In a effort to protect his reputation — or seal his fate, I guess — Michael Bennett, ex-executive chef of the SouthSide Café in South Miami sent out this letter to the press: “After a rough period of construction delays, logistics problems and some financial constraints, I have been release[d]…
About five years ago, Norman Van Aken called me and asked if I wanted to write a cookbook. Absolutely, I said instantly. On what? Turns out Van Aken wanted me to collect recipes from the restaurants of Miami’s original Mango Gang: Allen Susser (Chef Allen’s), Mark Militello (Mark’s Place), Douglas…
Reports of Turks’ death are greatly premature. The South Beach restaurant was reported closed in the November issue of the South Florida Gourmet magazine, which owner Orhan Yegen says is printing a retraction this month. Meanwhile Turkish cuisine just might be Miami’s newest ethnic fare. Joining Turks and Efesus, also…
Tinny pings of sitar music tinkle through the air at Anokha, Coconut Grove’s first Indian restaurant, while waiters in white gauze shirts carry trays of aromatic food through the dimly lit, 40-seat dining room. It’s a simply decorated space, with none of the heavy draperies and dusty Eastern artifacts prevalent…
It seems like only months ago that the new restaurant Oaxaca was moving into the 26-seat space on Washington Avenue now occupied by Ernie’s Amazing Burgers. As a matter of fact, it was just a few months ago. But Oaxaca is no more. Never was, really. For unknown reasons the…
I was sitting with my folks, my husband, and my daughter the other night at Caffe Sambuca on Lincoln Road, awaiting my sister and her family from New York. When they arrived, quite naturally there was a little hullabaloo involving the exchange of hugs and kisses. But everyone settled down…
Curious ad in the Herald’s “Weekend” section a few weeks ago: “We are pleased to announce the association of Linda Brandino, formerly known as Linda B., into our organization.” Signed: Stefano’s of Key Biscayne. Forget that the ad reads like dialogue from a B-movie crime caper, but do remember that…
Not long ago I called Ruth’s Chris Steak House and asked for directions to its new location in Coral Gables. It was a Tuesday evening, South Florida hadn’t yet been overwhelmed by high-season tourists, and I assumed dinner reservations would not be necessary. So I was not prepared when the…
Okay, enough with the griping about the dearth of Asian restaurants in this town. Without a significant Asian migration, it’s unlikely we’ll get a cheap Vietnamese noodle shop on every corner, enough Korean barbecue to really make a choice, a taste of southern Indian Tamil cooking, or spicy Malaysian curries…
Unlike the events of the past few weeks, I remember my first winemaker’s dinner in detail. That’s because I was working it. I was a waitress at a tiny pasta joint called Ricco’s in Southern California, and, except for my husband who was a busboy, I was the only one…
Long before the Loews captured the collective unconscious of conventiongoers, the Hotel Inter-Continental in downtown Miami had garnered the dubious honor of being considered the premier housing for unwitting out-of-towners. Guests were tapped not only for luxury beds but for the handsome Oak Room, pretty much the power-meal staple in…
Pastis is an anise-flavor liqueur popular throughout the south of France, particularly on the Côte d’Azur in Provence. Locals there have even worked the word pastis into their dialect, using it to mean “confused,” or “mixed,” a definition that is derived from the cloudy appearance of the drink when water…
In San José State University’s seventeenth annual contest for the worst opening lines to an imaginary novel, Bob Perry took first place in the detective category for this gem: “The corpse exuded the irresistible aroma of piquant, ancho-chili glaze enticingly enhanced with a hint of fresh cilantro as it lay…
There’s a lot of Italian out there: the new and old, the good, the bad, and the ugly; the great, unfortunately, seem to be rare. I do think there are a few restaurants in town turning out exquisite cuisine from Europe’s boot. And there are plenty of decent places for…
I’ve never been a dim sum enthusiast: Peppery octopus, steamed shrimp balls, and other such delicacies are not my cup of tea come weekend brunch. Neither, for that matter, is a cup of tea. So it was with some trepidation that I recently trekked along with friends for dim sum,…
(The story thus far: Efrain Veiga, of Yuca renown, announces plans for Mayya restaurant in Albion Hotel; partners include former big-league baseball player Billy Bean and Latin TV star Cristina Saralegui. Minimalist décor costs maximumist dollars — more than two million. Mexican-born Guillermo Tellez, having honed skills with illustrious Charlie…
I hear it all the time, from friends, from family, from virtual strangers. “I’d like to own a restaurant.” “I dream of running a bar.” “I could package this [insert special dish] and sell it.” And then the inevitable: “What do you think?” What can I say? Even with experience…
Allen’s 2 Go gourmet market in Aventura is going, going … gone. But not really. The shop that Chef Allen Susser had set up next door to his signature restaurant is merely moving — into cyberspace. Within six months, he says, customers will be able to log on to www.comfortfood2go.com…
When Beatlenut first opened last winter, neither I nor any of my foodie friends were tempted to try it, for one main reason: the nauseatingly cutesy misspelling of the name. The betel nut, the natural mood stimulant that Bloody Mary (the amply fed Hawaiian earth mama to all singing sailors)…
The stone crab “has a shell harder than a landlord’s heart,” wrote Damon Runyon, back in the days when Joe’s Stone Crabs was the only place on the Beach to get them. Many would say Joe’s is still the only place for stone crabs, but they’re speaking figuratively. Monty’s has…
The baguettes are painted like coral snakes. Bagels feature laminated pictures of toothily grinning children. A puffed-up pita bread poses as a comet, with pretzel sticks forming the tail. No this isn’t some psychedelic bakery courtesy of Lewis Carroll. It is the House of Bread, part of the newest temporary…
Trading one landmark for another, the Clevelander’s Kent Karpawich sold the hotel, built in 1938, to Herb Meistrich and his San Diego-based company, and bought into the 1800 Club a few months ago. Now called the 1800 Bar and Grill, the eatery has regained some of its supper-club glamour. Karpawich…
