• Tonight at North One 10: Barbecue and Beer Blast with sloppy joes, mango and shrimp skewers, lamb spare ribs, kimchi slaw and grilled salmon. Starts at 5:30 p.m., ends at 11 p.m. and costs $50.

• Jam to the music of Before Trees, a mix of jazz and funk, tonight at Vino Miami. Party starts at 10 p.m.

• Dogma Grill is having a party for its fifth birthday tomorrow from noon to 4 p.m., with music, balloons and birthday cake free for everyone. Plus, there will be $1 beers, and specials on hot dog combos.

• Learn to master holiday appetizers at a Tania's Table cooking class on Monday. The two-hour class costs $45 and starts at 11 a.m. Check the website for more information, or call 305-932-9425.

For years, Michael's Kitchen was a mainstay in downtown Hollywood; now executive chef Michael Blum has crossed the county line and moved south.The second incarnation of Michael's Kitchen is opening up tonight at the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort. It took a while, but they'll finally start serving dinner tonight at 5 p.m. We're working on getting the menu online, but in the meantime, check out the options here.

Michael's Kitchen [Official Site]
Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort [Official Site]

• Tere gives Dolores, but you can call me Lolita two thumbs up. (For the food, that is. Not the name.) [FoodTastic!]

• Frozen turkeys getting thrown out after Thanksgiving. You'd think the supermarket would find someplace to send them. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Is Gatorade "the sucker's fruit punch?" [The Hungry Man]

• Can wine and fries be considered part of the fruit and vegetable groups? [Restaurant Gal]

• Vote for your favorite steakhouse! Lord knows you've got a lot to choose from. [Stuck on the Palmetto]

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is leading a nine-mile march from downtown Miami all the way to Burger King headquarters near the airport. The reason is BK's refusal to demand that its tomato providers pay an extra penny per pound to its workers. (Most tomato pickers in South Florida earn about 45 cents for each 32-pound bucket they pick.) Eric Schlosser (he of Fast Food Nation fame) actually summed up the whole story quite nicely in yesterday's New York Times:

In 2005, Florida tomato pickers gained their first significant pay raise since the late 1970s when Taco Bell ended a consumer boycott by agreeing to pay an extra penny per pound for its tomatoes, with the extra cent going directly to the farm workers. Last April, McDonald’s agreed to a similar arrangement, increasing the wages of its tomato pickers to about 77 cents per bucket. But Burger King, whose headquarters are in Florida, has adamantly refused to pay the extra penny — and its refusal has encouraged tomato growers to cancel the deals already struck with Taco Bell and McDonald’s.

This month the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, representing 90 percent of the state’s growers, announced that it will not allow any of its members to collect the extra penny for farm workers. Reggie Brown, the executive vice president of the group, described the surcharge for poor migrants as “pretty much near un-American.”

The coalition negotiated with Burger King, and three representatives attended the company's annual meeting, which ended yesterday, but no agreement was reached:

"If you're going to pay people for a measure of work, it's important to measure the work and a person accurately," said Steve Grover, head of quality assurance and regulatory affairs for Miami's Burger King Corp. He said he wasn't convinced that could be done under the coalition's proposal.

Burger King said that it based the decision on the fact that it has no direct relationship with the growers. Unlike Taco Bell, it purchases tomatoes from repackaging companies, generally located near the farms where the tomatoes are picked.

We tried to create a map of the route, although it didn't turn out as clear as we'd hoped. But it gives you a good idea of where the marchers will be. They began this morning at the Goldman Sachs offices downtown (Goldman Sachs owns a large stake in BK) and will be at the Burger King headquarters by 3:30 p.m. for a rally.

Penny Foolish [New York Times]
Burger King rejects tomato price hike, but offers job help [St Petersburg Times]
BK protesters march through Miami streets [Miami Herald]
Coalition of Immokalee Workers [Official Site]

It appears Howie Kleinberg has a sense of humor after all. He's completely embraced his bulldog image from Top Chef; his new restaurant, which should be open in two or three months, will be called Bulldog Barbecue.

