One Of America’s Biggest Food Festivals Is Coming To Miami

One of America's biggest food festivals, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival is coming to Miami.

The South Beach Wine and Food Festival has been on my bucket list for years, and this year I have the opportunity to be in attendance. It's all happening in Miami February 23-26. When I say it's one of America's biggest, I mean it. There's over 60,000 people expected to attend this years event. There are over 90 events throughout the weekend and over 450 culinary and industry experts.

If you watch the Food Network, you'll recognize a lot of the names of those that will be there later this month. Emeril Lagasse, Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine, Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Jeff Mauro just to name a few. Other celebrities will be there as well like Danny Trejo, Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval of Vanderpump Rules, Rev Run, DJ Khaled, Andrew Zimmern and more.

A lot of the events are already sold out, however there are tickets still available for some of them and for the Grand Tasting as well. I'll be attending Foodie Con and also The Cookout with Chef JJ Johnson. After watching coverage of this event on TV for years, I'm so excited to experience this in person.

And while this festival offers dinners, parties, brunches, fitness and walk-around tastings, it also raises money for a great cause. All net proceeds from the festival benefit the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University. To date, over $34 million has been raised for the school.

Find more information here

20 Florida 'Diners, Drive-In's and Dives' Featured By Guy Fieri

Living in Florida, we know we have a ton of choices when it comes to good food.  Especially here in Southwest Florida.  Think of all of the delicious restaurants on Sanibel and Captiva islands, in Downtown Ft. Myers, on 5th Avenue in Naples or in many of the malls in the area like Gulf Coast Town Center and Bell Tower. But, have you tried any of these places Guy Fieri went to on his popular Food Network show?

I'm not a big cook, however I'm obsessed with the Food Network and one of my favorite shows is Guy Fieri's “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." Not only has it given me some great ideas on places to try, but it's also fun to see what each place offers. And my list keeps getting longer especially since 67 Florida restaurants have been featured.

If you want to see a list of ALL the restaurants featured on the show, TVFoodmaps.com has a full list.  But, out of the 67 in Florida, while not all of them are still open, below are 20 'Diners, Drive-In's and Dives' restaurants closest to us in SWFL (in order by mileage).  If Guy Fieri loves these places, we've got to give them a shot.