Email Author Lee Klein

Miami New Times' restaurant reviewer for the past decade, and the world's indisputable master of disguise.

Awards

• 2011 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published April 22, 2010

  "Style Over Steak"

• 2011 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published July 1, 2010

  "Flapjack Flip-Off X"

• 2011 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published October 7, 2010

  "Gigi Ingenuity"

• 2010 - Association of Food Journalists Awards, published July 2, 2009

  "Hakkasan's Haute Hong Kong Cuisine"

• 2010 - Association of Food Journalists Awards, published June 25, 2009

  "Flapjack Flip-Off IX"

• 2009 - Bert Greene Award/International Association of Culinary Professionals, published August 14, 2008

  "Kick the Bottle"

• 2009 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published April 10, 2008

  "Doug Rodriguez is Back"

• 2009 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published December 4, 2008

  "Joe the Restaurant"

• 2009 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published August 28, 2008

  "Tap Tap"

• 2008 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 10, 2007

  "Chew the Right Thing"

• 2008 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published November 22, 2007

  "Eat Shit and Die"

• 2008 - Association of Food Journalists Awards, published May 17, 2007

  "Flapjack Flip-Off VII: Bananarama!"

• 2008 - Association of Food Journalists Awards, published May 10, 2007

  "Chew the Right Thing"

• 2008 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published November 22, 2007

  "Eat Shit and Die"

• 2008 - Bert Greene Award/International Association of Culinary Professionals, published November 22, 2007

  "Eat Shit and Die"

• 2008 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published November 22, 2007

  "Eat Shit and Die"

• 2008 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 17, 2007

  "Flapjack Flip-Off VII"

• 2007 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published July 13, 2006

  "Foie Wars"

• 2007 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published September 7, 2006

  "The Wonder Boys"

• 2007 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published September 28, 2006

  "Pure and Demure"

• 2007 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published December 21, 2006

  "Last Chance Bistro"

More

2002 Stories by Lee Klein

• Roti-Rooter

  published December 26, 2002

  There are three key components to Christine's Roti Shop: 1) Christine. As you enter the small shop you may see a woman busily... More >>

• Slight In Shining Armor

  published December 19, 2002

  The bright, minimalist, metallic-cool interior of Café 71 stands out in this grim, brown Biscayne block like a comic strip plunked... More >>

• Open Haus

  published December 12, 2002

  South Beach's favorite (and only) Austrian/German pub and eatery, formerly a teeny, cavernous room on Alton Road and Ninth Street, is now housed... More >>

• Barton Gee!

  published December 5, 2002

  Those who know of Barton Gerald Weiss's reputation as the event impresario with an inclination for multisensory, over-the-top theatrics will... More >>

• Baby Food For Angels

  published November 28, 2002

  I have to admit my appreciation for Arab culture skyrocketed when I discovered that they invented sorbet. It's true -- the Chinese taught them how... More >>

• Local Joint Lights Up

  published November 21, 2002

  One of the world's less-pleasant sounds is the dismissive grunt of a New Yorker as he or she proclaims the pizza in some part of America to be an... More >>

• Diner Might

  published November 14, 2002

  What the world needs now is love sweet love, but what Miami Beach needs is affordable restaurants. The recently opened Alton Road Café fits... More >>

• The Top Texan

  published November 7, 2002

  You wouldn't think that giving diners what they want would be a particularly unique strategy for operating a restaurant. Even those with no... More >>

• Heavy Hop Fest

  published October 31, 2002

  Here we are on the cusp of November, and I'm just getting around to writing about Oktoberfest. Very tardy on my part -- after all, we know that... More >>

• Cheesecake Survivor

  published October 24, 2002

  You can't really fault the Cheesecake Factory people if, over the years, they've developed a bemused attitude while the front window of their... More >>

• Lox, Stock, & Bagel

  published October 17, 2002

  "Mornin' General," my mostly African-American co-workers would say as I'd drag myself through the doors of Bagel World in Queens, New York, at... More >>

• Like Rigatoni For Roti

  published October 10, 2002

  I could blame Zagat for my heading to Caffe Vialetto with visions of haute conch and upscale callaloo in my head, but I'm too big for that. It's... More >>

• Mr. Pita Loco

  published October 3, 2002

  Pita Loca is a place I usually frequent alone, even when my wife comes along. She pretends she doesn't know me. She'll stand a few feet away, as... More >>

• Mexico Formulaico

  published September 26, 2002

  314 72nd St, Miami Beach; More >>

• Unfinished Canvas

  published September 12, 2002

  Britto's paintings are boastfully commercial in nature. Those in the art world can debate whether this quality diminishes his reputation as a... More >>

• Noodles Of Engagement

  published August 29, 2002

  There are no menus handed out at Macaluso's, a smart-looking Italian restaurant sitting almost secretly in a ministrip mall off Alton Road in... More >>

• Delhi Fare

  published August 15, 2002

  In 1975 President Gerald Ford dodged Squeaky Fromme's bullet, South Vietnam surrendered to the communists, Sonny and Cher called it quits, and... More >>

• Meatballs For a Bear Market

  published August 8, 2002

  "Little man felt very bad/One meat ball was all he had/And in his dreams he hears that call/'Ya gets no bread with one meat ball.'" --"One... More >>

• The Teté Offensive

  published August 1, 2002

  When Gary Danko's eponymous restaurant opened in San Francisco three years ago, it won the James Beard Foundation's "Best New Restaurant" award... More >>

• The King Of Calle Ocho

  published July 25, 2002

  Fritas are Cuban-style hamburgers, a beef patty seasoned with paprika and onions, griddle-fried, and stuck in a bun with a thatch of canned... More >>

• Spinning Meal

  published July 18, 2002

  French doors of mahogany and glass front the big, bistroish 150-seat Orsini, the restaurant's tables, chairs, and sizable bar crafted from the... More >>

• A Place For Provence

  published July 11, 2002

  I can't say I'm surprised the Florida Motor Vehicle Department rejected my suggestion to change state license plate tags to read "Land Of Mediocre... More >>

• Surfside Kosher Chic

  published July 4, 2002

  Next time you find yourself craving vegetarian kosher Italian food prepared by a French chef, don't panic -- Cine Cittá Caffé serves... More >>

• Eggsistential

  published June 27, 2002

  Most workers, regardless of what trade they ply, will accumulate some "tricks of the trade," the sort of insider shortcuts that only savvy... More >>

• Loews Gauchos

  published June 20, 2002

  Located in the St. Moritz tower of the Loews Hotel, the elegant, slightly ostentatious 146-seat Gaucho Room wears its handsome cowpoke... More >>