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• Paula samples cakes from Allie Herrera, who's starting her own cake business called No Cakes Like Home. Even that coconut cake looks tasty, and we're not big fans of coconut. [Mango&Lime]

• Deborah Hartz is still in the throes of moving, and the poor thing is resorting to far too many boxed dinners. Here's hoping she can get back to a real kitchen soon. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Tere explains her disillusionment with the Food Network. We feel her pain. [Foodtastic!]

We remember when there was just one Shorty's Bar-B-Q, down on US1 in South Miami, where as children we enjoyed making a mess eating corn on the cob dripping with melted butter and squirting barbecue sauce everywhere except our plate. In the past few years, new locations have popped up everywhere (OK, not quite everywhere—this was nothing like the rapid-fire proliferation of Don Pan). We just learned that as of 5 p.m. yesterday, the fifth Shorty's location is open for business in Deerfield Beach. We assume this location is similar to the one in the Doral, with newfangled things like a full bar and lounge. We can't vouch for that, but we can recommend the Brunswick stew and corn on the cob.

Shorty's Bar-B-Q [MenuPages]
Shorty's Bar-B-Q [Official Site]

We're in a philanthropic mood today, and that's a good thing, because Share Our Strength's annual Taste of the Nation is in Miami on Wednesday. The event, at the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, will feature food from 40 participating South Florida restaurants. General admission is $125, but for double the money, you get access to the food an hour earlier and admission to a champagne reception. And all that money you're spending goes to support local agencies, like Camillus House and Daily Bread Food Bank, that work to combat hunger in the area.

"Ending homelessness is as easy as eating lunch." That's the slogan of The Lord's Place, a homeless shelter that offers an upscale soup kitchen, where homeless men and women can eat meals on linen-covered tables. They've also run a chef's apprentice program since 2001, and now, they've unveiled a catering service, offering wraps, sandwiches, salads and cookies, all prepared by the people in the apprenticeship program. The Palm Beach Post has a short story and a nice video about the program.

Cafe Joshua adds catering [Palm Beach Post]
The Lord's Place

One hundred eleven years ago today, 344 people crammed into the second floor of The Lobby, (it's the two-story building to the left of the small building in the center of the photo) and voted to incorporate Miami as a city. We imagine standing in such cramped quarters with no air conditioning on a Miami July day was probably miserable — we envision the pioneers putting their sweat into the city charter, both literally and figuratively — but we're glad someone was willing to do it.

Photo: Claude Matlack Collection, Historical Museum of Southern Florida

Today is the grand opening of the latest Jamba Juice, inside International Mall (1455 NW 107th Ave). We hear there will be free smoothies from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. So if you happen to be at the mall, make sure to drop by around lunchtime.

• Tere bemoans the lack of independent coffee shops in downtown Coral Gables. Also, she's not a fan of Cafe Demetrio. [Coral Gables]

• Paula, predictably, loved the mango festival at Fairchild. [Mango&Lime]

• Deborah reports that the Benihana in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has re-opened after its renovations, mainly the addition of an elevated sushi bar. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Lee Klein reports that Indomania, which opened a few months ago on Miami Beach, will be closed all of August. [Riptide 2.0]

• It was love at first sip for Charles Passy and Metromint. [The Hungry Man]

That honor goes to "Anonymous" (how original) for his (or her) review of Upper Deck Ale & Sports Grill in Hallandale Beach:

Good food.

And that, dear readers, is the entirety of the review. (The review title was exactly the same as well.) Allow us to present this as an example of one way your review will not be approved for the website. We've been receiving lots of these one-line reviews, but we really think they're not very helpful to other users who are trying to decide on a restaurant. We don't want a 5,000-word essay either, but a couple sentences about the dining experience would be useful. So keep that in mind next time you're raving about your new favorite sushi place or lamenting the money spent on a subpar dinner.

• Tinta y Cafe and Tobacco Road are sponsoring a 111th birthday bash (that's a lot of candles!) for the City of Miami with art installations, food and booze. The event begins tomorrow at 9 p.m. at the Jose Marti Building, 801 SW 3rd Ave. A $50 VIP pass gets you all the food and drink your stomach desires. [Camposition]

• Two Cooking at the Cellar events this Saturday, one at the Aventura Macy's (19053 Biscayne Blvd) with Kurtis Jantz, the executive chef at Neomi's, and the other at the Dadeland Macy's (7675 N Kendall Dr) with La Cofradia executive chef Jean Paul Desmaison.

Dear MenuPages,

Yours, Hungry in Hallandale

Hi HH! Thanks for e-mailing. Yes, we South Floridians love our dolphin. We have fond memories of munching on fried dolphin fingers as a child at Bahamas Fish Market in Miami. Dolphin fish that is, not dolphin the mammal. Flipper is protected by federal law.

You probably know dolphin (the fish) by its more commonly used name, mahi-mahi, Hawaiian for "strong-strong," but they're also known as dorados. We're not sure when mahi-mahi became the more popular moniker, but we here in South Florida are a stubborn lot, so you'll continue to see dolphin on menus throughout the area. Besides, it's funny seeing the horrified expressions of tourists and newcomers when they first see dolphin on a menu. Apparently Islamorada Fish Company's expansion into other parts of the country is causing some confusion; they're keeping "dolphin" on the menu.

There are plenty of great places to eat dolphin (the fish) in South Florida. We'll start at the southern tip with Blue Heaven in Key West, where the fish is listed as both dolphin and mahi-mahi (we assume so as not to confuse the tourists). You can get it Cuban-style at Las Culebrinas in Miami, or you can eat it dockside at Bimini Boatyard in Fort Lauderdale.

We found this photo and couldn't not share with you. Taken at sunrise on Miami Beach. Enjoy.