If you can't snag a seat, you'll still have the opportunity to chow on Kleinberg cuisine when the 32-year-old opens his restaurant -- Bulldog Barbecue -- in North Miami within ''the next two to three months.'' Sister Amy is his partner; mom Susan -- a former VP of catering at Barton G -- will do the decor. He'll focus on the menu -- namely lots and lots of pork.

''We spent a lot of time in the Carolinas growing up and felt the area between Aventura and North Miami was really lacking in great barbecue places,'' he says. ``Of course, there's Shorty's, but it's so far south.''

Love the name.

''It's a play off the show, my attitude and how people saw me,'' he says.

It'll be an intimate space -- ''It's easier to grow than to fill 250 seats'' -- and will do a lot of takeout.

'Top Chef' to open BBQ spot [Miami Herald]

It's Thursday, so it's time to see which reviews this week made the cut and which didn't. We'll start with the good ones, of which there weren't too many. Here's a not-too-flattering but informative one for Carmine's La Trattoria:

I just recently went to Carmines for the first time. The food was delicious, I ordered the Salmon with Spinach and it had a great honey mustard sauce. The atmosphere was kind of boring and quiet with a lot of older people. We went around 6pm, if your younger, go later when they play music. Our waitress was good but not friendly. She rarely smiled and had an attitude like we were bothering her(and my family is not needy). Im not one to complain, the food was great! The seating was awkward, seats were uncomfortable(we sat at a table w/ chairs). It's pretty pricy and everyone elses food at the table didnt look so great. I wouldnt reccommend this restaurant to anyone else and I probably wouldnt end up there again if it were up to me. =)

There were, however, plenty of comments that didn't make it onto the site. Here's one for Kefi Restaurant & Lounge:

I walked into the restaurant on a Friday night to find an unexpected atmosphere. Stone finish on the walls, classy table set ups, and a DJ in the lounge area. I went there for a nice dinner with my girlfriend and found a new place for Friday and Saturday night. I found it refreshing to see a DJ playing house/ lounge music throughout the restaurant. I also got 3 for 1 drinks during the happy hour. I recommend this place to anyone looking for a new place to frequent.

located next to the dump for a good reason

Remember La Boîte à Pizza? Looks like they'll be opening the first or second week of December. And they're looking for a pizza chef and delivery driver. Applicants for both positions need to be "passionate by the cooking and the world of pizza's culture." Both, of course, are necessary when working with the pinnacle of culinary achievement that is the fajita pizza.

Pizza chef for La Boîte à Pizza [Lah-Bwhat-Ah-Pizza] [Craig's List]
Delivery Driver (with their own car) // La Boite a Pizza [Craig's List]
French Pizza Chain Takes On South Beach [MP: South Florida]
La Boîte à Pizza [Official Site]

• The Herald leads with an interesting roundup of wine tastings at different wine shops and restaurants/bars in the area. And for once, the few comments left on the article are actually helpful, in that they offer additional places to taste wine and refrain from devolving into racist/ignorant/idiotic drivel. [Miami Herald]

• Linda Bladholm visits Sushi Cafe, which is actually a Korean restaurant known as Shilla. Oh, and they serve hot pot! Yum! [Miami Herald]

• Victoria Pesce Elliott is at Moonchine Asian Bistro this week, and she gives the Thai-sushi spot two-and-a-half stars. Sushi is creative, although not necessarily authentic, and the garlic stir fry is excellent. [Miami Herald]

• Not everything on the Upper Crust Cafe menu is great, but if you stick to the recommended dishes (Cap'n Crunch mahi mahi, ravioli, osso buco), you'll have an excellent meal. [Miami Herald]

• The only things you really need to avoid at Maison D'Azur are the dinner rolls. That should be easy enough. [Miami New Times]

