MenuPages

At MenuPages, our legions of users submit reviews regularly for their favorite (and often least favorite) restaurants. Some make it onto the website, others don't. Here, we'll go over the week's best and worst reviews.

We got a few great ones this week. And by great, we mean that they made us laugh; nine times out of ten, reviews that make us laugh don't make it onto the site, because they generally make us laugh for the wrong reasons. Here's a great example, for Jeff's Beach House & Grill under the title "marthas vineyard and nantucket is here":

love the food and the atmosphere loved the staff very family friendly from the minute you enter the parking and the hostess to the owners are handson.That is a rare commodity in todays world . must go enjoy

As we walked in to a room of empty tables, we were seated at a high top table. We asked for a normal table and were told that the table next to restrooms were available...

What is up with this place? Racist? Stupid?

All Residents of Broward stay away...

And now, for this week's winner, from JD who wrote about Dogma Grill:

I think the hot dogs are good gourmet hot dogs. The buns are not just plain hotdog buns you get in any supermarket. The sausages were good. I'm not sure if this location is better than the other locations. But, either way, I really enjoy eating my Cali dog - it's the one with avocado and bacon. Their garlic fries are good too.

As for prices, hot dogs are cheap, but while these are a little bit more expensive than most hot dogs, they're still cheap! Cheap enough for me to keep going back!

There's also Chicago hotdogs and that's not too easy to find in New York's sixth borough!

This location in particular only has sheltered outdoor seating, but with a hip vibe.

Remember 8 1/2? You might not. It was a blink-and-you-miss-it place that got good reviews but just didn't make it. Well, the chef from 8 1/2, Jason McClain, now has his own place called Jason's at the Harrison on Miami Beach.

We just got the menu up today; it's certainly eclectic. There's tamarind braised oxtail with pickled papaya and yuca chips, beef carpaccio with ratatouille vegetable salad and Florida day boat grouper (which, given recent news, may either a) not be around for long or b) skyrocket in price). McClain also seems to be making an effort to use local ingredients, Homestead tomatoes for example.

Jason's at the Harrison [MenuPages]
Jason's at the Harrison [Official Site]

Oh man, we want one of these. We fear it might taste a bit too perfumey, as can sometimes be the case when working with flowers in the kitchen, but just look at that thing. It is so pretty. We're thinking that might be just right for Valentine's Day.

And now, we promise no more photos from Andú. At least not until it actually opens.

Andú Restaurant & Lounge [Official Site]

• As expected, there are tons of Super Bowl recipes in today's food sections. They're not reviews, and they're not terribly exciting (at least not to us...), but you know, they're there. If you need some help with the food for that game day party, check out any of the three major dailies.

• There's excellent Italian food to be had at Cantina 27 for half the price of the stuff you get on Ocean Drive. [Miami Beach]

• Lemon Fizz Cafe's wraps are a hit. Did you know that the other locations of the restaurant chain are in Damascus, Syria? Also, they have free wireless internet! [Miami Herald]

• Another Italian review, this time for Il Gabbiano. The food there, according to Lee Klein, should silence the New Yorkers who whine on and on about the lack of quality Italian food here. (Although we have to say, it doesn't help that the owners spent 26 years in New York City.) [Miami New Times]

• Unlike most other local crepe places, the new Crepe Lounge on Key Biscayne might actually stick around. [Miami New Times]

• Mozart Cafe is kosher, but open on Saturdays. The owners are Israeli, the chef is Caribbean-American, and the menu skips over the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East. Intriguing mix, and it apparently makes for some great dishes. [Miami Herald]

• Christine's just might be the perfect place to take your sweetheart on Valentine's Day. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Charles Passy checks out The Counter, a burger chain from California and describes it "comfort fare with flair -- and heart." Sounds good to us! [Palm Beach Post]

As we know, fishermen aren't happy about the proposed gag grouper fishing restrictions. We just thought we'd add a few more quotes from an article we found today:

Madeira Beach, Florida - The commercial fishing boat Martiza is just back after 10 days in the Gulf. The crew caught 5,000 pounds of fish, mostly brown grouper.

"That will go to the restaurants, the local restaurants," said Dean Pruitt who owns the Martiza.

Pruitt also owns three other commercial fishing boats. He's against federal regulators proposals to reduce gag grouper fishing in the Gulf by 45 percent, which would shut down the grouper fleet the last three months of the year.

"It's going to be a big impact on the restaurants, the people that work in the restaurants, the commercial fishery, the fish house, just anybody that want to eat the grouper," said Pruitt.

Fishermen speak out against proposed gag grouper restrictions [Tampa Bay 10]
And The Grouper Saga Continues [MP: South Florida]

Check out these interior photos of the soon-to-open Andú Restaurant & Lounge. If the food is as sleek as the decor, this place is going to be quite a hit. We kind of like those big white designs on the walls. They remind us of bubbles.

We just learned that Andú will be opening its doors on Monday, February 11, which is well after "late December" as we were told earlier, but you know how these things go. The sample menu items we've seen are the same ones we posted about last time, so we won't bore you by repeating them, but we will repeat that we are incredibly excited about a mac 'n' cheese with a manchego crust. YUM.

Also, we should note that the restaurant is hiring servers, so if you're in need of a job, check out the ad.

Andú Restaurant & Lounge [Official Site]
Andú photos [Mike Butler]
Andú Restaurant & Lounge Will Open Doors Sometime Before The New Year [MP: South Florida]
Andu Restaurant Lounge - Servers Wanted [Craigslist]

Photo: Mike Butler

At least that's what we think this article says. It's all restaurant-industry business speak. But we think there will be BK-branded chips in vending machines and BK restaurants:

The Inventure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNAK) today reported that vending channel test marketing results for Burger King brand salted snacks exceeded managements' expectations in the fourth quarter of 2007. Based on these results, Inventure intends to pursue a national rollout of the brand into the vending channel. Inventure expects this national channel expansion to improve capacity utilization at its Bluffton, Indiana manufacturing facility, where all Burger King snacks are produced.

Test marketing in convenience store, drug store, and grocery store channels beginning in the first quarter of 2008 have generated significant retailer interest. Mass merchandiser and club store tests are expected to commence in the first half of 2008. Burger restaurants are scheduled to test the Ketchup & Fries snack product throughout the first quarter of 2008 in certain markets in Ohio and Florida.

Inventure is developing additional new items for the Burger King snack brand for potential test marketing in the second half of the year to complement the Ketchup & Fries and Flame Broiled items.

Burger King to Test Branded Chips [QSR]

Miami Beach has a gastropub: The Smoking Rabbit, which occupies the former space of departed seafood restaurant 510 Ocean. It hasn't been open for long, but already it's got two reviews on Yelp. Here's one of them:

Daily Candy called this an English inspired "gastropub," but I saw no sign of pub-ish-ness in the place. First of all, no English brew whatsoever. We were told that it was just the soft opening and they planned to have some English beer soon, but there is no tap behind the bar, so I'm not sure that it will make much of a difference.

We were just having drinks, but we took a look at the menu for future reference. A few things sounded interesting, but I'm not sure I'd spend the money.

The owner was there, strutting around the place, looking proud of himself. A handful of the beautiful people were eating; I got the impression they were friends of employees. The rest of the patrons consisted of some very confused looking middle aged tourists.

The music was basically what would happen if you put my entire iTunes playlist on random. It went straight from Billie Holiday to Billy Joel. I am not making this up.

We haven't received a menu yet, but we hear it changes daily. Also, you should know that the phone number we've seen listed everywhere appears to be a cell phone number, so unless you want to leave the owner a voicemail message, you might want to try the restaurant number instead (305-531-2100).

The Smoking Rabbit [Yelp]

Florida grouper prices are on the rise, as everyone knows, for a number of reasons, one of which is the dwindling supply of the fish in the Gulf. Studies show that gag grouper (also called black grouper on some menus) are being fished at unsustainable levels, so the feds are stepping in to curb that:

Federal regulators took preliminary steps Tuesday to reduce gag grouper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico by 45 percent, a severe cutback that could cripple commercial fisherman and the charter boat industry.

The proposed restrictions would close down recreational grouper fishing for three months in the winter, just when tourists arrive.

Commercial fisherman would face a quota on gag for the first time, with limits tight enough to shut down the entire grouper fleet every year by October or so -- forcing restaurants and consumers to rely on imports.

The cuts would spill over to other grouper species as well, because grouper swim together, and it's impossible to protect one species without inadvertently cracking down on others.

"This will cost the state of Florida $300-million in direct expenditures,'" said Dennis O'Hern, director of a recreational advocacy group called the Fishermen's Rights Alliance.

With a bag limit of only one gag and only nine months to fish for any kind of grouper, anglers will not sink $20,000 or $30,000 into offshore boats and spend hundreds of dollars in fuel to go bottom fishing, O'Hern said. Tourists will not spend $1,000 to hire a charter boat.

"This is going to kill us," said Tarpon Springs charter boat captain Ed Walker. Migratory fish like king mackerel, cobia and tarpon hang out in warmer southern waters during the winter, he said. Red snapper, another popular offshore bottom fish, is already under tight restriction because of dwindling stocks.

"Essentially they have left us nothing to fish for during the peak tourist season," Walker said.

Here are the nuts-and-bolts of the proposals:

Recreational anglers could not bottom fish for grouper from Jan. 15 through April 15, which spans the peaks of both the red and gag grouper spawning seasons.

During other months, recreational anglers would be limited to three grouper per person, per trip, down from the current "bag limit" of five. Only one of those grouper could be a gag.

Commercial fisherman would face a new gag quota of 1.2-million pounds in 2008, which would rise slightly in subsequent years as the stock rebuilds.

New rules will kill us, grouper fishers say [Saint Petersburg Times]

Photo: Flickr, because we cannot resist a good grouper photo

Ochopee is just a wee bit out of our coverage area, but we enjoy a little snark on a chalkboard in a restaurant as much as the next gal. This chalkboard comes from Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe on Tamiami Trail in Ochopee, just down the street from the smallest post office in the nation. We've driven by this place countless times en route to Sanibel (where our godparents live), but we've never stopped to eat there. Specialties of the house are blue crabs, of course, gator nuggets and strawberry milkshakes. Yum!

Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe, 39395 Tamiami Trail in Ochopee, 239-695-2682

Photo: Flickr

Dogma Grill owners Jeffrey and Lisa Akin, who are described as "hot dog hipsters" in the press release, whatever that means, are launching a catering division. Need 50 hot dogs for junior's 10th birthday party? Or a lot more than that for a company picnic? You can get anything from the Dogma Grill menu; they'll set up a miniature grill on site to cook the dogs.