Photo: Flickr

We'll start where we left off, with the Sun-Sentinel's Judith Stocks, who visits Mississippi Sweets in Boca Raton (there's also one in Lake Worth). There, she feasts on ribs, Brunswick stew, okra, and an assortment of other barbecue delicacies. Rotisserie fans beware: the rotating rotisserie is broken for now.

We're quickly becoming fans of Dan Oliver's "Watering Hole" features on the Palm Beach Post's website. This week he's at Tiki Waterfront Sea Grill in Riviera Beach, where the chef puts out some pretty fancy dishes for what looks like a laid-back waterfront bar. Try Thai-style snapper with fresh mangoes and papaya in a Thai chile sauce.

And Charles Passy is back from vacation, but he's still in a New York state of mind. Apparently he didn't quite get enough of the Jewish deli when he was up there, so he's at Ben's Kosher Deli in Boca Raton this week, the only Florida outpost of the New York-based chain. Our favorite part of the review:

And don't forget the amusing aphorisms — they're called "Ron-ifications" since they come courtesy of Ben's founder Ronnie Dragoon — that are posted everywhere. One example: "For five thousand years, we were a wandering people. Then we found Boca Raton."

Mississippi Sweets BBQ Co. [Sun-Sentinel]
Jewish 'soul food': Boca deli has roots in working class tradition [Palm Beach Post]

The Herald spent a lot of time in Broward this week. First up, an article about three newcomers in south Broward: Piola in Hallandale Beach (same company as the Piola in Miami Beach), Wine Cellar from Werner Staub of Peppermill on the Waterways, and Aizia, which is in the spot Satine used to occupy at the Hollywood Westin Diplomat.

Also in the Herald, Linda Bladholm stops by L & L Market Bistro in Miramar, which features microbrews and hard-to-find cheeses.

On to the Sun-Sentinel. We were hoping that the recent website revamp would mean a more user-friendly dining section. Eh, we're not impressed. Sure there's the restaurant guide, but everything else is pretty bare-bones. Anyway, Judith Stocks has only good things to say about the Korean fare at Myung Ga in Weston. And that's about it for Broward.

New dining draws around the drawbridge [The Miami Herald]
Global bistro plus microbrews in Miramar [The Miami Herald]
Myung Ga Tofu & BBQ [Sun-Sentinel]

We love hot dogs. We love plain dogs, dogs with the works, fried dogs, beef dogs, pork dogs, etc. As you can imagine, we were excited to learn of La Perrada de Edgar, a Colombian hot dog shop written up by Category 305:

Stepping into La Perrada, an unsuspecting diner is confronted with oh, so much more. Forget about onions, chili, or relish. Here a hot dog is the foundation for a smorgasbord: the Roman ("bun, sausage, mozzarella cheese, bacon, meatballs, potato sticks, cheese sauce"), the Hawaiian ("bun, sausage, mozzarella, cheese, pineapple, potato sticks, cheese sauce"), and the Super Edgar ("bun, sausage, mozzarella cheese, shrimp, crab, potato sticks"). Taking nothing for granted, the descriptions note that each hot dog comes with a bun. All of these combinations are topped with special sauces invented by owner Edgar Gomez, a one time fashion designer turned hot dog vendor.

The story about how Gomez got into the business is great too: he went to a fashion trade show in Dallas and ended up in the wrong building, which happened to be hosting a fast food convention (who booked those two together?), where he fell in love with the hot dog.

La Perrada de Edgar
6976 Collins Ave, Miami Beach
305-866-4543

New Dog in Town [Category 305]

We're already tired of the old Thursday format of one post per publication, so we're going to split it up by county today. Here goes!

Victoria Pesce Elliott gives the rundown on Miami Spice: you'll be treated well at Tuscan Steak, Timo and North One 10, Neomi's and Touch were a little less kind to value-seeking diners last year, and The Restaurant At The Setai (where she once spent a month's salary on dinner for four) has actually agreed to participate for 2007. We're thinking $35 for dinner might be a good deal there. Book. Now.

There's no dancing on tabletops at Maria's Greek Restaurant in Miami, but there is plenty of good food according to Lee Klein. The New Times also checks out Bayside Grill at The Standard hotel, and finds the waterfront setting calming and the shoestring fries heavenly.

The best ways to add Miami Spice to your dining [The Miami Herald]
Greek to Me [Miami New Times]
Toque on the Water [Miami New Times]

Bartow, Florida. We had to look it up on the map (it's close to Winter Haven and Lakeland in Polk County). We imagine that area as a large expanse of citrus groves, but according to a recent Florida Trend piece, blueberries are taking over.

Connecticut investor Stan Phelps is spending millions to convert some of the 18,000 acres of reclaimed phosphate mines he’s bought in and around Bartow to create a blueberry operation. In March, the Wall Street veteran opened a 103,000-sq.-ft. berry packing and distribution center in Bartow. During its first harvest season this spring, the Clear Springs Packing House and Distribution Center processed and packed 1.2 million pounds of blueberries — a quarter of the state’s overall production — for 33 growers. Clear Springs also is expanding its blueberry farm from 150 acres to 1,000.

1.2 million pounds in the first year? Not too shabby. We didn't think blueberries could withstand the heat of a Florida summer — they are popular in Maine, after all — but we learned that blueberries have been grown in north-central and north Florida for quite some time. Now, they're just ramping up production. Between hurricanes and the recent citrus canker outbreak, I imagine blueberries might look appealing to weary citrus growers. And there's a market for them too — Florida blueberries ripen during March, April and May, just after the Chilean imports stop coming and just before blueberries from northern states.

