Skip The Line Wants To Be a Food Festival For Locals, By Locals

Occasionally, a food event comes across our radar that sounds too good not to share with you. And Skip The Line sounds like just that kind of event. The food festival, happening Sunday, September 5, features a stellar lineup of local talent - a mix of some of the most exciting pop-ups of the last year, along with chefs from established restaurants we know and love. Participating restaurants and pop-ups include: Boia De, Ted’s Burgers, Ariete, Masa Craft, Taquiza, Wolf of Tacos, Haochi Dumplings, Peacock Ramen, Frice Ice Cream, and more, which you can see over on their Eventbrite page.

It’s all going down at Tripping Animals Brewing Co., where the festival’s founder, Julian Uribe, operates Gorilla City Meats & Sandwich. We spoke to Uribe about the inspiration behind Skip The Line, what he’s excited to eat, and what ticket holders can expect on September 5.

Tickets for Skip The Line are available here for $115-$120.

Infatuation Miami: Can you talk a bit about where the idea for this festival came from, and why you wanted to do it?

Julian Uribe: I’ve been working in hospitality in Miami for 13 years now, so I made a lot of connections throughout my years. I came to Tripping Animals with the idea of doing some sort of food festival. I said, I’ll set the lineup and try to reach out to all these chefs I’ve gotten to know throughout the years - some new guys and old heads - and see if they’re interested in doing something like this. Sometimes these big food festivals can feel a little detached from the local scene - there’s no camaraderie or connection. But with Skip The Line, we’re all kind of friends, we’re all doing something cool, and we want to bring people here and give them a great experience.

IM: What’s the set up going to be like inside? Is it all you can eat?

JU: Yeah, it’s all you can eat. Each chef will have their own little setup and will be serving smaller portions - probably a bite or two because we want people to be able to try food from every chef. For example, I’ll be doing burnt end sliders. There’ll be 11 savory vendors and two sweet. You’ll be able to walk around and grab as much as you want. You’re probably going to be full after all twelve. And then on top of that, you have unlimited beer.

IM: Any specific dishes you’re looking forward to?

JU: I’m telling everybody to do something a little different - a little more experimental. I don’t want to put out the menu just yet, but I want people to know that everything that’s going to be there, for the most part, is something that they’ve never seen anywhere else. So it’s going to be very unique. You’re only going to be able to try a lot of these things at this festival. For example, Ted’s won’t be doing a burger and Wolf of Tacos isn’t doing a taco. So this will be the first time anyone’s really trying a lot of these things.

IM: Anything else you want people to know about Skip The Line?

JU: I’m just really focused on creating a unique food and beer festival that Miami hasn’t really had just yet - something created by locals who are really focused on the craft of food and the craft of beer. It’s definitely something I want to continue doing. I think it’s very important for Miami to have these things. It’s a little sad sometimes when you see some of these festivals put together without much of a passion or love for it. So we just want to change that and do something that feels like old friends coming together to have a good time eating and drinking.

Tickets for Skip The Line are available here for $115-$120.