It's pretty crazy how quickly they seem to have become the hot dog authority in the area. According to the release, they've only been around since 2002, and while there are just three locations (although in under five years, three locations isn't shabby), they seem to always be in the news somehow. We, sadly, have not yet tried the hot dogs at Dogma, but we'd love to hear what you guys think about them.

Dogma Grill [MenuPages]
Dogma Grill [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

We have a pretty great system of gathering menus, but sometimes, we just can't get some of them, for a variety of reasons. And we have only so much time on our hands to canvass the large area from Jupiter to Key West asking for menus, so this is where you guys come in. If you happen to dine at one of these establishments and can send a menu our way (fax 561-892-5771), we'd appreciate it. A lot.

• Cafe Frankie's, 640 E Ocean Ave in Boynton Beach
• Abacoa Snack Bar, 105 Barbados Dr in Jupiter
• Acapulco Restaurant, 10419 Southern Blvd in Royal Palm Beach
• Swampgrass Willy's Smokehouse, 9910 Highway A1A Alt in Palm Beach Gardens

We should be more invested in the political process than we actually are, for a number of reasons, but ... we're not. That doesn't mean we don't do our civic duty on election day. But anyway, today is primary day in Florida, even if a) tons of people have already voted via absentee ballots and b) the Democratic primary doesn't count. Still, Floridians are flocking to polls; we imagine that's because of the property tax issue that's on the ballot.

So, go vote. And check out the citrusy recipes posted by Leila over at MP: Boston, who is properly excited about the primary season.

Candidates trade charges as Floridians flock to polls [Miami Herald]

Amuse Bouche: Orange You Glad You Can Cook? [MP: Boston]

• Which, would you say, is the best burger in Fort Lauderdale? [Chowhound]

• Michelle Bernstein is the best part of Check, Please! South Florida. [Spangdish]

• These photos of lunch at The River Oyster Bar are making our mouth water. [All Purpose Dark]

• Canistel, heirloom tomatoes and fresh handmade mozzarella at the farmer's market. Yum! [Daily Cocaine]

• Deborah hosts a dinner party! [From the Test Kitchen]

• More tomatoes, plus strawberries and spiny chayote at the South Florida Farmers Market in Pinecrest. [mango&lime]

We got our parents a CSA trial share for Christmas, and they have loved it so much that they're continuing for the rest of the season (well, splitting with our aunt and uncle). Our mom's really enjoyed scouring the internet for ways to use the new fruits and vegetables that appear in her CSA inbox. This week, canistel (or "eggfruit") was a bit of a challenge, as she'd never seen it before, but after a little research, she learned that it's related to mamey and would work well in a milkshake. I'll let her take it from here:

In the process of making the shake I discovered that if I left it very creamy, pudding like, and served it in a small dessert dish, it is like eating a light yogurt. This definitely can be made into ice cream. I poured them into dessert dishes and placed in the refrigerator to get cooler and will serve them after dinner today. Very, very yummy!

Canistel "Pudding"

• about 2 c of canistel pulp from two very, very ripe canistels
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 c demerara sugar
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• lowfat milk
• cinnamon, to taste

Place all of the ingredients into the blender. Add as much milk as necessary to get a pudding-like consistency. Mix until rich and creamy. Pour into dessert cups. Place in refrigerator until cool. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon when ready to serve.

Photo: Flickr

The Pier Coffee Shop, which has sat on Anglin's Fishing Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for 46 years, closed its doors yesterday after a whole lot of drama between the restaurant's manager and the landlords.

Nancy Pisarzewski, 62, the diner's longtime manager, had been battling with the building's owners over extending its hours past 3 p.m. and other issues. The last straw was their dispute over who had to pay a $3,515.25 water bill in December.

''I thought, that's it -- I'm not going to take it anymore,'' Pisarzewski said.

Its closing will end a long chapter in the pier's history at the end of Commercial Boulevard.

Once known as Tony Calderone's Pier Coffee Shop, it brought in snowbirds as well as regular locals. Calderone, the original owner, died in 2001, leaving the business to his son.

During high season, snowbirds migrated to the five outdoor booths or took a seat at one of the 10 bar stools or three booths inside.

''How good is life when you can sit on a pier, stare at the ocean and eat a wonderful breakfast?'' said Judy Swaggerty, executive director of the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Chamber of Commerce. 'Everybody now is like, `What are we going to do?' ''

Pisarzewski said her decision to close comes after three tense years with the landlords, who recently added $1,000 to her $3,000-a-month rent.

Brothers Spiro and Louis Marchelos, the diner's landlords who also own the nearby Athena-by-the-Sea restaurant, said Pisarzewski went three years without a rent increase and that they have done their best to accommodate her.

They wanted her to extend the diner's hours past 3 p.m., to see the place use its potential.

The Marchelos brothers were passing out fliers outside the restaurant on Thursday, giving their side of the story.

''Rather than accept the increase or even discuss it, the Pier Coffee Shop has, with great drama and angst, and with the spreading of much misinformation, elected to leave the pier,'' the flier read. ``We regret their leaving but we cannot be held hostage by their failure to adapt to changing time and to take advantage of new opportunities.''

Landmark diner in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is shutting down [Miami Herald]

We apologize for being a bit slow on the blogging front; we've been doing lots and lots of work on the site, updating menus, and adding new ones. Here are a few that we've added just recently:

• Good Eats Deli, 645 NE 79th St in Miami, 305-757-2731

• Metronome, 5090 PGA Blvd in Palm Beach Gardens, 561-775-1919

• Foxy's Ice Cream & Dessert Cafe, 12 SE 5th Ave in Delray Beach, 561-276-9379

• Five Guys, 7268 W Atlantic Blvd in Margate, 954-975-4818

• Cafe Le Glacier, 7295 Biscayne Blvd in Miami, 305-754-6551

Well, five-star service according to Mobil, which released its annual hotel and restaurant rankings today. The only five-star hotel is the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, and no restaurants received the highest rating. According to Mobil inspectors, while a lot of restaurants and hotels have the facilities to provide a five-star experience, the service isn't quite up to par. Which isn't exactly news around here. The good news is that there are a few four-star restaurants in the area: Blue Door, Wish, Azul and Palme D'Or.

Five stars elusive for S. Florida hot spots [Miami Herald]

We'd been keeping an eye on
Bonefish Grill, which has been expanding at a breakneck pace. The newest location, in Boynton Beach, was supposed to open last fall, but you know how these things go. We have yet to see a restaurant open anytime near its scheduled date. But we did just learn that the Boynton location will be open for business at 1880 N Congress Avenue on February 11.

Bonefish Grill [Official Site]

Busy weekend for foodies! Not only is there the International Chocolate Festival, but there's also a stone crab picnic on Saturday at the Coral Gables Farmers Market hosted by Slow Food Miami. Here's what Paula, of mango&lime, wrote about the even in the SunPost:

The picnic starts at noon, but you may want to arrive early to watch Chef Roberto Ferrer, of Cohiba Brasserie in Coral Gables, demonstrate how to prepare a stone crab and avocado dish, from 10 to 11 a.m. And while you await your stone crabs, you can check out booths with organic produce, local honey, French pastries, spices and fragrant tea blends.

At the picnic, you pay for what you eat. Stone crabs will be sold for $10 per pound and provided by Judy the “stone crab lady,” who has been bringing seafood from Everglades City to the market for several years. Pick up some healthy sides from Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering at an adjacent booth. Then head over to the picnic tables and join your neighbors for seafood and wine. Reno recommends a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, but it’s up to you. Oh, and don’t forget your crab tools. The stone crabs will be cracked, but you’ll need some utensils to eat the yummy crustaceans.

International Chocolate Festival Is This Weekend [MP: South Florida]
Slow Food Miami [Official Site]
Come On, Get Crabby! [SunPost]

• MP: Philadelphia tells us about a marshmallow cookbook. Yep, a whole cookbook about marshmallows, which include honey and cardamom marshmallows, champagne marshmallow wedding cake, and blood orange, rosemary and zinfandel fluff. Seriously. We're kind of excited.

• MP: San Francisco is a little surprised by a proposed alcohol ban in a nightlife-heavy district of San Francisco.

• Colony Collapse Disorder distresses us. We like honey, and when bees get disoriented, they don't produce honey. MP: Boston is also concerned, and she provided us with a trailer of an upcoming documentary of CCD.

• These lemons provided by MP: Chicago look so damn tasty.

Hey! That's our waiter! We recently went to Le Tub, and we were happy to see the same man who brought us our cheeseburgers and fries in this Plum video. Those burgers are huge. We tried valiantly to finish, but couldn't. About two-thirds of the way through, we dumped the bun and focused just on the ground sirloin, but even then, we couldn't finish those last few bites. Next time, we might share. But, we definitely agree that it was tasty.

Get in Le Tub [Plum]
Le Tub [MenuPages]

• Sara has fun with food from Ikea. [All Purpose Dark]

• The neighbors are complaining about the noise coming from Fritz & Franz Bierhaus, and Tere asks exactly what the noise expectation should be when one lives in a downtown area. [Coral Gables]

• Deborah weighs in on the tuna and mercury problem. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Miami Danny runs down this week's restaurant reviews. [Press Chops]

It's taken the Virginia legislature 74 years to come to its senses. That's how long it's been illegal to mix wine or beer with spirits. So ... no sangria.

Since 1934, the state has prohibited mixing wine or beer with spirits. Frances McDonald, vice president of La Tasca Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurants, found that out the hard way when his Alexandria location was cited for violating the sangria ban in 2006 and fined $2,000.

McDonald and managing partner Shana McKillop appealed their case to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Thursday before going to the Capitol to urge legislators to pass a bill legalizing the red wine, liqueur and fruit concoction.

McDonald said his business received no warning about the ban. He said he was unaware of the prohibition and had he known about it would not have located any of his five restaurants in Virginia. "It's like not being able to serve tequila in a Mexican restaurant," he said.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Department agent who cited La Tasca even ordered restaurant employees to pour its sangria - about 40 liters - down the drain, said Shana McKillop, managing partner at the Alexandria restaurant.

A ruling on the La Tasca's appeal should take two to four weeks, said Kristy Marshall, a spokeswoman for the ABC Department. In the meantime, the restaurant has taken to modifying its sangria recipe. The brandy has been eliminated and the triple sec replaced with a nonalcoholic orange liqueur.

"It's still sangria but not as authentic as we'd like to offer our guests," McKillop said.

Bill would end Virginia's sangria ban [Miami Herald]

At MenuPages, our legions of users submit reviews regularly for their favorite (and often least favorite) restaurants. Some make it onto the website, others don't. Here, we'll go over the week's best and worst reviews.

