This Saturday, Nov 14th, 2015 marked the inaugural Miami Gardens Wine and Food Experience.
While food and wine festivals aren’t new to the South Florida region. Vice Mayor Lisa Davis …along with signature sponsor Calaphon has brought the first food festival of the high caliber to Miami Gardens.
The MGFW Experience was jam-packed with a variety of vendor of many types of food and beverages. The very diverse selection of restaurants, lounges bakeries, and catering companies offered very generous tasting portions of their finest recipes.
Top Shelf Liquors and Wines complemented the food and with delectable just the right size desserts.
My impressions:
Upon Entering the festivities, I was greeted by some Miami Gardens Firefighters (shirtless!) on the black carpet to an outdoor reception area. DJ Griot was setting the mood with some 90’s R&B (my fave!) along with an open bar cocktail area. Tito’s Homemade Vodka was serving up a signature cocktail called "TiTo’s on Fire. There were various appetizers along with a cigar bar provided by Figaro Cigars and Signature Cigar Bar & Lounge. Since I was just about to get to work I thought I should get into the swing of things with a cocktail (When do I ever turn down a cocktail?) I am now in love with DRY a Seattle based sparkling beverage company. I had Tito’s and Dry Lavender Sparkling Beverage on ice. It was perfect! Might be my new favorite drink.
After I was lucky to attend a small press conference with Omari Hardwick where he discussed his love of Miami, Sports, Poetry and his after-school program bluApple Poetry for Broward County Students. Omari also confessed to being a foodie with a soft spot for soul food. Of course, he discussed his character Ghost on Starz hit show Power.
After the conference, I headed upstairs to the 4th Floor rooftop which housed the main party. A check for $5,000 was presented to the Women’s Fund Miami-Dade. The Women’s Fund mission is to improve he lives of women and girls through grant making, research, advocacy and education.
Live Music by many great bands and musicians such as James Dawkins and Lared Brunett and the Jai Rose Band as well as a powerful spoke word piece by Viking Freedom Writers. White canopies draped over sitting areas filled with trendy well-dressed society with glasses or cigars in hand as they moved from station to station gorging on the most amazing bites such as Lobster Mac N Cheese from Juanita’s Kitchen or the Fried Lobster and Rice from the Knockers Sports Bar located in Tootsies (Yes THAT Tootsies!) And then two more favorites from Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
Violinist
My sweet tooth was satiated in the Lux Cakery Tent with bite-sized desserts that I ate way too many of.
My favorite dishes of the night were found in the Culinary Experiences with Chef Troy Tingling presented by Jack Daniels I fell over heels for this short ribs in this waffle cone concoction. along with butternut squash infused Jack Daniels Fire.
It may look like a concoction from Hogwarts but I promise you it was smooth and slightly sweet and like NOTHING I’ve ever tasted. I might have had three tastings.
Despite the rain cutting our evening and the chech competition short, it was an amazing event and I can’t wait for next year. This event was #BossyApproved!