Blueberry fields forever [Florida Trend]
Florida's Commercial Blueberry Industry [University of Florida IFAS Extension]

Photo: Florida Trend

• It's Caribbean Carnival this weekend at Jetsetter Lounge in Lake Worth. There'll be a special Islands menu on Saturday and Sunday. [Jetsetter Lounge]

• Spain is taking over Vino Miami in Miami Beach tomorrow night. Sip on Spanish wine and pick at tapas while watching some of Pedro Almodovar's finest films. Actually, we're not sure exactly what you'll be watching (details are sketchy), but it will definitely involve Almodovar. Tickets are $20 per person. [Vino Miami]

• Local poet Howard Camner, who was once nominated to be the state's poet laureate, will be at North One 10 in North Miami for an evening of food, wine, music, and of course poetry. The menu item names are a hoot. "Uncensored wild salmon on the road of wheat, mango chutney" anyone? [North One 10]

Ah, to be rich and famous and get away with something so incredibly obnoxious as bringing your own personal chef to cook for you at a restaurant. The chefs at Casa Tua just wouldn't do for Sting and his wife Trudi, who insisted that their personal chef be allowed to prepare them a meal in the restaurant's kitchen, according to a recent article in The Sun. The restaurant's regular chefs, however, were deemed good enough to make food for Sting's guests. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in Casa Tua's kitchen on that night.

We also learned that Sting had some recent problems with another personal chef, whom he fired when she couldn't keep up with the 14-hour days he and his wife demanded. Did we mention she was pregnant at the time?

It seems the fussiness doesn't extend to the rest of the band members; Andy Summers, The Police's guitarist, was recently spotted dining at Versailles. We'd love to see what would happen if Sting were to bring his personal chef there.

Every chef you take, eh Sting? [The Sun]
'Sting and Trudy cast me out for having a baby,' chef tells tribunal [The Daily Mail]
Vigil Recap: Synchronicity [Babalu Blog]
Casa Tua [MenuPages]
Versailles [MenuPages]

Photo: The Daily Mail

At 12:01 a.m. today, thousands of divers descended into the ocean to catch their share of Florida lobster during the two-day sport season. OK, so we're not sure that they dove in the dark just after midnight (although we wouldn't totally be surprised), but the point is that they were allowed to.

For those of you who prefer terra firma, here are a few Keys restaurants where you can sample Florida lobsters without having to dive for them yourselves. Just keep in mind that the commercial season starts on August 6, so restaurants likely won't have local lobster available until then.

• The Florida lobster tail at A & B Lobster House in Key West comes broiled and served with coconut pecan rice and baby vegetables.

• Fish House in Key Largo offers a standard half Florida lobster tail broiled with drawn butter.

• You can get your Florida lobster fried at Rusty Anchor in Key West

• Marker 88 in Islamorada offers Florida lobster three ways: steamed in bouillon, baked and stuffed with crab meat, or Lorenzo style.

So where will you be dining next week? Miami Spice, a two-month-long promotional event organized by the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, starts a week from today. During August and September, three-course lunches and dinners will cost $22 and $35, respectively, at 80 participating restaurants in Miami and Miami Beach. (FYI: That price doesn't include drinks, tax, or tip.) At some places, that's a not-so-great deal, but at others, it's definitely a good value. So peruse the list (most restaurants include their special Miami Spice menus) and start making reservations!

• Charles Passy finally returns from New York. [Hungry Man]

• Lee Klein tells you where to go to get the best value during Miami Spice, which kicks off next week. [Riptide 2.0]

• Paula weighs in on the anxiety revolving around the Miami restaurant scene. [Mango&Lime]

We've been moving lots of menus onto the site, so here's just a sampling of what went online last night:

• Woody's Famous Steak Sandwich, 13105 Biscayne Blvd in North Miami, 305-891-1451

• Cibo e Vino, 2775 E Oakland Park Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, 954-567-2444

• Sophie Bistro, 142 SE 1st Ave in Miami, 305-577-6156

• Maryland Fried Chicken

Think you can tackle this guy and win? Here's your chance to try. The two-day lobster mini season starts on Wednesday morning at 12:01 a.m. and ends exactly 48 hours later. We'll run down the rules for those of you who plan to dive in the Keys or elsewhere for lobster:

• You need a saltwater fishing license with a lobster stamp. If you don't have one already, you might want to get one. Now.

• No more than six lobsters per day per licensed harvester in Monroe County, no more than 12 per day elsewhere in Florida.

• No diving at night in Monroe County, and no diving within 300 feet of private property in the Keys.

• And there are a few prohibited zones: Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Spiny Lobster Sanctuary, the Everglades, the Dry Tortugas, and John Pennekamp State Park.

2007 Lobster Mini Season in the Florida Keys [Florida Keys Treasures]
Photo: Flickr

We hate to start the week with gloom-and-doom articles, but it seems like there are a lot of those about Miami these days. According to Bloomberg, the condo glut in Miami can push the entire state's economy into recession as early as October. Fun! And today, The Miami Herald looked into why it's so tough for restaurants to stay open in the Magic City.

Restaurants are sharing the region-wide pain of rising rents, insurance, property taxes and gasoline prices. Those added costs can simply make the equation unworkable in an industry where profit margins are already razor-thin.

Chef Tony Sindaco expanded his Sunfish Grill in Fort Lauderdale this year and watched bills double. ''We're trudging through,'' he said.

Van Aken said his occupancy costs quadrupled during his dozen years at Norman's. Eismann said his rent was 500 percent higher on his last day of business than when he opened Pacific Time in July 1993. Rents in prime South Beach locations now run as much $100 per square foot, which can translate into a monthly bill between $30,000 and $50,000.

We can't even fathom a 500 percent rent increase over the course of 14 years. That's unbelievable. Of course, that's also in South Beach, which has completely transformed in the last two decades. The way to go for new restaurateurs might be to set up shop in less glitzy, fashionable neighborhoods; they may not be able to charge as much, but the costs would be dramatically lower. Then there's this quote:

''In the next 18 months, we're going to see one of the biggest shakeups in the restaurant industry that we've seen in a decade,'' said restaurant consultant Richard Lackey. ``Because of the increased costs, it is going to be more and more difficult for the independent, fine dining guy to exist.''

