bank? Gather the change out of your piggy bank and sofa cushions and take it to one of our selections for the best cheap eats in your area. Also, check out our picks for the Top 40 Cheap Eats in the U.S.