Dena Marino

Top Chefs Name Favorite Beers: Flying Dog in Heat Wheat Among Them

The restaurant industry basically runs on booze and cigarettes, so it's no surprise that most chefs have more than a little knowledge when it comes to libations. Pair a trained palate with a taste for craft brews -- and you've got yourself some serious experts on all things beer. So in honor of Ame ... More >>

Dena Marino's Mercato Disappoints

The employee at Dena Marino's Mercato was busy. He played on his iPhone, filled out his W-4 form, and stared diligently into open space. He did not want to be interrupted. So I left the Design District breakfast and lunch spot with a few unanswered questions. See also: - Dena Marino Launches Mercat ... More >>

Miami's Top Ten Chefs

Chefs love talking about one another. They discuss talent. They obsess over who cooks better, who lacks integrity, who sold out, who travels looking for recipes to replicate. They talk about hype. They chat about expectations. They know what their colleagues are cooking. They have opinions about eve ... More >>

With Oak Tavern, David Bracha Takes Root in the Design District

See also: "Closer Look: Oak Tavern in the Design District"

With Oak Tavern, David Bracha Takes Root in the Design District

Oak Tavern's wooden tables are worn -- their faded chocolate surfaces fashioned out of reclaimed lumber, their corners burnt with the logo of a majestic oak. Outside, a courtyard envelops the eponymous tree. Inside, red brick walls guard a precarious past. In less than a decade, the Design District ... More >>

Dena Marino Launches Mercato: Casual Breakfast and Lunch in the Design District

Michelle Bernstein must be feeling the heat. Last year, just a few months after the James Beard Award-winning chef closed her acclaimed restaurant Sra. Martinez, Dena Marino made her debut in the Design District with MC Kitchen, a fine-dining establishment serving craft beers and delectable Ita ... More >>

Ten Best Miami Brunches

The debate over whether the best meal of the day is lunch or breakfast has been going on for millennia. Intense battles have broken out over the issue. But one day, a peaceful being came up with a compromise for the rivaling sides. The settlement was "brunch," a perfect middleman between the morning ... More >>

SoBeWFF Swine & Wine: Pork and Booze, Come Rain or Shine (Photos)

On Sunday evening in the courtyard of the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, there were more than 19 stations serving caja china roast pork, mojitos, and wine. A live band took the stage, and songs such as Rosario's "Meneito" filled the air. As the night wore on, a light drizzle fell upon SoBeWFF's Sw ... More >>

MC Kitchen: Chef Dena Marino Is the Design District's New Queen

Miami's Sweetest Couples: Marinos to Bernsteins to Martinezes... Or Something Like That

A few weeks back, Short Order asked readers to vote for Miami's sweetest restaurant couple.We were looking for a couple that worked together in the same restaurant -- sharing the heat and the workload to make beautiful food together.We tabulated our Facebook votes, and Miami's sweetest couple is Den ... More >>

MC Kitchen: Chef Dena Marino Is the Design District's New Queen

On a cool Saturday evening, Dena Marino, a petite toque with a dimpled smile and starched chef's coat, overlooks the humming dining room at MC Kitchen. She stands in the open kitchen, surrounded by its massive white marble counter. At the restaurant's entrance, a party of ten lingers over glasses of ... More >>

Nominate Miami's Sweetest Culinary Couple, Win a Gift Card

Throughout history there have been famous couples that have worked together. in just about every industry.Some duos that come to mind are Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall; Bonnie and Clyde; John Lennon and Yoko Ono; Hillary and Bill Clinton; Masters and Johnson; Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie; Car ... More >>

MC Kitchen Brunch: Breakfast Pizza and Tommy Pickles

No, Tommy Pickles is not some extra that gets whacked in a Sopranos episode. Tommy Pickles is one of MC Kitchen's beer cocktails ($12), served at brunch (and thankfully any time you're jonesing for it).On Saturday afternoon, I decided to try out MC Kitchen's new brunch, served weekends from 11:30 a. ... More >>

MC Kitchen, PB Steak, Khong River House: New Hotspots Introduce Brunch

Miami's on one heck of a brunch kick, and why not? It's arguably the most exciting meal of the week, usually enjoyed with a group of friends or loved ones, and likely involves drinking alcoholic beverages long before the sun sets.Three of Miami's newest hot spots have introduced brunch -- each with ... More >>

Happy Repeal Prohibition Day: Miami's Chefs Tell Us Their Favorite Drinks

If you think government is meddling in your affairs now (we're talking to you, Fox News), you should have been around in the early 20th Century, when Christian organizations and the federal government decided that most of our country's ills -- such as poverty, mental illness, crime, and bad behavior ... More >>

November 2012 Restaurant Openings and Closings

November in Miami saw many anticipated restaurants opening, and a few closings that had most people surprised, indeed.  Some welcome additions to our local food scene include Dena Marino's MC Kitchen, Myron Mixon's Pride and Joy, and David Bracha's Oak Tavern.Read also:- Florida Cookery: Every ... More >>