• So few Korean restaurants in South Florida, yet two are reviewed on the same day. John Linn visits New Soul Korean Restaurant in Lake Worth and has to practically drag his parents in to try it. They left singing the praises of Korean cuisine. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Watering Holes time! Go take a peek inside Little Munich in Lake Worth, where the food and beer are both decidedly German. [Palm Beach Post]

• From Charles Passy's review of III Forks: "Yup, another steakhouse. It's hard to believe there's enough demand to support so many of these local shrines to sirloin." We don't understand it either. Anyway, at this particular steakhouse, the steak is excellent, but the menu is "traditional to the point of tedious" (isn't that the case with most steakhouses?) and the non-steak items are fairly lackluster. [Palm Beach Post]

Last month, we blogged about the Miami Beach City Commission's move to limit bar and restaurant seating in the area south of Fifth Street in an effort to reduce noise and traffic. Well, earlier this week they voted unanimously in favor of it:

On Tuesday, the Miami Beach Planning Board voted 6-0 to approve a new measure that limits the number of seats and the occupancy requirement for restaurants and bars belonging to hotels and apartment complexes in the area south of Fifth Street.

Under the new rule, which must be approved by the City Commission before taking effect, the seating is determined by the number of units in a hotel or apartment property. For example, a property with 100 units can have only 100 total seats in its bar or restaurant, and the occupancy limit would be 150. Special permits would be required for exceptions.

South Of Fifth Restaurants Might Have To Scale Back [MP: South Florida]
Planners OK Miami Beach restaurant limits [Miami Herald]
Prime One Twelve [MenuPages]
Prime One Twelve [Official Site]
DeVito South Beach [MenuPages]
DeVito South Beach [Official Site]

We know we've got to cover it, as it's a pretty big deal, but we're not huge users or fans of the Zagat guides, and we're not all that interested in which restaurants dropped one point in the estimation of a vast assortment of people who are "unfortunately quoted" in "two- or three-word" "phrases" that can drive us "nuts." But, you know, it's still useful sometimes. If you want to, go pick up your copy of the South Florida survey.

You might also want to check out the discussion going on at Chowhound about it and what Deborah Hartz of the Sun-Sentinel has to say.

Zagat South Florida's New Rankings are up [Chowhound]
Zagat's 2008 South Florida Guide Available Today [From the Test Kitchen]

There seems to be a rumor going around that Dean & DeLuca will be opening a store in Aventura sometime soon. Naturally, we were intrigued, so we made a few calls, specifically to someone in the PR department. She double-checked with certain higher-ups in the company and learned that sadly, there are no plans for any stores in Florida at the moment. At least we'll always have the catalog, right?

Is Dean and DeLuca coming to Aventura. [Chowhound]
Dean & DeLuca [Official Site]

Damn, those look tasty. We haven't really gotten into the whole sliders craze (a little overrated, we think), but we have to say that we'd have a hard time straying far from whatever table held these lovely little things. They were shot by Sara of All Purpose Dark at the Funk, Fashion and Friends event, catered by Barton G.

Barton G [MenuPages]
Barton G [Official Site]
Photo: All Purpose Dark

Looks like we finally got an opening date for Andú Restaurant & Lounge. Sort of. We're told "late December." A few stats:

• Owned by brothers Antonio and Juan Pablo Viejo (How old are they? They seem kind of young, like our age, which makes us feel like slackers.)
• Executive chef Nate Martin, who was a sous chef at Nikki Beach for three years
• Consulting chef Jason McClain (of 8 1/2 and Nikki Beach)
• 4,600 square feet, 150 seats (60 in the lounge, 90 in the main dining room)
• They'll be doing lunch, dinner, and brunch, and will open until 5 a.m. on weeknights

As for the menu, it's "eclectic Mediterranean." Entree prices will range from $18 to $29. Here are some samples (we don't have the whole menu yet, just a few items):

