Miami New Times’ Iron Fork

I loved Iron Fork. There was SO much good food — the amount of restaurants were incredible! From Miami Spice restaurants to non-​Miami Spice, the restaurant samplings are amazingly delicious. You can tell the chefs and everyone are so excited to be there and showcase their art!
There’s also an Iron Chef-​esque cookoff with local celebrity participants, judges and the famed Chef Allen at the helm.
It’s absolute culinary craziness but so, so worth it! Aside from South Beach Food & Wine Festival, I don’t think there’s anything like it. I think in 2017, it’s going to be even more outrageous; it’s going to be at the American Airlines Arena. Definitely an event to attend!

If you’re debating whether or not to get tickets to Miami New Times’ Iron Fork food extravaganza, then I’d say go for it — especially if you can get discounted tickets and don’t mind large, pushy crowds.
I didn’t know what to expect considering the reviews for this event in previous years were pretty brutal. 2012 & 2013 sounded disastrous. However, I was lucky enough to attend the 2015 event, which was held in several of the Hyatt Regency’s ballrooms… because Unilocal is awesome and has ticket giveaways.
Pros —
*First off, some of the food offerings were insanely delicious. For instance, there was a rich grits and short rib dish that was amazing. The multiple flavors of bao buns were fun to try and were freshly steamed in small batches. The tuna poke served with puffed rice was so tasty.
*There are plenty of desserts offered to get ridiculously full or ridiculously close to a diabetic coma.
*Parking was explained in detail on the website and was $ 10.
*The lines to get in were long, but we waited indoors (unlike the attendees from 2013).
*A few of the chefs really care about their food and are excited to chat with people. When most booths ran out of food or just left early, a few stayed to the very end. Props to Pincho Factory, R House, and others who had a ton of food.
*Presentation. Some of the restaurants really went all out with the presentation. Adorable bamboo plates and faux slate plates were rare, but a delight.
*This event did a good job of hyping up the Miami Spice promotion.
Cons —
*A lot of the restaurants ran out of food or decided to close up and leave early. I guess I was wrong to expect that the restaurants/​exhibitors should be serving food during the entire event times as advertised.
*Pushing and cutting in line. Since some booths closed early, this created a stressful and claustrophobic atmosphere where event goers were simply cutting in line in order to get food before restaurants ran out. Speaking of lines, there weren’t really «lines» at a lot of the booths. Since there were no ropes or markings on the floor on where to stand, people just shoved forward. While there were a lot of polite attendees, there was a fair share of people who either had no awareness of their surroundings or were blatantly cutting. I don’t think this event allows children to attend, which is a good thing because I think they would get trampled.
*Attitude from chefs/​servers who didn’t want to be there. From personal experience, I understand that catering a booth for hundreds of people is stressful. However, when a ‘certain’ oyster/​seafood restaurant ran out of oysters early the servers whooped and cheered really loudly that they didn’t have any more food and got to go home early. I feel like they exhibited an overall unprofessional attitude and missed out on advertising their food to a ton of people who walked by afterwards.
*Lazy desserts. I’ve noticed a distressing trend with food festivals. The amount of restaurants displaying tiny plastic containers of puddings, crème, or whatever you want to call them is increasing exponentially. Sorry… if you’re a steakhouse, then why are you serving some overly sweet, indistinguishable pudding with some guava gel on top? Where’s the meat? I’m not saying you have to serve filet, but an alternative offering that entices attendees to your restaurant for Miami Spice would be preferable. I never thought I would say this, but there were too many meh desserts.
*Environmental impact. I try not to think about the thousands of plastic plates, cups, and utensils that were being thrown away after five seconds of use. It’d be nice to have a few special recycle bins for clean-​ish cups. Offering an incentive for the restaurants to use eco-​friendly stuff would be cool to see in the future.
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Overall, it was a madhouse. But if you have a good attitude and can ignore the people shoving other people then event was a lot of fun.

Loved it!!! I am going every time!!! I was so full from the delicious samples before I made it to the second floor. I also had a great time.

