“It’s like owning a boat,” notes Michael Schwartz, executive chef-proprietor of Nemo, Shoji Sushi, and Big Pink, on the way back from picking lychees at his friend Roland Samimy’s grove down in the Redland. But it’s “better to have a friend who owns a boat.” Schwartz is referring, of course,…
There is no such thing as authentic Italian cuisine, at least not in Italy. That’s because until about 150 years ago, there was no such thing as Italy. Before political union there were a couple of dozen independent regions, and in terms of food culture, that proud individuality still exists…
An antique jukebox spins old-time country, rock, and blues at SoBe Bar-B-Q, a bare-bones 50-seat restaurant that opened a few months back on Washington Avenue. Proprietor Paul Orofino, who used to own Serendipity nightclub in Coconut Grove, tries to keep the party spirit going here not just by providing nifty…
On the one hand, it’s pretty tough to understand why Ephraim Kadish is smiling. As the vice president of culinary affairs and executive chef for Billboard Live, a multimillion-dollar dining-and-entertainment project in South Beach that has been in development so long it’s almost reached Shore Club status, his responsibilities are…
Sometimes I imagine other restaurant reviewers sitting plushly in front of giant, high-resolution computer screens, scrolling long lists of dining recommendations e-mailed to them by their well-organized, rigorously maintained network of knowledgeable food contacts. My own method of choosing places to review is, contrary to what some might think, only…
The start of the rainy season has special significance for those of us fascinated by the food-and-wine scene. And I’m not talking about the fact that we now have moisture falling from the sky, so can expect to be served water instead of having to play by the drought rules…
Kane Concourse is a pretty exciting stretch of road if one is looking for, say, a cardiogram. As far as food goes, though, even Arthur Godfrey Road, with its almost unbroken stretch of banks, is more promising for people looking for a little lunch. Culinary excitement in the 96th Street…
If you live on South Beach, chances are you’ve walked down Washington Avenue and passed the tiny, triangular-shape La Molienda on many occasions, probably peeking in with piqued curiosity each and every time. It’s an unusual space in that it takes the notion of storefront restaurant to the extreme –…
Red tide. Rampant E.coli. Mad cow disease. When it comes to the food chain, what other organisms do we humans have to worry might kill us? Aliens, apparently. That is, if you take your social satire seriously. Author Michel Faber does. In his new novel, Under the Skin, he treats…
When Shoji Sushi opened in mid-March, it was an occasion of great relief. After all, the particular block of lower Collins Avenue on which Shoji is located was perhaps the only one in SoBe that didn’t already house two or three sushi bars; weary south of Fifth-sters were tired of…
Thai food originated in the mountainous valleys of southwestern China, then the homeland of tribes who, between the Sixth and Thirteenth centuries, would emigrate southward into what is now Thailand. Siam River Thai Cuisine originated in North Miami Beach in 1991 and nine months ago expanded southward with a sister…
Next time you have out-of-town visitors who insist on cruising Calle Ocho (invariably a disappointment as a sightseeing site since tourists, not getting that it’s just a normal working neighborhood, always expect some sorta cute Disneyworld: Cuba!), or next time you get the 2:00 a.m. desire for something a bit…
The Best of Miami issue: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee for the breadth and depth of your pages, for your biblical proportions, for your wise (-ass) advice. I love thee to the level of every day’s most quiet need to find the…
Fresh is the word when it comes to fish, and it doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to deduce that the seafood shanties in Watson Island Marina, one of the first stops for local commercial fishing boats, would be an opportune place to purchase some of the very freshest. Two weathered…
So you’re a restaurateur, and a successful one at that. You’ve owned five or six places, mainly in Denver, and have even handled three at one time. But you’ve trained as a chef, and cooking is in your heart. So you mostly create in the kitchen while your daughter deals…
When the former owners of Mezzanotte finally closed that long-running fashionista-favorite restaurant/nightclub last year and opened Carnevale, a self-billed “Venetian café,” two questions instantly occurred to me: Would this really be like eating in Venice? And, since the space’s former occupant was so model-friendly, could you get blow in the…
So you’re a musician, and you have some big dreams. You want to be in a band. You want to record a CD. Maybe you want to own a production company. And you need some cash to make it all happen. What to do, what to do? If you’re Joey…
Don’t try this with The Weakest Link: If you think executive chefs are too busy dreaming up new dishes to take notice of pop culture, treat yourself to dinner at Astor Place. Chef Johnny Vinczencz has found an innovative way to keep that irritating Survivor show in the spotlight. He’s…
Since opening on the southern tip of South Beach in 1995, Nemo has consistently been rated as one of Miami’s very best restaurants. Like the proprietors of many of the United States’ other highly touted contemporary dining establishments (The French Laundry, Chez Panisse, Spago, et cetera), co-owners Myles Chafetz and…
When dinner hour approaches at Captain Jim’s, a friendly fish market that’s also an informal (five Formica tables) restaurant, everybody eats in, even if they’ve just come for take-out. That’s because while the crowd waits for orders or service, the personnel behind the fish counter (who remain friendly even when…
So you’re a chef. You’ve trained at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, one of the most respected culinary institutions in the United States. You have interned in a variety of foreign lands, including Israel, Hong Kong, China, Japan, France, and Italy. You’ve cooked your way up the…
It was in 1899 that Italy’s Queen Margherita and King Umberto I, in a public-relations move calculated to foster an affinity with the common folk, took a royal traipse into Naples for some pizza. In their honor the pizzaiolo commissioned for the event what is believed to be the first…
