This past Friday evening’s Bubble Q at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival offered free-flowing Moët & Chandon and incredible foods prepared by celebrity chefs. Lots of Bites of the Best at this event. Entering the tent, someone placed a lariat aroundTB_Sobe_Fran_and_me.jpg my neck to hold my champagne glass so that my hands were free to eat!

(You can sort of see this ingenious contraption in this photo of me and Parade’s Fran Carpentier.)

With both hands free to grab the plates filled with tasty tidbits, we sampled most everything. Everything included the BBQ offerings of about 25 chefs. This was no ordinary barbecue as you can see below in this partial list of morsels served. Now this is my type of BBQ!

  • Aaron Sanchez : Adobo rubbed sirloin with roasted tomatillo and smoked tomato salsas; garnished with cactus and roasted poblano rajas
  • Christian Thompson: Peppercorn & coriander rubbed tenderloin medallions with chimi churi, arugala & fennel salad with lemon vinaigrette topped with Michigan dried cherries
  • Jasper White: Grilled jumbo Maine sea scallops with garlic herb butter, baby arugula and white bean ragout
  • Giada De Laurentis: Mini Italian sausage, pepper & onion sandwiches. And chocolate & brie panini
  • Andrew Swersky: Grilled Wagyu ribeyes with port wine foie gras sauce with homemade goat cheese tater tots & buffalo black bean chili
  • Rick Bayless: Cochinita pibil achiote marinated pork, slow roasted in banana leaves served with pan juices, habanera salsa, black beans & pickled red onions
  • Dean Fearing: Buffalo Taco with green chili salsa and smokey aioli
  • Tyler Florence: Grilled Monterey Bay calamari over fresh fava bean salad garnished with raisin-caper salsa verde and topped with fresh bread crumbs
  • Katie Lee Joel: Logan county hamburgers
  • Mark Militello: Oak oven roasted spicy Italian baby back ribs with chestnut polenta; herb grilled rack of Colorado lamb with cornbread strata and rosemary jam; chocolate banana custard cake with coconut-curry mousse, banana caviar and coconut crisp
  • Patrick Neely: Wagyu beef brisket & grilled vegetable medley
  • Terry Zarikian: Terry’s Mediterranean citrus BBQ ribs with all white bean Greek salad
  • Zak Pelaccio: Smoked fat burger with kimchi slaw

If you’re interested in attending the festival next year visit www.sobewineandfoodfest.com for info and updates regarding the dates and ticket sales. The festival is usually held the last weekend in February.