MC Kitchen to Open Next Week: What Dena Marino is Most Excited About

Dena Marino and partner Brandy Coletta have been working on MC Kitchen for about six months now. The Design District restaurant in the former Fratelli Lyon space, featuring modern Italian cuisine, has been completely reworked from the ground up, as evidenced by the restaurant's "demolition" photo ga ... More >>

October 2012 Restaurant Openings and Closings

Open your windows, turn off your air conditioner and enjoy this glorious weather! It's fall in Miami and as the temperature cools off, the restaurant scene heats up!Already we're seeing restaurants come onto the scene in anticipation of the arrival of snowbirds flying south for the winter, tourists ... More >>

September 2012 Restaurant Openings and Closings

September is a transitional month for Miami. It's the time when tropical storms and hurricanes tend to be their most active (though we had one scare it luckily turned out to be a non-event), snow birds are still up north, and many folks (especially those in the biz) take a break or a quickie vacatio ... More >>

Chefs For Obama: Miami's Best Chefs Cook For Fundraiser

Last evening's Chefs for Obama was a veritable who's who of the Miami culinary scene in Miami. Hosted by chef Michael Schwartz (Michael's Genuine Food & Drink) and congresswoman and Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the event, held at the Moore Building, was one of a ... More >>

August 2012 Restaurant Openings and Closings

Though generally slow-moving, August in Miami saw a surprising amount of new growth in the restaurant biz.Many restaurants opened including Michelle Bernstein's Crumb at the Webster and the reemergence of pop-up favorite Eating House.Speaking of pop-ups, Dining Room closed its doors on Washington Av ... More >>

Miami Restaurant Openings & Closings, July 2012

Miami Restaurant Openings & Closings June, 2012The big news in July regrettably revolved around closings: Sra. Martinez said adios in the Design District, David's Cafe II shut down its Lincoln Road branch, and Jamie DeRosa and Geoffrey Zakarian are now both gone from Tudor House, which sort of e ... More >>

Miami Restaurant Openings & Closings, June 2012

Miami Restaurant Openings & Closings May, 2012And so it came to pass that in the month of June, in the year of 2012, The Bazaar by José Andrés finally opened in the SLS Hotel South Beach. And with it, the also-heralded (if less so) Katsuya by Starck.After numerous permit delays, Macchialina Ta ... More >>

Miami Restaurant Openings & Closings, May 2012

May was certainly an eventful month concerning Miami dining. A trio of favorites closed shop (Anise Taverna Rustica, Fratelli Lyon, Sustain Restaurant Bar), and newcomer Mare Nostrum dropped away faster than squid on a stripper pole.There were quite a few openings, the ones of note mostly debuting ... More >>

MC Kitchen's Dena Marino On Modern Italian: Veal Ravioli, Wood-Burning Oven, and Charred Lasagna

Chef Dena Marino's newest restaurant venture, MC Kitchen in the Design District, has a restaurant mantra of "local, seasonal, modern Italian."Named for the chef and partner, Brandy Coletta, (thus the M and C in MC Kitchen), the idea simply began with a conversation between the two regarding Miami's ... More >>

MC Kitchen, Dena Marino's Modern Italian, To Replace Fratelli Lyon Soon

Okay, "soon" may be an overstatement, but MC Kitchen is "hopefully opening in early August," in the former Fratelli Lyon space, says executive chef Dena Marino. This leaves us happily anticipating the modern Italian cuisine of Marino and partner, Brandy Coletta, Their design takeover will replace th ... More >>

Miami Restaurant Openings and Closings, April 2012

The return of Kevin Cory's incredible Naoe and the debut of Josh's Delicatessen & Appetizing were the most notable local openings in April. China Grill's shuttering in South Beach was the big closure (although it will reopen in Brickell). Other than that, our list of exciting establishments ... More >>

Miami Restaurant Openings & Closings, February 2012

​February was not the most active month for our restaurant scene. We welcomed a few notable newcomers such as Juvia, Cafe 46, and the popup Eating House, and said farewell to just a few places that really were on nobody's radar anyway -- that's probably why they closed.The real excitement is to be ... More >>

What Richard Hales, Kris Wessel, Dena Marino, and Chef Jeremiah Want for Christmas

Lotus Head via Wikimedia Commons​Here at Short Order, we've spent the last week expounding upon our Christmas wishes, but what about local chefs? Here's what four told us was on their Christmas wish list. Surprisingly -- or maybe not -- most of them have little to do with food. "A line cook who la ... More >>

Kurtis Jantz's Pumpkin Cake with Foie Gras Buttercream

Chef Kurtis Jantz​As the executive chef at the Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles, Kurtis Jantz oversees the entire food and beverage operation for the resort. This is one busy man, and most of his Thanksgivings are spent working."My tradition is definitely working it," Jantz told us. ... More >>

Dena Marino's Thanksgiving Turkey with Crispy Prosciutto and Roasted Garlic

Chef Dena Marino​Chef Dena Marino moved to Miami from Colorado last summer to head the kitchen at DeVito South Beach. The job was short lived but Marino loved Miami so much she stayed. She's now working on another Miami project about which she can't reveal much because details aren't final yet. An ... More >>