This was my first year attending and I’m impressed. I feel like I got my money’s worth for the price of my general admission ticket (purchased at a discount through Gilt City). I’m not going to rehash everything that’s already been said. Lots of food and dessert options. Some were good, some were just OK. For next year, I know not to spend too much time downstairs as upstairs there were much better restaurant offerings (maybe because the VIP lounge was also there?). Also, I would like to see more drink sponsors, even if non-​alcoholic. The only free drink options I found were water and coffee. I would definitely go again next year if the price is right.

I’m debating how much I really enjoyed my time at Iron Fork this year. It was my first time, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The organization of entry could use some work. It was like a floodgate that opened once they allowed general public in. We were all supposed to be banded prior to entering, but there were only a few checking people’s wrists as they pushed through to rush to the food tables. Someone could easily slip by.
I’m glad we arrived early and waited in line for it to open. Otherwise, I think we would have missed out on some samples. A few tables had lines that I didn’t especially want to wait in, so I skipped those and just never got to try their food. I think the restaurants who had pick-​up-​and-​go samples benefited the most. Regardless, everything I did try was either amazing or pretty close to it. Being a vendor at Iron Fork, I’d think you have to show off your best!
My favorite was J&G Grill. Their presentation was soo impressive, and the food matched. It originally was not on our list to go to during Miami Spice months, but now it’s my #1 choice!
Overall, glad I attended (especially at a discount price thanks to GiltCity) but still on the fence about returning next year.

Been meaning to post and let the organizers know that was the best Iron Fork event I have attended!
Just when I was about to give up on this event as I’ve been attending it for the last few years. It was nice to see how they finally stepped it up!!! In the last few year this event was a bit disappointing because the food would run out and there wasn’t as many restaurants.
The 2015 Iron Fork was great! I was impressed by the large variety of restaurants in the down stairs area then the surprise came upstairs… Loved the upstairs showcase of Miami Spice Restaurants.
Loved the Live Bands and upstairs DJ and the variety of restaurants. Had a lovely time time… Great job with everything!
My only recommendation would be to get a beer or liquor or spirits sponsor and include some type of beverage.

When I first saw the rating of this event I was scared, but it didn’t disappoint. There was tons of food and a lot of it was delicious. My one tip would be, skip the bottom floor in the beginning and head upstairs as that is where all the really good food is.
I have to say that after trying the oysters from the below places, i was absolutely in love and am dying to visit the restaurants. They had the freshest and best-​tasting oysters.
— Midtown Oyster Bar (so fresh, it still had salt water)
— The Oceanaire Seafood Room (same as above, really good)
— Lure Fishbar (delicious east/​west cost prepared oysters)
I also need to say that the Small Pork Taco from Tantalize was amazing. Very, very flavorful.
My one gripe with the event, had nothing to do with the event itself, but rather the restaurants on the bottom floor. The majority of them had run out of food by 8:20 — 8:30. I was really looking forward to trying some of the food from them, but alas wasn’t able to. Maybe next year.
Happy eating!

I have always liked/​enjoyed this event. I have never loved it, but this year we did the VIP tickets. This is the way to go… The separate upstairs area as well the free drinks. The music/​bands/​entertainment was my least favorite of any year. The food as always is good. Pork was the main food offering. If you do not like pork, then you were in trouble. As always there were standouts. Other than the crowds in non VIP, the only other major negative was line for a drink in the VIP bar as the service was slow… Overall a fun way to spend a Thursday night.

It was so much fun and plenty food !! Too bad, I wanted to eat more but …

I absolutely loved this event, it was great! We had general admission tickets, but showed up very early and decided to wait. My partner suddenly came up with a brilliant idea and lets just say we ended up with VIP passes instead of our regular general admission tickets! Amazing.
Walking in, I noticed a few restaurants that I was truly surprised to see. For example, Magnum Lounge… weird. I am not a fan of that place at all and think their food was represented TOO well at the event. Also, that new owner gives me the creeps.
All the food was sorta underwhelming, but I still left stuffed. The VIP area was completely swamped arouns 7pm when all the general admission people showed up and the «VIP» section was just a common room at that point. They did not do a good job at making it an exclusive area. I would definitely return again next year.
Oh, I was also given a talking head interview on Deco Drive which was pretty neat!

