As we wind down 2015, it’s time to take a look in the rear-view mirror before we turn to the new year and all its possibilities. This past year, we’ve eaten a lot of food and tried a lot of restaurants in Miami. With our culinary scene doing nothing but…
For chef Santiago Gomez, there’s more to cooking than creating tasty food. He says it’s about fusing one culture with another by making dishes that represent both origin and destination. This is something Gomez likes to do at Brickell restaurant Cantina La Veinte. The new-wave Mexican eatery, helmed by Gomez,…
Renato Viola’s signature pizzas aren’t suited for delivery or take out. Here’s the problem. You order the vegetarian Star Michele ($14.90) or spicy salami flecked Star Luca ($14.90) and by the time the celestial-shaped beauty hits your kitchen table its delicate crunch is lost. The hassle of parking and finding…
Another New Year’s Eve is over and all you have to show for it is a dull, throbbing pain in your skull and a wallet devoid of cash. Sure, the night, fueled by champagne and dancing was great, but what you really need right now is a gallon of coffee…
New Year’s Eve, the big annual celebration fueled by champagne and resolutions, is this week. However, what’s even more important is the major refuel known as New Year’s Day brunch. Many people celebrate the annual brunch with family and friends, hosting a celebration at home filled with good vibes and…
When Alfredo Patino opened Bin No. 18 (1800 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 786-235-7575) on the boundary between downtown Miami and Edgewater in late 2006, nightfall was a warning sign. “It was prostitutes and crackheads,” he says. But the condo buildings now towering over Biscayne Boulevard were already approved. The writing was…
Andy Rodriguez and Amanda Pizarro love two things: Miami and fancy doughnuts. However, the foodie-obsessed couple discovered a disconnect between the pair. Most cities see craft doughnut shops as often as frozen yogurt stores and juice bars. But in Miami, they’re few and far between, with many defaulting to Krispy Kreme,…
Anyone could be sitting in the dim recesses of Pinch Kitchen. One recent night, six older women in country-club-ready sweatsuits gather around wine and clay bowls piled with bitter brassicas with a fresh snowfall of salty ricotta salata. Nearby, a young couple on what seems to be a first date…
Michelle Bernstein has quite the year. In 2015, Bernstein has seen positive reviews come in for her Seagrape at the Thompson Miami Beach hotel, which opened in November 2014 and reopened her eponymous Michy’s as Cena by Michy. The chef, who admits she has emerged from what appeared to be a…
There are many items that I still want even after getting a mixer for Christmas, and a portable induction burner with its own carrying case is one of them. Celebrity chef Ming Tasi ensures me that my home — and life — is not complete without one. The chef is…
Vegan dining in Miami is a world away from what it was a few years ago. With Seed Food & Wine Festival making national news, new vegan eateries popping up all over the place, and meat-strong chefs incorporating plants into their menus, South Florida is finally coming into its own…
For years developer Scott Robins and his half brother Craig Robins, along with others like the late Tony Goldman and Mark Soyka, elped lift South Beach out of abject obscurity. They played a big role in making it the crowded tourist mecca it is today. Lately his longtime business partner turned…
It’s Christmas Day. By now you’ve drank all the egg nog, opened your gifts from Santa, and spent enough time with the family to start going nuts. The day after Christmas means trips to the mall to return the stuff that didn’t fit, but it’s also a good time to…
There’s something about cold weather, warm coffee, and New England-style food that ignites a feeling of holiday cheer. Though low temperatures seem to be a distant memory for Miamians, Izzy’s Fish & Oyster offers an abundance of homey, traditional Northeastern food and lots of hot coffee to make up for it. Its…
The holiday season is in full swing and picturesque day trips are at an all-time high on your Facebook timeline. But if a weekend getaway to Naples isn’t in the cards this year, Palmeiras Beach Club (4 Grove Isle Dr.), at the end of Grove Isle, is a happy medium…
Apeiro Kitchen & Bar opened this past October in Midtown Miami, bringing one of Delray Beach’s most popular restaurants south. The eatery, named for the Latin word for infinity, offers a Mediterranean-inspired menu by South Florida restaurateur Burt Rapoport and executive chef/partner David Blonsky, featuring cuisine from the coasts of…
Miami is a city that has its fair share of crime and n’er do wells. To counter that, it’s a town filled with excess wealth and glamorous people. That melding of extreme ups and downs is what makes Miami so damn fascinating. OUr culinary scene is a reflection of our…
The “great migration” of chefs to Coconut Grove continues with the imminent opening of Glass & Vine in Peacock Park, at the old library space (2820 McFarlane Rd.). Grove Bay Hospitality Group and Giorgio Rapicavoli will open the restaurant in January 2016, with the chef designing both the restaurant and…
Nestled inside Aventura’s Turnberry Isle resort is Bourbon Steak, James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur Michael Mina’s modern American steakhouse. Though you wouldn’t know from the outside, Sundays inside the eatery have been made a tradition with the launch of a new three-course brunch menu helmed by executive chef Gabriel Fenton…
If you’ve been driving north on Biscayne Boulevard and haven’t thought much about the restaurant attached to the car wash across from FIU, it might be time to think again. For nearly seven years, Julio Bertoni ran his eponymous restaurant as a semi-upscale Argentine eatery offering wine, beer, and a…
Recently I was invited up to the test kitchen of RA Sushi and Benihana to see what the chefs working on. I was a little confused when I reached the address. Instead of a restaurant or industrial cooking space, I found myself in a super modern Leeds-certified office building in…
For the last 33 years, Santa’s Enchanted Forest hasn’t changed much. It still holds the title of largest Christmas theme park, coincidentally located in the warmest place during this time of year. There’s bright lights, large Christmas trees, games, animals, old-school rides, and an overabundance of fried, greasy carnival food we know…