This week's reviews were about 50/50, in the sense that about half got validated and went online. We'll start with a few of the ones that didn't quite make it onto the site, like this one for Marios Latin Cafe:

THE BEST CHURRASCO

My husband and I have been going to this restaurant since it opened. Mauricio, the owner greets his guest with a caring smile on his face. He wants to make sure everyone has an excellent experience. My favorites, the Sea Bass! All fish dishes are cooked to perfection and accompanied with fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes. We have yet to try something we have not been 100[%] satisfied with. The portions are perfect. You'll even have room for dessert and at Cafe Portofino, that is a must. Mauricio came up with what I call the specialty of the house, a "Warm Guava & Cheese Pastry with Ice Cream". Everything on the menu is outstanding, not to mention thier nightly specials.
If I had to mention one negative thing about Portofino, it would be that the best kept secret is getting out. The last couple of months that we have been there, we have ran into celebrities, top South Florida utives, and even very successful Food & Beverage business owners who enjoy eating at Cafe Portofino.
I highly recommend it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

The good ones this week weren't so great, but we've got a winner regardless. This one is for Yard House:

We have eaten at the Yard House on numerous occassions. The food is always excellent. The service can vary from good to fantastic depending on the time and the waiter/waitress. The atmosphere is very relaxed. Great place to take the family. Great outdoor seating as well!

Did you know that cacao's scientific name, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods?" So very apt, don't you think? There's lots more interesting trivia to learn at the second annual International Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. There's a screening of Like Water for Chocolate tomorrow evening, and over the weekend there will be tours of Fairchild's rainforest, plant sales, cooking demonstrations, and lectures on the history of chocolate and how to make it. If you're a member of the garden, the event is free. If not, it's $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, and $10 for kids 6-17 (under 5 enter for free).

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden [Official Site]
Chocolate festival program [pdf file]

Photo: Flickr

We all know that tuna has lots of mercury, but wow, these reports that recently emerged list some scary-high levels of the stuff in tuna. The New York Times wrote about it recently, comparing the mercury levels of tuna in a number of Manhattan restaurants. Today, the Miami Herald lists the levels for a few restaurants in our neck of the woods:

At Su-Shin Izakaya in Coral Gables, the level of mercury in a piece of tuna sashimi was 1.2 parts per million. At 1.0 parts per million, the FDA can take action to remove the fish from the market.

A sample taken from a Publix in Coral Gables registered mercury levels at .93 parts per million, just under the FDA limit. A Publix in St. Petersburg had the highest levels of all grocery store samples -- 1.8 parts mercury per million.

Samples from Publix stores registered seven of the 10 highest mercury levels in the grocery store group.

Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous said the company needed to review the study with its suppliers before determining what action it might take.

''We work with our suppliers to ensure the quality of our fish,'' Brous said. ``We have very high standards for the freshness and quality of our products throughout our store.''

Kazuhime Abe, whose family owns Su-Shin Izakaya, found the study results ``very disappointing and upsetting.''

''We'll definitely press our purveyors to check their sources and see if there is a better way,'' Abe said.

Though tuna is one of the restaurant's top sellers, Abe says she already tries to persuade regular customers to try other fish.

''This is a call to consumers to open up their palates and try different things,'' said Abe, whose family also owns Lan Pan Asian Cafe in South Miami and Yuga Restaurant in Coral Gables.

Oceana's findings reinforce other studies that show more expensive tuna usually contains higher levels of mercury because it comes from bigger fish, which accumulate mercury from the smaller fish they eat.

High Mercury Levels Are Found in Tuna Sushi [New York Times]
Mercury danger found in fresh tuna [Miami Herald]

• Victoria Pesce Elliott visits Alta Cocina and finds that the Trinidadian dishes and salads are great, but the other dishes can be underwhelming. [Miami Herald]

• What is Cuban pizza? Enrique Fernandez explains. Think toppings like picadillo, plantains and chorizo. [Miami Herald]

• Domo Japones is declared a winner. Everything sounds fantastic. [Miami New Times]

• There's great Cuban-inspired fare at Havana's on the Bay. [Miami New Times]

• Ask for your server's opinion on a cut of meat at Las Brisas in Hollywood, and he might just bring out a large slab of raw beef for you to examine. [Miami Herald]

• Gail Shepherd suggests visiting Takeyama with only enough cash for your meal and a good amount of restraint, because with so many great options, it's easy to spend. A lot. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Sunrise Pita & Grill is a good place to stop for hummus and falafel. Just don't ask for tuna salad with your shawarma -- the owners are Orthodox Jews. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• So, there's a Craft Brewer's Festival this weekend in Jupiter, and the Beer Guy, of course, is here to tell you all about it. [Palm Beach Post]

• The dim sum is great at Grand Lake Chinese Cuisine in West Palm Beach. [Palm Beach Post]

• A roundup of South Florida burgers. [Sun-Sentinel]

We just finished reading this article, about winter in the coldest city on earth: Yakutsk, in Siberia, where the temperature can, and often does, fall to -50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit). We read the whole article, and we're still trying to imagine exactly what -50 feels like. We can't, even with the help of the author's description:

In Moscow, which has been my home town for four years, it's only hit minus 30C once, in early 2006, and the mercury rarely gets lower than anything a good, solid winter coat won't protect you from. So, before venturing outdoors in Yakutsk for the first time, I have decided to don a suitcase's worth of clothes to protect me against the cold.

Starting from the feet and working up, I'm wearing: a pair of cotton socks, with a pair of thermal socks over them; a pair of ankle-high Gore-Tex boots; a set of thermal long-johns; a pair of jeans; a thermal undershirt (a present from a worried family member); a long-sleeved T-shirt; a tight-fitting cashmere jumper; a fleece; a padded winter coat with hood; a thin pair of woollen gloves (so that when I take the outer pair off to take photographs I won't expose naked flesh); a pair of gloves made of wool and Thinsulate; a wool scarf; and a woolly football hat.

Lumbering from my hotel room like the Michelin Man, and already breaking into a sweat due to the hotel's industrial heating system, I decide that I'm ready to face everything Yakutsk has to throw at me. I stride purposefully out of the hotel door and... well... it really isn't that bad. The small oblong of my face that is naked to the elements definitely registers the cold air, but on the whole, it feels fine; pleasant, even. As long as you're dressed right, I think, this isn't too bad.

Within a few minutes, however, the icy weather begins to assert itself forcefully. The first place to suffer is the exposed skin on my face, which begins to sting, and then experience shooting pains, before going numb, which is apparently dangerous, because it means blood flow to the skin has stopped. Then the cold penetrates the double layer of gloves and sets to work on chilling my fingers.

The woolly hat and padded hood are no match for minus 43C either, and my ears begin to sting. Next to succumb are the legs. Finally, I find myself with severe pain all across my body and have to return indoors. I look at my watch. I have been outside for 13 minutes.

Yakutsk: Journey to the coldest city on earth [The Independent]

Via Chow

Top Chef doesn't premiere until March 12, but Bravo's giving us a chance to get to know the cheftestants early. This time around, there's only one with a South Florida connection: Andrew, who's from Fort Lauderdale and is a graduate of Johnson & Wales in North Miami. He lives in New York City now, where he's a sous chef at an unnamed restaurant. But here's the info on him from the press release:

AGE: 30
HOMETOWN: Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – currently resides in New York City
PROFESSION: Sous Chef in NYC
CULINARY EDUCATION: A.S. Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales, North Miami
FAVORITE SIMPLE SUMMER RECIPE: Diced strawberries, mango, tomato, cucumber, and jicama. Thai dressing (sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and siracha). Thai basil and mint chiffonade.

For the past two years, Andrew has studied everything from the French cuisine of Raymond Blanc to the molecular gastronomy of Ferran Adria. With food influences that range from African, Spanish, French and Thai to Vietnamese, Japanese, Latino and Indian, Andrew prides himself on being diverse in the kitchen. When Andrew isn’t working, you can find him researching cuisines at a bookstore or shopping for spices that are uncommon and of multicultural influences to adapt to his cuisine. He believes in translating the flavors and techniques from different cultures into innovative interpretations that do not stray far from their origins. His goal is to leave a legacy like the chefs before his time, which shaped him and his fellow chefs minds and refined their techniques. He says he doesn’t make food for mere sustenance, but to create an experience that impacts the soul.

Andrew - Top Chef [NBC Universal]

Our counterpart in Chicago steered us toward this site, which says that Miami may be seeing yet another steakhouse within the next year. Which is exactly what we need. According to the site, Gibson's Steakhouse plans to open a South Beach location in fall 2008 or early 2009. Of course, this could just be a rumor, but given the current steakhouse trend, we wouldn't be surprised if it were true. While we're sure that Gibson's is an excellent steakhouse, we're just up to our ears in large slabs of read meat down here, and quite frankly, we're bored by it.

Gibson's heads South for the winter [312 Dining Diva]
Gibson's Steakhouse [MenuPages]
Gibson's Steakhouse [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

Miami Fever answered the call. Here we have a lovely photograph of Taqueria Doña Raquel's menu, which has now been updated online.

Taqueria Dona Raquel [MenuPages]

We Need More Menu Photos. Please [MP: South Florida]

Photo: miami fever

The party will be shutting down early in Sunrise from now on. In order to keep alcohol-related violence in check, the city has decided to require that bars shut down by midnight, effective immediately. But businesses will have six months to apply for permits that would allow them to stay open a few hours more:

SUNRISE - Hoping to curb alcohol-related violence, the city's bars and nightclubs are now required to shut by midnight unless they receive a special city permit to close later, according to new rules.

Sunrise Commissioners on Tuesday Jan. 22 gave final approval to an ordinance that will require businesses serving alcohol to close by 12 a.m.

Businesses wishing to stay open later may apply for a special exception from the city to close at 2 a.m. Monday through Thursday and 3 a.m. on weekends-the last calls permitted prior to the new rules.

...

Among the factors city officials will consider in granting special exception permits are how often police responded to emergency calls at a given business.

Bars and nightclubs where police have responded three times in a given year will be required to hire off-duty police detail to patrol their property.

"It gives the city the leverage to offer the special exception," said Commissioner Joseph Scuotto. "If we do have someone that had a lot of police calls responding to fighting and violence, now we have the ability to pull their special exception license.

New rules require bars in Sunrise to close by midnight [Sun-Sentinel]

We present to you a heart-shaped peanut, which we happen to think is adorable. Supposedly a farmer in China figured out a way to grow these things, although the general sentiment in the blogosphere is that this is likely an anomaly in a field of regular-shaped peanuts. Still, adorable.

Via Slashfood and YumSugar

Oh my goodness, there's a SPAMMOBILE at the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach. It's the brainchild of one woman who is making it her mission to re-convert people to Spam, all from a big blue RV:

[Sharen] Walker can tell you how SPAM holds a special place in the hearts of Hawaiians (they make sushi with it) and how it helped inspire a Broadway show (the Monty Python musical Spamalot).

