Recently I had the opportunity of attending a very special event 💘 Since its inception as the Florida Extravaganza in 1997, the South Beach Food & Wine Festival has brought hundreds of thousands of foodies together to enjoy different culinary events & celebrity chef sightings over a span of five days. Getting bigger and better every year, the festival is also getting more diverse in its offerings for people with different dietary lifestyles.
A vegan dinner finally came to be a few years ago, and has been growing bigger & better as the vegan lifestyle is becoming more mainstream. This year the SOBEWFF Vegan Dinner was held at the newly opened Plant Food + Wine eatery located in the very special and communal, The Sacred Space Miami. Keep reading to hear my thoughts on this amazing dinner and destination!
My husband and I made our way through the streets of Miami as we followed the directions provided by my trustworthy friend, Siri. Our conversation went something like this:
“Are you sure it’s back here?”
“I’m positive…Just keep following the directions!”
“I think the address must be wrong, the street ends right there?”
“Wait!” (As I look to my right) “Check it out! It has to be here look at the entrance!”
The Sacred Space Miami is nestled, almost secretly, in the City of Greater Miami, in an area established as the Wynwood Arts District. This area, originally known for its abandoned warehouses and shuttered factories, has become a mecca for creative businesses, restaurants, art installations/studios/galleries, and cafes.
Amongst these businesses, Karla Dascal, founder, envisioned what is now The Sacred Space Miami.
In a captivating effort to bring together like-minded community members, this venue offers an atmosphere focusing on self-growth, well-being, and creative awakening.
After valeting the car and making our way to check in at the SOBEWFF table, I couldn’t help but look ahead and be mesmerized by what I saw. The Sacred Space Miami is so much more than an events venue. It is a full on wonderland, but wait I digress…Upon check in to the Vegan Dinner event, we were told that cocktails and bites would last from 7-8PM and to feel free to stroll around and enjoy the early evening.
The space itself is just breathtaking, with separate yet conjoined areas, circling a beautiful reflecting pool that adds a sense of serenity and peace to the entire area. It creates a cohesive way to bring together the different aspects of the space, while at the same time, also keeping them somewhat separate.
To the left of the pool, we could see the much anticipated location of our Vegan Dinner, Plant Food + Wine. As we were still at the beginning of the cocktail hour, to our right we could see the first step of our culinary adventure. A beautiful wine bar was set up offering the first wine of the evening, a crisp, yet very light and fresh, pinot grigio by Noble Vines. This wine was a perfect pairing for some of the different bites that were being offered throughout the cocktail hour. Our dinner later in the evening would also be accompanied by different wine pairings from Noble Vines, which is a 100% sustainable and organic California family vineyard 🍷
One of my favorite bites was the tomato basil shooter with black Icelandic salt 🍅 This was almost like a gazpacho, with a delicate flavor and creamy texture.
One of my favorite aspects of the entire evening was not having to worry about anything that I was putting in my mouth since it was all vegan!
There were also white bean crostini with pomegranate seeds and mint, walnut crostini with fennel compote and truffle cheese, and zucchini cannelloni stuffed with sundried tomatoes and macadamia pistachio basil pesto…all of which were to die for!
Let me just add up to this point my husband still hadn’t realized it was a vegan dinner! Just a small tidbit of information I opted to not share with him. He is not a vegan, and I really wanted to get his honest reaction on the food without having a pre-existing notion 😏 Let’s just say he was a huge fan of the zucchini cannelloni LOL!
Our next step in the circular journey that is The Sacred Space Miami brought us to what is known as The Garden 🌺🌳
Tonight this space was alive with an assemblage of people networking and enjoying the beautiful evening, as well as, each other’s company.
I have never been to The Sacred Space Miami during the day, but I can envision this being such a relaxing area to sit and contemplate, read a good book, and enjoy the harmony of the natural world that encompasses it.
We still had a few minutes before dinner service so we opted to sit and spend some time at the edge of the gorgeous reflecting pool. We enjoyed a few more glasses of Noble Vines pinot grigio, along with more of the delicious bites making their way amongst the crowd of people. I think the servers realized how much we really loved the small bites and always found a way to bring some over to us 💚 Sitting by the water, my husband and I spent some much needed adult time talking, people watching, and simply enjoying each other’s company.
Nestled along the edge of the reflecting pool was a grove of strawberry guava trees, which created a visual separation from The Garden and wine bar. I felt almost like Alice, making her way through Wonderland. Drink Me! Eat This! There was definitely a sense of whimsy, but also a level of beautiful simplicity to the way The Sacred Space Miami lit up for the SOBEWFF Vegan Dinner event.
An area of the venue that was beautifully lit with purple lights and lined with bamboo trees was the entrance to what I later came to find out was the galleries, and soon to come, Flow retail boutique. This particular area was not being used this evening, but I can see it being the perfect type of space for both corporate and social events in a functional and chic atmosphere.
As a whole, I can see The Sacred Space Miami being the perfect venue for all different types of private events, such as weddings and company parties, but I also learned that they host several experiential classes and workshops.
Upcoming events include Simrit Songs of Resilience, Breath of Life with Michelle Barrial, and Despertando a Vivir Presente serie: Regresando a mi ser. Their schedule of classes, workshops, and events can be accessed right on The Sacred Space Miami’s site here.
Finally, dinner is served! The evening’s signature dinner, hosted by award winning vegan chefs Chloe Coscarelli and Matthew Kenney, was held at Kenney’s plant-based restaurant, Plant Food + Wine, located within The Sacred Space Miami. It was such a cool experience to have both chefs in attendance and come out and speak to the crowd of diners!
I found the restaurant to fit in perfectly with the culture and community of The Sacred Space Miami in its beautiful simplicity.
It was so exciting to get course after course of such well thought out and put together vegan dishes. I was very impressed with the Miso Caesar Salad, and how the smoked shiitake bacon provided that nutty and smoky element. Hands down, my favorite dish (aside from dessert…lol) was the Beet Ravioli with roasted garlic Alfredo, pine nut ricotta, and basil pesto. The layers in this dish were just amazing! I ate my dish and most of my husband’s!
Dessert was in a category all its own. The Hazelnut Semifreddo was so rich in taste yet incredibly light in texture. The blood orange sauce and caramelized cacao intermingled perfectly! I loved the touch of edible flowers on the dish as it really added beautiful elements of color and fragility to the entire dish 🌸
Not only does Plant Food +Wine offer an incredible plant-based dining experience, but there is an entire plant-based culinary academy just passed the kitchen area! What a fantastic concept!!! Weekend workshops focus on things such as cheese, dessert, cacao, breads, raw foods, in addition to several other options and special holiday-focused classes around days such as Easter, Thanksgiving and the December holidays. I am so tempted to get more information for myself on the cheese and dessert classes. Ask any vegan how they feel about cheese and you will understand why 🧀😉 For more information on their culinary weekend workshops, visit Matthew Kenney Culinary Miami.
I think it is needless to say that I am beyond thankful to have experienced the SOBEWFF Vegan Dinner, and had the opportunity to explore the beautiful The Sacred Space Miami and Plant Food + Wine 💜 I definitely want to come back and check out some of their other events, maybe take a yoga class or peruse the Flow Boutique, and I will absolutely be back to feast on the plant-based cuisine 🌿
Share the Love and Connect!
The Sacred Space Miami on: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter
Plant Food + Wine on: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter
Have you ever been to The Sacred Space Miami or Plant Food + Wine??? Tell me all about it in the comments! 😘
Post: Please note I received tickets to this dinner complimentary in exchange for an honest & unbiased review of my experience.
Cruelty Free Lucy 