It was not such a good week for the shuttered Vice Lounge Miami, but it was a splendid week for the Federal Food, Drink & Provisions, which opened to lots of huzzahs and buzz, and for J & G Grill, which debuted with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It was also a good week for chef Giorgio Rapicavoli, who is going from 660 to popup, a good week for California bees, and a very very good week for European chickens.
And yet overall it was a sad week because of the news about Melissa "Melie" Cala's passing.
Here's the recap:
MONDAY
The Federal Food Drink & Provisions held a soft opening on Monday night. The funky Phuc Yea team behind Federal -- Alejandro Ortiz, Cesar Zapata, and former Short Order blogger Aniece Meinhold -- are serving things you don't see everywhere else, like the Jar-o-Duck of namesake bird with crostini, candied sweet potatoes and marshmallow Fluff. I've often said that I wouldn't eat in any dining establishment that served Fluff until the day pigs could fly, but then I found out that The Federal serves pig "wings" -- which, really, is close enough, so I'll have to check it out. The "wings" -- which look very much like the pork "osso bucco" at Crazy About You -- are served Buffalo-style with a blue cheese mousse and pickled vegetables. I'm not sure about the Federal's beverages, but a Lime Rickey would fit in nicely in a throwback sort of way.
FRIDAY
A very solid source of mine, Deep Kebab, reports that Vice Lounge (and Cafe) housed in the two-story 3,800-square-foot Lincoln Road venue that used to be home to O Asian Grill and before that to Rumi, is no more. We have no confirmation, as nobody is answering the phone. The opening executive chef was Michael Blum, and the menu featured items such as Cotton Candied Apple Wood Bacon Tower. This is what the food looked like in July; don't know about you, but the photos don't exactly whet my appetite. In any event, Vice certainly never took off as a place to dine. I don't think we can entirely blame the demise of the restaurant on the cotton candy/bacon combo, but it couldn't have helped.
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