This time of year is surreal in South Florida. It never really feels Christmas-y. Snowmen are extinct. Without cues from Mother Nature, Christmas week doesn’t have the smoky whiff of holidays up north.Restaurants sometimes go all out and prepare a massive banquet, all of them basically on a big over-compensation…
Some call them tangelos even though they’re actually a cross between a Dancy tangerine and a Duncan grapefruit. But they’re also known as honeybells. Hurricanes and frosts keep their habitat scarce and render them rare and coveted. With an extra-juicy, from-the-tree sweetness, they make a brief appearance after Christmas; then…
Whatever you choose to do on New Year’s Eve, please don’t drink and drive. There’s no worse way to start off 2011 than dead. Hangovers last a day or two, but dead, last time we checked, is a lot longer. Here’s an idea: take the bus. Broward County Transit routes are…
Yes, you’re right to feel sickened at the sight of these words: Surfer Blood. No, seriously. Never in South Florida music history has so much press been heaped upon something so slight and marginal — not to mention hopelessly overexposed.And while the BJs continue from Pitchfork and Stereogum and your…
Although it has long been trendy to have a laugh at pint-sized wailer Ronnie James Dio’s expense, it’s actually not as popular now that he’s dead. Dio and his devil horns passed into the next realm last May. His brand of mythic metal both parodied and revered by Tenacious D…
Hey — it’s still legal to dream. This winter, not only are friends back West gloating over their strains of Sour Diesel and AK-47, the legal pot dispensaries are also baking up cookies — chronic cookies, that is. Yeah. Talk about leaving Santa a little surprise snack when he comes down…
A few years ago, agricultural officials tried to chop down every backyard orange tree in the state. Yours probably got the axe. Too bad — you could have started your own distillery.4 Orange Premium Vodka is the first vodka made from four different Florida orange varieties. According to its press…
Despite rumors that Bojangles, North Carolina’s fast-food underdog, was finally rolling out their revolutionary reindeer nuggets this month, that has not come to pass.However, other restaurants are disregarding convention (and the cries of children) as they opt to roast Rudolph rather than sing about his…
If the urge to make a gelatin mold of your own face and then chow it down is eating you up, fret no more. The Eat Your Face Gelatin Mold Kit is here to help.Mike Samonek, author of a crazy tome called The Special Effects Cookbook, came up with the…
Great food and the US military are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. In fact, Army mess hall dinners and Meals Ready to Eat are associated with the worst eating experiences for good reason. Imagine everyone’s surprise, then, when the Army’s Culinary Arts Team (didja even know they had one?) came…
Construction permits on new gingerbread homes are not issued until the first week in December, after which the confectionary edifices spring up everywhere. Gingerbread houses were first built in Germany, Scandinavia, and Russia, and popularized in the 17th and 18th centuries. Gingerbread men, as they were later called, drew up…
Hello tweeters — you know who you are. Have you time to put down the Blackberry and raise a glass? If not, it’s time for professional help. For the rest if you, come meet the crew and have a few drinks: New Times’ Tweet-Up Party promises to provide good times.That…
This Sunday, from 4-7 p.m., Lola’s on Harrison St. in Hollywood is hosting the second annual Lolapalooza. The event, which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of South Florida, brought in 250 people last year and raised $1,000.This year, Lolapalooza expects close to 500 folks to show up. The whole…
Tonight, local celebrity couple Gloria and Emilio Estefan are doing the red-carpet thing in Hollywood. Yes, our Hollywood. Cb5, a “seasoned boutique restaurant concept firm,” is busting out Bongos with the Estefans, who’ve done the same in Miami and Orlando. Since it’s a celebrity night, expect nothing less than a Cachao band,…
Andrew’s chef, Roberto Hernandez, brings impressive credentials: he cooked at Barton G’s, Mar el Lago, and the Blue Door. The space is impressively big and stately — 50 seats outdoors, more than 200 inside, with live music filling the room every night of the week.(And since it’s Boca, you can…
Since sushi is traditionally served with but a few beverages — tea, beer and/or sake — this pairing is slightly unorthodox. But not really — white wine with sushi is increasingly popular, and what’s champagne but white wine with fizz? Also, it’s more common to see sushi prepared by non-Japanese folks, which…
Since this is the time of year when Christmas trees, twinkly lights and cherubs start making their annual appearances, you know there’s gotta be a party or three.Now, you’re certainly within your rights to question an all-you-can-drink bash that begins at noon. The surgeon general sure would. The mayor probably…
December is usually a down month at Wine Watch. This December is different.In fact, it’ll be the best tasting yet. When delving into the flavorful nuances of a fermented beverage, why not just go all the way right off the bat?Port — especially vintage port — is all the way…
Now that the temperature has finally taken a dip, watch for dead iguanas falling out of trees! (See photo, taken in Oakland Park last January.) South Florida’s plague of big green lawn lizards was culled somewhat last winter by a cold snap that killed legions of the critters. The canal…
Zymurgists, clean off your beer goggles. It’s City Link Beer Fest time again. For five wonderful hours this Friday evening, you can drink as much ale, lager, and stout as your little belly can handle. This is the 15th year the publication has been throwing the big brew-filled bash, and…
Chef Dean Max doesn’t have much time to hang out at his flagship restaurant too often — he’s busy overseeing an empire. But 3030 Ocean at the Harbor Beach Marriott is still his baby, and it turns 10 years old this month. So Max is doing the anniversary bash in…
Secret: Some of us Gentiles are crazy about Jewish food. So much so that we’ll even date Jewish girls just so we’re sure to be invited for brisket at her grandmother’s apartment in Delray Beach every year. That’s the thing about the second-annual Nosh Fest, South Florida’s Jewish food festival:…
