‘Tis the season for South Beach restaurants to bloom like so many poinsettia at Christmas. The neighborhood south of Fifth Street is going to get especially crowded with new eateries during the coming weeks and months. Topping our Pavlovian anticipations is Au Pied de Cochon, which will debut at the…
Lee Klein I won’t blame Pro Chile, a trade group promoting the wares of that lush Latin American country, for my eyeglasses being lost. I had them when I arrived for the Taste Chile! lunch being held at the Raleigh Hotel in South Beach. I had put them on to…
It isn’t usual for me to feed possum, but when I saw this one in back of our apartment, with five babies on her back, I placed down some imported Gruyére. She gobbled the treat with undisguised gusto, which I attribute to her prior experiences with cheese most likely being…
Illustration by Alex Izaguirre The Obama election affects not only the whole world, but also the food world. Here are ten predictions on how this might play out: Hula girls will replace mariachi bands as the most annoying dining distraction, and restaurant owners will find it increasingly profitable to put…
Ahnvee, a Cajun-Creole restaurant and “laid-back lounge” will open at 621 Washington Avenue (the old “Strand” location) in late-2008/early 2009. Executive chef Tom Azar, most recently having served the same function at Emeril’s Miami Beach, will be putting out skillet cornbread with honey butter glaze; fried alligator; crawfish-and-rice croquettes, and…
Lee Klein The 2008 Miami International Wine Fair featured the usual aisles of wines and wine sellers, and the usual throngs of wine enthusiasts, and the usual clique of ink-stained wretches like myself who were there to scribble some notes while, of course, drinking wine (I actually used a tape…
Come January, chef Jonathan Eismann of Pacific TIme fame will be opening Pizzavolante (“flying pizza”) at 3918 N. Miami Avenue, in the Design District. According to Eismann, the contemporary-styled 900 square foot space will be offering “creative wood-oven pizza” with organic and local ingredients, and “some gluten-free products”. Emphasis will…
Tickets for the 2009 South Beach Wine and Food Festival go on sale this coming Monday, October 27. We mention this because in past years tickets have sold out very quickly — especially for the more popular events, such as Rachel Ray’s Burger Bash ($200), Bubble Q ($350), and Wine…
This past week the Miami Herald’s “Diet and Nutrition” page featured a “Nutrition Quiz” that touted the benefits of niacin. These include raising “good” HDL cholesterol by as much as 35% — “plus, it purportedly helps your skin and hair”. What specific foods does this quiz — which “purportedly” is…
“Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time” is the motto of Pizza Fusion, the first ever organic pizza franchise that is getting set to open at 14815 Biscayne Boulevard in mid-November. The Fort Lauderdale based restaurant chain offers pizza, ciabatta sandwiches, salads, desserts, and organic beers and wines, all…
QSR Magazine has completed its’ 2008 Quick-Service Drive-Thru Performance Study, and Chick-fil-A took home the gold as America’s Best Drive-Thru 2008. Sherri Daye Scott, editor of QSR, explained the reasons behind the chicken chain’s success: “No bells and whistles, no out-of-the box training systems. Just a strategy focused on getting…
Michelle Bernstein Michelle Bernstein hopes to have her new tapas place open “before Art Basel”. She says the menu is “almost done”, and will include items such as boquerones, tortilla española, and artesanal Jamón Serrano. “We’re going to do blood sausage and stuff like that, and I’m playing with all…
El Palacio de los Jugos, which makes the best batidos, arepas, lechon asado — heck, let me just say it’s my favorite Cuban joint in town — is negotiating a lease for a new location across the street from the Federal Courthouse in downtown Miami. Owners Beatrize and Reinaldo Bermudez…
Janet and Greta Podleski. During which of the following world-famous events did the pizza industry report the highest number of deliveries? a) the final episode of Survivor I b) Superbowl XXXXVII c) the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase d) the opening night of the first Gulf War This is one of…
I recently received an email from the New York publisher of an upcoming cookbook featuring American recipes and accompanying backstories from all 50 states. The writer is a well known cookbook author and longtime food columnist for a major publication, and it seems as though she isn’t happy with the…
This morning, I erroneously reported that Michy’s was moving into the Domo Japones space. Michelle logged on to set the story straight: Hi Lee, Just so you and everyone knows, Michy’s is not and never will be moving. We are opening a Tapas Restaurant, a dream for my husband David…
Big News: Domo Japones, the chic Asian bistro in the Design District, closed its’ doors for good after last night’s service. Bigger News: I have heard that Michelle Bernstein has taken over Domo’s lease and is going to move Michy’s into the space. Stay tuned for details. Read our update…
Last week the food giant Unilever recalled Lipton Green Milk Tea brand from Taiwan stores because one of the ingredients was milk from China. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that “according to Unilever Hong Kong Ltd, internal tests have found four batches of Lipton milk tea powder contaminated with…
Dinner and a murder mystery with Edna? On October 14, North One 10 Restaurant’s “Evening With Edna Buchanan” will pair the cool mystery novelist with a “crime fiction inspired” dinner provided by Dale and Dewey LoSasso and crew. The event will presumably provide the author with an intimate forum in…
I recall years ago commenting that South Beach’s B.E.D. — the place where diners eat while reclining on mattresses — was as tacky a restaurant gimmick as one could come up with. So much for my commenting skills. Seems that the 100-seat Taipei restaurant Modern Toilet goes way beyond my…
I enjoy a magazine as much as the next person, so it was with more than a modicum of interest that I pulled the glossy 49-page publication from my mailbox: Azul: The Magazine For Living The Good Life. At first I thought it might just be a coincidence that the…
The beginning of the PR release looked promising: “Prime Blue Grille is celebrating Oktoberfest – in true Prime Blue Grille fashion – with the return of their popular program Endless Pours, every Saturday and Sunday in October.” Wow! In honor of the great beer fest the steak house would be…
