• Iron Chef Cat Cora will be giving a cooking demo on February 27 at 5 p.m. at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa. Tickets cost $35 in advance through Ticketmaster. The celeb chef will be giving a free appearance at 3 p.m. in the hotel lobby that same day.
• Chain eatery Panera Bread is helping to fight breast cancer this month. On January 29, the company will donate 100% of the proceeds from its pink ribbon bagels to the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure. The bagel sounds like a sweet thought and sweet eats: It features cherry chips, dried cherries and cranberries, vanilla, honey and brown sugar.
• Have you had your stone crab fix this season? Me either. The Key Largo Stone Crab Festival could remedy that, going down January 30 and 31 at Rowell's Marina,
mile marker 104.5. Expect all the usual festival festivities, plus
cooking demos and lots and lots of stone crab. Admission costs $7.
• Stephen Starr's meaty temple Steak 954
is introducing weekend brunch. Brunch runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on
Saturday and Sunday and features dishes like vanilla dulce de leche
French toast and braised short rib potato pancakes. Sign me up when
they add foie gras frittatas, or maybe truffled bloody marys.
• BX Beer Depot is holding another brewer's day on February 3 at 7 p.m.
The theme of the day is imperial stouts; so show up, learn about them,
and then drink some too. Admission costs $15. Also: Did you know you
can pick up growlers full of beer at BX Beer Depot? Bring any vessel
under 32 oz. or over one gallon, and BX will fill it up with any beer
they've got on top. The list is impressive.
• Can you smell the griddle? National Pancake Day
is coming up again. That's the day IHOP offers a free short stack to
each of its customers. In return, the company asks you donate to a
local childrens' hospital. Last year, IHOP raised $1.75 million for
charity. You can beat that: Just pass the blueberry syrup.
