The 2009 Zagat Miami/South Florida Guide was just released — the Miami portion edited by New Times contributor Bill Citara. Here are some impressions: Michy’s On Top For Food With 28 Rating You can’t argue with this — or, more to the point, you can argue with this, and every…
You haven’t quite missed the bargains this year: Dine Out Fort Lauderdale has been extended until December 14th for 22 of the restaurants originally participating. Among them, Cero (they have a new chef, Toby Joseph has left to go to Bova Prime); Four Rivers, and 3030 Ocean; Lola’s on Harrison…
Of course, you could just hire a waitress and a scullery maid, but in this economy, who has the extra dough? If you’re starting to melt down at the thought of serving 20 people on Thanksgiving from nothing but the hot plate and a microwave in your crappy apartment kitchen,…
Lee Klein Sheila Lukins came to the Miami Book Fair to talk about her new cookbook, Ten: All The Foods We Love…And 10 Recipes For Each. It’s a nifty concept that covers steaks, stews, burgers, roasted chickens, chops, chocolate — 32 categories in all. I sat down with Sheila at…
Sandy Skoglund, “The Cocktail Party” Got 100 people coming for a holiday shindig? Stupidest idea you EVER had, right? Believe it, we’ve been there. But four of Palm Beach’s top chefs are taking pity this season and throwing a bash at Cafe Boulud that might help prevent us from totally…
This man loves Mac’s Club Deuce. (Reason No. 293 why we love this man.) Better Than: Pounding cheap beers between a soul-crushing double on the saute station. The evidence, plainly, is undeniable: the best-selling books, the top-rated Travel Channel Show, the Top Chef judging gigs. Hell, even the playbills posted…
Elyse Wanshel Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain at the Miami Book Fair International Thursday night. Although former junkie/gutter chef, Anthony Bourdain claims that his life is “all rainbows and unicorns” ever since the birth of his baby daughter, many of his random comments during last night’s “Evening With” talk with…
I just love ethics questions, and lucky for me, there’s an unending supply of morality dramas in the food biz. Like, for instance, is it ethical to put “grouper” on your menu when all you’ve got in the deep freezer is panga or swai, as dozens of restaurants in South…
Michelle Bernstein had wanted to name her upcoming Design District restaurant “Buena Vista”, as it is located in the historic Buena Vista Post Office, and would also fit the Spanish nature of the place. Alas, there is already a Buena Vista Cafe, so Michelle has decided to call her tapas…
‘Tis the season for South Beach restaurants to bloom like so many poinsettia at Christmas. The neighborhood south of Fifth Street is going to get especially crowded with new eateries during the coming weeks and months. Topping our Pavlovian anticipations is Au Pied de Cochon, which will debut at the…
John Currin, Thanksgiving, 2003 I’ve volunteered to do Thanksgiving again this year, complete with Heritage bird, and though there’s a part of me that really gets off on shoving my butter-coated fist into a turkey cavity this isn’t a job I’d really wish on anybody. It’s just too messy, too…
Bengal’s contemporary two-level space is lovely. Walls of pastel mint green are minimally adorned with brightly colored sconces that illuminate the restaurant at night; during lunchtime, a soothing natural light comes in courtesy of floor-to-ceiling storefront windows. Tables on terrazzo floors are topped with white linen over maroon undercloths that…
Salman Rushdie will be in town to close up the Miami Book Fair, but his ex-wife Padma Lakshmi will be on television across the nation tonight hosting the season premier of “Top Chef: New York.” We’ve already introduced you to constant Jeff McInnis, dubbed “hot chef of our dreams” in…
Photo by John Mariani December’s Food & Wine Magazine gives a shout-out to Miami chef Michael Schwartz and the Design District in a recipe-laden article by Victoria Pesce Elliot. Elliot credits Schwartz, who opened Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink last year, with aiding and abetting a Design District Renaissance –…
Elyse Wanshel Parma, Ohio’s Porky-N-Beans won best ribs at Miami-Dade Parks’ Ribfest 2008. Ten bucks and then you get to eat all the free ribs you want? Sounds too good to be true. And it is, busting open the word-of-mouth myth that, last Saturday, lured me down to Homestead Air…
For those of you who’ve been waiting to grub out at chef Toby Joseph’s new Bova Prime, your moment has arrived. Bova is still operating under its old marquee — it was Riley McDermott’s, and so it shall remain for a week or three — but the menu is all…
Lee Klein I won’t blame Pro Chile, a trade group promoting the wares of that lush Latin American country, for my eyeglasses being lost. I had them when I arrived for the Taste Chile! lunch being held at the Raleigh Hotel in South Beach. I had put them on to…
Do they really spit in your pasta? I’ve just finished reading Steve Dublanica’s new bestseller, Waiter Rant. Dublanica made his name by blogging about his experiences at an unnamed, upscale Italian bistro in Manhattan, apparently to the delight of a million readers — the site was such a success he…
Teaching an old town new tricks? It looks like the island of Palm Beach is going to try to shake its image as the most boring resort city on the planet. I don’t know what happened — when I was a teenager the island was fun: We actually had a…
It isn’t usual for me to feed possum, but when I saw this one in back of our apartment, with five babies on her back, I placed down some imported Gruyére. She gobbled the treat with undisguised gusto, which I attribute to her prior experiences with cheese most likely being…
Le Bouchon du Grove has long been one of Coconut Grove’s best restaurants: The French fare is solid, prices are reasonable, and a boisterous ambiance beckons. So upon hearing of a second bistro with the same owners, I expected something special. Yet like so many movie sequels, Le P’tit Paris…
Illustration by Alex Izaguirre The Obama election affects not only the whole world, but also the food world. Here are ten predictions on how this might play out: Hula girls will replace mariachi bands as the most annoying dining distraction, and restaurant owners will find it increasingly profitable to put…