• Mediterranean chef salad with chicken, jamon Serrano, chick peas, grilled vegetables, egg and asiago
• Goat cheese-crusted lamb loin with Provençal vegetables and orzo risotto
• Milk-fed veal parmigiana with eggplant caviar, oven-roasted tomatoes and lemon caper emulsion
• Porcini mushroom cannelloni with herbed ricotta and truffled sage jus
• Slow-baked macaroni and cheese with manchego crust
• Maine lobster mashed potatoes with scallions and English peas
• Florida orange glazed doughnuts with white hot chocolate
• 'Pineapple dreams': thinly sliced pineapple atop creme brulee with a scoop of vanilla pineapple malt

We were a little disappointed at first when we heard "Mediterranean," because it's been done, but after reading the menu descriptions, it certainly sounds more interesting than most Mediterranean menus we've perused. And we're totally craving a manchego-laced mac 'n' cheese right now.

Restaurants Turn To Facebook For Buzz Among The 20-Something Set [MP: South Florida]
Fun On Facebook With SoFla Restaurants [MP: South Florida]

The University of Florida is mourning today, after the death yesterday of Dr. J. Robert Cade, the man who in 1965 invented Gatorade, which has subsequently brought the university lots and lots of money. And it all began with a rather, um, interesting question posed in infantile terms:

Now sold in 80 countries in dozens of flavors, Gatorade was born thanks to a question from former Gators Coach Dwayne Douglas, Cade said in a 2005 interview with The Associated Press.

He asked, "Doctor, why don't football players wee-wee after a game?"

"That question changed our lives," Cade said.

Cade's researchers determined a football player could lose as much as 18 pounds - 90 to 95 percent of it water - during the three hours it takes to play a game. Players sweated away sodium and chloride and lost plasma volume and blood volume.

Using their research, and about $43 in supplies, they concocted a brew for players to drink while playing football. The first batch was not exactly a hit.

"It sort of tasted like toilet bowl cleaner," said Dana Shires, one of the researchers.

"I guzzled it and I vomited," Cade said.

UF doc who invented Gatorade dies at 80 [Miami Herald]

Photo: Gainesville Sun

We're totally craving one of these right now. We've always been partial to the ones at La Suiza Bakery, likely because that's where our family would go every Sunday morning to pick up a box of pastelitos and croquetas and a loaf of Cuban bread.

Where's your favorite place to pick up pastries, Cuban or otherwise?

Photo: Flickr

We didn't do a user review roundup last week because of the holiday, so we'll make up for it now by offering quite possibly the most entertaining review we've ever read, although it wasn't for the South Florida site. This one came in for our New York version, for a restaurant called Re Sette:

i was invited to re sette to have dinner whith my freinds and whith had bat time food was good but service was terible they have waiters what they dont speak inglish at all. its berry sad that this type of restaurant dont have service.

Re Sette [MenuPages]
Re Sette [Official Site]

We just came across a feel-good story from the Times-Picayune about a couple, Luis Bernhard and Sandra Bahhur, whose dream to own a New Orleans restaurant finally came true. They came close, were wiped out by Katrina, moved to Miami, realized they really wanted to be in New Orleans, returned, and had their dreams saved by a $10,000 gift. It's all very moving, really. But we were intrigued by what they said about Miami:

"How do we leave?" Sandra asks. "We had unfinished business here. I mean, Miami is gorgeous; really gorgeous. But when we'd go out to dinner, we'd realize how much we missed New Orleans, how much we missed the friendly environment of the city's restaurants, and the variety of life here. In Miami, every restaurant is high-end Italian. And, truthfully, Miami is pretty high strung."

UPDATE: We just finished the article (yes, we posted before reading the entire thing), and man, waterworks. Again. Seriously, we're not sure what's wrong, but this is the second day in a row. Newspaper reporters just keep hitting us with these sappy restaurateur stories. But it is such a moving story, and we know what it's like to have to rebuild after a devastating hurricane. Good luck to you Luis and Sandra.