This event getting nothing less than five stars. Honestly, I think the event was well worth the money. Organized and for the amount of people in attendance the restaurants and other businesses did a great job catering to the guest.
The food where in the heck do you start. I ate so many things I have never eaten before it was not funny. I tried at least 85% of all offerings. There were a few things I just took a pass on but honestly not one thing I tried I did not like. Of course some things were better than others but nothing bad.
Now nothing is perfect so here is the few Imperfections. Of course the parking but hey we in Miami so no biggie no harm no foul. Some of the food lines were long but that’s planning on the part of the Resturant. And some of the vendors especially the dessert places ran out of food but overall great event.

My 100^th review has definitely got to go to the Miami New Times Iron Fork event! Thanks to Cassie and the wonderful world of Unilocal I was able to attend this amazing food filled event.
I have to say after reading previous reviews regarding this event I was extremely impressed at how efficient the set up was this year. Will call got my tickets very quickly and since I arrived right at 7 I was let right in. Throughout the whole event I never had to wait even a minute to get my sample. The location was able to hold this crowrd well giving each individual table ennough space to work without interfering with one another.
Restaurants that stood out to me were:
Cholos ceviche
Donut Divas
City Hall
Baoli
Azucar
Smokers– Longest line at this event and well worth the wait
We parked at the bank of America building and were able to walk through the lobby to the event so it worked out perfectly. Only complaint which did not affect me was that by 8:30 some restaurants had run out of food so I would have been upset if I had paid and arrived late only to realize food had run out. As for me I was able to try everything I wanted and more. This was and excellent event that I would gladly attend again.

The spread of food was delightful. There’s nothing but goodness to say about every single bite of food that I had. The only disappointment was a cash bar for alcohol there was VIP which I had in VIP. Only choices were red or white wine and Belvedere vodka and of course free beer. I was hoping for sparkling wine because it’s what I drink. But no sparkling wine was anywhere either. Also, They were incredible bands everywhere a must do I will come again next year

A while back a group of event planners got together and the meeting must have gone something like this:
HGIC (Head Genius in Charge): «OK everyone, let’s discuss new and refreshing ideas for the 2013 Iron Fork event! Lets begin with the VIP portion. Anyone?»
GENIUS #1: «Ooh, ooh, I know! Let’s sell VIP tickets. Then, we can set up the entrance in a special location so that everyone can wait in full summer sun. In order to top that, this being a Miami event and all, let’s not open exactly at 6. Oh no, Cuban time baby! Vitamin D is good for you y’all! Everyone looks better plastered in sweat no?»
GENIUS #2: «Oh yeah? I can top that! Then, let’s set up the VIP lounge (with included beverages) inside an auditorium. Ticket holders can then walk down treacherous slippery steps in complete darkness (gotta have vibe after all) to make a line and get the tiniest of pours of the crappiest wine. Then they can repeat. With any luck, wine will get spilled and people will fall. Now we are talking!»
GENIUS #3 «My turn! My turn! You know the contest between the 2 chefs? Lets NOT take advantage of this venue with actual theater space. Instead of holding the contest where guests can get a birds eye view in a theatre, lets set them UP on a stage and people can look up from the floor they are STANDING on and GUESS what they are doing. Instead of a dark auditorium where screens can be set up to offer more detail, lets set up the screens in full sun too so that you can guess what’s showing on them as well. No worries, there will be a host talking you through it… maybe. Oh yeah, you feeling me?»
GENIUS #4 «I have an even better idea. This one will tie all of these wonderful ideas together. Wait until you hear this one! We can pack the majority of the restaurants and vendors under ONE tent. Everyone loves to be packed like sardines right? Then, in the remaining VAST space under a/​c we can scatter 3 restaurants here and 3 others over there. In between, guests can take turns once again GUESSING who is on what floor and taking multiple elevator rides to figure it out. It will be like an adult game of hide and seek. This is just too good to pass up.»
HGIC (Head Genius In Charge): «I am very impressed with these ideas. They are sure to be crowd pleasers. I can’t believe we never came up with these before! This will be the BEST EVENT EVER! All of this before 7:00pm even rolls around? Wow. By the time general admission opens, the line will surely go around the block what with all those tickets we oversold and all. I love me an „elbow room only“ event. I think I need to go take a nap from all that we have accomplished here today. It’s not easy being this good.»
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New Times, your event absolutely sucked. It will be a cold day in hell before I return to it. It was a complete waste of my money. While I was initially excited to have a lot of seafood options (since I’m a pescatarian), I also found it tiring that most restaurants only offered ceviche or seared tuna. After the 5^th ceviche, I was eagerly searching for something else. Kudos (and the ONLY reason there are any stars to this review) to The Local House and MPP for having the best ones. Also kudos to old school Anacapri for shining with their pear fiocchi. I guess there’s a reason they have been around for so long. City Hall also stole the show with their bread pudding. I wanted to compare it with Chef Adrienne’s (one of my favorites) but sadly by 8pm her stand was empty and they were gone. I also noticed that they were not set up by 6:15pm. What gives? I am not sure what happened but that was also disappointing just like everything else.
I happily walked out by 8:00pm and never looked back.

