When the humidity drops below 90 percent and temperatures cool to the mid-70s, Miami comes alive. Snowbirds and weekenders fly south for the winter in search of balmy breezes and events such as Art Basel and the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. It is also the time when new…
Season 11 of Top Chef, the Bravo cooking competition that paved the way for the cooking-show craze, premieres tonight. This time, the cheftestants compete in New Orleans, where regulars Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, and Gail Simmons are joined by Emeril Lagasse and Hugh Acheson. Though some critics scoff at Bravo’s…
Holeman & Finch was opened in 2008, and it revolutionized the cocktail culture in Atlanta. Five years later, the public house (as it calls itself) is doing more than encouraging locals to drink. As soon as guests walk in, they’re greeted with the word “eat” on a glass window that…
It sounds like the time Shaquille O’Neal drank too many brewskis, but in reality, Shacktoberfest is the yearly celebration of all things beer, brat, and burger. Shake Shack’s eighth annual Shacktoberfest runs from Friday, October 4, through Sunday, October 13, and is filled with all kinds of special-edition treats and…
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…
Mushroom-infused cocktails might evoke images of psilocybes resting at the bottom of a bottle of Everclear, but not at the Flat, which offers the Truffle Sidecar, a cocktail infused with one of the world’s most expensive mushrooms. The idea comes from the mind of the Flat’s resident mixologist, Milos Vujovic,…
Today, the United States Government shut down after Congress failed to reach an agreement to fund federal agencies. The first shutdown in 17 years disrupts a laundry list of federal agencies. Though essential government employees like air traffic controllers, border patrol agents and food inspectors, will continue to work, many…
Breast cancer affects too many of us, whether we are a survivor or the friend or family member of one. According to the American Cancer Society, “breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. About one in eight (12%) women in the United States…
September marks the beginning of the busy fall season. All over Miami, life renews as shops, restaurants, and hotels spiffy up for the winter season. Retooled menus, chef changes, and reworked decor are all par for the course — as are the openings of a plethora of new and interesting…
There are certain restaurants that you just feel like you are a part of, like the spots that feature “mi” in the name. Mi Colombia Cafeteria y Restaurante in North Beach is one of those places. The first time I visited, I parked in the rear and entered through the…
When Richard Hales opened Sakaya Kitchen in 2009, the “fast-casual, Asian-inspired, organic-conscious restaurant” quickly became an obsession of many Miamians who craved flavorful food that wouldn’t break their budgets. The restaurant served everything from Korean-style barbecue to “chunk’d” tater tots smothered in cheese and beef. Hales, who attended the French…
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,…
Here’s a simple equation for foodies: Julia Child is to French cooking as (blank) is to Italian cooking. If you said Marcella Hazan, you’re both correct and saddened by a great loss to the culinary community. Ms. Hazan, the woman who brought Italian cuisine to American homes, died Sunday in…
Much like Parks & Recreation’s illustrious Tom Haverford, the Brits have all kinds of adorable terminology for their daily eats. OK, so maybe they beat him to the name game by like, 400 years, but either way, phrases like “bangers” (British) and “chicky chicky parm parm” (Tom-ish) are hard not…
Here’s hoping you’ve been watching Miami Monkey. We’ve been following for many reasons. Obviously, we’re into the fact that the show revolves around a Miami Beach bar and Big Ang Raiola, the Mob Wife who owns the place. Then, obviously, there’s the whole Staten Island vs. Miami girls theme. And,…
Alcohol, some believe, causes honesty. Homefield Sports Bar and Grill will host a talk on faith with Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski called Theology on Tap Tuesday, October 15. From 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. over some suds or wine, Wenski will give the presentation “Relevance Found: How Is the Catholic Church…
Save a few unexpected obstacles, Miami threw a great weekend, right? Friday night guests got their fried chicken and champagne on at Cluck and had a blast at Miami’s first poultry-centered event. Kudos to Chef Adrianne Calvo for her people’s choice victory. And then the Escape to Miami triathlon made…
Bocce Bar, forecast to open in late 2013, is designed to give Miami a bit of the dolce vita for which Italians are known. Modeled after a traditional enoteca, the midtown Miami restaurant will feature an indoor/outdoor bar as a focal point. A counter will display a selection of house-made…
Chayhana Oasis in Sunny Isles is a surprisingly enchanting Uzbek restaurant only accessible from one side of 163rd St. After you arrive on the correct side of the street, you have to find the visitor parking ramp above and away from the restaurant, and ride down the elevator. Then you’ll…
Another new brewery could be coming to Miami. Alchemy and Science Brewing Collaborative, the Vermont-based company with a growing brood of craft breweries, filed a trademark application for Concrete Beach Brewery in August. Even more telling, a basic search for the aforementioned name yields three trademark results, all of them…
The South Beach Wine & Food Festival turns 13 in 2014, and Lee Brian Schrager, creator of the festival and vice president of corporate communications and national events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America Inc., knew exactly how he wanted to celebrate: a good old-fashioned bar mitzvah. “I wanted…
Long before South Beach’s popular pork-centric restaurant Pubbelly was even a thought, a 17-year-old kid named Jose Mendin announced he wanted to be a chef and went to Paris with his father. “My dad took me to a three-star Michelin restaurant, and I think I had the best meal of…
