U.S. Department of Agriculture

Meat Me In Miami

New Yard, New Grill

A Fine Mess

A troubled wild kingdom looks to set up a SoFla outpost

Food Stamp Nation - Florida Leads The Pack

The Miami Herald reports that "In the last two years, the number of Floridians on food stamps has increased more than 40 percent to 1.7 million. That increase is the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."The numbers read like this, 356,000 food stamp recipients li ... More >>

Best Hamburger

Jack's Old Fashion Hamburger House

Tailpipe

Magnificent Moths

Letters for November 9, 2006

Magnificent Moths

Hot Enough for Ya?

When at Peppers, do as the Chinese do.

Foodstuff

Lil' Ole Caboose

Puppy Love?

Only the dogs are blameless in Broward's strange war over Wizard of Claws

Attack of the Killer Weed

Can a hardy little moth stop the fern that wants to eat the Everglades?

Stagebeat

Capsule reviews of current area stage shows.

Poison Pill

Florida's first law to protect farm workers from pesticides died a quiet death, but now it's back

What a Mouthful!

With the founding of his own steak house, Howard Schnellenberger has finally arrived

Deep Roots

The wide and welcoming branches of the baobab beckon our humble scribe

Canker Sore

State workers are cutting down homeowners' citrus trees to save Florida's fruit industry. It's a South Florida chain saw massacre.

The Day the World Came to Wellington

John SotoGuarding the entrance to the Lechuza Caracas estate in Wellington is a gate at least eight feet high, topped with iron spikes and emblazoned with the golden emblem of an owl. An electronic keypad out front is the only way to make the doors swing open, but for now they remain firmly shut. Th ... More >>

On Drinking, Driving, and the Cabbie That Waits Outside the Palm Beach County Jail

Photo by Lisa RabOutside the Palm Beach County Jail, transportation options are slim.After spending eight hours in a jail cell recovering from a night of ill-conceived drinking, getting ripped off by the cabbie that drives you home would seem to add insult to injury. But that's what a 30-year-old wo ... More >>

The Office Comes to Delray

That's what she ordered.The latest episode of The Office doesn't star Steve Carell but David Manero.  Let me explain. There are actually two Offices: one a TV show that reveals Life In a Cubicle as the mind-numbing, soul-sucking vampire it really is. The other is a coming restaurant from one of ... More >>

The Meatist: How To Do Steak the Right Way

Photo by flickr user Jackie Baisa​"What the hell are you doing?" he asks me. "Getting ready to cook these steaks," I tell him. "Dude - there's a grill right outside the door, and you're heating up a pan? Are you on crack?" ​Men are supposed to intuitively know how to cook steaks. It's in o ... More >>

The Meatist Gets Funky With Aged Beef

Photo by flickr user aliciazs.​Have you ever had one of those moments when you look in your fridge and see that beauty of a steak that you bought a few days ago and forgot about, and it looks a little... funny? And you think, "Well, maybe it will smell all right," but you know in your gut that it ... More >>

Ooh-la-la, Le Haute Burger

B. Citara​You don't need a weatherman to know the wind is blowing the rich, beefy aromas of hamburgers sizzling on the grill all over the country. Upscaling the humble burger is more popular than straight white teeth and money in the bank nowadays, as even recession-shafted diners can pry a few ni ... More >>

Order Up: Callaro's Prime Steak and Seafood

​I expected not to like Callaro's Prime, a very old-fashioned steak house in Manalapan and subject of this week's Dish review. But my friend and New Times' theater critic Brandon K. Thorp convinced me the 8-year-old gin joint can cook the hell out of a steak. We dined there a couple of weeks ago b ... More >>

Surf Sliders Catches Wave Into Delray

​A seemingly jinxed location and two weeks of shitty weather don't make getting a restaurant off the ground any easier, but Delray's new Surf Sliders is putting the finishing touches on its beachfront property and hopes to succeed where its two most recent predecessors have failed. 