So, let's sum it up: The condo glut is going to cause a recession sometime soon, which will keep diners at home, which will hurt restaurants already struggling to pay rent. If the prognosticators are right, the next two years in Miami are going to be rough. Here's hoping they mixed up their numbers.

Miami Condo Glut Pushes Florida's Economy to Brink of Recession [Bloomberg]
Rising costs forcing out gourmet restaurants [The Miami Herald]

• Alesh tries an ugly tomato (doesn't look so bad in that photo), expresses approval. [Critical Miami]

• Paula dines with Slow Foodies at North One 10, leaves with a full stomach and a wine buzz. [Mango & Lime]

• Soya & Pomodoro owner considers closing shop, decides to stay put. [Riptide 2.0]

• Deborah Hartz complains about both the bitchiness of Top Chef judges and the summer camp feel-good among the cheftestants. We're not sure in which direction she'd like this show to go. [From the Test Kitchen]

Well, you learn something new every day. Thanks to Dan Oliver, aka "The Beer Guy" at the Palm Beach Post, we now know that a square grouper is a "floating bale of pot." Excellent. We learned this in Oliver's latest Watering Hole feature; he visited the Square Grouper, a low-key bar on the Jupiter Inlet.

We liked the articles on top flops and surprise hits from chefs and home cooks. Who would've thought that a dish of seared foie gras with fresh honeycomb, cayenne pepper and kumquat-hazelnut chutney would've been inspired by a meal of chicken McNuggets? (Well, the dish failed, so maybe we weren't so surprised.)

The only review we found was a short one for Java Room, a new coffeehouse on Northlake Blvd in West Palm Beach. Is Charles Passy still on vacation in New York?

Square Grouper [MenuPages]
Square Grouper [Official Site]
Java Room emphasizes socializing [Palm Beach Post]
Home cooks, and the dishes that failed them [Palm Beach Post]
Top chefs tell of top flops (and favorites that surprise them) [Palm Beach Post]

Well, at least this one won't have her name all over it. (We're looking at you, DeVito.) Queen Latifah is planning to open a Fatburger franchise — the third one in Florida — on South Beach by the end of the year. It has apparently been her dream to open one for several years, but no word just yet on why she chose Miami Beach. We can't wait to watch bronzed, muscular bodies walk by a large sign proclaiming "Fatburger."

Queen Latifah to Open Burger Joint [ABC 2 News]
Fatburger [Official Site]

Lee Klein took a 17-year-old Macedonian boy who'd never been out of the country to a jam-packed Christabelle's Quarter for his first meal in the United States. Quite an introduction! Klein encountered O.J. Simpson and a waiter who was "not at liberty to say" why he was certain Klein absolutely wouldn't like the crawfish etouffee. Verdict: Christabelle's Quarter looks better than the food it serves, but, as Klein wrote, restaurants of this size take a little longer to get into a rhythm. We're hoping whatever is wrong with the crawfish etouffee is fixed.

Also in Miami New Times: La Provence Bakery in Coral Gables, which turns out wonderful breads.

Over in Broward, we head to two Persian restaurants, Darius Palace and Kuluck Restaurant and Lounge. Both feature standard kebab-heavy Persian menus and pretty good food. At least that's what we got from the review.

Gumbo Limbo [Miami New Times]
Christabelle's Quarter [MenuPages]
Lovely Loaves [Miami New Times]
Iran, So Far Away [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]
Kuluck Restaurant and Lounge [MenuPages]

After the Judges' Table, we had a feeling Lia would be the one to go. It was unfortunate, because we'd just started to like her (CJ's still our favorite!), and she'd just rocked last week's elimination challenge. But the poor thing just seemed totally out of her element when asked to make a Latin dish. Maria Frumkin, owner of now-closed Duo and guest judge for the night, seemed to think her lack of familiarity with Latin flavors was unacceptable; we're a little more forgiving in that regard. We would've preferred to see Hung "pack his knives and go," but alas, he makes for good television and has excelled at past challenges, so we have grudgingly accepted the fact that he and his smug attitude will be around for several more episodes.

The Elimination Challenge, for those of you who missed the episode, involved making a Latin-inspired dish for the cast and crew of the Telemundo telenovela Dame Chocolate. (By the way, apparently Carlos Ponce stars in this telenovela. When did he go back to acting? Hadn't he embarked on a singing career? But we digress.) Quite an appropriate challenge, we thought. The cheftestants were given three hours to cook, and then they had to take their dishes to Star Island, where the telenovela was being filmed, to feed the crew.

But of course, there was a catch: shortly after the cheftestants had started cooking, Tom Colicchio walked in and announced an "unexpected" twist; the filming schedule had been moved up, and they'd now have just an hour and a half to cook. Howie, who looked like he'd have the most trouble adjusting to the time constraints, actually pulled off a win with his braised pork with yuca. It looked seriously delicious, and it was good to see the Miami chef take the Latin challenge. (The recipe on the Bravo site says there's "sour orange mojo," but the ingredients include only "orange juice." Usually, the substitute for sour oranges, which are not like regular oranges, is a mix of orange and lime, but there's no lime mentioned. We're confused.)

Photo: BravoTV

It's Thursday, the day of the week when local papers all turn their attention to restaurants and food. We like Thursdays.

So, on to the Miami Herald, where Rochelle Koff tells us to put our bibs on and start working on those crabs at Dania Beach's Rustic Inn. We must say that the Alaskan king crab — cooked in the secret garlic sauce, we presume — in that photo does look tasty. In addition to crabs from Alaska, they also serve Florida favorites like fried frog legs and gator chunks.