A stranger's kindness makes a restaurant dream come true [Times-Picayune]

• The Restaurant At The Setai has a new Sunday brunch with dim sum carts. But that's not all — there's also waffles, pancakes, brick oven pizza, Chinese, Thai and Indian stations, roast beef, lamb, pork, seafood and desserts. We're exhausted just thinking of all of that food. The post includes a more detailed description — try reading it all in one breath! [Chowhound]

• Is Jaguar a Miami institution in the making? Most seem to answer in the affirmative. [Chowhound]

• Alesh is trying out the local CSA for the first time, and check out the bounty already in November! [Critical Miami]

• Have lots of vegetarian friends/relatives? Take them to Maroosh, where they will be able to eat their fill without feeling like second-class diners. [Miami Dish]

• Charles Passy wonders if the 'jinxed location' does in fact exist. We're of the opinion that a really great restaurant can succeed even in formerly 'jinxed' spots. (See also: La Porteña.) [The Hungry Man]

The Gables has a new eatery, Zabor World Cuisine, in the old Max's Grille spot. The restaurant, which opened on Saturday, picks and chooses foods from around the globe for its menu. Actually, after just glancing at the menu, we'd say that it's mostly confined to Asia. There's a good amount of sushi and some Thai staples. (That chicken panang curry better be damn good if they're charging $16.) But wait! Then there's the "executive chef's entrees," which include decidedly non-Asian items like quiche, risotto, Australian lamb, rib-eye, rotisserie chicken, churrasco, pasta and veal chops. We're confused. Soon, as in within the next hour, we'll have the menu online.

Zabor World Cuisine [MenuPages]

Thanks to alert chowhound mialebven we learned of some opening day festivities at the Chipotle that's opening up at 6290 S Dixie Hwy in South Miami. The grand opening is on Friday, November 30, and the first 100 customers get a free t-shirt and a card for a free burrito, good on their next visit. There will also be raffles for free burritos for a year (how many is that? Do they give you one for each day? That's a lot of burritos...) and for a round-trip airline ticket.

But the free food is on Wednesday, all day, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Full menu, plus drinks -- and everything is free!

Chipotle is coming to NMiami [Chowhound]

A great article in the Sun-Sentinel about Check Please! in South Florida. The first few episodes have been taped, and the show will premiere in January.

David Manilow, who first created Check, Please! for Chicago's public television station, says it's successful because it's so democratic. Every show includes diverse guest critics and restaurants in different locations with varying price points and every kind of food imaginable. The secret is in mixing it up.

"What the show did was give people a sense of passion," says Manilow. "This is my place. I understand this place. I love this place."

It's great when everyone likes it. Even better TV if they don't.

"It's like, 'Are you calling my baby ugly?'" says Manilow, who was getting ready for a taping of a new episode featuring a "goth chick" and a "silver-haired attorney." She suggested a heavy metal burger bar.

"That's truly the beauty of it," says Manilow.

Everyone's a (restaurant) critic -- on a new show coming to Channel 2 [Sun-Sentinel]

David Bouley has left Evolution, which closed recently, and is planning to open David Bouley at South Beach in the Ritz-Carlton, according to The New York Times. The menu will be like the one at New York's Upstairs at Bouley. And NY Magazine has heard rumors that Laurent Tourondel will be taking over the space and opening it up in a few weeks. We're a little confused about the Evolution space and where this new Bouley restaurant will be, or if there's even going to be one. But hey, speculation is fun!

Off the Menu [New York Times]
Will Laurent Tourondel Clean Up David Bouley's Miami Mess? [New York Magazine]

Does tryptophan affect tear ducts? Because we're welling up after reading this, a great article about the owner of Arbetter Hot Dogs who is fighting cancer in his pancreas and liver. Ronnie Arbetter has spent his life serving hot dogs and supporting local high school sports, and now he's been told he doesn't have more than a year left:

Doctors first told him he would survive for no more than six months. He's going on seven now, ``and I'm still doing about the same. . . . I don't look to the future too much. I just go day by day.''

