Wine and Spirits Travel

February is one of my favorite months because it is the time of one of my favorite events. There is nothing that quite compares with the Food Network’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival for bringing together chefs and industry insiders.  This was my third year in a row attending and I was especially excited that I would also be covering for Ocean Drive Magazine . My flight was running a bit late, but I arrived in time to get changed for The Q. I was staying at The National Hotel for the first time and was happily surprised at the locale – right in the center of all the events. I had a very nice room with a view and best of all it was just a quick walk out the back door to the beach. It happened to be the same beach The Q was set up on, at the Delano. The Bubble Q had been my favorite event that previous years .   I had been disappointed to hear it would be cancelled, but happy to find out the new event, hosted by Moet Hennessy and called simply “The Q” would be very sim

All good things must come to an end and Sunday was the end of another great Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival . This event is one of the Food Network’s newest and it still needs some tweaks, but despite a few minor disappointments, it is at the top of the festival list for value and location. I’m also seeing changes made each year to the activities that have a few problems so I’m confident the 2012 event will be even better. My first stop for the day was a brand new one, “Sun, Sand & Organic – A Wine Tasting” and I can't say it was one of the best. Now, of course it wasn’t anyone’s fault that it was 95 degrees and the sand was burning, but the turnout was tiny and there really wasn’t much that you couldn’t find at the Robert Mondavi Grand Tasting Market (an absolute must for anyone attending). It was a great experience for me personally because I got to spend some time tasting and checking out some things I hadn’t had before. I started the afternoon with a Botanica

I spent the morning interviewing some of the Food Network’s best before the activities of their Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival began. It was casual and fun, and I had a chance to get to know Pat and Gina Nelly; Robert Irvine; and Sunny Anderson, as well as catch up with Guy Fieri, who I’ve done stories on for a number of publications in the past year*. (You can see my Los Angeles Confidential piece here .) I have to say there wasn’t an overinflated ego in the room as everyone talked about the importance of getting kids to make healthier food choices. After the interviews, my daughter Sam and I headed over to the Robert Mondavi Grand Market. This year they added an Italian Village section (not all Italian, but certainly full of tasty booths) to spread it out a bit more. As always, there is more food and drinks than you can possibly enjoy, so I suggest everyone allow for at least two trips there. This was my first visit during the 2011 festival and I navigated my way o

As strange as the title of this post sounds, it’s a rundown of my first full day at the Food Network Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival . And what a fun day it was. The events weren’t starting until the evening so I used the time to catch up with Michael Green , former Gourmet Magazine editor and current wine and cocktail guru. We had drinks in Trinity Pub at the Shops at Caesars. We were joined by Michael’s partner at Liquid Assets , Andrew Levine, for a fun and informative discussion on the Food Network Festivals (they work closely with Food & Wine Magazine as well as Food Network on all of them).  I was disappointed that I didn’t have any of their seminars on my overbooked schedule, but vowed to catch them at one of the future events . My daughter Sam joined me at the Pier Shops for lunch before we headed to change hotels. As much as I loved Harrah’s (and there’s a lot to love), the events I would be attending were mostly down at the Boardwalk so we were changing to Sh

For the second year in a row, I was invited to the Food Network's Food and Wine Festival in Atlantic City , New Jersey. As much fun as I have in South Beach, this one is extra special to me. The Jersey Shore isn't a television show as far as I am concerned. It's a place where I enjoyed the boardwalk with my family as a kid, and came to enjoy the casinos and the beach as an adult.  And, when you add in friendly chefs, great food, wine from around the world and lots of spirits, it all spells a whole lot of fun. I'm lucky enough to have my daughter Sam helping me out with photos and stories this year (and having fun). We arrived at the Chelsea Hotel , a modern boutique property at the end of the strip, in time for some of their "Bikinis and Martinis" party. The rooftop at Chelsea is a great place for a party and though the only ones in bikinis were the servers, there were plenty of interesting Martinis made with Cruzan Rum . We went straight from the part