The end of February brought some pretty crummy weather to my wintry state of Minnesota. I was lucky enough to escape it for a couple of days to head to Florida for the South Beach Food and Wine Festival. It was a pretty quick trip, but the festival was full of food, drinks and well, more food!
My favorite part of the festival? The Munchies event! This is the 4th year that I’ve been able to be a panelist with some of the coolest folks in the culinary community, for a little thing called The Munchies: The People’s Choice Food Awards led by Andrew Zimmern. We’ve compiled a laundry list of our favorite places, people and things in the food world. The Munchies team hosted an event at the SOBE festival to kick off the best part… the voting! Now’s your chance to vote for your favorite pizza joint, donut shop, food blog, and so much more!
While in town for the festival, we had a chance to run around South Beach and check out some of the local restaurants. Here are a couple of the hidden gems that we found…
The Aroma espresso bar is a quick, unassuming coffee shop with a nice, big patio for sipping something highly caffeinated. This place is worth a mid-morning stop on your way to (or from) the beach.
Miami is known for great Cuban and South American cuisine. A little gem, the Charlotte Bakery, was super close to our hotel. Really, nothing fancy from the outside, but what it lacked in ambiance, it made up for in tasty South American empanadas and baked goods. So delicious! The empanadas with the beans, cheese and plantains are ah-mazing. Be sure to grab the bottle of avocado crema and pile it on for one of the best lunches in the area.
We popped into a little Cuban joint on Española Way. The area is a bit of a tourist trap, but the road is cut off from car traffic and a great place to settle in for some al fresco dining. They’ve got lots of fried food, but the plantain chips are delicious!
The Yardbird: Southern Table & Bar was a group favorite. We indulged in fried chicken, biscuits, spiced watermelon, pimento BLT’s and blackberry bourbon lemonade. All the claims about this restaurant were right, the fried chicken is really good, but the biscuits are out of this world!
We balanced it all out with a big kale salad topped with cornbread croutons. I’d say, one of the best meals of the weekend! Miami… we’ll be back!
***This trip was paid for by my current employer, General Mills. But, as always, all opinions expressed are my own.***