It took us a bit of poking around the Tropical section to find where the Miami-Dade review was, but we finally found Victoria Pesce Elliott's review of Chef Innocent at Hotel St. Michel in Coral Gables. The steakhouse (yes, as if we needed another one), gets two-and-a-half stars.

Put on your bib, get crackin' at Rustic Inn [Miami Herald]
Rustic Inn [MenuPages]
Hotel St. Michel steakhouse joins a crowded field [Miami Herald]
Chef Innocent [MenuPages]

Paula, over at Mango & Lime, alerted us to an interesting discussion over at Chowhound about the "dumbing down" of menus at Miami restaurants to please the masses. It all began with a complaint about Yuga's new menu:

I inquired with the waitress why the change and, as I expected, she said the menu had changed due to people's tastes. I have to admit that it was the most packed I had ever seen the place, but they were basically serving food you can find on almost any corner here (she even admitted that the menu had come from one of their other restaurants). Basically, the new take on Japanese small dish menu they had wasn't bringing in customers but their McDonald's-like sushi menu was packing 'em in. We walked out and the hostess apologized and looked rather disappointed.

While we hardly think this is a Miami-specific phenomenon, it is discouraging to hear in a city with a culinary scene that is trying hard to be taken seriously. As long as diners flock to places with more style than substance, that won't happen.

The original poster is trying to come up with a phrase to describe the process of dumbing down for the uneducated diner. We think a variation of the theater saying "ham, no eggs" (suggested by another chowhound to describe an actor with a big ego and no talent) would translate somewhat well to this scenario. Somehow. Any ideas?

Are Miami diners 'dumbing down' menus? [Mango & Lime]
ARRRGGHH! Frustrated with Miami dining [Chowhound Florida Board]
Yuga [MenuPages]
Yuga [Official Site]

• We've got great local fruit, but good luck finding it. [Riptide 2.0]

• Publix has plans to open a "green" store in Palm Beach Gardens. [GreenerMIAMI]

• Deborah isn't too pleased at J. Mark's Restaurant & Bar in Pompano Beach. [From the Test Kitchen]

We were flipping through the latest issue of the New Times when we noticed a number of irate letters to the editor in response to Lee Klein's recent review of Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant & Wine Bar. It seems the restaurant has already developed a devoted following.

Food for thought: I cannot believe this review for young chef Calvo. Aside from her true talent, she is a savvy businesswoman trying to succeed in an area where it is not common to find a restaurant like hers. Instead of supporting such positive movements in our community, what Lee Klein is doing is disgusting. Perhaps he is envious. Perhaps it is difficult to accept that a 23-year-old has accomplished what most middle-age men cannot and will not. There is some food for thought.

The comments left on the article's online version are pretty angry too. We haven't been to the restaurant, so we have no idea what the food is like, but we thought the review was appropriately deferent to her crazy list of accomplishments and pretty fair-minded. Most of Kendall apparently disagrees with us. Looks like a trip to the restaurant might be necessary.

Letters from the Issue of July 12, 2007 [Miami New Times]
Fame Game [Miami New Time]
Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant & Wine Bar [MenuPages]

We were in heaven this weekend at the International Mango Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. There were mango tastings (our favorite was a variety from Jamaica), mango smoothies, mango chutney (from Chef Allen's), mango ice cream, mango barbecue sauce — you get the idea. The most interesting part was seeing mango varieties from all over the world; unfortunately, the garden grows only a few trees of each variety, so there weren't enough for everyone to taste. Those who wanted exotic mangos had to bid on them:

We were told that platefuls of mangos would sell for $20-300 at the auction. I wonder how one treats a $50 mango.

We were most surprised by the number of varieties we saw from Israel. Imagine, mangos in the desert! Further evidence of the Israelis' mastery of irrigation systems.

And, finally, we'd like to share the mango that wins the tongue-twister award:

Yeah, we're not sure how to pronounce it either. But it does look tasty!

• Learn to cook the Trinidadian dish Chicken Pelau at Macy's in Dadeland on Saturday. [Macys]

• Yes, we've already mentioned this before, but just in case you forgot: the mango festival is on this weekend, at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Indulge in dozens of varieties of mangoes. [Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden]

• Opium Garden, an open-air club on South Beach, fought all the way to the US Court of Appeals of the 11th Circuit for its right to party hard, and lost. [Critical Miami]

• Everybody's making ratatouille these days! [Foodtastic!]

• Deborah Hartz thinks Top Chef has lost momentum with this Miami season. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Paula picks up some empanadas at La Estancia Argentina. [Mango & Lime]

The Herald reports that small businesses and restaurants moving into downtown Miami are struggling because of the many empty condo buildings nearby:

They're hoping to get in on the ground floor as the thousands of new condominiums bring residents who will turn Miami into a true 24-hour city. Yet it's still unclear when these new residents will materialize.

Sigh. Given that most of these condos seem to have been bought for flipping during the real estate boom or as second (or third or fourth) homes, we can't help but think that these residents just aren't going to materialize. Which makes us sad, because we want Miami to have a vibrant, thriving downtown, but we're not sure the "businesses first, residents later" is the best way to go about this.

The article mentions Premier Wine Club's upcoming move, despite success at its downtown location for about a year:

The two are tired of fighting the problems downtown, including homeless people who hang out outside the store or come inside, shouting at customers. They lost several clients to crime, including one who spent thousands of dollars a month on wine but stopped coming after her car was broken into right in front of the store at 145 N. Miami Ave.

So they're moving. To where, they're not sure, but it won't be the Design Destrict either. When asked, both shake their heads.

''We don't want to be pioneers anymore,'' Castineyra said.