When the Red Sox, also going day by day, reached the World Series in 2004, Arbetter's Hot Dogs quickly became a sanctuary for fans. When the team whipped St. Louis for its first World Series title since 1918, Ronnie fulfilled a promise of his late father and ladled up free baked beans. Bob Arbetter died in 2002, and ''the night they won, we looked up into the sky and said a few little prayers,'' Ronnie says. 'I told him, `Dad, what a day you missed.' . . . It was almost typical of how the Red Sox would break your heart. We're talking since 1960 he was waiting to serve baked beans. We were thinking about him that day all day, sharing stories of what he would have been like.''

In October, when the Sox swept the Rockies for another Series championship, there were more free beans, and Ronnie was feeling well enough to serve them.

''I had a blast,'' he says. ``It really made me feel good. It was very uplifting just seeing the customers again and all those wacky fans. I'll admit, I thought the Sox were done when they fell behind three games to one to the [Cleveland] Indians. To watch them come back and win like that and then to sweep was just great.''

Cancer hasn't dimmed hot dog slinger's passion for sports, helping others [Miami Herald]
Arbetter Hot Dogs [MenuPages]
Photo: Flickr

What do you do with your Thanksgiving leftovers? We haven't gotten too creative yet, mostly just turkey slices with cranberry-horseradish chutney (something we discovered this year that we absolutely LOVE) and mayonnaise. And our boyfriend's aunt (who hosted this year) made turkey soup with the carcass and some veggies. We likely would've just made stock, but we like the idea of turkey soup. Some enterprising people made a pizza with their Thanksgiving leftovers (pictured above) -- not sure we'd want to go there.

What do you usually do with your Thanksgiving leftovers?

Photo: Flickr

We're heading out to start prepping for Thanksgiving dinner. (We're in charge of desserts and still have a few purchases to make). We were planning on pumpkin cookies, among other things, but after seeing these adorable turkey cupcakes, we're thinking they might be a lot of fun to make.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone, and see you on Monday!

Photo: Flickr

The turkey carving video got us thinking about turkey preferences for Thanksgiving. See, we're big fans of dark meat, which makes us feel like such weirdos, since everything is so geared to maximizing the white meat. We enjoy white meat as well, but we prefer the juicier bits of dark meat, and on Thanksgiving (and any occasion that involves roasted poultry actually) the demand for white meat is so high that we rarely get more than a taste of the breast meat. The upside, of course, is having a whole section of the turkey for yourself that few people will want.

So tell us what part of the Thanksgiving turkey is your favorite!

Are you dreading the inevitable carving of the bird tomorrow? The New York Times suggests carving like a butcher — in the kitchen, on a flat surface — instead of tableside like a chef:

“I don’t cut like a chef, I cut like a butcher,” said Ray Venezia, the meat director for the four Fairway markets, a third-generation butcher and one of the biggest turkey purveyors in New York City.

Instead of slicing the meat from the roast at the table, Mr. Venezia’s carving protocol calls for the biggest pieces, the breasts and the thighs, to be removed whole, then boned and sliced on a cutting board. “Trying to carve from the carcass is like trying to cut it off a beach ball: it’s all curved surfaces and it moves around under the knife,” he said. “Give me a flat cutting board any time.”

Roger Bassett, the owner of the Original Turkey in Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, uses the same method for the 30 turkeys carved and served at his store every day. “Cutting a turkey the traditional way, where you leave the meat on the bird and cut down, you can’t cut across the grain,” he said. “The pieces you end up with are all stringy because the fibers are long instead of short.”

Just a few suggestions for Thanksgiving dinner, if you're planning on eating out. Make your reservation soon, as time is running out!

• Hyatt Regency in Weston: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, turkey, ham and key lime pie, all available for $28 or $15 for kids 12 and under. The Thanksgiving dinner will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and again between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

• Le Bistro: three courses of pumpkin soup, turkey with stuffing, and pumpkin pie for $30 ($12 for kids 12 and under). Reservations available between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

• Shula's on the Beach: butternut squash soup, turkey, salmon fillet, and your choice of a pie (pumpkin, pecan or apple) for dessert. $38.95 per person between noon and 10 p.m.

