Essencia Lounge Makes A Big Deal About Thursday

​The Palms Hotel & Spa is once again touting a basketful of Thursday deals and steals:DEALS: From 6 to 10 p.m., guests at the Essensia Lounge will receive half-off all drinks and cocktails, and half-off all appetizers from chef Frank Jeannetti’s luscious Lounge menu. And from 4 to 9 p.m.,…

Wine Depot & Bistro 555 Looks Like A Winner

Yesterday evening my wife and I checked out the brand new Wine Depot & Bistro 555, which opened last week at 555 Jefferson Ave. in South Beach (just up the block from the Meridian Market). The portion is a lofty, industrial space divided into a wine market to the left…

Two Fat Ladies: Recipe For Lobster with Latkas

Yesterday we highlighted the Two Fat Ladies: Full Thottle cookbook that was first published in 1998 by the irrepressible Brits. Today we offer a recipe from the book for Lobster with Latkas — one of Clarissa’s offerings. “I have an unlimited passion for lobsters which I do very well with,…

Cafe Prima Pasta’s $7 Pasta Deal

​It’s getting annoying, this habit of naming days, weeks, and months after foods in order to promote sales. Every week I get some email proclaiming National Popcorn Day or National Fig Newton Month or the one coming up next: National Pasta Week. This will occur the second week in October…

Two Fat Ladies: Full Throttle

“Let’s eat what God gave us.” – Jennifer Paterson”Never trust a thin cook.” – Clarissa Dickson WrightTwo Fat Ladies was my favorite cooking show of all time, which is probably why my wife bought copies of two of their books for me while she was in London. Full Throttle was…

Nobu Matsuhisa: A True Top Chef

This interview with Nobu Matsuhisa, as told to Maggie Overfelt for Fortune Small Business, just came to my attention. It was first published back in 2009, but is so interesting as to be worth repeating for the many who missed it first time around. We’ve become accustomed to seeing freakish…

Bourbon Steak’s Recipe For Fiery Jerk Chicken Wings

On Friday, we spoke with Bourbon Steak Miami’s executive chef Gabriel Fenton about his fiery jerk chicken wings that will hit the Bourbon Steak bar bites menu tomorrow — coinciding with the first Miami Heat preseason game. Some heat with the Heat, so to speak.The folks at Bourbon encourage you…

Bogus Bialy at Brooklyn Bagels

I recently purchased a couple of bagels and a bialy at Brooklyn Bagels, which is open for business in the Midtown 2 (between The Cheese Course and Primo Pizza, across from Shoppes at Midtown). Owner Ashraf Sahaltout ships his water from New York in order to capture that elusive Brooklyn…

Chef Gabriel Fenton Talks Jerk Chicken Wings & Bourbon Steak

The Miami Heat plays its first preseason game this coming Tuesday, October 5. That same evening, executive chef Gabriel Fenton from Bourbon Steak Miami will be introducing his own new heat excitement via “super hot jerk chicken wings” — a new bar item on a new bar menu. Guests can…

Sneak Review: Gigi

A short bite from next week’s Cafe review:Pricing is all about offering value to the customer. How else can one describe the proffering of fresh, quality, chef-driven food that starts at $3 a plate and tops out at $16? While the laws of mathematics dictate that it all adds up,…

Indomania Reopens Tonight; Will Be Featured on Check, Please!

Pieter and Ineke Both have returned from their annual visit to native Amsterdam and are set to once again serve their loyal base of local fans starting this evening. “Getting some inspiration, seeing friends and family” is how Pieter describes their four-week sojourn. Will such inspirations lead to specific changes…

El Floridita: $9.95 Lunch Deal and Damn Good Croquetas

Daniel and Barbara Mejia have been pleasing patrons at their El Floridita Seafood Restaurant on Bird Road for the past decade (and doing likewise at their Kendall location for four years). What’s not to like about a family-friendly seafood restaurant with an extensive menu of over 100 items and an…

Culinary Ephemera: An Illustrated History

This is a departure from our regular cookbook column in that the book we’re featuring is not a cookbook. Plus it’s new, as opposed to our usual old, or as we like to say “classic” books. But we bring it to you because it meets the main criteria: Cool reading…

Burger & Beer Joint Makes A Mean Harlem Mini-Cocktail

Tasting Panel Magazine and Harlem Kruiden Liqueur gathered a dozen mixologists at Philippe Chow last week, and challenged them to create a “mini” 2oz. cocktail using the herby Harlem Liqueur from Holland with any ingredients of their choosing. Harlem, incidentally, is the “ice cold shot drink” from the makers of…

$18 Three-Course Lunch Deal Returns to FIU

Fall semester has begun at Florida International University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, which means the $18 lunch deal is back! Students in the school’s Advanced Foodservice Management classes, under the direction of Chef Mike Moran and Chef Roger Probst, host, serve, and prepare the lunch every Tuesday, Thursday…

Cecconi’s Set To Open in Soho Beach House

Interior of the original Cecconi’s in London.​October 11 is set as the date for a much-anticipated debut of Cecconi’s Miami in the new Soho Beach House. This will be the third outpost of Cecconi’s, the Venetian-influenced menu already being served in other Soho Houses. Executive chef at the Miami branch…

Sneak Review: Chow Down Grill

A quick bite from next week’s Cafe review:Marcus formerly served as pasta maker at Timo Restaurant, and the lush doughs here are delicious — especially the jade-green ones made from basil that wrap around a vibrant chop of organic chicken. Black squid dumplings are special too, filled with shrimp, fennel,…

Free Fried Chicken at Pollo Campero

Don’t get too excited — it’s only one piece per customer. But free is free, and Pollo Campero’s fried chicken is marinated with lime and orange juices, red bell peppers, and a special blend of Latin herbs and spices. It is “Flavor You Can’t Campero.” Didn’t know that? Exactly. Which…

Ten Perspectives On Popchips

The popchips people popped by the New Times office last week and left behind a basket of popchips in all 6 flavors. I’d never had a popchip before — I’m not much of a bagged-snack sort of guy — but here are ten quick impressions:1.The sour cream & onion, and…

Target Aims For The Food Market

Target is in the process of completing its redesign of six stores in the Miami area. The new, wider-aisle layouts for each venue feature a 40% increase in food offerings. Groceries now available include fresh produce (seasonal fruit, baby carrots, and bagged lettuce to name a few); pre-packaged baked goods…