Miami Restaurant Musings

*After years of my pooh-poohing parsley-speckled plate rims and mindless squiggles of mango and raspberry purees on dessert plates, it seems that both fads have faded into oblivion. Thank you, but please hold your applause until after the column is finished.

*Norman Van Aken has laid low of late, no? I sniff a comeback in the air -- or maybe it's just the overripe mangoes in my kitchen.

*The anti-foie gras movement has seemingly lost momentum, and virtually every new Miami area restaurant has the torturously tender liver on their menu. I'm not saying the chefs who serve this are insensitive or lack compassion, but I wouldn't leave my cat alone with them for any length of time.

*Whatever happened to restaurants without television screens?  

*Last names of the big four Design District chef/restaurateurs: Lyon, Eismann, Bernstein and Schwartz. There are so many potentially good jokes to insert here, but every one would get me into the sort of trouble where I'd likely have to contact a law firm -- you know, like Lyon, Eismann, Bernstein & Schwartz.

*We never really gave a proper goodbye to Schlotzky's delis -- or shall I say a proper good riddance?

*Look closely and you'll notice that a great deal of the produce sold at Whole Foods Market is NOT organic -- and very very little of it is local. Once they start serving Wonder Bread I'm outta there.

*To the folks behind Sardinia's long-long-awaited pizza joint: We're ready whenever you are.


--Lee Klein