A disheartening email arrived at New Times this week, in which a reader informed us that Armando Alfano of Soya & Pomodoro was closing his hip, informal downtown Italian eatery and moving back to Italy. Thankfully the news isn’t true. Mr. Alfano considered doing so for personal reasons, but assures…
Hi Lee: Long time reader, first time writer. Any chance there is a good Korean Fried Chicken place in Miami? I hope you have a suggestion. Thanks and happy eating, Sarah in South Miami Sarah– I called the three Korean places that I know of: Myung Ga Tofu and BBQ,…
Great post on local fruit, but my question is, and it’s one I’ve been asking for a while, how do locals get a hold of local fruit? I’ve heard in other cities they have these things called farmers markets where local farmers gather in an urban setting and sell their…
Lee, Do you know if Crabby’s Smoke House BBQ and Seafood are still open? I have heard conflicting reports Ani Corbett Orlando Florida Ani, I had assumed that Crabby’s was very much still going strong, but after reading your email I tried calling and, sure enough, the phone has been…
In response to my recent blog concerning rumors of trouble at David Bouley’s Evolution, Nicole Eldridge, Director of Special Events there, sent me the following email. I will only add that I believe her, and am more than happy to squelch the rumor once and for all. –Lee Klein Dear…
I grew up with a good friend, Frank, whose family was from Iran. We were inseparable. Whenever we had time off from school I´d spend entire days at his house listening to Cobain and Hendrix, playing Nintendo, and eating the incredible Persian food his mother prepared. When you´re young just…
When the summer of ‘07 gets discussed years from now, it may very well be recalled as being the season that set the Miami dining scene back a decade. In January of 2003, the Spanish deconstructionist restaurant La Broche opened on Brickell Avenue, signaling that our town was ready to…
Question: There are 57 peaches hanging from a tree. Four of them are beautiful and ripe; 53 of them are rotten. True or false: All 57 of the peaches on this tree are rotten, so the tree is fruitless. If you answered “true”, a career in journalism may be awaiting…
Cast your mind back to the dim recesses of, oh, I don´t know, the mid-1970s in South Florida. What did you do when you were hungry? You opened your mouth and screamed until somebody shoved a nipple in your face, right? OK, let me rephrase. After your mum and dad…
Santo Restaurant & Lounge has just appointed Cory Smith, former sous chef at Pacific Time, to be their executive chef. The new menu will debut this Saturday, July 7th. The Back Story (maybe):A couple of weeks ago I met John Mariani, longtime food editor for Esquire Magazine, at Santo Restaurant…
Pick a pair Gabriele Marewski’s Paradise Farms, a five-acre organic lot in Homestead, is rarely more paradisiacal than right about now, as summers’ bounty of nectar-laden fruit is coming into bloom. Marewski, who has a BS degree in agronomy from the University of Maryland, drives her farmed goods — which…
Michael McCrossen Saturday – June 23, 2007 2:07 PM To: Subject: Moving to Miami- Any recommendation Hi Lee- My girlfriend and I are relocating to Miami from Philadelphia in about a month. We eat out quite a bit up in Philly, and are completely unfamiliar with the Miami restaurant scene…
Fish balls. Fried crickets. Salted scorpions soaked in whiskey. Smoked catfish soup. Deep-fried beef gums. Snail curry. Hog plums. Bamboo grubs with green onions. Slivered pig´s ears. Gecko curry. Pickled mudfish. Barbecued pork salad. Red ant egg dip. Fried morning glory. Makes your mouth water, doesn´t it? They´re traditional dishes…
Faced with a stressful week of work, my girlfriend and I decided it was time for a pleasant dinner in the Roads this past Saturday. We had passed Old Lisbon many times. After stepping into the cozy restaurant, the rich aromas of flaming Linguiça and stewing codfish grabbed hold of…
It is an astounding statistic: 99 percent of all new restaurants go out of business within the first six minutes. Or something like that. Still, this doesn’t deter one feckless restaurateur after another from trying their hands at the hazardous game. They all go in confident that they’ve got something…
Palm Beach has always had a thing for Africa. In the several seasons that I temporarily trespassed in the hallways of the Dodges and Phippses and Pulitzers on my way into or out of some party, I often spied with my own little eye the smart set´s embrace of what…
Hi Lee, Hope you have been doing well. Memory jog – About a year ago, I read your “foie gras” story which changed my life. My husband Tony and I decided togo vegetarian. I wanted to update you on our progress: I have become quite the creative vegetarian cook, not…
The shocking news came late Tuesday afternoon, when the South Florida Concierge Association sent an email out to local hotels with the following message: We have received word from Pacific Time that they have closed their doors effective immediately. Chef/proprietor Jonathan Eismann helped pioneer the resurgence of Lincoln Road by…
Dads are like assholes. Or not. That’s the thing — they’re all so damn different! So before deciding on a father’s day destination, it helps to define what type of man he is. Here’s an easy-to-use guide (meaning short of length and no big words) of recommendations specific to your…
Well, it´s all China all the time in the news these days, isn´t it? Between filthy tea, carcinogenic dried apples, and bacteria-laden swordfish imports turned back at our own squeaky-clean borders; the brouhaha over whether Americans should be eating (avian-flu-carrying?) Chinese chickens; the lethal pet-food scandal; and the no-quotas Climate…
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) in Tallahasee has doubled the fine for any proven offense of food misrepresention in dining establishments (from $250 to $500, which still doesn’t seem like much punishment for deceiving the public — and increasing profits considerably while doing so). “Floridians ought to…
On May 7, I posted a blog entitled Ask the Food Critic, in which readers were encouraged to forward questions to me concerning the local food and dining scene. Sample queries were offered, such as: Is it true that Daniel Boulud will be opening a namesake establishment in downtown Miami?…