• Taverna Opa: A five-course meal will be available after noon for $19-23 depending on the choice of main course. You get hot appetizers, cold appetizers, a Greek salad, a choice of turkey, spit-roasted lamb or pork, and dessert. The regular menu will also be available.

• Giorgios Grill: Here, the seating begins early, at 11 a.m. Again, the prices vary by choice of main course, from $19 (traditional turkey dinner) to $53 (surf 'n' turf), almost most are in the $20s. Lots of options, from pork to lamb to salmon or sunfish. Dinner comes with a Caesar salad or New England clam chowder and a pumpkin pie or tiramisu for dessert.

• Kavanagh & Morrissey's: For $25.95 ($14.95 for kids 12 and under), you get butternut squash soup or Caesar salad; herb-rubbed free-range turkey with andouille cornbread stuffing and cranberry sauce or Colorado rack of lamb; mashed potatoes and baby vegetables; and apple or pumpkin pie. The Thanksgiving dinner starts at 3 p.m.; the regular menu will also be available.

Did anyone actually go to Matsuri this past weekend, when the restaurant was supposed to re-open after renovations? We have called and called and called, and it's a promising sign that we aren't constantly getting a busy signal. At least it rings. But no one picks up. We know they've got a new menu, but communication's been a problem.

In the meantime, we're giving you a dish from their old menu: mori awase, a sampler of toro, yellowtail, tuna, squid, snapper, saba, conch, surf clam, uni and negi toro maki.

Photo: Flickr

• Thanksgiving Weekend in West Palm Beach. [Chowhound]

• A positive review for Maison D'Azur. [Chowhound]

• Mahi-mahi, coconut rice and string beans at Cafe Maurice. [All Purpose Dark]

The second Mari Nalli's Gourmet Quesadillas is scheduled to open in CocoWalk on Tuesday (one week from today) at 11 a.m. The first location, in Coral Gables, has been well-received since its opening in January. We're told that there will likely be free food available one or two days before the opening while the employees train. Might be a good time to try one of these fancy quesadillas!

Mari Nalli's [MenuPages]
Formula for Fine Food [New Times]

Versailles has a post-Castro plan in place, which isn't all that surprising. What is surprising is that owner Felipe Valls just put it together last year when Fidel ceded power to his brother. The celebrations on Calle Ocho and the media craziness made him realize that when the dictator does croak, his restaurant is going to be in the center of the mayhem. (Of course! Anyone could've told him that years ago.)

Valls has a team of employees ready to cordon off the parking lot and control traffic. He has assigned parking spots for an undisclosed amount to media outlets seeking a prime perch to cover the inevitable celebrations as thousands swarm Calle Ocho.

And CNN, the first American media outlet to open a bureau in Havana, has not only secured a parking space, it has made arrangements to rent a Valls-owned building overlooking Versailles -- taking over empty second-floor offices and putting dibs on phone lines and electrical outlets.

The part we found interesting is towards the end of the article, where Valls mentions that on the day that Castro stepped down, thousands crowded around the restaurant, but not inside; a day of huge political upheaval in Cuba actually means a loss in business at Versailles. Not that they're sweating it:

''We're proud that it's going to be celebrated here, but number-wise, it's actually a negative,'' said Felipe Valls Jr. ``We don't mind. We're happy to lose half our sales that day.''

Landmark Versailles has its own 'Cuba plan' [Miami Herald]
Versailles [MenuPages]

So we covered Palm Beach on Friday, and even then we're sure we missed some. (Feel free to add in the comments!) Here's a list we've put together of restaurants in Miami-Dade that'll be serving up a Thanksgiving dinner.

• Casa Juancho: For $23 per person, you get a salad, thyme-roasted turkey with stuffing, pecan sweet potato crisp, green and yellow beans, and pumpkin pie or pumpkin flan.

•