Business pioneers take a chance on downtown Miami [Miami Herald]
Premier Wine Club [MenuPages]
Premier Wine Club [Official Site]

While sorting through some old books last night, we unearthed a small, spiral-bound "Flavor of South Florida," published by the Miami Herald way back in 1988. We stole it from our mother's cupboard last year (where it had been gathering dust), and it's been sitting at the bottom of a cardboard box since then. A few familiar names dot the list — Joe's (of course), Islas Canarias, The Wine Cellar — but we can't remember most, and Googling doesn't help, as they likely went out of business long before they could amass Internet mentions.

Also on the list? The currently-under-legal-assault Mai-Kai, which submitted a recipe for Shanghai chicken appetizers that are still on the menu. We're not sure if the recipe has changed in 19 years, but here we've reprinted the 1988 version. It involves wrapping chicken chunks in bacon and then deep-frying them, which sounds artery-cloggingly delicious.

Shanghai Chicken
(Makes 10 pieces)

• 3 oz. boneless raw white chicken meat cut bite size
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 bunch Chinese parsley or fresh coriander (cilantro)
• Marinade:
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 slice ginger root, smashed and chopped
• 2 cups sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped green onions
• 1 dash black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped

Combine chicken meat with the marinade (or use Teriyaki) and marinate 8 hours or overnight. Wrap marinated chicken in 1/3 slice of bacon with a sprig of Chinese parsley and spear with a toothpick. Deep fry in oil at 375 degrees until bacon starts to darken.

"Mai-Kai" and "foreclosure suit." Devotees of the Broward Polynesian restaurant with bikini-clad waitresses likely cringed when they saw those words grouped together in the first paragraph of a Herald article. Luckily for them, Mai-Kai is swimming in money (lots of devotees, apparently) and won't have a problem resolving the issue. But the suit stings just a little.

Here's the story: In 2001, a Virginia man named Ronald Barnhart loaned Mai-Kai $200,000 at 9 percent interest. The loan was payable in 2004. We're not sure if that means repayment began in 2004 or had to be finished by then. (We're guessing the latter, given Mai-Kai's issues with late tax payments to state and federal governments.) Anyway, Barnhart died three months after the loan was issued, so it was transferred to a trust he'd set up for his son, who wants! his! money! now! Said son chose the more litigious route to collection.

Don't all rush to get your last pina coladas there; we're sure it'll take more than a silly lawsuit to bring down 50 years' worth of kitsch.

Lawsuit Blindsides Broward's Mai-Kai [Miami Herald]
Mai-Kai [MenuPages]
Mai-Kai [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

• Cucina D'Angelo's Chef Angelo Morinelli presents Cigar-B-Que on July 12, where diners will sip on cognacs and smoke cigars in between their three food courses. Tickets cost $100. For more information, or to buy tickets, check the restaurant's website.

• This Thursday at Premier Wine Club the Argentine malbecs will be flowing at an evening tasting. The event starts at 6:30 and costs $20 per person; $10 of the entry fee will go towards a purchase of a featured wine.

• It's still a few days off, but we can't wait until the mango festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The event kicks off this Friday with the Pirate's Ball, at which costumes are encouraged.

Is it just us, or does it seem like new restaurants are sprouting like crazy in the Doral? Today, it's the second location of Giardino Gourmet Salads, sure to make office workers in the area happy. (The first, in Coral Gables, has become popular since its opening in 2005.)

Giardino Gourmet Salads [MenuPages]
Giardino Gourmet Salads [Official Site]

• City employees (The Chicken Busters!) tackle Miami's chicken problem, catching stray roosters and hens and selling them to local farms. Free-range chicken, anyone? [Stuck on the Palmetto]

• Delicious tarragon butter and escargots at French Kiss in the Grove. Complimentary champagne too! [Blind Mind]

• Summer 2007 dealt a blow to a number of local restaurants, and "set the Miami dining scene back a decade." [Riptide 2.0]

• Having a tough time keeping track of all those summer restaurant specials? Here's a handy list. [Miami Herald]

How do we get all those menus, you ask? It's a complicated process, one that involves carrier pigeons who dutifully bring menu after menu to our front door. Lately, we've been inundated with new menus, so we thought we'd give you a little sample of what went onto the website yesterday:

• Prichard's Restaurant & Bar, 957 Park Ave in West Palm Beach, 561-845-9003

• Marios Latin Cafe, 1020 N Homestead Blvd in Homestead, 305-247-2470

• Temple Orange, 100 S Ocean Blvd, at the Ritz Carlton in Manalapan, 561-533-6000

• Paraiso Asturiano Cafeteria, 225 SW 17th Ave in Miami, 305-631-9262

• Lola's on Harrison, 2032 Harrison St in Hollywood, 954-927-9851

Looks like South Miami favorite Two Chefs is opening a North Miami location. We just heard from the owner that the opening is scheduled for early October. The menu will be the same as the South Miami location at first, but he expects the two to diverge with time. Oh, yes, and they're hiring!

Two Chefs New North Miami Location Now Hiring [Craigslist]
Two Chefs [MenuPages]

The Riverside Hotel's planned 135-room expansion, which hasn't been approved by city officials yet, involves the demolition of a large chunk of a block on East Las Olas between 7th and 8th Avenues, including the spaces currently occupied by The Grape, Shizen Japanese Cuisine, Brio's (which closed in April), O'Hara's, and Cafe Europa.

The Las Olas Company, which owns the Riverside Hotel and a whopping 75 percent of Las Olas real estate from the U.S. 1 tunnel to the Himmarshee Canal, will try to find new spots along the boulevard for the restaurants and other displaced businesses, but some are jittery about moving and possibly being forced to pay higher rents to stay on the pedestrian-friendly street.

