Pot & Food Pairings

Our sister paper in Denver employs a pot critic who discusses taste characteristics of various smokes much like a wine snob does with grapes. Seems to me it’s getting time to consider pot and food pairings too. So I invited numerous guests to go out to sea with me on…

Courthouse Cuisine On Trial

I spent the better part of yesterday proudly serving my country and representing all of you, dear citizens. I’m talking about jury duty, which I seem to get roped into every couple of years — making me quite familiar with the routine at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building downtown:Subzero…

Miami Chefs Take Advantage of Free Agency

Chef Micah Edelstein left Grass Restaurant & Lounge. Then chef Brian Cantrell left A Fish Called Avalon. Then chef Brandon Benack left Emeril’s Miami Beach. Then chef Sean Bernal left Oceanaire Seafood Room. Then chef Justin Albertson left The Villa by Barton G. Then chef Jeff McInnis left the Ritz-Carton…

Food Bloggers: Annoying or Helpful?

A recent article on the website of Marketplace, the National Public Radio juggernaut, has the internet buzzing about whether food bloggers are annoying or helpful. As a food blogger, I’d like to weigh in on the debate.  Let me preface this by saying that although I’ve been writing about food…

How Much Do Miamians Spend on Food?

Have you ever taken a close look at how much you spend on food? For some of us, coming face-to-face with that figure may be quite scary. But according to personal finance site, Bundle.com, the average household in Miami spent $6,219 on dining out and groceries in 2009 – less…

Bathing in Spicy Chimichurri at Las Vacas Gordas

Short Order dined at Argentine staple Las Vacas Gordas on Normandy isle last night. While many people complain about the service (rightly so, we never received our appetizers and our waiter tried to hide the fact that the gratuity was included), there is one element that receives universal praise at…

Star Wars Cookie Cutters and Pancake Molds

I have no problem admitting that I’m a full-blown Star Wars geek. Clearly, I’m a foodie, too. So, when I saw that Williams-Sonoma just launched a line of Star Wars themed cooking tools I channeled my inner Wookie and let out a howl of delight. Well, you get the idea…

Lost & Food: What To Eat For The Series Finale

For Lost fans around the world, this Sunday night means the end of the show that helped redefine TV. Hopefully, answers to many of the show’s unresolved mysteries will be delivered by ABC when the show concludes with its two and a half hour series finale. But most importantly, what’s…

Top Ten Musical Atrocities Dance Music Has Managed To Survive

Yesterday, we alerted you to David Guetta’s newest track “Gettin’ Over You,” featuring Fergie, Chris Willis, and LMFAO. It sounds like every other track Guetta has produced in the last three years — but taken to a much scarier, getting-raped-in-a-dark-alley kind of level. We dubbed it the “dance music apocalypse,”…

Let’s Talk Chef Shoes, Part 2: What The Pros Wear

Friday’s opening shoe post was mostly about my own experiences with kitchen footwear. Today we find out what Miami’s real chefs wear when they’re working — and why.Michelle Bernstein, Michy’s, Sra. Martinez: Clogs, as they not only help me from falling on my back side but they also give me…

Let’s Talk Chef Shoes, Part One

Through the early years of my career in professional kitchens, I wore ankle-high, steel-toed, Velcro-strapped, taupe-colored leather chef shoes made by the esteemed French chefwear company Bragard. They looked like nurse shoes in a straightjacket. Regardless of where I was cooking, I could always count on being ridiculed for having…

Pork In Poetry

Nobody bothered to tell me that April was National Poetry Month — no doubt a conspiracy started by someone who has read my poems.  Here goes:3 Cuts of PorkI.I don’t think I’ll ever seeA poem as lovely as pork bun with kimchiII.Lobster with peanut butter and jellyA big fat square…

The Tea Party Is A Poison Pickle to Republican Pastrami

Let’s say the Democratic Party is a corned beef sandwich, and the Republican Party is a pastrami sandwich (if you’re a Democrat who prefers pastrami, or a Republican who prefers corned beef, feel free to switch around the meat metaphor). And let’s say both are very tasty sandwiches, but there…

Jersey Shore Watch: Snooki and JWoww at Electric Pickle

Guess who was spotted partying last night at Electric Pickle? Snooki and JWoww! Guess since South Beach is being less the hospitable, the Jersey Shore gang crossed over to the mainland. Here are some grainy iPhone pictures snapped by Tom De Bens.This marks the second time this month a reality…