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"FacebookPinterest\n\n Our resident cocktail expert, PDT&amp;#39;s Jim Meehan, takes a break from tending bar to eat and drink his way through South Beach\n\nAs my post-beach depression subsides, I can&amp;#39;t help but marvel at the spectacle that was this year&amp;#39;s South Beach Wine &amp;amp; Food Festival\u2014the arena-sized tents on the water; the lavish parties; the panoramic view from my balcony of the action at the Gansevoort Hotel&amp;#39;s pool. After taking over the event in 2002 from Food &amp;amp; Wine Magazine, Southern Wine &amp;amp; Spirit&amp;#39;s Lee Schrager has really hit his stride. I was struck by how perfect South Beach is as a venue\u2014equal parts Vegas bling, L.A. red carpet, down-home New Orleans. Oh, and there was some food and wine (and cocktails) at the festival; I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of just about everything I sampled, which hasn&amp;#39;t always been the case.\n\nI&amp;#39;m still thinking about the gorgeous medium-rare burger smothered in bacon, served by Miami&amp;#39;s own Michael Schwartz of Michael&amp;#39;s Genuine Food &amp;amp; Drink at Rachel Ray&amp;#39;s Burger Bash. After days of bottomless Amstel Light, I traded up to the Perrier-Jou\u00EBt BubbleQ, hosted by Emeril, stocked with enough champagne to fill a swimming pool, and catered by chefs like Todd English, John Besh, and Michelle Bernstein. The man who stole the show, however, was Chris Lilly from Big Bob Gibson BBQ in Decatur, Alabama. He&amp;#39;d stayed up all night smoking his pork butts (unlike some other pit bosses, who were paying more attention to celebrities than their smokers) and his luscious pulled pork and crisp slaw drew a crowd. Despite the shortage of world-class &amp;#39;que, It&amp;#39;s always nice  to see chefs like Daniel Boulud, Masaharu Morimoto, and Tim Love manning their stations and hamming it up with the crowd. I&amp;#39;ve only been back in New York for a few days, but I&amp;#39;m already hungry for next year."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/miami-vice>