Then again, what else do you expect from the woman who steers the SPAMMOBILE, a bright blue RV in the shape of - what else? - a SPAM can? Walker and her curiously decked-out vehicle, with the "SPAMMY" license plate were parked at the South Florida Fair this weekend (and will return next weekend), just one of many stops on the 40,000-mile annual trail of spreading the name of America's best-known canned meat.

"What I have found out is that 98 percent of the population are closet SPAM fans," Walker said Monday during a quick breather from her fair duties.

And the other 2 percent? Walker won't talk much about them, except to note that SPAM may have been a victim of its own post-World War II popularity. As a generation raised on SPAM grew into adulthood, they decided they had had their fill. Now, Walker's job is to reintroduce them to it, plus welcome a new generation of SPAM lovers to the fold.

She does that by passing out samples - "SPAMwiches," she calls them - from her vehicle-turned-makeshift commercial kitchen, replete with slicing and grilling stations staffed by five temporary employees.

As of late Monday afternoon, Walker, whose marketing company is contracted by SPAM manufacturer Hormel, had given out nearly 7,000 SPAMwiches, not to mention some prepacked SPAM Singles and the occasional SPAM magnet.

'Mystery meat' on the midway [Palm Beach Post]

Photo: Flickr

We're sure you're all excited about Check Please! South Florida, so we thought we'd share the news we learned today about the possible internet expansion:

Once those checks are endorsed, their plan is to fund a new Web site found at www.check please.tv and expand to additional markets.

"Check, Please!," which debuted in Chicago in 2001, will premiere its third edition in South Florida on Monday -- hosted by South Florida celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein -- after first expanding to San Francisco in 2004.

Check, Please! company founder and CEO David Manilow believes the format of the show, which invites three "everyday" people to critique suggested eateries ranging from the exotic and ultra-expensive to the Superdawg Drive-In, is well-suited for the Internet.

"We always knew the idea of people watching shortened video clips of the show in segment form made sense," said Manilow, 48, a lifelong Chicagoan. "But the bandwidth [for video] was not there when we started the show."

'Check, Please!' plans 2nd helping on Internet [Chicago Sun-Times]
Check Please! South Florida [Official Site]

Pollo Campero seems to have made a big splash in Boynton Beach, where Central American immigrants are flocking to get chicken from the popular chain. We thought Boynton Beach was an interesting choice for the first location in Florida, but it doesn't look like it'll be the only one for long; the company is planning to open four more sites in Miami-Dade later this year.

The Pollo Campero on Congress Avenue, in the new Boynton Town Center shopping development, was packed on Friday as community leaders, residents and company officials from the United States and Guatemala celebrated the chain's Florida debut.
...

Pollo Campero, the largest Latin American chicken restaurant chain, is on the cusp of a global explosion.

The family-owned fast-food franchise has more than 260 restaurants with 10,000 employees in 11 countries, including 37 locations in the United States.

Its goal is to reach 2,000 stores worldwide by 2013, including 500 in the United States, said Chief Executive Officer Juan Jose Gutierrez, whose father, Dionisio, founded the company in 1971.

It's an ambitious plan, Gutierrez said, but he's confident in the recipe his father concocted in the family's kitchen years ago.

It is still the chain's mainstay today.

"He didn't visualize what he really created," Gutierrez said of his father, who died in 1974. "In the next five years, we're going to have a lot of work to do."

The company hit $380 million in sales last year, with 2008 projections of $435 million, he said.

We have yet to try the chicken. Has anyone gone? What did you think of it?

Guatemalan sensation brings flavor of home [Palm Beach Post]
Pollo Campero [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

• Paula visits the Coral Gables Farmers Market and finds good local seafood, organic produce and teas. [mango&lime]

• Deborah makes candied nuts at home. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Strawberries are in season! Strawberries are in season! [miami dish]

• Some local celebrity chefs were spotted at the Upper Eastside Greenmarket last weekend. [Daily Cocaine]

• Restaurants in the Gables: one day they're here, the next day they're not. [consumableJoy]

• Jaguar actually lists facts about bottled water usage on the carafe in which they offer filtered tap water. [All Purpose Dark]

We're a little hazy on the details, due to the language barrier, but we do know that some company is going to try to replicated CocoWalk in the Bahçeşehir neighborhood of Istanbul, which is on the European side of the city and is home to a university. Here's some more info from the Turkish Daily News:

The Akiş, creator of the Akmerkez as one of the most successful shopping center projects of Turkey, now rolls up sleeves for the Akkoza Shopping Center in the district of Bahçeşehir, together with two other companies, Corio and Garanti Koza.The famous street of restaurants in Miami, USA, the Cocowalk will be replicated in Bahçeşehir to meet the demand.Three companies participate in the Akkoza project for the construction the Akkoza Houses consisting of 5.500 apartment flats. Located on the country limits of Esenyurt and Bahçeşehir, Akkoza Houses will have a fitness center, a festival park, and 11.000 square meters green field in addition to a business hotel, a private school and a private hospital.The shopping center here is to serve locals of the region as well as people coming from different parts of Istanbul.

Photo: Haberler

If you're an Alex Rodriguez fan, you might want to head over to Origin Asian Bistro & Sushi in South Miami; it seems he frequents the place. Here's what blogger Blind Mind had to say about it in his review of the restaurant:

Ok, so I stopped by Origin last night for dinner just like I said. It was incredibly good and I was reminded that I need to go back more often. Being that I was in Loserville, aka "dining alone" haha, I decided to sit inside rather than take up an outside table. It was kind of a bummer because one of my favorite things about eating outside there is that you get to see all the guys coming and going from "Booby Trap" next door...sinners haha. The inside is really nice and I think they repainted because I thought the paint used to be purple and its now a nice sage green. I could be mistaken though. There was one decoration that really stood out as an eyesore though. They have a staircase that leads upstairs to where the bathrooms are located and it is lined with 3 HUGE Alex Rodriguez autographed jerseys, one for each team he has financially sunk into the ground with his ridiculous contract before choking in the playoffs. I was thinking that either the owner is a huge fan or somehow A-Rod is involved with the restaurant, which would explain the eyesore jerseys since he has a huge ego to feed. Sure enough, 2 minutes later A-Rod comes walking down the stairs to have dinner with his wife who was surprisingly not that attractive at all. Now I understand the rumors that he cheated on her haha.

Overall it was another great trip to this South Miami restaurant and I can understand why they would consider opening another one in Key Biscayne. My bill came to $31 and I added $6 for tip. Not bad for 2 high quality apps, a huge sushi roll, and a beer. I definitely recommend that any Asian food fans check this place out. On my way out, I looked at A-Rod and he gave me one of those, "Yeah, I know you know who I am, please dont bother me" head nods. I can respect that, so I simply said, "Go Sox" as I walked past and he gave me the "Thats funny...asshole" smile haha.

More good eats at Origin Asian Bistro [Blind Mind]
Origin Asian Bistro & Sushi [MenuPages]
Origin Asian Bistro & Sushi [Official Site]

Photo: aolcdn.com

• Leila at MP: Boston was a political science major, just like us, but we can't seem to get into the primaries like she does. We commend her enthusiasm for the American electoral process, and we love her primary-themed posts.

• "Ironbeer o no beber!" over at MP: Chicago.

• We had never heard of Indian pizza prior to MP: Philadelphia's mention of it. We're kind of pizza purists, but we must say, we're intrigued by the idea of masala on pizza.

• MP: San Francisco introduces us to canned Bud Light and Clamato, which does not sound appetizing. At all.

When we first read that the Conch Tour Train in Key West was giving out free key lime cupcakes to celebrate its 50th anniversary, we thought it was free cupcakes for everyone. Then we read more closely (this is what happens when you monitor dozens of sites each day -- you scan and misinterpret things easily) and learned that the cupcakes are only for the passengers. So if you want that cupcake, you're going to have to pay for the $25 tour, which will take you to all of the usual touristy spots (aquarium, shipwreck museum, Hemingway house, Sloppy Joe's , Truman's Little White House, etc.) in an adorable choo-choo train tram thing. You probably won't, but we just wanted an excuse to post the photo of that tasty key lime cupcake. That can't be too hard to make, right? We might give it a try.

Conch Tour Train Marks 50th Year In Key West [NBC12]
Conch Tour Train [Key West]
Sloppy Joe's [MenuPages]
Sloppy Joe's [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

• Sara checks out the new Segafredo in Brickell and predicts that it will be popular with office set. [All Purpose Dark]

• Lee Klein gives a rundown of the restaurants that are headed our way. [Riptide 2.0]

• Free caipirinhas Monday through Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. at Grimpa Steakhouse. And they're half off for an hour after that. [mango&lime]

• The Kobe dogs are great at Nexxt Cafe. [Tasting Serendipity]

• Five Guys Burgers gets a good review from a native Californian. [Spandish]

• The Food Gang verdict: good, but a little pricey. [Chowhound]

In case you were wondering what the new Texas de Brazil on South Beach looks like inside, here's a photo for you. We learned that the menu is much like that of the other Texas De Brazil in Dolphin Mall, but the new one has a sushi bar. Is there a law on the city's books that states that every restaurant on the beach must serve sushi?

Texas de Brazil [MenuPages]
Texas De Brazil [MenuPages]
Texas De Brazil [Official Site]

At MenuPages, our legions of users submit reviews regularly for their favorite (and often least favorite) restaurants. Some make it onto the website, others don't. Here, we'll go over the week's best and worst reviews.

So, it's our favorite Thursday post, when we go over the user reviews of the past week and pick out the best and the worst. As usual, we'll start with those unfortunate reviews that never made it onto the site. First, a review for Papa Piccolo Pizzeria:

After driving by the restaurant for so many years I finally decided to try the food. To my surprise the food was absolutely delicious! The food is homemade and served with a smile. The restaurant is hidden in the Kings Creek Village shopping center but has excellent parking and is open til 11 PM. For good Italian at an unbelievable price, Papa Piccolos is a must. You will be hooked.

good food you are crazyy ...

i think they had the worst food and service i have ever had

There weren't too many that actually made it onto the site this week; it was a week of one-liners and excessive exclamation points. But, we did have a winner: "Satisfied Customer" who reviewed Dolores, but you can call me Lolita:

Decent place and I'd go there again. But here's some detail...

Had to wait over an hour, even with a reservation (anyone see that episode of Seinfeld? - what's the reservation for?!) I think they just like to milk the drinks while you wait.

Anyway, once inside, the food was pretty good. Our orders were correct (6 of us) and the meal cost included an appetizer per person. Meals were either $18 or $23.

They DO charge for refills on soda which is odd. Desserts were only $2.50, but also not so great (4 choices in total skip the mango stuff - in fact, skip dessert altogether).

Service was good. We had a nice waiter who spoke enough English.

Parking... $10 for valet and $10 for nearby parking. We found $1.25/hr on the street within 100 yards.

