Coral Gables Restaurant Week Begins Monday

Yes, it’s that time of year again. No, we don’t mean the beginning of summer. Nor are we referring to the upcoming “Best of Miami” issue or, for that matter, the upcoming Flapjack Flip-Off X. (OK, we can move on now; I’ve gotten in all the necessary plugs.)Yes, it’s that…

Tuscan Restaurant Slated For Design District This Fall

Vino E Olio, an Italian restaurant specializing in Tuscan fare, is slated to debut at 139 NE 39th Street in Miami’s Design District sometime in September. News of a new Italian restaurant opening doesn’t exactly set hearts aflutter around here, but the chef of Vino E Olio, Andrea Menichetti, brings…

Cushy Cakes Are Raising the Cupcake Bar

It’s getting harder and harder these days to distinguish between the slews of gourmet cupcake operations that keep springing up. So here’s some help. Cushy Cakes uses Guinness Beer and Kahlua coffee liqueur in certain recipes. Owner and self-taught baker Melissa Wilde Jarquin is breaking the baking sheet mold with…

The Water Club Opens in North Miami Beach

Last night The Water Club opened its doors to the public after an expensive and extensive makeover to what was once the famous Shooters location. The new look includes a to-the-ceiling wine room, ’70s style yellow lounge sofas, and portrait photo collages of Miami icons.Inside, guests can can sit and…

Sneak Review: Bombay Darbar

A quick peek at next week’s Cafe review:Bombay Darbar Indian Restaurant inhabits a neat, neighborly room with 34 seats, linen-draped tables, a tile floor, and pale-yellow walls judiciously adorned with Indian art. Alfresco dining on Commodore Plaza permits patrons to peer at passersby and speculate on “For Sale” signs posted…

Sra. Martinez Tuesday, Texas de Brazil Wednesday, Area 31 Thursday

Beginning next Tuesday evening, June 1, and continuing on succeeding Tuesdays, Sra. Martinez will be cooking up an all-you-can-eat Cuban pig roast. The slow-cooked-in-a-caja China porker is due to be accompanied by heirloom tomato salad, roasted fingerling potatoes, and other side dishes — all served family style. The menu will…

Naturally, Gatorade Joins Natural Drink Craze

Gatorade was created back in 1965 by several “scientists” at the university of Florida, according to the company’s website. After speaking with football coaches about the problem of dehydration, “researchers then took their findings into the lab, and scientifically formulated a new, precisely balanced carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage that would adequately replace…

Oil Spill Seafood: Miami Chefs Sound Off

The BP Oil Spill is now responsible for the closure of slightly more than 22 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico’s “exclusive economic zone” according to the NOAA Fisheries Service. The map above represents the most recent closure data.Monday, we surveyed local toques at a meeting of…

Pie in the Sky Sells Pies from Secret Family Recipe

Pie in the Sky founder and self-proclaimed chief baking officer, Erin Ashley, grew up in Maryland watching her mom making pies and taking them to birthday parties and barbecues. “People would love the pies and track her down for the recipe,” said Ashley. Yet her mother never shared it with…

There’s Nothing Funny About Sushi Maki’s New Menu Items

​Realizing it was time to shake things up a bit at the quickie sushi place that doesn’t take itself too seriously, 36-year-old local boy Abe Ng, the CEO/president/chief sushi officer of the South Miami-based chain Sushi Maki, led the charge to bring more small plates, fiery infusions, and funky cocktails…

Interview with Lourdes Castro of Biltmore’s Culinary Academy, Part I

Expect a different type of three-parter this time around. We’ll start off with a brief interview about the cooking school with Lourdes Castro, the Biltmore Culinary Academy’s founding director, followed by a simple recipe from her cookbook in Part Two, and we’ll ice this cake with an overview of the Academy’s…

Behind the Line: Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill

Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill in Midtown Miami is a busy place on a Friday night. As Lee Klein says in his review of the place, “A tsunami of near unanimous praise has catapulted Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill to the top of Miami’s dining scene at breakneck speed.” Here’s a behind-the-line…

Tacontento Coming to South Beach in June

Arriving in South Beach early next month will be Tacontento, a fast/casual full service Mexican restaurant. Tacontento translates to be happy, and if the slogan, “The best tacos… period,” comes anywhere close to being true, we will be. Tacontento started in the late ’90s as a taco stand in Guatemala…

Oil Spill Reactions From Miami Seafood Chefs and Purveyors

The BP oil spill has put all of South Florida in an officially declared State of Emergency. Not long before that announcement was made, we reached out to seafood industry folks like Chef Jonathan Eismann and one of his longtime purveyors, Christopher Twiss, as part of our continuing coverage on…