Jazz In The Gardens To Bring Great Food To Miami March 15-16

If you missed the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, fear not. There's another chance to get your tastebuds tickled.  On March 15 and 16, comedian DL Hughley will introduce LL Cool J, Jamie Foxx, Trey Songz, Kelly Rowland, Anthony Hamilton, and other top artists performing for the 9th annual Jazz in the Gardens festival at Miami's Sun Life Stadium. But this musical extravangza comes with a bonus — more than 50 chefs will be in attendance, showcasing the best in Soul, Island, and Southern food. Concert attendees should bring an empty stomach in order to sample the plethora of choices from fried alligator bites, chicken in every style imaginable, and fixins galore.

However, the holy gourmet grail is scoring Reed's Catering's Bahamian-style conch salad. Served in a hulled out pineapple with a conch fritter skewer garnish, this succulent salad is apparently so good, people will wait in line for an hour to get it — although singer-songwriters like Babyface and Jonathan Butler get theirs personally delivered. Barbecue is big deal, too. One year, Mac Cooks Catering served up plates of succulent ribs to a hungry crowd, including headliner John Legend and his bandmates.

Three-night event packages are available from select hotels in the Ft. Lauderdale area and include accommodations, prime seat tickets, free hotel WiFi, and round-trip transportation from MIA or FLL airports. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the festival's website.