The Biltmore Hotel’s Sunday brunch, generally acknowledged as among the very finest in town, is now, according to press materials, “expanded” and “enhanced.” As far as we can tell, the main difference is a finer fizz, as each week a different champagne from one of France’s top producers is poured…
If you catch Joseph Boueri on a slow night, say a rainy Tuesday when only a few regular customers are hunched over steamy bowls of Prince Edward Island mussels and buttery nests of shrimp parpardelle, you probably won’t need to exchange more than a couple of sentences before he beckons…
That’s a wrap! But how healthy is it? A few months back I was drawn in by the slick smoothie and sandwich-wrap marketing madness, and ditched my daily burger with fries and a Coke for a supposedly healthier alternative. I started frequenting places like Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Planet Smoothie and…
Repeat after me: oeufs, not flottante As a lifelong Luddite, when it comes to food research I prefer referencing my own collection of cookbooks to surfing the Web. This email I received (OK, I admit it, I do use a computer, too), and my response, only reinforces my distrust of…
What’s a hungry girl to do about her meat? Rich or poor, we’re getting kicked where it hurts — right in our growling stomachs. Every meal is an unhappy meal. First, it’s foie gras; now it’s KFC. I was on the verge of sending away to PETA for my “free…
Thunderstorms may have rocked much of Miami-Dade County last night, but the wet weather wasn’t enough to keep the winos from joining French-native Florent Blanchet in celebrating the two year anniversary of his W Wine Bistro . “Any excuse for a party,” grinned Blanchet between monster-size gulps of bubbles –…
Students from Johnson & Wales University’s College of Culinary Arts will commemorate the 95th anniversary of the last meal on the Titanic with a special dinner that will recreate the ten-course menu served in the first class saloon on the night of the tragic sinking. The dinner, scheduled for 7…
My “father-un-law” was in town, and I wanted to take him to dinner. Not that I needed to impress him. Here’s a guy who drove his battered 1978 Chevy Caprice Classic station wagon — the kind with faux wood-grain siding — until it finally coughed and ground to a permanent…
The margarita is a staple at every Mexican restaurant from here to Jalisco — but as I savored the version of the drink served at El Torito (1401 S. Federal Hwy., Pompano Beach, 954-725-3339), I wondered exactly what elevated it to such slow-sipped perfection. I called our waitress over and…
Greener? Not so much After briefly closing its velvet-rope adorned doors to remodel, the Design District’s Grass Restaurant and Lounge is giving things another shot. To publicize the refurbished space and unveil chef Michael Jacobs’ new menu, promoters invited a bevy of media types and would-be hipsters to a complimentary…
www.gourmetcruelty.com Gimme a break Wolfgang Puck announced that he is removing foie gras, battery caged eggs, and crated veal and pork from all his menus, and adding vegetarian options throughout his restaurants worldwide. Puck’s continually expanding empire encompasses Spago, Postrio, Cut, Chinois, Grand Cafe, Gourmet Express, Lupo, American Grille, Bar…
The Dinner in Paradise series continues this Sunday, April 1, with the fifth in a series of six charity-driven, six-course farmers dinners served under the stars. Host/chef Michael Schwartz, of the just-opened Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, welcomes what I think might be the best guest chefs of the year:…
Have you heard this one? A rabbi and a psychologist walk into a sushi bar… Hell, I always screw this joke up. The rabbi and the psychologist own the sushi bar. Oh, crap, it’s not a sushi bar either. It’s a “kabbalistic lifestyle lounge and café.” Emunah Café: an organic-kosher…
It is certainly good news that Miami-based Burger King announced this week that the company will begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that don’t confine their animals in crates and pens. PETA has declared a victory, as has the Humane Society of the United States. According to the New…
The evening begins with a cocktail reception, at a fabulous home in Indian Creek, with ten or twelve of your favorite friends. After the requisite mingling with other guests, including Dr. Arthur “South Beach Diet” Agatston, you will pick a number from a hat. This number dictates which of the…
He’s a star, Nick Morfogen. And I love him the way I love Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet: purely, deeply, from afar. I have Dennis Max and Burt Rapoport to thank for bringing Nick into my range; that Unique Restaurant Concepts power couple, throwing open contemporary California-style bistros with fanatical…
These figures were just released (only to Riptide) regarding the 2007 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival: $2 MILLION (plus) — Record ticket revenue for this year’s festival. $1 MILLION — Amount raised to benefit the students of the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center and Teaching…
The Palm Beach Post critic was in here this week,” John Suley says. “Charles Passy. They ordered a lot of food and had us split up the plates in the kitchen, so everybody got to taste the same thing.” Suley, who has stopped at our table to introduce himself, is…
Not a bad one in the bunch Local, organic, affordable, good. These adjectives rarely combine in Miami, despite our proximity to some of the most fertile farmland in the country. So rejoice, downtown office workers and anybody else who can find his way to Bayfront Park: An excellent farmers market…
Hot off the presses, a New Times exclusive: The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is set to announce that its 2008 honorees will be internationally renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and the buoyant British chef Jamie Oliver. The former will be feted at the Tribute Dinner on February…
I have a problem. I should be teasing out the subtle distinctions between the Classic Boca Bitch and the Nouveau Gardens Gamine — there’s a shimmering, bodacious table of 16 of these ladies celebrating a raucous birthday party practically at my elbow — but I can’t focus. Maybe I need…
I ate my grilled marinated quail with long beans and a palm sugar-lime dressing sitting in a pool of ice water. I was in the ice water, not the quail. If you’ve never had freezing liquid poured into your lap while dining, I recommend it just for the frisson of…
