Burger Battle ’09

One thing we have learned from the economic downturn, culinarily speaking, is that hamburgers are more popular than ever. It makes sense when you think about it. But let’s not — and instead dive into the meat of the matter: The ubiquitous burger is barging onto all sorts of menus…

Rain Delay for Apple Opening

Hailing from West Hollywood, CA, glitterati gastrolounge Apple is getting its first taste of living it up Miami.  And it’s a wet one.Thanks to our token inclement summer weather arriving on schedule, Apple’s owners have been tossed off theirs.    …

Sushi Deli Doing Omakase and Summer Hiatus

Chef Michio Kushi of Sushi Deli is going on vacation to Japan for three weeks this summer, from June 16 to July 6, but beforehand he’s at your service — omakase-style.”Some customers come in and now ask for ‘chef’s choice’,” chats Kushi.  “It’s like little tastes, like tapas-style.  I like…

Pizza Volante in Miami’s Design District In Pictures

I had lunch yesterday at Pizza Volante in the Design District and the place was buzzing hard with life and energy. Owner Chef Jonathan Eismann was there and he offered me a pizza pie. It was fired in a wood burning grill and cooked to crispy perfection. See how those…

The Palm’s Nova Scotia Lobster at Sustainable Prices

For 40+ years, The Palm has been synonymous with its signature jumbo broiled Nova Scotia lobsters — well, at least among seafood lovers.  Beginning Monday, June 1, we’re hearing that The Palm in Bay Harbor Islands will offer a lobster special to rival the best of ’em.  $89 gets you…

Bromance with a Burger at Whisk

It’s easy to coax a brother out to lunch when meat is involved.  Especially if it’s the organic sirloin served up a new way every Friday at Whisk Gourmet in Coral Gables.That was my trick when I asked bro Kevin, back from Babson College for the summer, to meet me…

Kim Kardashian Swoons for Fontainebleau Fried Oreos

In case you didn’t see last night’s teaser on E! or weren’t invited to the launch party, Kim and clan have arrived in Miami to open up the first satellite Dash boutique and chronicle their antics for Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, a spin-off of the family’s successful Keeping Up…

Weekend Blog Watch: Food Photography in the Local Blogosphere

As Ali G would say, “Respec. Booyakasha.” All you blogsters out there are stepping your game up and taking your craft seriously. Photos are looking better and better every week.Here are some tips: shoot multiple images and angles of the same item, the macro setting is your friend, the focus…

Memorial Day at Miami Beach VFW Post 3559

Miami Beach VFW Post 3559 is the best kept secret on the beach, particularly on Memorial  Day. All the regulars were cool with me, but nobody there seemed too keen on the idea of the whole world finding out about their $2.25 beers or $3.75 mixed drinks from 3 p.m…

Johnny V Goat Cheese & Beet Salad

Johnny Vinczencz is a Broward star these days. His Johnny V and Smith and Jones  restaurants (respectively established 2003 and 2008) both dish the chefs’ robust American cuisine from behind glossy storefronts on E. Las Olas Boulevard. But it was in 1995, at the Astor Place hotel on Miami Beach,…

SKYY Pineapple at Michael’s Genuine

Pineapple is the new flavor du jour from SKYY Vodka, the American spirit company whose Infusions portfolio already includes Citrus, Cherry, Grape, Raspberry, and Passion Fruit. SKYY Infusions Pineapple Vodka is tabbed as “a lively, juicy tropical explosion of luscious” — wait a second, is this describing vodka or a…

Good Evening (Again) Hy Vong

There was a time in Miami when traffic was bad only during rush hour, and when rush hour was, well, actually only one hour.  Back then, life was slower.  Businesses, especially restaurants, didn’t come and go from year to year.  They lingered, embraced by patrons who nurtured them, and in…

BBQ and Food Safety Guidelines From The USDA

Leave it to the nofunsters at the FDA to take a beautiful concept like BBQ, the most perfect cooking method in in the history of civilization, and ruin it with their salmonella this, and cleanliness that.What they think is so hard about doing it right, I just don’t know. My…

The Friday American – Weekly Wrap Up

(Sung to the tune of America the Beautiful)Oh bellyfull of cakes and piesHamburgers, hops and grainOh double fisting whiskey shotsI’ll never drink againShort Order Blog, Short Order BlogThe web cried out for theeSo here we are to representfor good old Miami Memorial Day commemorates U.S. armed forces personnel who were…

How To Go Green For Memorial Weekend: Solar Cooking

So you say you’ve gone green, but how committed are you to the cause? You wear organic flip-flops with your organic socks, don’t use air conditioning, sleep in a tent in your neighbor’s backyard, surf the web on a solar-powered computer and only bathe in organic water. Good start, but…

Drink Up at Level 25, Luna Cafe, Meat Market and More

It’s going to be a long weekend, whether or not you plan to get all up in the Memorial Day craziness.  Here are some classy liquid opportunities to wind up before ….or down after… Body Mind and Planet: The Bar at Level 25 now has weekday happy hours that flaunt …

Soyka-kadoodledo

Rise and shine, Upper Eastside! To mark its 10th anniversary, Soyka will be up at dawn from now on with the launch of a permanent breakfast service beginning June 1. We hear Chef Luis Lopez will be serving up diner-esque breakfast fare with commuter-friendly names like “The Early Riser” (three…

Memorial Day Beer & BBQ Blast at North One 10

North One 10 is holding its’ Special Edition Memorial Day Beer & BBQ this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (May 22nd, 23rd and 24th) — and like those years when Easter and Passover coincidentally occur on the same week, Dewey and Dale LoSasso’s shindig falls precisely on the same weekend as…

Booze Hound: Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar and LatAm Grill

Typical Groveites (or Grovinians? Grovitines?) wears shorts and flip flops. They always seem to be walking a dog, clutching a plastic cup, and most likely drive a Mini Cooper. Their typical night’s itinerary usually includes pigging out on fish tacos at Sandbar, purchasing JOB rolling papers at Yucky’s, and eventually…

Gourmet For The Glades at Ortanique On The Mile

The Everglades are certainly worth visiting, surely worth fighting for, and definitely worth protecting.Sure, sure, they’re “way out there” (cause of suburban sprawl) and easy to forget about, but here’s a tasty way that YOU can help.Reserve your seat for the Gourmet For The Glades dinner at Ortanique On The…