Opinionated About Dining (OAD) released results of its second annual survey of dining establishments in the United States and Canada. The ratings cover over 900 restaurants ranging from fine dining to inexpensive. The only South Florida restaurants to make the grade were, perhaps to no surprise, the M & M…
The Grill on the Alley is known for their prime steaks, chops, seafood and cocktails, but on April 15 it’s going to be offering tax relief a la carte: The restaurant will pick up sales tax on all drinks, appetizers, entrees and desserts sold that day (11 a.m. to 10…
The tenuous timeline of a restaurant’s trendiness was inadvertently epitomized long ago by — who else? — Yogi Berra. It happened when a teammate suggested they dine at a New York hot spot. “Nah, nobody eats there anymore,” the baseball bard said dismissively. “It’s too crowded.” Nelson and Mayneth Sanchez,…
Yogen Früz, the Canada-based international frozen yogurt company, operates over 1,100 venues in 20 countries, but none in South Florida. Yet. The company is getting set to open their first such location in downtown Miami (100 South Biscayne Blvd). Some will be pleased that we’ll finally have access to the…
If our local restaurants can’t succeed in giving us great value for our food, the next best thing is to give us great value for our drinks. This way we can get drunk and forget how much we’re paying for dinner. And so in this spirit of cut-rate spirits, we…
There are cooking instructors and then there are cooking instructors. Executive Chef Edgar Leal of Cacao Restaurant, 2009 James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist for Best Chef in the South falls into the latter group. This coming Saturday, March 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Leal will demonstrate how to…
Executive chef Scott Conant and his restaurant Scarpetta recently docked at the Fontainebleau fresh from the flagship eatery’s spectacularly successful launch last year in New York. Conant had previously made his name at that city’s L’Impero and Alto, and Scarpetta simmers with a similar Italian soul food ethic — along…
Everybody’s talking deals these days — as in two-for-one happy hour free bottles of wine or chicken wings or dessert all-you-can-eat-type deals. Pizza Fusion, the new organic eco-friendly pizza joint in North Miami Beach (14815 Biscayne Blvd.) is running a whole bunch of daily dingers. Mondays, for instance, bring a…
Celebrations begin at 5:30 p.m. April 16 for the grand opening of Lime Fresh Mexican Grill’s Midtown Miami location (3201 N. Miami Ave.). Free beer samples from Dos XX will be on tap. There will be complimentary hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and, tacos, and a mariachi band promises to be on…
This coming Sunday, March 22nd, Taste Bakery And Cafe will open a second South Beach venue at 900 Jefferson Avenue, one block from Lincoln Road. Expect the same menu of breakfast pastries, salads and sandwiches as the Alton Road location, but with the addition of gelato and sushi. Just wondering:…
After a series of fits and starts that have characterized Miami restaurant openings for as long as there have been Miami restaurants, Chef Laurent Tourondel will finally debut his BLT Steak at the Betsy Hotel next Wednesday, March 25th. The original BLT premiered in Manhattan in 2004, its casual take…
Norman, Allen, or Mark? Fifteen years ago, this was the main — the only? — restaurant-oriented debate likely to take place in Miami. The comparison would generally start with who among Van Aken, Susser, or Militello was the best chef, and would end on the question of whose eponymous establishment…
Pig-trotter enthusiasts will have to cool their bacon a bit: The debut of the 24/7 Parisian bistro Au Pied de Cochon, originally pegged to open on South Beach in March, has been pushed back to April. We are also still waiting for Rack’s Italian Market, Ahnvee Restaurant & Lounge, Wolfgang’s…
Hungering for some hearty bistro fare, I had a friend call (on behalf of my wife and I) to request reservations at Plat Bleu in the Delano Hotel. Word came back that reservations weren’t taken, and that the restaurant was located on the right side of the indoor and outdoor…
On Saturday, March 21, Cacao Restaurant in Coral Gables will hold a symphonic celebration following the Miami Symphony Orchestra’s performance at Guzman Concert Hall earlier that evening. Guests will have a chance to mingle with world-renowned Miami Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor Maestro Eduardo Marturet while sipping wine and…
Executive chef Sean Brasel tried a Lincoln Road meatery once before: KISS Steakhouse, located in the Albion Hotel, opened and closed in 2002. The restaurant’s failure probably had more to do with the scantily clad go-go dancers gyrating on Plexiglas stages above the tables than the food’s quality: The steaks,…
Restaurants die, it’s as basic as thatAs with people you just never know.Some exist as long as a mountain flatOthers have lifespans like snow.”High rent and costs,” the owners say”Competition is obscene.”Yet some joints rock both night and dayWith a bar scene in between.So many theories have been passedBut it…
Season two of Check, Please! kicks off tonight on WPBT-2, with Michelle Bernstein returning to host and lead each week’s panel discussion. The show features three dining enthusiasts who escort one another to their respective favorite restaurant, then afterward in the studio, make-believe they are reviewers and dish about the…
Add The Food Gang to the list of 2009’s restaurant victims. We in Miami have also recently lost Christabelle’s Quarter, Two Chefs Too and Mr. Chu’s Hong Kong Cuisine. And while we didn’t notice when El Viajante Segundo became no mas, it is nonetheless shocking — the Cuban cafeteria had…
Dogfish, Shipward, Lefthand, Terrapin, and Stone are five of the seven microbrews being poured tonight at Angelo & Maxie’s Steakhouse. It’s the latest in this restaurant’s series of Thursday night beer tastings, which run from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. For twenty dollars, patrons can quaff the aforementioned quintet of suds…
Nestled within towering glass-and-brick canyons across this country are illuminated urban nightlife scenes replete with bistros, bars, pubs, clubs, and fine-dining establishments. This isn’t the case in downtown Miami. We’re not talking about pretty Brickell and its merry Mary Village chain gang of eateries. Nor are we speaking of the…
New Times received this email, which was sent to numerous folks, from Jason Smith, the talented chef de cuisine of Table 8:”Yesterday was my last day at Table 8 South Beach. I have resigned and left in good standing. I have accepted the position of chef de cuisine of the…