Elevation Burger Coming to the Walk in March

​After a few delays, Elevation Burger, the sustainable, free-range, grass-fed beef burger joint, is finally coming to the Walk in Coral Springs in March.The burger chain sounds sort of like Five Guys gone green. Elevation's slogan is "ingredients matter," and at least according to initial literatu ... More >>

The Humane Society's Battle With Farmers Began Right Here in Florida

​After a few delays, Elevation Burger, the sustainable, free-range, grass-fed beef burger joint, is finally coming to the Walk in Coral Springs in March.The burger chain sounds sort of like Five Guys gone green. Elevation's slogan is "ingredients matter," and at least according to initial literatu ... More >>

Florida Ranked 36th Most Obese State (Tickets to Gun Show Now on Sale)

Flickr: TobyotterThe obese woman: An endangered Florida species​The seventh annual "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010" is, first of all, apparently an R as in Real thing. But moreover, the study revealed that Florida's adult obesity rate is 25.1 percent, making us the 36th m ... More >>

Burger, Stogies and Reservations (!) All Come to The Office

​Chances are your office doesn't serve a big fatty of a burger made with USDA Prime beef dry-aged for 26 days, but one is now on the menu at David Manero's The Office in Delray Beach.  Even better, you no longer have to cool your taste buds at the bar waiting for a table, as the restaurant is ... More >>

Prime Delray Opens on Atlantic Avenue

​"Glamour" isn't a word applied much to restaurants nowadays, but the glamour and cachet of 1940s-era supper clubs was the inspiration behind Prime Delray (110 E. Atlantic Ave., 561-865-5846), the newest restaurant to debut on the town's dining-rich Atlantic Avenue.Steven Pellegrino, also propriet ... More >>

So You Want to Be a Farmer?

Photo © The Urban Farmer​Turns out President Obama wants YOU ... to be a farmer. In the last year or two, it seems like small, urban farms and CSAs (like The Urban Farmer in Pompano Beach) are popping up throughout South Florida. And that's a great thing for anybody who values fresh produce that ... More >>

Valentine's Day Dinners in Palm Beach

​It's not too early to make those rezzies for you and your honey to get all sloppy and romantic over Valentine's Day dinner (which, for those of you who don't want to be sleeping on the couch for the rest of the month, is Monday, Feb. 14). So here are a half-dozen Palm Beach County restaurants whe ... More >>

Want a New Weed Research Unit? Federal Government Lists Unwanted Properties

Not on the list. Er, this is awkward.​Attention geography nerds, real-estate speculators, and government-haters (that includes something for everyone, doesn't it?): you may soon be able to pick up a federally owned property on the cheap thanks to a new online listing service from the U.S. Governme ... More >>

We Love the Smell of Burgers — Smells Like Victory!

Not on the list. Er, this is awkward.​Attention geography nerds, real-estate speculators, and government-haters (that includes something for everyone, doesn't it?): you may soon be able to pick up a federally owned property on the cheap thanks to a new online listing service from the U.S. Governme ... More >>

Michelle Obama and USDA Say Food Pyramid Out, My Plate In

flckr/ Rapid City Public LibraryThis food pyramid is old news. America, it's time for a new food lesson...​ Remember that food pyramid you learned about in grade school and kept seeing around the place? Well, it's outta here. The United States Department of Agriculture has launched a new visual i ... More >>

What's Cooking, Uncle Sam? Exhibit Examines Government's Role in the American Diet

nationalarchives.govPoster created by the USDA to encourage farmers to use quality feed for pigs. ​If you're anything like me, your food pyramid is inverted and looks more like a yield sign. The "food groups" in your yield sign probably have little to do with portion control or balance and everyth ... More >>

South Florida's Top Four Prix Fixe Picks for Summer

​Before there were one-night pop-ups, followed food trucks, and celebrity-chef-preferred dives, the best way to get a taste of something unique and fleeting was a sampling of a restaurant's creative favorites culled to create a tasting menu.In France, it's referred to as a table d'hôte. In Japan, ... More >>

