The new emphasis on healthy, sustainable eating has become a revolution of sorts, a means to protest the corporate agricultural system. This trend has even made it into the world of pet foods. However, as with human food, major corporations are looking to get in on the action. Petco has…
Over the past few weeks, I have been spending quite a bit of time on Palmetto Creek Farms, watching first the slaughter of a pig and then the butchering that follows. This farm is a small operation, catering solely to chefs in high-end restaurants. These chefs can order anything they…
The process was described to me before I walked onto the kill floor. Jim Wood, owner of Palmetto Creek Farms, gave me the rundown. “They can’t see anything. There’s nothing to hear. I don’t think they have any idea what’s going on.” I was handed a long lab coat and…
The Old Fort Lauderdale Breakfast House has recently expanded its hours to include dinner service, and among the items on the new menu is a fantastic oyster pan roast. Chef Aaron Johnson was kind enough to expose his secrets and show us how to make his most popular appetizer.Step OneStart…
Just before entering the boning room, I was handed a lab coat and a hairnet. I was about to see the next step of the transformation from pig to pork chop. Yesterday, I watched them die. Today, the carcasses are going to be butchered and packed — a much less…
Up north, growing season is coming into its peak. Unfortunately for us down here, everything is just about dead, from the plants to the numbers of people walking through a restaurant’s door. But chef Julian Greaves of Tryst in Delray Beach knows about keeping things fresh. At the start of every month, Greaves…
After four u-turns and failed iPhone directions, I finally spot the wooden sign with an arrow pointing to Cuthill’s Backyard in Boynton Beach. As I round the corner, I can see it, a newly erected outdoor bar behind a new wooden fence. It seems a bit out of place, a beachy-looking…
The process was described to me before I walked onto the kill floor. Jim Wood, the owner of Palmetto Creek Farms, gave me the rundown. “They can’t see anything. There’s nothing to hear. I don’t think they have any idea what’s going on.”I was handed a long lab coat and…
Recently, I asked a crew of ten Jamaican guys where they go when they want real Jamaican food. The consensus? Blue Mountain Restaurant. So a friend and I made our way to one of the generic shopping centers across from the Lauderhill Mall. We headed up to a deeply tinted…
Since our Best Of Broward/Palm Beach edition (due out June 16) doesn’t cover north of the Palm Beach County line, it’s fitting to declare a few out-of-the-area favorites. And the winner for Best Orlando Restaurant is the Ravenous Pig.In the true sense of the gastropub, the Ravenous Pig places a…
Market 17, the farm-to-table restaurant located on 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale, released a new summer menu concept this past weekend. The goal is to make the Market 17 dining experience more accessible for locals over the summer months.Executive Chef Lauren DeShields says: “We’re looking to do smaller plate with…
Foie gras-loving Californians better eat up over the next month. Starting July 1, the state ban on foie gras (fattened liver from a duck or goose) will officially take effect. The law was passed in 2004 but included time for restaurants and the state’s lone foie gras producer to adjust.Animal…
A block away from executive circle in Hollywood, tucked among rows of strip-malls, lies yet another nondescript shopping plaza. Inside this one lies a hidden gem: Las Americas Bakery. The decor is not what you would consider glamorous; the interior is typical of most latin bakeries — straight to the…
Growing up in New Jersey, every summer my family and I would head down to the shore. While today, the connotation of the Jersey shore has become entangled with the images of Snooki and Pauly D, my recollection was of a perfect family seaside town. One of my favorite pastimes was…
For years, margarine was hailed as a health food — a non-fatty substitute for butter. But with the discovery of trans-fat, that notion has changed. Now that consumers have cottoned on to the fact that their once-beloved “healthy” alternative to the saturated fat in butter is actually worse for their…
Walk into any egg section of any supermarket, you are bound to be bombarded with dozens of varieties, with multiple labels and certification seals. Do you merely walk over, pick up a dozen, and just get on with your shopping? Or do stand in front of the coolers studiously reading…
In my early 20s, one of my best friends decided to go vegan. She had been vegetarian for years, but this next step ended up being a struggle at parties. At many a barbecue, her only option was the green salad. If there was cheese on top, forget it. She…
“I may have gone a bit overboard,” I said as I arrived back at the table. I was carrying three massive plates of sandwiches and potatoes. Although, at 100 Montaditos, it’s not difficult to find yourself ordering an unreasonable amount of food. I knew a montadito was a small Spanish…
My mom remarried when I was a kid, and I was doing everything in my power to dislike her husband. The only problem: He was a great cook, and I was a food-lover. Those attributes are difficult to keep separate, especially when it comes to pasta carbonara. Pasta and bacon…
Picture it now. It’s a hot and humid. The sun is shining in the clear blue sky. The sounds of gently lapping waves roll in. The lingering aroma of lighter fluid, the forenote, atop the scent of burning charcoal. The grill is warming up. The barbecue is about to begin.With…
Chances are, you’ll be heading to a barbecue on Memorial Day, and unless the hosts are serious foodies, you will probably be served the same old Bubba Burgers and Hebrew National Hot Dogs that are standard at most American get-togethers. This year, take back the holiday and host your own…
Photo by Sara VentieraCurious pigs in one of the feeding pens on Palmetto Creek Farm.What am I getting myself into? I wondered to myself, as the main road disappeared into a long, oak-covered stretch of unpaved drive. A white cloud of dirt surrounded my love-bug-covered car. Finally, I saw a…
