Celebrate Chinese New Year at These Miami Restaurants

Looking for somewhere to go on Chinese New Year? Ring in the Year of the Rabbit at one of these Miami restaurants. Celebrations begin on February 2. Café Sambal at the Mandarin Oriental Lion dance performances and Asian art in the café’s outdoor terrace are part of this celebration. The restaurant…

Chef Andrea Menichetti From Vino e Olio Gets a Visit From His Mama

​When we heard Vino e Olio’s executive chef Andrea Menichetti would be cooking with his two-Michelin Star-rated chef mama this past week, we couldn’t resist heading in for an interview. While it’s true the restaurant has been getting some tough press recently, his mother, two-Michelin Star-rated chef Valeria Piccini, wasn’t…

1st Avenue Bistro & Bakery’s $5.95 Breakfast Special

The 1st Avenue Bistro & Bakery has been around since 2008 downtown near the courthouse. It is owned and operated by a French couple who opened their first restaurant, Les Trois Petits Bergers, in Izeaux, France, in 1989. They also had a second establishment in Nice called Le Capitole. Their…

Sneak Review: De Rodriguez Ocean

Morsels from next week’s Cafe review of De Rodriguez Ocean:Comfortably cushioned seats surround dark wooden tables; red votive candles, glassware, flatware, and salt/pepper shakers culled from the low-end pages of a Sysco catalogue sit atop. Dinner here is an expensive proposition — ceviches $13 to $23, appetizers $10 to $18,…

Cookies of the Apocalypse: Eating the End of Days

As you already are well aware, the end of the world is coming very soon. The Mayan calendar kinda just ends on December 12, 2012, which is not tomorrow, but you know, it’s hovering frighteningly close in time. Psychic Edgar Cayce saw us entering into a “New Age” around now,…

Culinarium Thursday Night Food Truck Meet-up Cancelled

​The Thursday night food truck round-up known as Culinarium, which launched last week is being cancelled due to lack of permits. The food court was the first of its kind locally in that it featured live music and booze at Villa 221 (221 NE 17th Street). Organizer Richard Hales of…

Rosa Mexicano Jumps Into South Beach Mex Fray

Rosa Mexicano will be opening on the ground floor of the the funky new 1111 Lincoln Road parking lot. That’s an exclusive Short Order scoop — which we scooped from Ryan at Miami’s Restaurant Power Rankings, who scooped it from Chowhound, which got the scoop from a Craigslist job listing.That…

Food trucks a go go

It’s a chilly Tuesday evening by Miami standards, but that hasn’t stopped some thousand food-loving folks from flocking to Biscayne Boulevard and 109th Street for an outdoor meal. Choices include hamburgers, tacos, fried-fish sandwiches, pork belly bao, more hamburgers, and a handful of other easily handled street foods, all culled…

A Cupcake Wars Recap: Did Miami’s Team Come Out on Top?

​So after all that build-up, how did Hialeah’s own 2 Girls and a Cupcake fare on last night’s episode of Cupcake Wars? We know, we know – the State of the Union was on the same time. Luckily, we shirked our civic responsibilities (that’s what DVRs are for) to catch…

Taco Bell Hit With Lawsuit: Can Its Beef Be Legally Called Beef?

The Sun Sentinel reported yesterday that a California woman, Amanda Obney, has brought a false-advertising lawsuit against Taco Bell for calling its products “seasoned ground beef or seasoned beef” — when, the suit declares, “in fact a substantial amount of the filling contains substances other than beef.”According to attorney W…

Muscle Truck Hits the Road in February: A New Food Truck Alert

​While a number of local food trucks offer surprisingly healthy options (see, for instance, our roundup of vegetarian options on the scene), there’s no denying that much of the fare offered is far from diet-friendly. By mid-February, gym rats will have a special body-conscious truck just for them: the Muscle…

Sold-Out Bubble Q Tickets On Sale Today at Gilt City

​Missed out on tickets to the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Perrier-Jouët Bubble Q? Get your wallet ready because starting at 2 p.m. today, you get another chance. Gilt City Miami will feature VIP tickets to the event for $450 a hefty $425. Still, that’s $25 less than they sold…

Baja Fresh Opening In South Beach; Let The Mex Wars Begin

The national Baja Fresh Mexican Grill chain has been around since 1990, and has two locations in Miami-Dade: At 1021 S Miami Ave. and at 220 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. The corner of Washington Avenue and 12th Street in South Beach, former home of Michael Schwartz’s Afterglo, will house…

Michael Flores Interiano: Food Scientist

At the age of 21, Michael Flores Interiano is a sous chef at Cavatelli Italian Trattoria. He  demonstrates culinary technique to students at Johnson & Wales University, and has prepared a turkey club sandwich for President Obama (he liked it). Interiano is somewhat of a mad scientist–always experimenting, always pushing–on…

Tamiami Truckers Food Court Announces New Location

​Tamiami Truckers Food Court is one of the largest and most popular meet-ups. It convenes by the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport from 6 to 11 p.m. on Friday nights. They recently announced a change in location starting this week, and will no longer be meeting at 12795 SW 137 Avenue. The…

South Beach Wine & Food Festival 2011 Burger Bash Preview

​Ready to get your burger on, babies? For this year’s Burger Bash, winners from the last four years have returned to grill the others into submission.Starting soon, we’ll be sharing some of the winning recipes so you can begin training at home. But, honestly, nothing could prepare you for the…

Miami Culinary Institute In Session; New Digs in April

It seems everywhere you turn a new restaurant is popping up trying to get a foothold in a very competitive industry. Miami Dade College hopes to support this enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit at the Miami Culinary Institute. A long awaited addition, the $22-million eight story building located at the downtown Wolfson…

Food Truck Rundown: So You Know Where to Find Them

Seems everyone in Miami is hungry for sustenance on wheels these days. And mobile food courts are the rage. This week a few of the meet-up locations are changing. Tomorrow the Biscayne Triangle Truck Round-up, which was meeting on Tuesdays on Biscayne Boulevard and 109th Street, will be closed while…