Scarpetta's Scott Conant dishes on the South Beach Wine & Food Festival

Valerie Schimel1/27/2012

Manhattan chef Scott Conant has been plying us with spaghetti, tomato and basil for four years since opening Scarpetta at the Fontainebleau. He’s also a longtime Festival favorite, participating in three big name events this year. We chatted with Conant about the Marlins and his favorite Miami restaurants.

Catch Conant at The Q, Best of the Best and Diamond Dishes.

Tell us about your plans for the Festival
I have a bunch of events. The Best of the Best at the Fontainebleau, which is exciting as always. And we’re cooking a whole roasted pig right on the beach for the Q, which I’m excited about. And there’s Diamond Dishes.  I’m a huge baseball fan and I’m super excited about this team. We’ll be on second base and we’re going to do a whole lot of dishes. It’s not exactly baseball food, but I’ll be on the second base before Jose Reyes.

Work, work, work – any plans for fun?
I have a lot of events that I’m doing, so I won’t have the crazy nights that I’ve had in the past – at least I say that now. But there are some after parties and some events that I’m looking forward to. There are so many restaurateurs and chefs in town, that just hanging out at Scarpetta is a blast.

Where do you like to eat while you’re in town?
Barceloneta - I love what those guys are doing – and I’m looking forward to trying the Dutch. I was at Zuma a couple weeks ago and I was blown away. I’m dying to try Tudor House. There’s so much stuff to do and there are only so many other days – and I’ve got to sleep sometime

How does the South Beach Wine & Food Festival differ from the others?
Everything is a little bit different, it’s sense of places. There’s something about that Beach in Miami that’s unique and different - it’s that special sense of place that only South Beach can give you.

Miami seems to be having a foodie moment, why do you think that is?
It’s Miami. There are so many people that travel through – Americans, Europeans and South Americans. The worst thing that can happen to Vegas is if Miami gets gaming because it’ll blow up more than it already has