Esquire sure doesn’t know how to give a compliment. The magazine just released its picks for the 20 best new restaurants in the nation, and one of Miami’s own has made the list. MC Kitchen, the Design District restaurant helmed by chef Dena Marino and Brandy Coletta, received acclaim for…
At Eating House in Coral Gables, Giorgio Rapicavoli serves Tang mimosas, Cap’n Crunch pancakes, and croquetas banh mi. When he isn’t at his restaurant, the playful chef seeks out cool spots and laid-back, neighborhood joints. Here, in his own words, are his favorite restaurants in Miami…
This isn’t a popularity contest. This is about influence. These people have shaped our city’s dining scene. They operate fabled restaurants, mentor budding chefs, grow organic vegetables, and roast the best damn coffee in town. What follows is a list of the top ten influential figures in Miami dining –…
Have you ever heard of mock apple pie? In The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten references an early-19th-century pie recipe that uses smashed Ritz crackers instead of apples. Flavored with cinnamon, sugar, and lemon juice, the crackers taste just like fruit. Sometimes, seasonings can fool you into thinking you’re…
I had one of the best meals of my life in the midwest. In a signless, 18-seat restaurant called Forequarter in Madison, Wisconsin, every plate evinces epicurean talent: sautéed rainbow trout, pan-roasted quail, pork terrine. But there’s no head chef at this place, which recently landed on Bon Appétit’s best…
Benjamin Ford is a pioneer. Seven years ago, he opened Ford’s Filling Station, a Culver City, California, restaurant that emphasizes fine butchery and seasonal ingredients. The chef, who’s popping up at Harry’s Pizzeria tonight, imported the concept out of London. It was called a gastropub. And, in the United States,…
Sam Gorenstein began with breakfast. As a kid in Barranquilla, Colombia, the chef and owner of My Ceviche would step into the kitchen every weekend morning and cook omelets and frittatas for his entire family. “From the moment I was tall enough to reach the knobs on the stove, I…
For Dena Marino, everything changed after her first home economics class. It was in that unlikely place — in a football-crazed high school in a middling city near the Jersey shore — that the petite blonde had an epiphany. She wanted to become a chef. It didn’t come as a…
Have you been to Proper Sausages yet? It’s a tiny store, one that sits on a busy street in Miami Shores. The butcher shop opened earlier this year, proffering a lot of things you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else — think Florida beef, local eggs, and, yes, even…
There are two kinds of pizza lovers in this town: traditionalists and radicals. Traditionalists want extra cheese, but never fontina or Gorgonzola. Did you just ask them to pay 15 bucks for a 12-inch pie? They probably threw some figs and prosciutto in your face. They like pepperoni. A lot…
A few days ago, something strange happened. It was a sunless Monday, and the humdrum of lunch filled Wolfgang’s Steakhouse downtown. Three guys chatted over steak salads, real estate tycoon Jorge Perez perused a lengthy report while sipping Diet Coke, and waiters scraped breadcrumbs off my white-tablecloth-topped table. Favoring silk…
Tenderloins are the cookies of the beef world. They’re selfish, ideal for one patron to consume in just a few mouthfuls. But larger steaks, such as porterhouses and rib eyes, are like layer cakes: generous, indulgent, and meant to be shared. Because these cuts usually cost more than filets, we’ve…
Taco Belly isn’t just a pop-up; it’s the best damn taqueria in South Beach. Will its bulgogi tacos ever win any authenticity awards? Probably not. But those spicy tacos — stuffed with tender Korean-marinated steak, kimchee, avocado, and gochujang — are absolutely delicious. And they’re really popular too. So popular,…
Tenderloins are the cookies of the beef world. They’re selfish, ideal for one patron to consume in just a few mouthfuls. But larger steaks, such as porterhouses and rib eyes, are like layer cakes: generous, indulgent, and meant to be shared. Because these cuts usually cost more than filets, we’ve…
A few days ago, something strange happened. It was a sunless Monday, and the humdrum of lunch filled Wolfgang’s Steakhouse downtown. Three guys chatted over steak salads, real estate tycoon Jorge Perez perused a lengthy report while sipping Diet Coke, and waiters scraped breadcrumbs off my white-tablecloth-topped table. Favoring silk…
Gotham Steak hopes you like Cristal champagne. Oh, and caviar, oysters, lobster, and Japanese Wagyu steaks too. Because earlier this month, the restaurant inside the Fontainebleau debuted its so-called $1,954 dining experience — a meal for two described on its website as a “one-of-a-kind extravagance of rare and prestigious indulgences.”…
Good news, brunch buffs. Following the success of its now-shuttered lunch pop-up, Macchialina will debut brunch this Sunday, September 22…
Piyarat Arreeratn is not in the kitchen. Tonight, the boyish chef with spiky hair roams the dining room at his family-run restaurant, Oishi Thai. He pats a blond kid on the head, wipes down an empty table, and bounces around asking guests if everything is all right. Chef Bee, as…
At a boxy wine shop in Hallandale Beach called Mas Vino, you can buy bottles that are interesting and affordable. Store manager Charles Ferrin marks his favorites with bright labels, denoting wines that are both great tasting and great deals. Ferrin is one of those cerebral wine guys, the kind…
Piyarat Arreeratn is not in the kitchen. Tonight, the boyish chef with spiky hair roams the dining room at his family-run restaurant, Oishi Thai. He pats a blond kid on the head, wipes down an empty table, and bounces around asking guests if everything is all right. Chef Bee, as…
Wynwood Brewing Company officially launches its beers on September 23 at Gramps, but you can get a taste of their brews tomorrow night at Wood Tavern. The neighborhood bar is hosting a soft launch for the brewery during Art Walk…
Jose Mendin knows good food. As director of culinary operations for the Pubbelly Hospitality Group, the chef oversees some of the most popular kitchens in town — an impressive array that includes Pubbelly, Pubbelly Sushi, Barceloneta, Macchialina, and PB Steak. Here, in his own words, are his favorite restaurants in…