Fort Lauderdale's Riverside Hotel plans another major expansion [Sun-Sentinel]

• Tyson wants chicken grease in the gas tank of your car. [Kiplinger]

• Burger King began switching to trans fat-free oil. [Nation's Restaurant News]

• Boeing unveiled its gorgeous, sleek 787 Dreamliner that will use less fuel and be cheaper to maintain. No word yet on whether the money saved will mean better food for passengers. [USA Today]

• The ninth annual Festival Argentino starts this Sunday at noon at Tamiami Park. There will be plenty of bands playing tango, cumbia and folkloric music, which is all very nice, but really, what we go for is the food: parrilladas, chorizos, empanadas, and all manner of sweets doused in dulce de leche. We recommend going on an empty stomach.

• For just $12, you can get a three-course lunch from FIU students in the hospitality program at the school's North Miami campus. Call 305-919-4500 to reserve for July 10, 17, 19, or 31 at 11:45 a.m.

• Celebrate 7-7-07 with a seven-course meal paired with seven wines from seven countries at Pelican Hotel and Restaurant in Miami Beach. It starts at 7 p.m. (naturally), and will set you back $77.

• Taste of Summer, Broward and Palm Beach's restaurant promotion program, features prix-fixe menus throughout July and August at participating restaurants.

Name: Lola's on Harrison
Location: Downtown Hollywood
Chef: Michael Wagner, executive chef at Tuscan Steak from 1999 to 2003
Date Opened: July 3
Most Intriguing Menu Item: Coca-Cola BBQ Beef Ribs. Slow-roasted center cut beef ribs basted with Coca-Cola BBQ sauce. Comes with buttermilk onion rings and creamed yellow corn.

Lola's on Harrison [Official Site]
Lola's on Harrison [Chowhound Florida Board]

• Breakfast at the Gables Diner doesn't come cheap. [FOODTASTIC!]

• Marta makes torrejas with a twist: guava and cream cheese. [Babalu Blog]

• Sliders at the last remaining Royal Castle. [Miami Memories]

Forest Hills, NY-based Knish Nosh opened its first South Florida outpost yesterday in Delray Beach. The middle of the summer seems like an odd time to open, given that one would usually want to capitalize on the influx of New York snowbirds in the winter months, but apparently permits and health inspection problems forced the opening to move from March to July. In addition to knishes, they serve cocktail franks, latkes and rugelach. A MenuPages menu is forthcoming; for now, check out Knish Nosh's site, which features plenty of photos of their tasty-looking specialties.

Knish Nosh [Official Site]
Grotto open in old Chuck and Harold's [Palm Beach Post]

Florida Grouper

Asian Catfish

The Sun-Sentinel alerted us today about a new website from the Florida Department of Agriculture that helps consumers tell if they're getting ripped off with grouper "imposters" like Vietnamese catfish or basa at seafood markets and restaurants. The fish look different enough when raw, but after cooking, it's almost impossible to tell the difference. At restaurants, the agency suggests customers pay close attention the prices; if it seems too low, it's probably not grouper.

Florida seafood industry experts say you should expect to pay the following approximate prices for Florida grouper in restaurants:

High-end, white table cloth restaurant
Entree: $21 to $27
Sandwich: $13 to $16

Middle-price restaurant
Entree: $16 to $20
Sandwich: $10 to $12

Lower-price restaurant
Entree: $14 to $16
Sandwich: $8 to $10

New Website helps you figure out if the grouper on your plate is the real deal [Sun-Sentinel]
Is it Really Florida Grouper? [Florida Department of Agriculture]

Photos: From the Florida Department of Agriculture

Royal India in Fort Lauderdale gets three stars from the Sun-Sentinel for its fairly standard Indian menu.

Also featured: Bogart's Bar & Grill, a 21-and-over restaurant on top of a movie theater. You can either dine in the restaurant or somehow take your food into the movie theater. We're thinking that could get messy.

The Palm Beach Post's Scott Simmons takes over for regular restaurant critic Charles Passy, who's vacationing in (and blogging from) New York, and looks favorably upon pan-Asian Jinja Bar & Bistro.

Miami New Times' Lee Klein heads over to Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar, deemed "a promising if uneven start" for the the 23-year-old chef by the Herald last week. Klein comes down hard on Adrianne Calvo's food, but in a sort of gentle, encouraging manner. Also, he lists each and every one of Calvo's accomplishments, which leaves us with two thoughts: 1. We are slackers, and 2. Does this woman ever sleep?

Also reviewed: Key West by the Gables, a restaurant that pairs the City Beautiful with the Conch Republic and makes it work.

Moving on up to the Broward-Palm Beach version of the weekly newspaper, this week's review is of the second incarnation of the popular Lighthouse Point restaurant Fin & Claw. Here's what Gail Shepard has to say about it:

Because hardly anybody beyond the Schlagers seems to want to run a cozy little seafood café any more, the kind of place where you order blackened dolphin or broiled yellowtail; where oysters are sautéed to order for a cream-rich stew and waitresses stagger under the weight of bristling platters of Alaskan king crab legs; where your only fish-related fear is that you probably don´t have the intestinal fortitude to put away a whole bucket of steamed clams and the Baltimore crab cake and the flounder Ponchartrain. Fin & Claw II is such a place, the outpost of a dwindling tribe that once flourished in Broward and Palm Beach, now a band on the run.

Fame Game: Chef Adrianne overachieves everywhere except the kitchen [Miami New Times]
Southernmost City Beautiful: By the Gables, a taste of the City Whatever [Miami New Times]
By Hook and Crook: Through a quarter-century, Fin & Claw never says die [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

Two-and-a-half stars go to "sexy, sultry" Grass Restaurant & Lounge, where simple, fresh seafood is best and desserts and the rib-eye are to be avoided. Dining there was hit or miss, but the "unique venue" (which seems very much like many other fashionable lounge-y places in the Design District) is a must-visit, according to the review. We're not sure we'd risk that much money on a hit-or-miss kitchen, although we must say, a chilly mango mojito does sound appetizing.

