We here at Clean Plate Charlie are usually too busy judging the judges on the Food Network, puréeing foie gras for our little baby Emeril, or just generally stuffing our ding-dangled faces to get out to any concerts these days, but we were excited to live vicariously through our sister…
Down at SUSHISAMBA dromo in Miami, beverage manager Mackenzie Parks added sake knowledge to her vast repository of wine smarts. Since pairing sake with sushi (and other foods, for that matter) is a true art, Parks has done her research into helping New Times recommend five bottles that’ll never do…
• July 30 is National Cheesecake Day; can you guess which restaurant is celebrating? (Hint: The name starts with “Cheesecake” and ends in “Factory.”) Anyway, on July 30 that place will be offering “any slice, half price,” a promotion that’s fairly self-explanatory. Comers can try the chain’s new Reese’s Peanut…
We’ve learned to swallow juice from a pouch, wine from a box, and even yogurt from a bag, but is there really any reason to get our bread from a can?B&M’s Brown Bread — we tried the raisin variety — undoubtedly can outlast the shelf life of any loaf sheathed…
South Florida’s own Michelle Bernstein made an appearance as guest judge on Top Chef last night in what turned out to be an interesting episode. The program may have also revealed a little bit of a chef rivalry between Miami-based chef-testant Andrea Curto Randazzo and Bernstein herself.It all started with…
Jamie, chef/owner of underground restaurant Squat-N-Gobble, appeared Wednesday and Thursday morning on the Paul and Young Ron Show. The show brought me on a few weeks ago to talk about the phenomenon of rogue restaurants after I wrote this article.For the unfamiliar, a rogue restaurant is a word-of-mouth eatery typically…
One of my friends — we’ll call him the esteemed Dr. Niles — recently posted a question on Facebook that had a bunch of people talking. The question goes, “your ideal hamburger… what’s on it? how’s it cooked? bun type?… go!!”Naturally, few can resist this type of inquiry. What is…
To see more photos from Via Luna click here. In the movie version, our waiter would be played by Kevin James or some other likable funnyman. He made quick small talk that always ended with a punch line. He stopped by just when you needed him, not before. And his…
This week in Dish, we review Via Luna, the high-end Italian joint in the Ritz-Carlton on Fort Lauderdale beach. Via Luna replaced the much-loved Cero after the Ritz bought the place. The hotel chain brought in a classically trained chef, which sounds promising, but saddled him with an Italian menu…
The life of a restaurant critic isn’t always healthy. And lately, I’ve been feeling the effects of a rather luxurious diet. A couple of weeks ago, I came down with a case of food poisoning so severe it knocked me flat out for four days. And just a week before…
The Village at Gulfstream Park, a massive, billion-dollar outdoor shopping mall adjoined to the Gulfstream Race Track, is struggling in the summer heat, at least according to this article from the Sun-Sentinel. The story, which cites intense heat and the economy as contributing factors in the mall’s troubles, comes hot…
The deal: This long-standing restaurant serves Tex-Mex-inspired dishes in a quaint setting that looks like a Mexican cottage. It’s named after a classic Mexican tune played by Mariachi bands and not the famous Los Angeles restaurant. The Lighthouse Point location is now closed, but this Cielito Lindo on 44th St…
Here’s a clue — this shot was taken at a restaurant located in a strip mall. Does that narrow it down a bit? It’s in Broward County. From the photo, it’s pretty obvious what kind of food is served here. Click on the jump to see a larger image. …
When is a hot dog a haute dog? When it’s a Snake River Farms Kobe hot dog, that’s when. This ain’t your granddaddy’s tube of vigorously emulsified petroleum binding polymers but a big, thick cylinder of rich and meaty-tasting beef. Now, Kobe beef has been the recipient of more hype…
We understand that eating meat is one of the badder things you can do for the planet, what with trees being cut to make way for pastures, cows chewing cud where soybeans could otherwise flourish, and heifer poop emitting methane into the air. While Mama and I haven’t exactly committed…
Christian Cotton, chef/owner of Cafe Copenhagen in Jupiter, is calling it quits in Jupiter’s Driftwood Plaza. He’ll be open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday through July 31 and for brunch on the weekends till that date; reservations are recommended if you do want in on one of the final meals.Cotton’s…
They’re a little salty, a little sweet, very crunchy, and just the right size. Yep, the new pretzel M&Ms are winners in our book.Despite the cute illustration of the orange M&M holding an x-ray showing he has a pretzel twist inside, the shape of the core is only a tiny…
• Belle & Maxwell’s, a casual European café on Dixie Highway in West Palm, reopens this week after several days of renovation to expand into the next-door space. Doubling the restaurant’s size isn’t the only addition. Along with serving its signature breakfast and lunch dishes, B&M will begin serving dinner…
Over on our sister blog, the Juice, Jeff Stratton recounts how Ahmad Lai Bujang, a 61-year-old Malaysian Parliament member, “was taken to a hospital after he complained of breathlessness and dizziness from gorging himself on durian, a spiky green fruit resembling jackfruit (or a green hedgehog).”As Stratton reports, the politician…
It was less than six months ago that national retailer Target completely ditched farm-raised salmon in favor of the environmentally conscious wild-caught variety. Now Whole Foods is getting in on the action. The national retailer has announced it will carry only Marine Stewardship Council-certified sustainable swordfish from Nova Scotia this…
Tonino Lamborghini Caffe Corsa, the restaurant named after the son of auto industry icon Ferruccio Lamborghini, has closed its doors for good. The restaurant located in the new, outdoor shopping mall the Village at Gulfstream Park married authentic Italian food with the kind of sleek design the younger Lamborghini is…
The menu at Mama Asian Noodle Bar in the Coconut Creek Promenade doesn’t stop at noodles. In fact, the list of Thai-, Chinese-, Japanese-, and Vietnamese-inspired dishes is so extensive that it can be difficult to decide what to order. A recent visit proved as much. I had brought my…