Lots of places to go so I wouldn't rush there. But it was worth one trip and we cannot say anything bad about it in general.

No, we don't mean the presidential election. We mean the decisions entrusted to you regarding the menu items at Hi-Life Cafe. Chef Carlos Fernandez (yes, the guy from Top Chef Season 2) has come up with a new menu and is asking diners to vote on which dishes should stay and which should go. They can use comment cards or head to the website and vote there (although there doesn't seem to be any page devoted specifically to that). Let's hear from Fernandez himself (via press release):

“Hi-Life Café’s new menu will be tailored to its diners,” Fernandez notes. “With each New Year come new challenges and, in 2008, Hi-Life wants to demonstrate true democracy. Customers will cast their vote to decide which new dishes remain on our menu and which ones should be retired.”

Hi-Life Cafe [MenuPages]
Hi-Life Cafe [Official Site]

• Enrique Fernandez gives a rundown of where to get good chicken in Miami. [Miami Herald]

• Ireland's Steakhouse is pricey, but worth it. [Miami Herald]

• There are only seven different fish offered at Bonefish Grill. They are, however, cooked perfectly. [Miami New Times]

• Stay away from the crabcakes and frasier cake at Wine 69; other than that though, it's a good spot for a drink. [Miami New Times]

• Gail Shepherd left Amazonia Churrascaria feeling gloomy. That is not a good sign. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• The Post rounded up a Boy Scout, a Webelo and a Bear Cub to taste test this year's Girl Scout Cookies. So adorable. [Palm Beach Post]

• Charles Passy visits Metronome in Palm Beach Gardens, where the Parisian comfort food is great. [Palm Beach Post]

There are some restaurants that won't ever be featured on MenuPages, unfortunately. Romeo's Cafe for instance. Despite the fact that everyone we know who's been there has raved about it, the restaurant doesn't have any sort of menu, which is a problem for a menu directory site. Moveable restaurants, which in addition to having no fixed location also rarely have set menus, fall into that group as well. But the folks over at the Miami Herald have launched a new version of Miami.com, and in it we found a useful guide to food trucks in the area. We've already written about Orale!, but we were happy to learn of trucks that sell Haitian roasted nuts and smoked ribs.

Dashboard Gourmet [Miami.com]
Romeo's Cafe [Official Site]
Bayside Chatter: Tropical Fruit And Street Cart Tacos [Miami Herald]

Via Critical Miami

We thought we'd share this letter we found in the New Times from Josh Woodward, Govind Armstrong's partner in Table 8.

We're here!: Though we certainly don't mind being compared to restaurants such as those run by Michael Mina and David Bouley in Lee Klein's "A Pretty Good Year," (December 27), I have to say that when it comes to a comparison of how much time my partner, Govind Armstrong, spends in Miami, we are not so similar. Govind has been very involved in the Miami community this past year and has spent almost as much time in South Beach as he has in Los Angeles. We were blessed this year that Govind had the opportunity to release his first cookbook, a wonderfully exciting milestone for any chef! This took him all over the world on a book tour, but I can say proudly that our kitchen did not suffer in his absence, because Chef de Cuisine Jason Smith and his kitchen staff are second to none.

When not in our kitchen, Govind could be found all over town participating in local benefits and pitching in for local causes. Our restaurant in Miami is in no way a Vegas-style "licensing deal" where chefs are paid big money to lend their names to faceless businesses. Table 8 is a mom-and-pop operation. We have put our blood, sweat, and tears into our South Beach location. I have moved permanently from Los Angeles and have been in that restaurant day and night for the past year and a half. You wouldn't have to ask around too much to find that Govind and I have truly embedded ourselves in the local community, and won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Letters from the Issue of January 17, 2008 [Miami New Times]
Table 8 [MenuPages]

If you bought some of Santa Rosa Cheese's Naturally Aged White Cheese recently, throw it out; it might be infected with a weak form of E. coli. The cheese was imported from Nicaragua to Miami.

The possibility of the contamination was discovered after recent testing performed by the department revealed the presence of a generic E. coli bacteria in samples of the cheese collected in the Miami warehouse of the product's local importer. That bacteria is weaker than the more dangerous and sometimes deadly E. coli O157:H7 strain.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this product, Bronson said in the release. The affected codes for Naturally Aged White Cheese are 565 and 589 in various package sizes.

Cheese brought into Miami may contain E. coli [Miami Herald]

For some reason or another -- corporate stinginess, or a simple inability to control the wages its suppliers pay to their workers -- Burger King won't pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes picked by workers in Immokalee. So now, the company is exploring some options that don't involve Immokalee at all:

The Dec. 18 letter to suppliers came just a few weeks after Burger King was the target of a major march in Miami organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which hopes to expose what it calls unfair wages and working conditions in the fields where Burger King's tomatoes are picked by migrant workers. The group wants Burger King to agree to pay a penny more per pound for its tomatoes to improve wages, similar to deals signed by McDonald's and Taco Bell.

But Burger King and the tomato growers have argued that those deals violate federal anti-trust and labor laws. Burger King has remained adamant it won't sign on to the deal because the chain buys its tomatoes from repackers, not from growers, so it has no way to get money to the workers. The extra penny per pound would cost the firm about $250,000 a year.

In the letter to suppliers, Grover wrote: ''In an effort to protect the BKC brand and supply system from disruption, we are developing contingency plans to assure our long-term supply of tomatoes.'' He went on to ask the suppliers to ``submit contingency plans for the possibility that we would choose not to purchase tomatoes grown on farms in the Immokalee, Florida region.''

Burger King executives tried to downplay that the ''contingency plan'' is a direct result of the coalition's activities. Any move would be a ''phased implementation,'' starting with the 2008-2009 growing season.

''If they won't work with us, we've only got one other option: to move,'' Grover said. ``It's a distraction to our business. They're trying to get a lot of groups turned against us.''

Burger King eyes new tomato sources [Miami Herald]
Coalition Of Immokalee Workers March Today On BK Headquarters [MP: South Florida]

A few days ago we wrote about Shawn Anderson, the man who was kicked out of Roxy's Pub in West Palm Beach for sporting gold teeth. Anderson complained that it was discrimination against black people; pub management said it was just a dress code. Today, we learned a bit more about the story in the Palm Beach Post:

Anderson talked about suing, but he didn't have much of a case.

"If the owner doesn't like grillz he can stop people from coming in the bar with grillz," said James K. Green, Palm Beach County's lead lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. "But if it's just done as a pretext for racial discrimination, then he can't."

Anderson, though, was going to Roxy's to meet black friends, who were already inside.

And [John] Webb, the bar owner, said Anderson would have been fine if he had been dressed like his friends.

"He walked in with his butt hanging out of his pants," Webb said. "He was asked to pull up his pants."

And then he started shouting after being told he also had to remove the gold from his mouth, Webb said, and that's when Anderson was told to leave.

"It's how you react when you fail to comply," Webb said.

But maybe that reaction was because of Anderson's claim that the gold in his mouth was affixed permanently, not removable grillz.

"He said, take your teeth out," Anderson told the TV news station. "I said, sir, my teeth don't come out."

West Palm bar, would-be patron won't be toasting grillz together [Palm Beach Post]
Man Kicked Out Of Pub For Sporting Gold Teeth [MP: South Florida]
Roxy's Pub [MenuPages]
Roxy's Pub [Official Site]

We've been busy collecting menus and adding them to the site, so here are a few that have gone live this week:

• Sushi Club, 6542 Collins Ave in Miami Beach, 305-868-7760

• The Village Chalet Restaurant, 12312 SW 224th St in Miami, 305-258-8900

• Yard House, 11701 Lake Victoria Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens, 561-691-6901

• Casimir Bistro, 416 Via de Palmas in Boca Raton, 561-955-6001

• Taqueria Dona Raquel, 793 S Dixie Hwy W in Pompano Beach, 954-946-4490

We came across AOL's list of the top 11 annoying restaurant trends, which we thought we'd reproduce here for you:

1. Recitation of the specials (as opposed to writing them on the board)
2. Recitation of the specials followed by, "sorry, we're out of that last one"
3. Bottled water up-selling
4. Up-selling in general
5. Listing the birthplace of every ingredient
6. The ubiquitous 'tini suffix
7. "Would you like freshly ground black pepper on that?"
8. Trios and duos
9. Over-pouring of wine
10. Prix fixe only
11. Expensive after-dinner tea and coffee

So some of them are a bit annoying, but really, over-pouring of wine? It is definitely not a problem when the waiter comes by to top off my glass. Clearly, the people who write for AOL Food are lightweights. And we enjoy trios and duos; the list writers explain that one part of the trio is clearly going to outshine the others, and you'll end up wanting a full-sized portion of it. But we prefer tastes of multiple dishes to large portions of just one dish. Most of the other stuff, yeah, we can definitely sympathize.

What would you add to the list?

Annoying Restaurant Trends [AOL food]
via Slashfood

Miami Beach restaurateurs are not happy about the city's ban on food displays outside of restaurants. Stroll down Ocean Drive, and you'll notice that the displays are still there. But the city's public works director has begun to threaten to actually enforce the ban, and the penalties can be stiff: $100 for the first violation, up to $1,000 for the fifth violation. After that, the cafe's permit might be suspended. Some restaurants are trying to fight it -- they even tried to enlist the help of the ACLU, which politely declined to get involved -- while others are trying to come up with creative ways to get around it:

Some restaurateurs have already begun thinking of new ways to lure the customers in.

One idea: ''Talking menus,'' a tablet of audible menus in seven languages developed and touted by a Kendall-based company, Menus That Talk.

That won't work, however, for Jay Egilmez, owner of Lincoln Road's Aura Restaurant.

''Talking menus and menus with food photos are not the same as the displays,'' Egilmez said.

The restaurant owners asked the city's public works director if they could display their food in windows or alcoves.

Likely so, said Beckmann, since the law doesn't pertain to private property.

Then there is the idea of ''moving food display'' -- waiters and waitresses.

''Can our employees stand holding the food displays?'' asked Aura's Egilmez.

Code enforcement officer Jose Alberto conceded the possibility: ``Technically . . . you got one there.''

Ban on food displays has some restaurateurs choking [Miami Herald]
Say Goodbye To Food Wrapped In Plastic [MP: South Florida]

• A recipe for sweet corn soup from Table 8. [All Purpose Dark]

• Enrique Fernández is excited to find La Rotisserie in Surfside, where the servers speak real French, not faux restaurant French. [Consumed]

• Alesh seems to think the one-liter mug of beer will be the next big thing in the U.S. soon. You can get it at Hofbrau Beerhall on Lincoln Road. [Critical Miami]

• The margaritas and guacamole are great at Rosa Mexicano. [FoodTastic!]