In Broward, we head over to Moonshadows, which is named either after the Cat Stevens song "Moon Shadow" or the owner Monika "Moon" Steinmann. The Herald never tells us for sure. But it does give the Hollywood spot three stars for its "modernized comfort food," that includes typical bar food (wings, quesadillas), South Florida favorites (seafood gumbo, grouper sandwich), and German dishes (chicken schnitzel, stuffed cabbage). And did we mention the homemade pies?

And in today's Fork on the Road, Linda Bladholm checks out El Manara, a South Miami Middle Eastern favorite.

• The Mustard Belt is back in American hands, thanks to Joey Chestnut, who somehow managed to scarf down 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. [New York Times]

• Closer to home, Jared 'The Cannoli Killer' (no word on his last name...yet) won the local All-American Hot Dog Company's hot dog eating contest in Peacock Park yesterday by downing 13 hot dogs in 15 minutes. [Mango & Lime]

• Frank Bruni of the NYT learned that food on planes is always bad, no matter how many chefs attempt to fix it. [Diner's Journal]

• Crash the South Florida Faces Singles pre-4th dance party at Christopher's Nightclub in Fort Lauderdale tonight. There'll be a DJ and a dinner buffet, all for a cover charge of $13.

• Forget the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. We here in South Florida have our very own July 4th wiener competition at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove. Tomorrow's event—the first of what we hope will become an annual tradition—will consist of two rounds of 10 contestants attempting to eat 20 hot dogs as quickly as possible. Winner gets $500 and a trophy.

• Up for more hot dogs? Check out the corn dogs on the All-American menu at Mama Lila's Bistro's "Star-Spangled ElectroFunk" party in Coral Gables.

There's been some heated discussion at the Chowhound Florida board over an article in July's Food & Wine magazine that mentions Miami and Las Vegas as two cities with overpriced wine lists. From the article:

I asked my friend Nick Ramkowsky, a wine importer who does a lot of business there. "Wine pricing in Miami is just a function of what they can get away with," Nick said. His company, Vine Connections, specializes in Argentine wines. One of Nick's producers is Susana Balbo, who makes some great value wines under the Crios label that generally retail for about $15. And yet the 2005 Crios Torrontes costs a cool $49 at Johnny V in Miami Beach—or five times wholesale. When I told Nick what I'd found, he sent back an impassioned reply: "That's more than outrageous. That should be considered a crime."

So what's a diner to do?

Lettie Teague, the author of the piece, has a few tips for getting a good deal on wine. Avoid anything sparkling and wine by the glass; these two are the most and second-most overpriced categories on the average wine list. Look for wines from lesser-known regions, and try bringing your own wine, if the restaurant allows it and the corkage fee isn't outrageous.

As for Miami restaurants, the Chowhounders recommend Michael's Genuine, Michy's, Xixon, River Oyster Bar and El Carajo for good, moderately priced wine lists.

A Cheapskate's Critique of Wine List Prices [Food & Wine]
Miami Wine Lists Exposed and Chowhound Recs [Chowhound]

Miami is apparently a bug-lover's holy grail. Ten of the USDA's 50 entomologists are stationed here: one at the port and nine at the airport, where they inspect crates, bags, even cruise passengers' hats for hitchhiking bugs.

But what caught our attention was the lede:

MIAMI (AP) - The feds recently busted a bug at the Port of Miami.

Not just any bug. It was a three-inch, hissing, six-legged giant harlequin beetle that could have wreaked havoc on the mango trees of Florida.

Let us pause for a moment to reflect on the idea of a Florida with no mango trees. The mere thought raises the hairs on our arms and almost brings tears to our eyes. Thank God for these entomologists who keep our favorite fruit trees safe.

Craving mangoes? Check out the chilled mango gazpacho at Mangoes Restaurant & Catering in Key West. Or a mango shake at Don Pan in Dade or Broward.

Port of Miami has bugs! [WINK-TV]
Mangoes Restaurant & Catering [MenuPages]
Don Pan International Bakery [MenuPages]
Don Pan International Bakery [Official Site]

• Mmm...summer fruit! [Riptide 2.0]

• Paula chows down on tacos at Orale. Warning: photos may induce serious taco cravings. [Mango & Lime]

• A recipe for Kool Aid pickles! [From the Test Kitchen]

• Those are the closed doors of The Deli Restaurant, which has offered a pie cart to Key West diners since the 1950s. It's gone, along with another local Conch favorite, the Dennis Pharmacy. [PB Post]

• In Miami Beach, Danny DeVito has branched out into the restaurant business. [Miami Herald]

• Fort Lauderdale gains Avra Taverna, a Greek restaurant with a focus on fresh fish. [From the Test Kitchen]

Photo: Flickr lee_3dhighway

•We never need an excuse to eat ice cream, but here's a good one anyway: it's national ice cream month! [MSNBC]

•You know where that fish is coming from, but what about that meat? [NY Times]

•New Yorkers survived their first day of trans fat-free dining. [Forbes]

America loves having rats in a kitchen. Well, we should clarify. America loves Remy the adorable animated rat in the kitchens of fine-dining restaurants. Other real, disease-ridden rats? That's an entirely different matter.

Ratatouille, the new Disney Pixar flick that stars Remy, led the box office this weekend, grossing $47.2 million.

The movie was probably about as much fun to make as it is to watch. The Pixar staff spent quite a bit of time getting all of the details of a professional kitchen right. Research included taking cooking classes, eating at fine Parisian restaurants, and observing Thomas Keller at French Laundry. Sign us up!

'Rat' rules box office with $47 million [AP via Palm Beach Post]
A Rat with a Whisk and a Dream [New York Times]