Located two blocks north of Miracle Mile, informal Italian deli La Gastronomia is easily overlooked. This is not because the food is forgettable but because the casual eatery is relatively small (two rustic rooms); relatively understated (no big sign, no touts out front); and, mainly, buried in a wall-to-wall packed…
To most Americans Danish cuisine means three things: herring, lots more herring, and Tuborg beer. And of the three, only the last really has caught on. Despite the fact that it is said Danes have a different herring preparation for every day of the year, none of the 365 has…
The instant message I received from a friend was extremely alarming. “I felt so violated,” it read. Yikes, I thought. Had she been sexually assaulted? No, as it turned out. But her glove compartment had been raped — by a valet who didn’t even have the decency to close it…
You’d think we’d been in Utah or something: Miami Shores is kicking up its heels over the first restaurant to win a beer-and-wine license since, well, ever. The Village Café has finally convinced the Village Council that Miami Shores is not Salt Lake City, so why be dry? So much…
Clarke’s is a new “diner” on South Beach, but there’s something not quite dinerish about the place. Part of the problem might be that it’s located in a historic coral house, which isn’t the sort of backdrop you expect for fare like “Frenchy toast,” “cheesey chicken,” and “I scream sundae.”…
Until recently when one person in a couple wanted Indian food and the other wanted to grab a sub sandwich, the only solution was divorce. For the past two years, though, Silver Spoon Subs & Grill has been putting marriage counselors out of business. Here at this miniscule Indi-Italian (yes,…
Hold on to your hats, especially the flat ones — it’s time for the First Annual Flapjack Flip-Off. Our four contestants: the Original Pancake House and the International House of Pancakes, for obvious reasons; S&S Diner, because it’s the sort of landmark diner you’d expect to have great pancakes; and,…
“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…