I never made it in the door. I was so excited when I bought my ticket even though I had been warned by others that the event wasn’t so great.
But when I got there with my husband and saw the line wayyyy down biscayne I started to feel a little panicked. I’m not afraid of big crowds but the thought of everyone smooshed in the tent just try food freaked me out a little. Also, I didn’t realize this event was going to be outside. Maybe that was my own misunderstanding but I was surprised when I saw that. No way should people who spent $ 40+ on tickets have to wait in a long line like that to get into an event. After standing in line for a little we said eff it and left.
Also traffic/​parking was terrible. But I guess that’s par for the course in Miami for big events but still even heat games have better traffic management.

New Times another year, another unimpressive event. This was the first year I actually paid for a VIP ticket, and the only reason I purchased it is because a poor college student bought it originally, my daughters friend and she could not make the event, something came up. Since my daughter and her friends were going she asked if I would join them. I did warn them that this event is not worth it but at the same time hopeful because of the location this year.
We waited in the scorching heat lined up on Biscayne Blvd. like cattle. A few minutes after 6 the line moved swiftly. Imagine a herd of cattle going into a tent, no air flow, surrounded by hot food, warm water bottles, people who don’t wear deodorant. Oh yes a beautiful setting. We were able to grab some bites through the madness. The little bit of food we were able to try was impressive. Huge shout out to Edge Steakhouse that loaded potato was awesome. «Fish, had some amazing lobster Mac, and an Italian restaurant who’s meatballs were divine. If you we’re lucky enough to get food it was hard seeing what restaurant simply due to the crowds standing, hovering over the tables.
Signage and set up was done poorly. The VIP lounge was unassuming. I drank Stella Artois all night. The Chile wine that was offered was like drinking box wine. The creepy clowns walking around we’re strange. Once general admission was let in it was pure chaos. This venue could have been great. The set up was just so poorly executed.
Then it clearly stated no kids and here was this lady with a stroller and a child. I felt so sorry for the baby. She should NOT have been allowed in. Ugh what a douche to put a young child through this torture.
This will be the last year I ever go. If it were free, I still would not go back. These type of events do not showcase the restaurants in any good manner. No thanks Miami New Times you screwed up again, no surprise.
I am so over all of these crappy ass events, come to a Unilocal event and see how it is done. We left at 8 pm to go to a restaurant Nove Kitchen and they were packed. Wonder why?

