Ralph Pagano, the Hell’s Kitchen alum and erstwhile executive chef of the restaurant formerly known as Customs House, is headed back to television. It turns out his split with the Boca Restaurant (detailed last week on Clean Plate Charlie) was mutual. While Customs House will now be known as Chris…
As a countdown to the Best Of Broward Palm Beach 2010, coming in May, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations to John.Linn@BrowardPalmBeach.com…
As part of an irregular series on how to have more fun with your hamburger, allow Charlie to present… the lambburger. Like ground beef, ground lamb is cheap and easily available, but it also takes to Moroccan, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean flavorings in ways the standard disc of chopped cow…
Nothing does celebrations better than champagne (or sparkling wine). And what better celebration than for a bubbly that’s downright skinflinty and doesn’t suck at all? That would be the nonvintage Kenwood Cuvee Brut, which at $10 a bottle is cheaper than stuff you would use to flush out your car’s…
Maybe it’s the smell they release when they are baking in the oven. Maybe it’s the fact that they are good for your health. Maybe they are just delicious. Maybe it’s the fact that bananas in damned near anything are worth consuming. There are few things I enjoy better than…
It was a huge week on the blog. Check out what you missed below:Chef Patty Canedo gave us another look into the life of a busy chef in her weekly column, Half Baked.Our list of 100 Favorite Dishes continued this week with Fort Lauderdale favorite Zona Fresca, Galanga sushi’s lobster…
A week after learning that Hell’s Kitchen veteran Ralph Pagano was no longer executive chef at Customs House in Boca Raton, the restaurant has undergone a massive face-lift. No longer Customs House, it will now move forward as Chris Michael’s Restaurant and Lounge.Charlie spoke to the restaurant’s general manager, Angelo…
The tacos at El Guanaco sport made-to-order tortillas as thick as three normal corn tortillas pilled up. Order one and you’ll hear the chefs in the kitchen (separated from you by only a bit of tinted glass) pat and mold fresh corn masa by hand, then slip it on the…
When you order it in an Italian restaurant, chicken marsala always looks so complicated — the sauce, the tender texture of the meat, the wine’s mysterious aroma. But it’s actually a one-pan meal for us slobs who make it at home. And this version is absurdly simple, if not entirely…
As a countdown to the Best Of Broward Palm Beach 2010, coming in May, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations to John.Linn@BrowardPalmBeach.com…
After trying the smoked eel last week, nothing was gonna stop me from prying open a can of smoked mussels next. But after seeing the orangey-green oily film on the peeled-back lid, my enthusiasm was put on pause. Sure, the sound of the top popping and the “pssshhhhttt” pulling sound…
The Brooklyn neighborhood where I used to live had quite a few burrito/taco bars within walking distance from my apartment. They made obscenely large burritos in two sizes: huge and huger, which actually employed two tortillas. The assembly line offered a choice of marinated meats and a vegetarian option, though…
• Adding a Boca Raton location to its Hollywood older brother is Argentango Grill (504 Villa De Palmas; 561-416-2213), known for its 28-ounce skirt steak that comes rolled up like the sidewalks in Boca after 10 p.m., not to mention all the other kinds of meat you could ever hope…
The class-action lawsuit that claims the website Yelp uses threatening tactics to get ads was filed by South Florida attorney Jared Beck, who says he’s now getting inundated with requests from people who want to join the suit. Beck spoke from his law office on Flagler Street in Miami, where…
So you shelled out $350-$450 for tickets to BubbleQ at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, eh? Well, if you want to get your money’s worth, we suggest you start with a visit to Steve Martorano’s table. Yeah, we know you’ve probably tasted his famous meatballs by now, and…
A year ago, the East Bay Express went public with stinging accusations that user review site Yelp engaged in shady pressure tactics to remove or bury negative reviews for businesses that advertised or coughed up sponsorships. Now, a lawsuit is alleging something eerily similar.Law firms in San Diego and Miami…
• New Times’ Annual Beerfest is just around the corner again. The fest will go down on April 17 from 7 to 11 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale’s Esplanade Park (across the street from the Museum of Discovery and Science, next to the river). There’s already a ton of great craft…
How to make a taco: Take a quality tortilla (preferably freshly made); fill it with some sort of meat or meat-like substance (tongue, cheeks, stomach, rinds, you name it); and balance it with tart, spicy, grassy, tangy flavors (salsa, lime, onion, cilantro, etc.).How not to make a taco: Take stale,…
Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it’s all about the love of the brew. If you…
As a countdown to the Best Of Broward Palm Beach 2010, coming in May, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations to John.Linn@BrowardPalmBeach.com…
Be still our beating hearts; Stork’s has spread its wings and landed in Davie, just across the way from Nova University. The Barbie cakes are once again on display, proudly flaunting their confectionary finery and this time, instead of overlooking the register, they can be found (wait for it… wait…
Unleash your inner Tom Colicchio and sample the suds of 12 of the area’s best amateur brewmeisters this Sunday, February 28, at Lake Worth’s always fun ‘n’ funky Havana Hideout, where chef-owner Chrissy Benoit is hosting the first of a planned series of Top of the Hops brew-offs. From 1…