• A tip from Peter Masiello, executive chef at Bova Ristorante: cook octopus with a wine cork to tenderize it. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Charles Passy tries the dreaded durian. We'll give you his description of the smell: "It’s like rotten onions crossed with bleu cheese gone bad crossed with belly-button lint." [The Hungry Man]

While checking out miami fever's Flickr photostream, we came across this. Yes, it appears he grilled chocolate-chip cookies. We are impressed and intrigued. There's no reason it shouldn't work, really, especially if you put the cover on the grill. But wouldn't the cookies then taste like whatever savory thing was last put on the grill?

Photo: miami fever's Flickr

Remember that story about a man finding a rare pearl in his steamers at a Lake Worth restaurant? Now, just two weeks later, someone else has found a pearl in his fried oysters in New Jersey:

WASHINGTON BOROUGH, N.J. — Two weeks after a Florida man found a rare pearl in his seafood, it's happened again — this time to a New Jersey man who was eating fried oysters.

Mike McHenry thought he had chomped down on a piece of shell Wednesday night and instead spit out a pea-sized pearl.

"You might break your teeth on it if you crunch down too hard," the 60-year-old Washington Township man said of his discovery at Russo's Ristorante in Washington Borough.

McHenry's find was rare, according to Gef Flimlin, a marine extension agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, who said 95 percent of pearls are cultured for production, unlike the naturally formed pearl McHenry found.

"It's unusual to find one in this type of oyster," McHenry said. "Like one in a million."

...

Russo's owner, Rick Giacobbe, said McHenry's discovery marked the first time in his 33 years in the restaurant business that a customer found a pearl in an order of oysters. He said the guy he orders seafood from is flummoxed, too.

"He said maybe once in a couple of years his girls will find something and it's a teeny tiny thing," Giacobbe said. "This was half the size of a jellybean."

First we've got the much-anticipated Forté di Asprinio, the restaurant of Top Chef contestant Stephen Asprinio. It'll feature upscale contemporary Italian cuisine, although given Asprinio's sommelier background, we imagine the appeal here will be the wine list. It was supposed to open in late 2007, but it looks like the opening, at 225 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach, was pushed back until February.

If you're a fan of Novecento in Brickell or the beach, you'll be happy to know that a third location is opening in Coral Gables at 121 Alhambra Plaza. They're hiring now, and we were told by someone at the Brickell location that the new restaurant should be open around mid-February.

And finally, we just learned of a new restaurant called Melao Cafe opening sometime this week in the old RJ Gators location at 18415 S Dixie Highway in south Dade. We don't know much else, and we couldn't find a phone number, but we'll update as soon as we learn something new.

Forté di Asprinio [Official Site]
"Top Chef" Stephen Asprinio Seeking Skilled Employees [Craigslist]
Novecento [MenuPages]
Novecento [MenuPages]
**NOVECENTO RESTAURANT JOB FAIR** [Craigslist]
NOW Hiring! New Restaurant! [Craigslist]

Check out the photos from the first day of the Upper Eastside greenmarket over at mango&lime. It looks small, but there seemed to be lots of great-looking produce. Let's hope that it sticks around!

Upper East Side Green Market [mango&lime]

We've mentioned this before, but you should really check out the old Florida postcards in this Flickr collection. They're great. We were especially excited about a postcard with a recipe on it. There aren't really any directions, but we imagine that you just mix everything together, pour it into a pie crust and bake. Not too hard. And we'd add some actual meringue on top -- take those three egg whites that'll be left over and beat them until stiff, then spread on top of the pie before baking.

History Lesson: Leon & Eddie's In Palm Beach [MP: South Florida]

Photo: Flickr

• There's the Redland Festival at the Fruit & Spice Park this weekend. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $6 admission for adults, and children 12 and under are free. There will be a petting zoo, pony rides, a reptile show and lots of food.

• There's a wine tasting tonight at Christabelle's Quarter. It starts at 7 p.m. and costs $15.

• Hungover on Sunday? The Falcon House is bringing back its pajama brunch. Show up in your pajamas and get the first drink free.

• On Saturday and Sunday, feast on a number of dishes from some favorite Grove restaurants at Great Taste of the Grove. There'll be music, face painting, a rock climbing wall and a bounce house. The fun happens at Peacock Park from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

• Thanks to Paula, we know of two new farmer's markets that are opening this weekend: on Saturday, there's the Upper East Side Green Market in front of Legion Park, and on Sunday, there's the South Florida Farmer's Market from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Gardner's Market in Pinecrest.

• MP: San Francisco brings to our attention that all of the eggs for Starbucks breakfast sandwiches are cooked in two locations and then shipped across the country. Seriously, ew.

• MP: Boston thinks the KFC bowl sounds disgusting. We're inclined to agree.

• MP: Philadelphia warns us against taking photos inside any Five Guys restaurants.

• MP: Chicago brings us a great photo of cheesecake. We think we can see some chocolate crust underneath. Yum.

We were amused by a photo we found of a Scion totally decked out in Pollo Tropical advertising. Think that's a private car and someone is getting paid to advertise the restaurant chain? Or do they make deliveries in that thing? And one commenter on the photo posed a good question -- aren't those types of tints illegal?

Pollo Tropical [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

• Sara gives us a leblon cachaça cocktail recipe that sounds delicious. [All Purpose Dark]

• Tere thinks California Pizza Kitchen is pretty good. [Coral Gables]

• You know, if we actually got goldfish crackers on a plane, we'd be happy, as we like goldfish crackers. Usually it's something far worse. [Riptide 2.0]

• OneBurger sounds like it might merit a visit. [Tasting Serendipity]

Well, actually, it was in the parking lot of the Wendy's, but that doesn't make it any less scary or terrible.

A 47-year-old man was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest Friday moments after picking up a late-night snack at a Plantation Wendy's drive-through.

The apparent motive was robbery, according to Detective Robert Rettig, a Plantation police spokesman. It was not immediately clear what, if anything, was taken.

The shooting, which police are treating as a homicide, happened at 3801 W. Broward Blvd. sometime after midnight.

No one inside the fast-food restaurant heard the gunfire, but a pedestrian walked by the victim's dark blue Mercedes sedan in the parking lot on the east side of the Wendy's and saw the body slumped over the steering wheel.

Plantation police were called. They found the man lifeless.

Man shot dead at Plantation Wendy's [Miami Herald]

We learned today of a food festival in early February sponsored by the government of Navarra, Spain. The image above has most of the pertinent details; each of the participating restaurants will be offering special tasting menus featuring dishes from the region. Think stuffed piquillo peppers, idiazabal cheese and a good rosé.

Navarra, Spain Visits Miami and New York [Earth Times]
Navarra Food Festival [Official Site]

At MenuPages, our legions of users submit reviews regularly for their favorite (and often least favorite) restaurants. Some make it onto the website, others don't. Here, we'll go over the week's best and worst reviews.

We've got a few this week that made us laugh out loud. We'll go right into the best one, for Kaliapy's:

Its great!!!! The stuff is wonderful and the food is the best. YOU CAN GO WRONG WITH KALIAPY'S!!!!!

I actually encountered a very rude server who had to have been prejudice, since I was accompanied by an interracial couple. Never went there again.

Casimir Bistro opened about two weeks ago in the old Kameleon Bistro space in Boca Raton. The menu will be online tomorrow, but we'll give you a sneak peek at it now:

From the lunch menu:

• Chicken Casimir Salad: grilled key lime marinated chicken breast, coconut curry sauce, mixed greens and endive $11

• Salmon Duo Salad: gravlax and smoked salmon, melon, mixed greens, whipped dill cream cheese on toasts, sun-dried tomato vinaigrette $12

• Parisian Sandwich: baguette, smoked ham, Swiss cheese and butter $9.75

From the dinner menu:

• P.E.I. Mussels & French Fries: You can get these either "Mariniere" with garlic, shallots, parsley and white wine, or "Bombay" with garlic, shallot, tomato and cilantro in a yellow curry broth. $18

• Caribbean Style Free Range Chicken: grilled chicken breast in horseradish tarragon sauce served with sauteed zucchini, yellow squash and sauteed potato $17.50

• Crispy Duck A L'Orange: roasted Long Island duck, in orange sauce, sauteed provencale mushroom and potato $26

So it's not groundbreaking stuff, but if prepared well could be very tasty.

Kameleon Bistro [MenuPages]

• The Village Chalet Restaurant is a "charming, rustic venue" that is "absolutely worth a stop if you're heading to Homestead or the Keys." The burger sounds amazing: Angus beef, melted mozzarella di bufala, fresh basil, and buns made at a fresh local bakery. YUM. [Miami Herald]

• Lee Klein says that Michael's Kitchen "shares the same cuisine-as-circus-act sensibility" as The Cheesecake Factory. Yikes. The rest of the review has us craving the mac and cheese ("an earthy, smoky mash of mascarpone, Parmesan, and smoked Gouda cheeses, with a finishing dash of black truffle oil"), but not much else. [Miami New Times]

• Did you know that boniato is the only tropical tuber that can be profitably grown in South Florida because of an import ban thanks to a weevil that attaches itself to the vegetable? Hopefully the ban, and an increased demand for tropical fruits, will keep the rampant development at bay. [Miami Herald]

• Latitude Zero Restaurant features a pan-Latin menu except for Fridays and Saturdays, when the Ecuadoran menu comes out, which means that's probably the best time to visit. [Miami Herald]

• Rochelle Koff checks out Pazzo's Cucina Italiana, the new Fort Lauderdale branch of the upscale Italian restaurant from Chicago, and gives it three stars. It sounds like there aren't too many misses on the menu. [Miami Herald]

• Sushi Club rivals Hiro's Sushi Express in almost every way. [Miami New Times]

• The food is fantastic at Pa De Gennaro's, but the wait for a wine refill can be long. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• The Beer Guy visits Bru's Room Sports Grill and finds the beer list merely OK, while the wings and burgers are great. [Palm Beach Post]

• The folks at New Seoul Korean Restaurant in Lake Worth couldn't believe Charles Passy wanted actual, authentic Korean food instead of the dumbed-down fare they usually serve. [Palm Beach Post]

Yes, it's a little early in the morning for tuna, but we wanted to share anyway. This is certainly an interesting take on the typical spicy tuna roll from Yardhouse in Palm Beach Gardens. The only seaweed seems to be those green shavings, and we certainly hope that the green layer on top isn't all wasabi; it would be ridiculously spicy. We definitely think it looks tasty.

Yardhouse [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

Yes, it's here, the Spanish cured ham made from a black pig that eats only acorns. Until recently, it was banned in the United States, but the USDA finally decided in favor of deliciousness, and the first shipments arrived on this side of the Atlantic just last month. Delicias de España just received its first batch of ham four days ago; it took them a bit longer as a restaurant to be approved as a jamón ibérico retailer. They're selling the hams for $52 to $95 per pound, and it comes either whole (7-10 pounds) or sliced as thinly as you like.

