By strict definition, a diner is a restaurant that resembles the dining car of a train. Longer than it is wide, it opens early and closes late, if at all, and serves three meals a day to as many customers as it possibly can. Having spent a good portion of…
In Miami, where eating and drinking seem to be the basis of all social contact, dining out has its advantages. Other than choosing the restaurant, making a reservation, and ordering, there’s little stress involved. No chopping and dicing and nicking of fingers. No burnt disasters in the oven, no miasmas…
During the past two months, someone has been blitzing Miami with a half-million-dollar publicity campaign. Press releases galore. Metrobus shelters overwhelmed by this big spender’s gaudy, big-as-life likeness. A tie-in with American Express. A Huizenga production? The Estefans at it again? Schwarzenegger? Stallone? Madonna, maybe? Or Rourke? Try again. Nick’s…
In her novel Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto writes, “The place I like best in this world is the kitchen. No matter where it is, no matter what kind, if it’s a place where they make food, it’s fine with me. Ideally it should be well broken in. Lots of tea towels,…
Those of you who love it may start mourning its loss of solo status now. Those of you who hate it, consider yourselves warned. South Beach is being copied. Or more accurately, the philosophy of if it’s still standing, tear it down has prompted other local beach neighborhoods to renovate…
Before a photographer shoots a picture, he checks for certain basic components — a worthy subject, appropriate light. But above all he composes the shot; that is, he determines how aspects of the picture interact. The most interesting subject in the world can’t compensate for discord — or blandness –…
A restaurant’s name often indicates the type of fare it offers. This is particularly true when a specific dish has been worked into the title. All Burgers serves burgers, El Toro Taco features tacos, Peking Noodle emphasizes its noodle dishes, and so on. It’s reasonable to assume that these restaurants…
For party people, an evening of both dinner and dancing is practically de rigueur. Though the conservative approach is to feast in one place, frolic in another, Miamians are not known for either their reserve or their patience. If the music in the restaurant has enough of a beat, we’re…
Where Kerry Simon goes, I will follow. Or will I? Follow the leader is a natural inclination on South Beach, where no phenomenon is considered good until the A-listers have been caught doing it, seeing it, smoking it, or eating it. So when Simon deserted the Raleigh Hotel’s Blue Star…
When a restaurant we love goes out of business, we may mourn its passing. We might long for a certain favorite dish. But we hardly ever wonder what became of the staff, how they survived the loss of their livelihoods, where they found other work. If the executive chef is…
Not very long ago, consumption of pasta was reserved for Italians and marathon runners, who inhaled it for energy the night before a race. The rest of the general American public dined in pasta ignorance. We called it spaghetti no matter its thickness, sometimes referring to it as noodles. In…
When real estate developer George Merrick planned his “City Beautiful,” Coral Gables, he was envisioning an upper-class enclave, architectural homogeneity, solidarity. Houses would present a unified front: white stucco, wrought iron, tejas, balconies. Landscaped lawns would prevail. He succeeded. Coral Gables became an ideal community — quiet, attractive, and conservative…
In November’s issue of Gourmet magazine, columnist Fred Ferretti laments the obsessive labeling of culinary trends. “Why must our current crop of foodies,” he asks, “now become preoccupied with Pacific Nouvelle Cuisine, Fusion Cuisine, Euro-Asian Cuisine, Crossroads Cuisine…even Nuevo Mundo Cuisine? Of late we even have Floribbean Cuisine.” This last…
In these health-conscious days, low-fat Japanese cuisine is a popular option. While perhaps not as commonplace as a hamburger and fries, it’s certainly more available than ever before. And with this cooking style’s increased acceptance into America’s dining culture, the restaurants offering it also have evolved. In the late Seventies…
Something about Miami allows other countries to gain footholds in this city. Many South American and Caribbean communities flourish here, all of which add to the city’s multicultural flavor. Brazil, in particular, is influential — all you need to do is walk on the beach, dodging barefoot soccer players and…
Gloria Estefan is a woman who needs no introduction in Miami. We know well her sultry voice — the embodiment of this seductive, subtropical city. We admire her showwomanship, her business acumen, her homegirl-made-good-ness. Her personal bravery (returning to performance after suffering a broken back in a 1990 bus accident)…
On Kendall’s portion of South Dixie Highway, a small, single-business building such as Thai Silk frequently escapes attention. Shopping centers, mini-malls, and massive outlet stores — most located on the eastern side of the road — dominate the view. In daylight, the endless array of retail shops reminds the driver…
Imagine spending every moment of your life with the person you love. In the morning, one alarm would wake you both. You’d drive to work together, labor side by side, break briefly for left-over sushi from dinner the night before. After work, you’d stop for a drink at the oceanfront…
The heat’s abating, the rain’s slackening. The daunting subtropical summer is undeniably drawing to a close. So why aren’t more South Beach natives relaxing on their front porches, enjoying the cooler night air? Why are so many people still partying desperately in bars and restaurants that are kept as cold…
These names still count: Mark Militello, Allen Susser, Norman Van Aken, Nino Pernetti. They’re the restaurateurs who, in the late 1980s, brought panache and creativity to Miami’s previously staid restaurant scene. The pioneers established a triangle of taste: Mark’s Place and Chef Allen’s to the north; Van Aken’s a Mano…
When a region such as the Southwest achieves national attention, a broad, enduring public interest often results. International galleries import achievements of local artists. Entrepreneurs bottle indigenous sauces and spices, supplying the gourmet sections of upscale department stores. Most important, restaurants serving regional cuisine open all over the country. The…
In the novel How to Make an American Quilt, Whitney Otto writes about a fabric pattern called the “Crazy Quilt” and the women who are involved in sewing it. The narrator says, “I am reminded of some sort of complicated dance of many partners, facing many different directions.” This “complicated…