Definitely disappointed.
Let me start by saying I’ve been to every other Iron Fork. Every other year things were great, at times a bit crowded, but the crowd kept moving and things were pretty smooth.
This time they went bigger, much much bigger. It was clear by the venue change that they had planned to go bigger, but seeing that Broward New Times is able to pull of their bigger Pairing event, I figured that increasing Iron Fork would go well also, I was wrong.
Thank goodness I didn’t splurge and get the VIP tickets. I was tempted however, knowing that a VIP for Pairings is well worth the extra money, but I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it to Miami by 6 and wouldn’t get the full hour in. Thank god I didn’t though, the reviews for the extra hour seem just as bad.
So back to the point — this was too big, not necessarily sizewise, I actually enjoyed the layout and appreciated all of the balcony options for watching the stage competition — previous years it was hard to see the stage. This was too big based on people. I’m not sure if I even believe they wanted to «sell out», I don’t think they had any cap on the amount of people at all. It was near impossible to get food in the tent. I actually left in disgust after getting rather claustrophobic. I followed people inside early on — there were no signs btw, I just noticed people going in and checked it out. I was able to try most of the food inside before the crowd figured it out, but felt that the restaurants were pretty overwhelmed. Previous years allowed me to talk to the restaurant employees, discuss what exactly I was eating, see what offers they had etc. This year, not so much. Most of the time I had no idea what I was eating, or where it was from.
I thought the point of this year was to move the event to start Miami Spice and let me, the eater, find out about restaurants and particularly their Miami Spice menus. This was not the case.

After hearing rave reviews about this event every year I was excited to go! I bought VIP tickets at their cheapest, $ 65 with three other friends. We waited almost two months for this to get here and we were pumped.
I should have known better.
From the start I was irritated. We get there about 15 min before our hour early admission. The line was two blocks long. They did not begin letting people in until after 6:00. So we stood there sweating. Also, upon buying tickets and in the description of the event, no where did it say the event was partially outside. That information is necessary for Miamians-​atleast for me, so I know how to dress. I was drenched by time we got inside the outdoor tent. I will say, once they opened the gates and started checking people in, it went fast, which was nice.
But, there was no direction or organization to the event at all. There were no signs pointing people in certain directions, so we followed the crowd into the tent. Each side was lined with restaurants. We picked up bites here and there. Everything was delicious of course.
My biggest problem with the event is the organization. This seems to be the problem every year, too. I know nothing about these kind of large scale events and I could have planned and organized these vendors better.
The tent was unnecessary. They could have had all vendors lining the perimeter or the event area. I am sure the tent was to keep people cool from the sun, but it didn’t serve its purpose when the tent was packed with hundreds of people like sardines.
Then we decide to wander inside, because we saw people going in there, again no signage. Oh look, we happen upon a bar. I wish someone had pointed me to that earlier.
Inside there were more restaurants and the main stage for the competition. Some more delicious food. Again, more of a cluster and unorganized mess. Oh look we happen upon the VIP area, with no signs or people informing you of where to go. The drinks were flowing here, which was nice. But it was dark in the auditorium and on the stage and people were spilling and falling a lot. There was supposed to be food being passed around for VIPs but we only saw one or two pass by with minimal desserts.
At this point, the crowds are even worse. We attempt to go back outside to the tent to get more food. That was NOT happening. The place was literally like vacuum packed sardines. Hot, sweaty, messes. We tried to enter, and in the middle of this mess is a woman… with a baby… and a stroller. Why she was there with a child is beyond me. Not only is the event 21+, but this was a baby-​baby. Who let her in?! It was so hot and so gross and so crowded, I wanted to take the baby from her and run onto Biscayne.
The restaurant vendors were interestingly placed. Obviously the event planners, didn’t want to do this strategically. For me, I would have preferred the cheaper, lower restaurants in one area, the middle, a little more expensive restaurants in one area, and then the high end, really expensive restaurants in one area. For the life of me I cant understand why The Daily Melt and Morton’s were in the same area. This takes away from the food and the experience with the vendors. How can I eat a simple grilled cheese and then attempt to taste the flavors in Morton’s meat?!
While some vendors were very nice and truly wanted you to try their food and come to the restaurant, others were like robots, just dishing out food, no conversation, no smiles, no manners.
Ah, needless to say, we only stayed until about 8. While the food was good – once General Admission was let in, the place was a disaster and we couldn’t even attempt to try anything else. The only thing that was truly worth it was the alcohol. The wines were gross, but I stuck with Stella. The Bacardi drinks were good as well, but again the placement of the VIP bars was a disaster.
The whole event was NOT worth it. We had to go to a Japanese place up the street just to get food because we left hungry. I truly wish someone would learn how to organize this or sell less tickets because this truly could be a wonderful, fun event. and despite this terrible kickoff, I will be going to some Miami Spice restaurants.
Bitter, bitter disappointment.

