The Service at Michael’s is Genuine

Whoa, here’s a new one for me. After a luscious dinner at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink last month, our delicious waiter handed us his business card and urged us to request, next time we booked, specifically that he wait on us. I have no problem with starting a fan…

Weekly Purge: Edition #2

Another week in the books at Short Order, and we’re (surprisingly… or not?) still having a blast doing this thing. Look for some big changes coming soon — next week, we’re going to hip you to a schedule of when you can expect to see reoccurring posts like Homebrew and…

Florida Most Dangerous State For Eating Out

Pictured above: Common microbes causing food poisoning. Ain’t they cute? From www.healthinspections.com: The most dangerous states for eating out are Florida, California, Minnesota, Ohio, and New York according to the most recent federal data. Restaurants in these five states spread bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella, making nearly 3,000 customers…

Summer Q-Tips

Johnny V’s Kicks BBQ Up a Notch Don’t try this at home. On Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas, on the last Thursday of every month, Johnny V is staging Barbequlooza for $4 per person. Oops, must have mis-read – that’s $40 per person. Sound a little dear for barbecue? Maybe not,…

Weirdy Edibles, Round 3

I’ve seen this in two separate markets this week. At one, an elderly Filipino couple stopped me to oooh and ahhh over the plant in my cart. They told me they grew it back home and loved it. So here’s your 2 billion dollar question: WTF IS IT??? Here’s the…

Jamaican Food out in the Boondocks? Irie!

Last Wednesday, I checked out the new weekly reggae party, Summer Outbreak, situated way-the-F-out west at the Seminole truck stop off U.S. Hwy 27. I’ve got a preview of the event in this week’s Night & Day section, detailing a little bit about its formation at the hands of Harry…

Florida Citrus Growers Switch to Organic

CENTRAL FLORIDA: More Citrus Growers Make the Switch to Organic From Florida Trend: Matt McLean, founder and chief executive of Uncle Matt’s Fresh, the organic-produce side of Uncle Matt’s Organic citrus-juice business in Lake County, said Wednesday the number of organic growers and the amount of acreage dedicated to organic…

Por Fin Is Fine

Por Fin: “At Last.” As in: At last, five years after owner Carlos Centurion purchased the property, and two and a half years after breaking ground for construction, the beautiful two-level Spanish restaurant is finally open for business on the corner of Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Anastasia Avenue in…

Beer, Ball, Burgers

If it’s one thing we Americans know how to do, it’s fry up a perfect burger. The French oughta take a page from the Brass Ring’s cookbook.

New Yard, New Grill

Interior view of The Grill on the Alley. I received two press releases today regarding a pair of upcoming dining establishments. One announced that The Grill on the Alley, a Beverly Hills hangout for Hollywood’s movers and shakers since 1984, would be opening in Aventura this October. The ambiance promises…

Tipico! An Authentic Guatemalan Restaurant

Thanks to local advice and a couple of friendly posters on chowhound, I’ve found my Guatemalan restaurant — and practically right in my own back yard. El Chapin in Palm Springs has fabulous tamales, homemade tortillas, and meat-heavy breakfasts. Review next week. –Gail Shepherd…

The Seven Words You Can Never Say In a Florida Food Blog

[image courtesy mtmrap.com] Hazardous. Poisonous. Fatal. Sickening. Rotten. Toxic. Threatened. *** As in, “Don’t eat that Florida tomato! It could be F__________!!!!!!” As in, “Girl, I was in Publix yesterday? And half the freaking produce was R______.” As in, “It’s probably better if sport fishermen (especially pregnant ones) forgo consuming…

Rare Fruit Council Sale, West Palm Beach

[above, Pam RuBert’s quilt, “Banana Split Pose.” See more here. Argghh, I can’t believe I’m going to miss this! And on my birthday! I leave for NYC Saturday morning — will somebody PLEEEEEEASE pick me up some banana trees???? Gail Shepherd Tropical Fruit Tree Sale / South Florida Fairgrounds (West…

Recycled Finger Food

At one Palm Beach restaurant, that dirty martini might be REALLY dirty I’m about to lose one of my best sources for insider restaurant dish — a friend of mine is retiring, at least temporarily, from her job as a server to get married. But she’s stored up enough tales…

Since One Bloody Mary is Never Enough…

Proud Mary. Well, looks like you all know what both Gail and I did this weekend. Come Monday, each of us had separate ideas for Bloody Mary posts, completely independent of each other. I’d say something about great minds thinking alike, but I think drunk minds might be a more…

Founder of Benihana Japanese Steakhouse Dead at 69

Photo courtesy of Benihana. News broke this weekend that Rocky Aoki, founder of the Benihana chain of restaurants — headquartered in Miami — died Thursday night at the age of 69. According to a family spokesperson, the cause of death was pneumonia; but Aoki had also suffered from cirrhosis, diabetes,…

Palm Beach Bargain Basements

Summer Slumming On the Wrong Side of the Tracks Mummy and I got gussied up as Ladies Who Lunch last Friday and tripped over to the isle of Palm Beach, hoping to test the waters at Beach House Bistro, which opened last November. The restaurant scene in Palm Beach moves…

Cita Set To Groove In Grove

Used to be that you couldn’t name ten worthwhile restaurants at which to dine in Coconut Grove. Still can’t, but we’re getting closer. When Ideas Restaurant opened two years ago it gave the food-deprived neighborhood its’ first fine upscale establishment since the nineties. The recently opened George’s In The Grove…

Dean Max’s Heirloom Bloody Mary

[Ed. note 7/15/08. This recipe, I found, leaves you with a brew too thick to drink as a cocktail. But it makes a fabulous cold soup — a Bloody Mary inflected gazpacho, thanks to the horseradish and Worcestershire. Just add a shot of vodka to each bowl before you serve…

Weekly Purge: The Short Order Recap, Edition #1

Week two of Short Order is just about in the books, and what a week at that. We’ve been posting our arses off around New Times, probably because we’re just so pent up. This Short Order thing you see here was a long time coming, you see — an idea…