Delicias was the first place we thought of to call, although if you know of any other Spanish restaurants or markets carrying it, let us know. We've never tried it, and we can't wait to do so!

Delicias de Espana [MenuPages]
Delicias de Espana [Official Site]
What's Up With Jamón Ibérico? [MP: Boston]

Photo: Flickr

We love heartwarming, uplifting stories, and this story about an 11-year-old Miami Shores boy who asked state legislators to make it easier for restaurants to donate leftover food to homeless shelters certainly fits the heartwarming/uplifting bill.

The sixth-grader is being credited for inspiring a bill that will allow restaurants and hotels to donate leftover food to places like homeless shelters and not face legal liabilities.

For years, many eateries and other places have simply thrown the food away, rather than face a lawsuit if someone got sick.

''I kind of used my social studies teacher's advice,'' said Jack, a sixth-grader at Ransom Everglades School. ``She told us to make a difference.''

Jack, with the help of his attorney dad, Jeff Davis, got in touch with a friend, Miami attorney Stephen Marino. Marino, a board member of the Florida Justice Association, a statewide association of consumer advocates, brought Jack's idea up a few days later during lunch with State Rep. Ari Porth, the bill's House sponsor.

''I've never been contacted by someone so young about an idea for a bill,'' Porth said. ``I think it's highly unusual and very impressive.''

It all started one summer morning after breakfast as Jack and his family finished eating at a buffet in Chattanooga, Tenn.

He was one of the last at the buffet line -- a typical spread of biscuits, bacon and eggs -- and a manager told the family to eat as much as they could.

Jack asked why? The manager told him the rest would be thrown away.

''He explained to me if they gave the food to a homeless shelter they could be sued for sickness or food poisoning,'' Jack said.

Student, 11, helping to get food to homeless [Miami Herald]

Photo: Marice Cohn Band for The Miami Herald

Preview 1

Preview 2

Preview 3

A visit with Michelle Bernstein

You'll need Quicktime to view the videos, but they're worth checking out. The show debuts on January 28 at 7:30 p.m. on WPBT2.

Check, Please! South Florida [Official Site]
Check, Please! South Florida previews [uVu]

We must admit, when we first read the headline to this story, we chuckled and thought to ourselves, 'oh, maybe they can stay open until midnight now.' Turns out that the Village Council is extending Sunday closing time/alcohol serving time from 2 a.m. until 3 a.m., which...is way past our bedtime. So we apologize to Wellington for assuming it's sleepier than it actually is.

The new hours can begin this weekend.

Neil Hirsch, owner of the Players Club, a popular drinking spot and restaurant, approached the council in November and asked for the extra hour. He said equestrians have Monday off, so Sunday is their night to kick back and they rarely are ready to stop drinking at 2 a.m.

"They work on Sunday, so Sunday night is actually their Saturday night," Hirsch said.

Wellington extends Sunday hours for bars and restaurants [Sun-Sentinel]
Players Club Restaurant [MenuPages]
Players Club Restaurant [Official Site]

Frodnesor has earned the undying admiration of all Florida chowhounds who regularly have to field questions like, "Where should we eat while we're in South Beach?" or "Where can we get good food during our Disney vacation?" Frodnesor compiled all of the "Best" or "Top" lists on the Florida thread and put it all in one handy post. That is dedication.

Unofficial Compilation of "Best" / "Top" Lists [Chowhound]

Via Critical Miami and Spangdish

We know it's already back to 70 degrees, but remember a few days ago, when everyone was shivering? Whenever there's a chance of a freeze, we get the same stories about farmers in the central and northern parts of the state picking fruit rapidly and spraying their oranges and strawberries. (So that the water freezes around the fruit, protecting it.) But we rarely hear about what goes on underwater. According to this story in the Key West Citizen, a number of fish died during the cold snap when water temperatures plummeted:

A brief but steep drop in water temperature last week is blamed for killing scores of fish, including barracuda, snook and goliath grouper.

Everglades National Park rangers and backcountry fishermen who braved a cold front that blew through South Florida last Wednesday and Thursday reported multiple fish kills from the shallows of Florida Bay to as far south as Boca Grande.

Early Thursday morning, water temperature in Florida Bay just north of Long Key had dipped to 58 degrees, down 20 degrees from a recorded high of 78 degrees at 2 p.m. on New Years' Day.

Air temperatures hit a recorded low of 36 degrees at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park last Thursday morning.

Of course, a fish's misfortune is a cause for celebration in the pelican camps:

As with much of nature, death to one species may mean extended life for another.

"The white pelicans have been pigging out on the dead fish," Christi Showler, an interpretive Everglades park ranger at the Flamingo Visitor Center, said Friday.

"I just conducted a canoe trip into Noble Hammock, a little north of Hell's Bay, and there are dozens of little fish floating on the surface," she said. "The white pelicans are having a field day on the floating fish. They're to the point where they are too full to eat."

Cold weather triggers fish kills [Key West Citizen]

We really feel for this poor Subway franchisee in Boca Raton. The restaurant has been robbed twice in eight days. That has got to suck.

BOCA RATON — Police are looking for a man who robbed a Subway restaurant on West Palmetto Park Road Sunday while armed with a large knife.

The same Subway was robbed by a man wielding a knife about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. The store clerk said a man entered the store and ordered a sandwich before drawing a knife and demanding money, police said. He got away.

In Sunday's robbery, a man walked into the store at 1295 W. Palmetto Park Road, pointed a knife at the clerk, and demanded the money from the register, police said.

Boca sandwich shop robbed again [Palm Beach Post]
Subway Robbers Becoming Less Polite, More Aggressive [MP: South Florida]

• cJ has certainly eaten well this year! [consumableJoy]

• Tere's meal at the Gables Diner is ruined by an annoying customer. [Coral Gables]

• Alesh discovers a really awesome farmer's market in Homestead. We are drooling over the mounds of dried chiles. [Critical Miami]

• Deborah Hartz-Seeley discovers Antonio's Ristorante in Deerfield Beach and loves it. [From the Test Kitchen]

Florida Trend released its 20 best new restaurants in the state. Here are the South Florida ones that made the cut:

• Boca Raton: Cafe Joley, Chops Lobster Bar, Nick's Fishmarket of Hawaii

• Coconut Grove: Christabelle's Quarter

• Hollywood: Lola's on Harrison

• Miami: Bourbon Steak, Casablanca Seafood Bar & Grill, DeVito South Beach, Grimpa Steakhouse, Michael's Genuine Food & Drink

• Palm Beach Gardens: Amazonia Churrascaria, III Forks

Wow. That's a lot of steak. We see a few interesting restaurants (Michael's, Cafe Joley, Lola's, Casablanca), but really, the rest of the list just seems so...boring.

20 Best New Restaurants [Florida Trend]

Cooper City residents might soon see the end of the days when waiters would set down a glass of water along with the menu. City commissioners are voting tonight on a law that would force the 57 restaurants in the city to serve water only when it's requested:

Commissioner Elliot Kleiman, who proposed the idea, said he doesn't expect the city's effort will put a dent in water conservation efforts.

''But it does send a message to the community that water is a scarce commodity and we need to conserve wherever we can,'' Kleiman said.

At least one restaurant owner said the law, if it's passed, wouldn't affect him.

Sal Valente, 65, owner of the Italian eatery Luv'n Oven in the 9400 block of Griffin Road, said his staff has been instructed not to offer water unless a customer asks for it.

''We've been doing that for years,'' Valente said. ``Half the time they don't drink it anyway.''

South Florida water managers say there are thirstier culprits.

''The three big areas include lawn irrigation, agriculture and golf courses,'' said Randy Smith, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District.

He said that on Jan. 15 new regulations will require those consumers to reduce water use by 45 percent or face financial penalties.

Restaurants in Cooper City may turn off water tap [Miami Herald]

The theme for today is restaurant exclusion. First, we had Disney banning children from its most expensive restaurant. Now, we've got a story about a man kicked out of Roxy's Pub in West Palm Beach for sporting gold teeth:

A man is filing a discrimination suit against a popular downtown West Palm Beach bar. He claims it's an issue about race and teeth. Shawn Anderson says he was asked to leave Roxy's on Clematis Street Wednesday night because of his gold teeth.
The manager explains, Roxy's dress code bans 'grills' - which are gold teeth covers.

Anderson feels this rule intentionally targets the black community.

He explains, "I think it's discrimination against me because I'm black and a lot of black people have gold teeth now."

John Webb, the owner of Roxy’s, tells NewsChannel 5, "No, it's not discrimination. He just didn't comply with the dress code."

Anderson says he plans to file the lawsuit in the coming weeks.

Teeth discrimination downtown? [WPTV]
Roxy's Pub [Official Site]

We used to hate tacos. Our mom made them one time for dinner when we were young -- you know, the hard corn store-bought tortillas, with plate set out of ground beef, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, cheese and a few other toppings that everyone could assemble on their own. We thought it tasted OK, but then we spent the rest of the night leaning over the toilet, so that soured us on tacos for a while. But we've come around since then, especially when we tried some good, authentic tacos. Like the ones pictured above from Taqueria Doña Raquel (793 S Dixie Hwy W in Pompano Beach, 954-946-4490).

Photo: Flickr

If you were asked which restaurant in Miami is your favorite and why, what would you say? For Kerri Strug, it's Chicken Kitchen:

What is your favorite restaurant and favorite dish in Miami?

I like Chicken Kitchen and their special yellow sauce over the chicken and rice dish.

Olympian loves to vault into Miami [Miami Herald]
Chicken Kitchen [Official Site]

Granted, it's an upscale restaurant where prices start at $125 per person. But still. It's in Disney. And from now on, no kids allowed:

ORLANDO, Fla. --
The home of Mickey Mouse, Tigger and Tinkerbell has banned kids from its fanciest restaurant.

Beginning this week, children under 10 are no longer welcome at Victoria & Albert's in the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Victoria & Albert's is Walt Disney World's only restaurant with an AAA five-diamond rating.

"We want to be the restaurant that's available for that adult experience," said general manager Israel Perez.

Only about three families a month ever brought young children to Victoria & Albert's, said Rosemary Rose, Disney's vice president for food, beverage and merchandise operations.

Men are required to wear jackets, and women must wear dresses or pantsuits. The hushed atmosphere features live harp music, and the menu, which changes daily, offers seven-course dinners that can last as long as three hours. Prices start at $125 a person.

Rose noted that there are plenty of dining options for families at Disney, which World has 97 other full-service restaurants.

