Why come up with a creative, health-conscious concept when what we really want are burgers and fries that don’t kill us? This appears to be strategy behind Energy Kitchen, whose recent signage highlights ostensibly healthy burgers and fries under 500 calories.Energy Kitchen touts grass-fed beef and wheat buns as better for you…
Chelsea and Fred Marando opened Marando Farms two years ago with the intention of serving as a Fort Lauderdale hub of locally grown, organic produce. I’m smitten with the charm of the place, from the potted gardens to the chicken coop to the boiled peanuts to the visual feast of…
It seems that I have fallen into a relationship of convenience with PL8. Part of it is because the restaurant is down the street from my house. And since it changed over from Himmarshee Bar & Grille to PL8 this past September, it has become a default go-to among friends…
The other night, I was talking with a bartender who reminded me how many of my friends and colleagues have drinkin’ rituals: a first round sipping drink, booze for the duration, then a nightcap. Mine are situational. This past weekend in DC, I started with bubbles, switched to a spicy…
I usually don’t swoon over dessert, especially in home cooking. My standards are seasonal fruit and fresh whipped cream, whisked in a copper bowl: a group effort from the dining collective. Root beer floats are another go-to for hot weather. If I’m really lazy, it’s single-origin dark chocolate to pair…
At a packed bar that opened recently, eight bartenders cleared glasses, delivered checks, scanned the room, and chatted with customers. Half the customers had full beers. A handful waited next to empties. Among a crowd of maybe 50 people, I counted fewer than five menus. I was starving at 9 p.m.,…
Men’s Health announced today the most manly restaurants in America. And according to the results, the criteria are the following: 1. To be a manly restaurant, the place must feature foods that don’t require utensils, except when it comes to barbecue. 2. If the restaurant isn’t named after a man — Jack,…
We’re down to the wire for Thanksgiving, with most of us hitting the airports or the highways tomorrow, though I had been traveling over the weekend and the airports were packed already. In the meantime, procrastinate with the New Yorker’s food issue, one of my favorite reads in the magazine all…
Celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein is no stranger to these parts. With Sra. Martinez and Michy’s in Miami and Michelle Bernstein’s at the Omphoy, she’s got South Florida covered. Her restaurants fall among the most oft-recommended, having earned Best New Restaurant awards for Sra. Martinez in 2009 and a Best Chef,…
“That’s a real grease-ball dish,” said the hulking guy next to me at the bar at Il Mulino, where Debbie, one of my favorite bartenders, had just poured my second glass of wine. Louie, a doppelgänger of Tony Soprano with the same vernacular, held a stake in Fulton Street Fish…
You’ve planned your menu. You’ve done your shopping. You’ve ordered the turkey. You’re baking breads. There’s one more detail yet to plan: the booze. Sure you can buy a mixed case of wine or a couple of cases of craft beers. Yet there’s something to be said about liquoring up…
Despite the lull of a holiday week, restaurant help wanteds remain brisk; we’re into the season, after all. One place even suggests a Thanksgiving stop-by for an interview. Here are the week’s listings. Racks and Table 42 Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar is hiring line cooks who can work weekends,…
What annoys you about restaurants lately? Is it a side of “Sweet Home Alabama” with your sliders? Or when the server ignores you? Maybe the ubiquity of flatbreads makes you want to defect to liquid dinner. After the jump, you’ll find few things that are genuinely puzzling, strange business practices, or…
Wearing black on black like the rest of the servers at SpoonFed, Vinnie the bartender looked young, but for whatever reason, he felt he had to tell me he’d just turned 50. “The new 35,” he said. I never pay attention to age until I go to Delray Beach, where…
aligned bar stools and filled tables last night at Tap 42 to assess the menu, the space, the prices, the service, and of course, the beer. Here are the crib notes…
I’ve been perusing Las Olas wine and cheese shops lately as well as ducking into bars and restaurants down the stretch. I’m curious as to how the strip will turn itself into a holiday extravaganza on November 29, perhaps because I’ve never spent the season in 84 degrees. Big City…
After at least a week’s worth of burgers and beer for the best of list, I’d been looking forward to clean plates and simple dishes that don’t require a nap after I eat them. I decided on a dish at the Grateful Palate, my second visit to the restaurant that New…
It was the first dry spell after days of rain. At 8:30 on a Tuesday night at Coconuts, French doors opened to accommodate a cross breeze and people-watching. Just-right lighting ensured that the dining crowd looked especially attractive. Canvas shades had been unfurled for a backdrop. Boat lights twinkled in…
This photo is cute compared to what we’re about to show you: a mask of Justin Bieber to sink your teeth into. The photo prompts a blizzard of questions. Who decides to make meat masks? Is this a labor of love from a parent? A 15-year-old boy trying to hook…
Today’s Thanksgiving post is inspired by this flow chart over on Chow.com, which directs according to these questions: “Are you a responsible adult?” and “Is Thanksgiving going to be a bomb-cratered war zone?” As much as I’d entertain myself by bringing potato buds to the house where I’ll end up,…
Steak 954 newest lunch kicks off today’s list of regional sandwiches and where to get them around here. Read on for the day’s sandwich porn.Philly Cheese Steak at Steak 954The ultimate guilty pleasure sandwich, this decadence is served by chef Jason Smith in a nod to Philly native and restaurateur…
New River Pizza has moved across the street with a name change to New River Grill and a spruced-up space. The new New River, open for lunch and dinner, reminds me of Jersey pizza joints from growing up, where kids too young for their driver’s licenses would walk to hang…