Animal-Rights Activists Trying to Ban Circus in Margate for Messin' With Elephants

lahoridanda.blogspot.com​A circus in Margate is probably the most exciting thing to happen in that city for a while, but animal-rights activists plan on showing up to the city's commission meeting tonight to ask them to ban the Cole Brothers Circus from Margate.Why? Cole Brothers seems to have a p ... More >>

Is Pork the New Lobster? Looks Like It's Destiny

mealsonabudget.blogspot.com​In 2010, we saw a rise in the price of bacon. For 2011 and beyond, it's the whole hog.In the past two months, the price of pork shoulder Crumbaker gets from Grand Western and other national suppliers has risen from a wholesale price of 89 cents to 1.40 a pound: a 40% pr ... More >>

Grilled Cheese Pizza: A Cheesy Trend?

thisiswhyyourefat.tumblr.com​Grilled cheese pizza was the winner of the Pizza Inn's in-house contest across the chain to come up with new types of pizza for its national menu.  Though a variant abomination is portrayed on This is Why You're Fat  --with quarters jutting from a single crus ... More >>

Florida Designates Special Hunting Areas for Wounded Veterans

Hunting and fishing trips are becoming more popular for vets.​Stalking alligators in a swamp is not the only way veterans can bond and heal during outdoor adventures in Florida. In May, the Legislature passed a bill designating certain portions of state forests hunting areas for injured activ ... More >>

Three Plead Guilty in Scam Based on Government-Regulated Toilet Paper

Sorry ma'am, that illegal toilet paper is no longer good here.​Question: How much money can three Palm Beach County scam artists make by convincing old people there are new government regulations that ban traditional toilet paper?Answer: Around $1 million, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.M ... More >>

Free Fries This Friday at Burger King: Should You Care?

The fantasy​December 16 marks free fries Friday at Burger King locations across the country, the nationwide launch of "fluffier" fries with "more potato flavor" part of a rollout that started December 5. The new fries

McNugget News: Are You Gonna Eat That?

​Tastes like chicken!Making the rounds online and on the Face -- again -- is "poultry paste," mass-produced chicken that even has a USDA-official name: mechanically separated poultry. If you're a meat eater and you've ingested grocery-store hot dogs, frozen chicken patties -- or if you had McNugge ... More >>

Funky Chicken No More? USDA to Revamp Inspections

​Studies show that two-thirds of chickens are contaminated with salmonella, which would especially be troubling if we ate it raw. The government says that changing inspection procedures should help. In a cost-saving measure, the federal government is revamping how it inspects birds. The U.S. Depar ... More >>

School Lunch Changes Mean Fewer Animal Crackers And No Canned Fruits

​No more animal crackers for iron at your kid's cafeteria. In the first overhaul of school food in fifteen years, all schools must be in compliance of the US Department of Agriculture's school food rules by July 1, 2012. Florida schools have prepped for the changes by switching control of the scho ... More >>

Florida Republican Socialists Piss Off Los Angeles Over Food Stamps

​Florida Sen. Ronda Storms is causing an uproar all the way to L.A. -- as seen in today's Los Angeles Times -- with her proposal to forbid Florida food stamp recipients from using the program money to buy junk food. Storms' bill was approved by the Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elde ... More >>

Win Tickets to Delray Garlic Festival February 10-12

​We've got a pair of tickets to give away to Garlic Fest, the quirky Delray Beach event that celebrates the odiferous vegetable. Why celebrate a flavor that keeps away vampires and ensures trench mouth breath that rivals the taste of stale cigarettes?Like other maligned foods, garlic has an intere ... More >>

NYY Steak Opens in Expanded Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek

Adactio via Flickr Creative CommonsNot a Yankees fan? You're still invited to the table. ​If you're still riding high on NY pride after the Giants' big victory in Sunday's Super Bowl, you may want to give a look at the newest steak house to hit Broward County. The recently unveiled $150 million ex ... More >>