Spring Lamb, a la Armenian

You wonder how a tiny, nine-table, family run Armenian cafe could survive two years on the fringes of Boca Raton’s ritzy Mizner Park: But order a plate of Boca Skewers’ falafel, and you’ll get the picture. These crunchy little balls of fried, spiced chickpeas may be served on a plastic…

Unlucky Thirteen: 2009’s First Restaurant Closings

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…

Go to Sushi — The Real Deal Lives on Biscayne Boulevard

Best Sushi In World? from MiamiNewTimes.com on Vimeo.Goto Sushi Express is a great little sushi joint around Biscayne and 54th. Check out this video interview slash rolling demo with the husband-and-wife team that owns and operates the place. With sushi as with most everything, ain’t nothin’ like the real thing,…

Flashback Diner of Hallandale Serves Up St. Patrick’s Deal

Flashback Diner Hallandale from MiamiNewTimes.com on Vimeo.Flashback Diner in Hallandale Beach has been serving the 24-hour eating needs of South Florida for a long time. The guy in the video, John Pozzi, says he’s been eating there 40 years, since before it was Flashback. Pozzi was sitting at the counter…

River Oyster Bar Has Deals on Meals… and Wine

River Oyster Bar from MiamiNewTimes.com on Vimeo.Ever wondered what wine goes good with oysters? Well, Marita Leonard from the River Oyster Bar, just south of downtown Miami, will be happy to tell you. She gained her expertise in pairing wines to food by “drinking a lot, eating a lot, and…

Strawberry Fields, Not Forever

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association wants to remind us that strawberries are not forever: The big season for our Florida beauties, grown mostly in Plant City and Dover, is November to March. It’s your last chance to gorge on one of our most delicious local fruits, so here are the…

Microwbrew Tasting Tonight at Angelo & Maxie’s

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…

Cheap Eats at Four Downtown Miami Restaurants

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…

Motley Crue Beer Girls

Beer Girls from MiamiNewTimes.com on Vimeo.There are many facets of the food service industry that stretch beyond the boundaries of culinary endeavours. For example, working the beer concession at a Motley Crue concert. Let us take you into that world for a minute. Find out about Rod Stewart, Dennis Rodman…

Chef Switch At Table 8

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…

Meat Carving Station At Motley Crue Concert

Meat Carving Station from MiamiNewTimes.com on Vimeo.Motley Crue has come a long way. You think they were serving casino quality beef and turkey at their early LA shows? Hell no. Check out this carving station they had in the lobby of the Hard Rock Live last night for the Crue…

Deal or No Deal?

Seems as though just about every restaurant is offering some sort of Miami Spice-type “deal” throughout this season. This is a good thing, but not always quite as good as it looks. Take I Corsini’s recent offer for a three course meal, including a glass of house wine, for $33…

The Addison — Chef Joe Hahn Talks Boca Raton

I recently spoke to chef Joe Hahn of The Addison in Boca Raton. He talked about being a dishwasher, brunch, and volcano tuna. Here’s what he had to say.”I’m just the chef, been the executive chef for about a year now.Last five years before coming here, I was at Maxwell’s…

Bengal Indian Cuisine

Bengal Indian Cuisine from Miami New Times on Vimeo.Bengal Indian Cuisine restaurant at NE 20th and Biscayne Boulevard specializes in “modern Indian” food, but its influences range from traditional Northern Indian to Central Asian and Bangladeshi cooking. Owner Mainul Chowdhury’s native country is Bangladesh.I walked in off the street, asked…

Snack King — Japanese Bag Fish Crunch

I discovered the Japanese Bag Fish Crunch — that’s my name for a product that’s in a language I can’t read — at Tim’s Oriental Grocery in Homestead. I like fish, I like crunchy foods, and I couldn’t resist the idea of small, fried fish in a bag full of…

Snack King — Baklawa From Tarragon Middle East Market

Tarragon Middle East Market has been open in South Miami since 1994. Hassan Mehaydli runs the place with his twin brother. I went in to check out the place, got a free sample of baklawa (AKA baklava) and asked Hassan a couple of questions. BTW, the baklawa was awesome.New Times:…

Coral Gables Middle Eastern Festival

Middle Eastern Festival from Miami New Times on Vimeo.The Coral Gables Middle Eastern Festival at The Cathedral of St. George featured food, drink, arts, crafts, and bounce houses. Nothing Middle Eastern about bounce houses, but hey, the kids love ’em. The Cathedral of St. George…

Calypso’s Seafood Grill — Fresh and Local in Key Largo

What the Hell Is She Crab Soup? from Miami New Times on Vimeo.One of the greatest things about livin’ in South Florida is our proximity to the Florida Keys. Calypso’s Seafood Grill has been standing at mile marker 99.5 in Key Largo, Monroe County, for 14 years. It’s not the…

Five Foods You Don’t Need to Give Up for Lent

1. ChocolateTwo words: Flavonoids. Antioxidants. Dark chocolate, more than 70 percent cocoa, has both of them, and they destroy evil free radicals, lower blood pressure, and balance hormones. The folks at Galler Chocolate, a candymaker from Belgium, will be happy to consult with you about the optimal mix for good…

Down By The River Gourmet Bistro

Located across the Miami River on the ground level of NEO Lofts (10 SW South River Drive), River Gourmet Bistro and Market was recently debuted by Miami natives Alina Portuondo-Freyre and Teresa Alexandria-Hernandez (the same women behind For the Love of Food Catering). The menu is a potpourri of familiar…

It’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

Now, I don’t want to make light of the eleven million Americans who suffer from eating disorders, particularly since around ten million of them are women or girls. This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, so let me say right now that in their most extreme forms, anorexia and…

Orange You Glad You Got “Squeezed” for 35 Mil?

Some of my favorite boondoggles over the years have involved the vast sums stupid companies have spent to fix what ain’t broke. Our latest example is Tropicana, headquartered in Bradenton, Florida. In a classic act of desperation, the ailing orange juice producer decided to scrap its familiar, easy to spot,…