Iron Fork, more like Iron Taco. I am so over the taco craze, can we please move on to something different? Anyways… this event wasn’t anything exciting or impressive. The lines were long and slow. The restaurants I was actually looking forward to trying were tucked away in VIP (never seen this before @ any foodie event) which felt discriminatory and lame. The lines for drinks were ridiculous… they ran out of water! How do you run out of water? I am pregnant and water is my livelihood. I had to resort to a glass of icecubes to suck on.
The space seemed crowded and a bit of a fire hazard to be honest. I went in, did my rounds, and took off. I was not impressed and unless they hold this at a roomier venue next year I will not be back.

For the fifth year in a row, Iron Fork showcases food sampling/​tasting from a variety of local eateries. The event was being housed at Grand Central nightclub. I have never been here before but I certainly hope an AC unit is on their «Christmas Wish List» because it was close to sauna like conditions.
THE FOOD
Expectations at these types of samplings should be tempered considering these restaurants (not caterers) are preparing large amounts of food away from the comforts of their own kitchens. With that being said, I don’t expect oysters and caviar dreams but I certainly don’t expect total dogs either.
Beyond the fact that way too many food stands served taco’s, I was surprised that some of the food was so far off the mark (I had salmon that was undercooked and horribly seasoned and another that served a salad of sorts but no utensils were available).
THE STAND-​OUTS (VERY GOOD STUFF)
**City Hall (very welcoming, organized and generous portion of shrimp and grits)
**Lola Taco Lounge (super friendly, set up like an assembly line and offered hot sauce choices)
**Rosa Mexicano (friendliest of the night, great tacos, unique taste)
**FiFi’s Place Seafood (paella with calamari, shrimp, prawns… so good)
THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD (GOOD BUT ROOM TO IMPROVE)
**Will Call (roast beef grinders; good but meat was a bit tough)
**Whisk (a place I have wanted to try; conch fritter was good but was expecting something more exciting since hearing so many good things)
**others worth mentioning: Bâoli, Mercadito & Room Service
THE LET DOWNS (UNIMPRESSED)
**Taverna Opa (surprisingly served meat pastry that was dry and lacked flavor)
**Bolivar (longest line because food was being served in slow motion; frustrated so never tried it)
**Austen’s (staff was miserable and seemed detached from the event)
**Salsa Fiesta, Kitchen 305 and Route 9 (all equally bad… really bad)
No comment on the VIP section (Chef Adrienne’s Vineyard, Swine Southern or Yardbird Southern) because apparently I’m not VIP.
THE MAIN EVENT
Beyond the food samplings, there was also the CHEF VS CHEF COOK OFF.
Tonight’s showdown… Blue Collar’s Danny Serfer vs Yardbird Southern’s Phillip Bryant. Although I’m a fan of Yardbird Souther, I’m a bigger fan of Blue Collar; don’t know the results as of this moment but my money is on Chef Danny Serfer.
Blue Collar (
)
VS
Yardbird Southern (
)
Other than the rather warm conditions, overall I had a wonderful evening snacking and socializing (four stars if not for the sweaty environment). See you next year for the Sixth Annual Event.