That Pizza Could Kill You

Whoever imagined that a simple tomato pie with a bubbly, blackened crust (“bruciata,” in the trade) could potentially cause a cancer cluster? At least one Delray Beach-based letter writer to the Sun-Sentinel did, and she’s not alone (read the down & dirty responses that letter generated here). Whether or not…

Gabriele Marewski

Gabriele Marewski, of Paradise Farms, moved to Homestead in 1984 with a degree in agronomy from the University of Maryland (her home state). Fifteen years later, she purchased five acres of abandoned avocado grove and set about cleaning, plowing, and planting it into the certified organic Paradise Farms. She is…

Still Lazy After All These Years

Baleen was an instant hit when it debuted at the Grove Isle Hotel & Spa in March 1999, and for good reason: The heavenly outdoor patio, with white gauzy curtains billowing in the breeze, proffered a panoramic vista of Biscayne Bay that was, and still is, difficult to beat. The…

South Beach Obama Bake-Off

Let’s start by saying that, for the good of our country, we sincerely hope that MoveOn.org is better at political activism than they are at baking. This thought occured as we surveyed the Hungry For Change Bake Sale, two small tables of baked goods set up by the crafty lefties…

Ken Lyon

When Ken Lyon opened Lyon Frères et Compagnie in 1992, the chic, upscale café/market was a gastronomic oasis on an otherwise dry and dusty Lincoln Road. After closing the shop in 1997, Lyon formed the successful Lyon & Lyon catering company, and two weeks ago, he launched his new Italian…

Raw Deal

If vegans are a “Hezbollah-like splinter faction” of the vegetarian movement, as Anthony Bourdain once wrote, then raw foodists would be that group’s loopiest fringe. Like vegans, they don’t eat products derived from animals, but they also shun chemically processed or pasteurized ingredients — and of course abide by the…

Meat Me In Miami

Manny (The Mayor) Diaz was at the grand opening of Manny’s (The Steakhouse) Steakhouse this week in the Met One Tower downtown. Manny’s comes from Minneapolis, and specifically from Phil Roberts, a Minneapolis/Miami resident. It is an extremely well-regarded emporium of beef that serves only USDA-certified dry aged, center-cut beef…

David Fast

Hot summer days call for cool, revitalizing cocktails, so we figured this would be an ideal time to speak with David Fast, who’s been a bartender at Lido at The Standard since just after the sweet spa/hotel’s opening. 1. What’s the biggest-selling drink at the Lido? Mojitos. Consistently. Mojitos, mojitos…

Kobe Raises the Steaks

Jeffrey Chodorow, head of the China Grill Management restaurant empire, has always brought a Ziegfeld Zeitgeist to the table. Sure, he hopes customers laud service and cuisine at CGM’s two dozen-plus venues. But he also wants them to consider the dining experience as akin to attending the theater or spending…

Dewey LoSasso

Every Friday evening, from 5:30 to 11, North One 10 (11052 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-893-4211) hosts a barbecue and beer blast that is unlike any other in town. Chef Dewey LoSasso and crew grill up habanero chicken wings, mango and shrimp skewers, coffee-crusted rib eye steak, plus plenty more. And…

Flapjack Flip-Off VIII

In the spirit of this pugnacious presidential primary season, we proudly present a special Kitchen Sink Edition of the eighth annual Flapjack Flip-Off. “Anything Goes” is the theme this year, as our quartet of unwitting restaurant contestants will be permitted to sling apples, chocolate chips, flag lapel pins, or any…

Philippe Ruiz

Philippe Ruiz, from Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, France, began his stint at the Biltmore Hotel in 1999. Few local chefs can match Ruiz’s resumé of Michelin-star establishments, and fewer still possess his prodigious culinary talent. While most closely associated with the property’s exalted Palme d’Or, Ruiz was recently named executive chef of all…

Value Veal

Ristorante Fratelli Milano’s umbrella-shaded tables are tightly clustered together on pinched, pedestrian-clogged SE First Street. Two dozen indoor seats are just as closely cramped in the windowless aisle of a room, where harried waiters squeeze through impossible spaces with oversize white bowls of pasta in their hands. This ain’t exactly…

Nino Pernetti

Lots of cookbooks get written on the fly by chefs who have grown star wings seemingly overnight. Nino Pernetti’s opus has been 20 years in the making; that’s how long his northern Italian recipes and European charm have been romancing diners at the great Caffé Abbracci (318 Aragon Ave., Coral…

Andú Lounges

The new Andú’s retro-futuristic design dares to depart from the restaurant world’s recent tilt toward timid, if tasteful, taupe-toned settings. Tables shine in white Plexiglas, banquettes are silver-gray, and globular white sculptural murals hang on the walls not taken up by floor-to-ceiling windows. Hand-blown glass bubbles form a circular curtain…

Jonathan Eismann

The landmark Pacific Time shuttered its Lincoln Road digs last August, but chef/owner Jonathan Eismann is just a couple of weeks away, final permits permitting, from opening his new Pacific Time in the Design District, at 35 NE 40th St. New Times: So I have five questions to ask —…

Mint Leaf Makes Debut

A cacophony of chatter and clatter greets diners as they enter Mint Leaf, which has sprouted in the spot once occupied by Darbar Indian Restaurant and, most recently, by Restaurant Brana. The din seems surprisingly strong for such a modestly sized room and betrays a tranquil décor defined by dark…

Sing Kelly

Chef/owner of Shing Wang, Sing Kelly, moved to Miami from Taiwain 36 years ago. She operated a Chinese restaurant here for 18 years, was out of the business for the past 15 years, and returned to open Shing Wang (meaning “lucky” in Chinese) a month ago. 1. Why did you…

The Unreal Deal

Food is fashion: Halter tops and haute French one day, bling and sushi the next. American-Chinese restaurants began to fall from favor about the time men started wearing earrings, and nowadays the dark, stodgy interiors and tired, predictable cuisine are like mutton chop sideburns to the alluringly clean face of…

Macho Tacos

“De sus amigos de ‘Taco Loco,'” reads the sign over the storefront window at Maya Grill. The Mexican restaurant opened six months ago on West Palm Drive in Florida City, but residents here have long been relishing Maya’s tacos, which were formerly sold from a Taco Loco trailer in various…

Tasty Morsels

Miamians in the mood for Mexican in other corners of the county might consider these solid south-of-the-border joints: Burritos Grill Café 899 NE 125th St., North Miami; 305-891-1041; $15 or less per person, excluding tip and alcohol This quaint and immaculate 30-seat café has obligatory sombreros and ponchos hanging on…