UPDATE: We just found a far more in-depth article about it in the Orlando Sentinel. Our favorite part was a quote from Norman Van Aken:

Norman Van Aken, owner of another top Ritz-Carlton restaurant, Norman's in Orlando, said banning children is not something he would consider. "I'd rather kick out the parents that can't control their children than kick out the kids," Van Aken said from Key West, where he is opening another restaurant.

Disney World restaurant bans children [Miami Herald]
Walt Disney World's swankiest restaurant bans kids [Orlando Sentinel]

• Scariest traffic map ever, courtesy of MP: San Francisco. He also seems to think that taping your windows is somewhat effective against strong winds, to which our response is HAHAHAHAHA.

• MP: Chicago tells us that Orlando residents (and those of a few other cities) seek more healthful options on restaurant menus. We bet they'd settle for just better-tasting food in general.

• MP: Boston tells us all about jamón ibérico, which the U.S. government recently allowed was OK for American consumption. (Finally!) It's going to cost a pretty penny though.

• And MP: Philadelphia shows us a photo of a hospital-themed restaurant in Singapore that creeps us out.

What a story. A wealthy Russian banker is accused of embezzling, is chased by the KGB, denied asylum in the United States, and wrapped up in a legal battle between the two countries that lasts, if our calculations from the article are correct, 12 years, after which the charges are dropped. So what is a now-freed former mogul to do? Start a business, specifically a delivery business catering to wealthy customers.

''I don't have time to go to the kitchen and cook something myself,'' [Alex Konanykhin] said, savoring some lamb Chalahach from a local Russian restaurant on the balcony of his penthouse at the Trump Palace. 'In New York, I just punch speed dial and say `The usual.' I couldn't believe places were not delivering here.''

Konanykhin's new venture is focused on getting condo-dwellers their caviar, sturgeon or coconut shrimp with the click of a computer key. Delivery4tip.com, which began operating in late November, brings food from eight restaurants to homes in Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura and surrounding areas. The delivery cost: 18 percent of the order total, or about the amount of an average tip.

Now Konanykhin is seeking to expand the service from Fort Lauderdale to South Beach. Though he owns only one van, this month he plans to unleash a dozen more plastered with the company's logo to make his business more visible. He also plans to add more photos and detailed nutritional information to his website, www.delivery4tip.com.

With luxury buildings stacked closely together, Sunny Isles Beach has proven to be the perfect testing ground, he said. Like many of the city's residents, he said, ``We prefer to have a nice dinner here during sunset instead of being in a restaurant in a strip mall.''

Current offerings on the site include Italian, Chinese, Argentine and, of course, Russian cuisine. Even though business hasn't been particularly brisk during the first month -- about 20 orders a day on average -- Konanykhin sees multimillion dollar potential. He takes in 30 percent on every order: 18 percent from the customer and 12 percent from the restaurant.

New delivery service targets luxury food market [Miami Herald]
Delivery4Tip [Official Site]

Yes, finally. It took a while to get it, but we have it now, the new-and-improved menu of the recently renovated Japanese restaurant. Enjoy.

Matsuri Japanese Restaurant [MenuPages]

• We never thought of coconuts as deadly, but we don't spend much time lounging under palm trees either. They're not the best shade trees. [Riptide 2.0]

• Sara visits the Kobe Club pre-opening and likes what she sees. [All Purpose Dark]

• Looks like Angelo Elia is working on opening another Casa D' Angelo in Fort Lauderdale. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Yes, New Year's Eve has passed, but that doesn't mean you can't drink more champagne, or in this case, five good champagne alternatives. [The Hungry Man]

Yes, it's cold. We understand. We're confused by it too. But, let's look on the bright side: at least we're not in Daytona Beach, where they actually got snow flurries! And remember, the mercury's supposed to climb back up to the 70s by this weekend. So enjoy the hot chocolate, snuggle up under the covers, and pity those poor people up north who have to deal with this all winter long.

Glazed and confused [Daytona Beach News-Journal]

Photo: Flickr

At MenuPages, our legions of users submit reviews regularly for their favorite (and often least favorite) restaurants. Some make it onto the website, others don't. Here, we'll go over the week's best and worst reviews.

It's been a while since we've done one of these. The holidays kept our mind preoccupied on other things. But we'll get started for this week with the good ones. Here's one for Quinn's At the Park:

The food was surprisingly flavorful and well-presented, more than I expected for an Ocean Drive restaurant. Although there was no "theme" to the restaurant and the menu was scattered with asian/italian/french/american dishes, each dish was flavorful and tasty. Their signature bam bam shrimp had no bam, however. The restaurant was surprisingly roomy inside and decorated with white drapes and cheesy red lights. Unfortunately, we had a table right next to the speakers and with grandma and grandpa at the table, it was hard to carry on a conversation.

love thier food,great,old sotuehrn cooking,,great for us southern whats left of us,,esp the one from boynton beach,,born and raised

Nice Family Atmosphere, 2 TV's ,Videogame machine and a stand so the little ones can watch the Pizza Maker and play with a piece of dough.

Simple,clean, with excellent service and very good food.
Large portions with free drink refills and reasonable prices
makes this one of our favorite restaurants. Lunch and dinner specials everyday. Different homemade soups every day. A dinner will include garlic rolls and a soup or a salad.

We live in the neighborhood and were there on opening day, and continue to frequent weekly for our "Italian night" dinners.

Drop by you won't be disappointed. Pizzas, Pastas, and an awesome Italian Sub....

They also have fast delivery service. 305-388-5552

ENJOY !!!.

• A Fork on the Road visits Colombia by way of El Sitio, a six-month-old restaurant on Washington Avenue in South Beach. It's owned by Venezuelans, although the cook is Colombian, and it's known for its bandeja paisa, a huge platter that has a little bit of everything. [Miami Herald]

• Kefi Restaurant & Lounge has got a Greek name, but the menu definitely has a more global feel. It gets only two stars from Victoria Pesce Elliott, who basically deems it a good option if you're in the neighborhood. [Miami Herald]

• Did you know that "escopazzo" means "I am going crazy?" We didn't. Anyway, Lee Klein thinks the new organic menus at Escopazzo are, for the most part, pretty tasty. [Miami New Times]

• "There's no question, though, that in Miami at least, sushi gravitates to Thai restaurants the way the Earth is yanked into orbit around the sun. It's too bad in a way, as if Thai cuisine — surely one of the world's most varied and exciting — can't sell itself on its own and needs sushi to hang around like some slick-talking sidewalk barker." And to that we say, Amen. Get your sushi off my panang curry. [Miami New Times]

• Bad service and mediocre food at Angle at the Ritz. Yikes! [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• We must say, Choripunk is a great name for a restaurant. [Miami Herald]

• Oh! We've got four stars over here! And they go to Sunfish Grill; the new digs in Fort Lauderdale seem to suit them just fine. [Miami Herald]

• Some interesting food trends for 2008: pro-biotics, environmentally friendly items, small plates, top-shelf tequila. [Palm Beach Post]

• Yeah, there's art at the Norton Museum, but there's also excellent meatloaf. And crab cakes. [Palm Beach Post]

Oh man. How did we miss this? We even drove by The Pit recently and didn't notice anything amiss. But it's been closed, only just re-opened under new ownership after the death of Tommy Little, the founder. Now, husband-and-wife team Michael and Sonia Gonzalez have taken over, and they've even spruced up the place, which Little hadn't done in 40 years.

The Gonzalezes say their intentions are to make as few changes as possible.

''We want to continue the tradition of serving good quality barbecue,'' Michael Gonzalez said.

While they've never run a restaurant before, the Gonzalezes, who own a mortgage and real estate company, say they're looking forward to doing something different. They decided to buy the restaurant since the real estate business is slow now.

''The restaurant seems to be something that we will enjoy,'' Michael Gonzalez said.

They've spruced up the place here and there by remodeling the bathrooms and kitchens, which hadn't been touched in the nearly 40 years Little ran the place.

The Gonzalezes also are considering adding some rocking chairs a la Cracker Barrel-style under the chickee huts.

Plans don't include changing menu favorites such as the catfish, frog legs and gator burgers. Meals range between $6 and $11. But they do include adding more variety.

Dishes and side items already on the new menu: mozzarella sticks, churrasco and mashed potatoes and gravy.

Also new: Kids eat a free hot dog and soda when they come with their parents from Monday through Friday. On weekends, kids can ride ponies for $3.

It's back! Pit Bar-B-Q open again in West Miami-Dade [Miami Herald]
Pit Bar B Q [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr

Look closely. That's not sushi -- they're cookies! If you want to see how they're made, click on the Flickr link and check out the notes on the photo. We totally want to try these.

Photo: Flickr
Via Slashfood

Burger King may be lagging behind when it comes to worker issues, but hey, at least PETA thinks it's making great progress! The organization deemed BK the "Most Improved National Food Chain" at its fifth annual Proggy Awards. ("Proggy" stands for progress, apparently.) Here's why Burger King won:

Once the target of nearly 1,000 PETA protests for its suppliers' cruel treatment of animals, Burger King has since taken the industry lead in upgrading its animal welfare standards. In 2003, the company introduced the BK Veggie--the first meatless burger to be offered by any national fast-food chain at all of its U.S. locations. Last March, the company announced that it would start purchasing a portion of its eggs and pork from suppliers that don't confine their animals to tiny cages and crates and would give preference to suppliers that switched to a less cruel method of chicken slaughter called controlled-atmosphere killing. As a result of Burger King's leadership, several other fast-food chains and some of North America's largest meat suppliers have followed suit.

Burger King [Official Site]
Coalition Of Immokalee Workers March Today On BK Headquarters [MP: South Florida]

Tere alerted us to the fact that the much-anticipated second location of 1909 Cafe is finally open, and has been for about a month. We had done exactly what she had -- tried and tried to get information, been blown off, and finally given up. So we're glad someone else took the initiative and got the details. So yes, 1909 Cafe, at 70 Aragon, is open. We hear the food is good.

1909 Cafe Open! [Coral Gables Blog]
Bayside Chatter: The Mysterious 1909 Cafe [MP: South Florida]
New Restaurant Updates [MP: South Florida]
1909 Cafe [MenuPages]

File this under "things we wish would happen to us at restaurants." A couple, George and Leslie Brock, dining at Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar discovered a rare pearl potentially worth thousands in their plate of steamers:

"Few are round and few are a lovely color, so this is rare," said gemologist Antoinette Matlins. "I think they have found something precious and lovely and valuable."

The gems occur most frequently in large New England quahogs, clams known for violet coloring on the inside of their shells. The clams in the $10 plate came from Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle, said restaurant manager Tom Gerry.

The Brocks, of Royal Palm Beach, plan to have the pearl appraised and said they may sell it if it is valuable.

Diners Fine Rare Pearl in Plate of Clams [Palm Beach Post]
Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar [MenuPages]
Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar [Official Site]