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The big news on the international spirits scene today is that the country of Sweden has sold state-owned Absolut Vodka to French conglomérat de boisson Pernod Ricard for $8.9 billion after a competitive auction. From Reuters:

Pernod beat the favourite, Jim Beam bourbon maker Fortune Brands (FO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), to win control of Sweden's Vin & Sprit VSG.UL, owner of the fast-growing Absolut brand, and gain a bigger presence in the U.S.

"The combination of a full price and the amount of debt to be raised definitely seems to have unnerved certain investors," said Stephen Surpless, senior analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald.

According to a report earlier this month, the three most popular drinks in the United States are martinis (with vodka or gin), mojitos and Red Bull with vodka. The New York Times just ran a big feature on feminine-oriented vodkas in Russia, which might work for Absolut, with its mastery of marketing and its wide variety of infused flavors.

For its part, Pernod Ricard expressed confidence in its new brand's market strength. From its press release:

In the United States, Absolut is the top premium spirits brand, selling more than 5 million 9 litre cases. It has a unique brand image built around values of creativity, innovation and cultural leadership.

In the rest of the world, with close to 6 million cases sold in 2007, Absolut is one of the most global brands in the industry with a significant presence in all the continents and a strong perception as a leader in the premium vodka category.

Pernod buys Absolut vodka [Reuters]
Traditional Martini Ranks Most Popular [Wine and Spirits Daily]
Russian Vodka with a Feminine Kick [NY Times]
Photo: Absolutini [Absolutdrinks.com]

Soon you'll be able to get your Whopper in some fancy new digs. Burger King is unveiling the Whopper Bar, which will offer more Whoppers but fewer of the other typical BK menu items:

The menu and size of the Whopper Bars will be smaller than a typical Burger King, but they will sell Whoppers not typically available at all times in the chain's traditional restaurants. Executives say they haven't finalized the menu, though it could include as many as 10 types of Whoppers, such as the Western Whopper, the Texas Double Whopper and the Angry Whopper, a version topped with spicy onions. One menu sketch has a section called "Pimp Your Whopper," where patrons can chose from additional toppings like jalapeno peppers, bacon and barbecue sauce.
Russ Klein, Burger King's president, global marketing, strategy and innovation, said he began thinking about the concept about four years ago when he visited a Burger King in Germany that had knocked out the back of the restaurant and created a bar section. Mr. Klein said the Whopper Bar is akin to McDonald's Corp.'s creation of McCafe coffee bars, except that it is built around the chain's signature sandwich.

Burger King Whopper To Be Feted [Wall Street Journal]
Burger King [Official Site]

You know it happens, but it's still disturbing to be reminded of it: News came across the wires Friday that a cook and Seahawks fan in the Seattle suburb of Port Orchard, Wash. allegedly spit in a burger ordered by a customer wearing Steelers gear. From the Kitsap Sun:

Deputies said the 37-year-old man in Steelers garb took his daughters to a Mile Hill Drive fast food restaurant Saturday evening, and "began trading friendly barbs about his team and their victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL," reports said.

One employee told the man that he'd "better not say that to the guy that's making your food," but the man thought it was a joke, reports said.

That is, until he opened his "clamshell-style" hamburger container and discovered what he called a "loogie" on his hamburger.

The manager, hilariously, told Kitsap County sheriff's deputies his 24-year-old employee might just have hawked something into the food. What the deputies were hoping to find in the way of evidence of the crime when they searched his home, we couldn't tell you, but they found some marijuana when they got there, and brought the guy in.

The man also confessed to spitting in the 37-year-old's hamburger container to "gross him out ... because he was a Steelers fan," deputies said.

With a new sports season just starting and a lot of old rivalries coming back into the spotlight, we're here to remind diners to keep it civil and maybe wear neutral colors if you're in enemy territory, at least while picking up short-order food. It's not right that a few disgruntled sports fans/kitchen employees play like that, but you'd be naive if you thought they didn't.

Cook Accused of Spitting on Fan's Burger [AP]
Seahawks Fan — and Fast Food Cook — Arrested for Spitting on Steeler Fan's Burger [Kitsap Sun]
Opening Day 2008 [MLB]
Photo: The Hamburger Method Of Criticism [N8tip]

• Lopsided economy drives record nationwide food stamp use [NYTimes]
• Food prices up 9% since last year; pork bellies mostly flat [Forbes]
• Asia's stomach rumbles as rice prices have doubled in the past year [AsiaSentinel]
• Record high profits for egg co. led by record high egg prices [CNBC]
• Absolut, once produced by the Swedish gov't, bought by Pernod for $9b [Guardian]
• Californian megadairy proposal for NW Illinois gets mixed reception [Tribune]
• DC woos Fancy Food Show away from NYC starting in 2011 [WaPo]

As you probably read in the FYI roundup, the U.S. is sending some health inspectors to Honduras to try to get a handle on a crop of tainted cantaloupes that have given a handful of Americans and Canadians salmonella. The melons, sent over by grower and packer Agropecuaria Montelibano, have of course been recalled, but not before they were distributed pretty widely, with 50 illnesses reported in 16 states.

But Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said the fruit was just fine, according to CNN.

"It's not in our fruit," he said about last week's report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that some Honduran cantaloupes may be contaminated with salmonella. "It's not true what they are saying. Logically, we believe it is an error."

"Permit me to make a demonstration," he said, then cut open the fruit, sliced off a chunk, put it in his mouth and chewed vigorously.

"I eat this fruit without any fear," he said with his mouth full. "It's a delicious fruit. Nothing happens to me!"

The FDA recommends that consumers take the following steps to reduce the risk of contracting Salmonella or other foodborne illnesses from cantaloupes:

* Purchase cantaloupes that are not bruised or damaged. If buying fresh-cut cantaloupe, be sure it is refrigerated or surrounded by ice.

* After purchase, refrigerate cantaloupes promptly.

* Wash hands with hot, soapy water before and after handling fresh cantaloupes.

* Scrub whole cantaloupes by using a clean produce brush and cool tap water immediately before eating. Don't use soap or detergents.

* Use clean cutting surfaces and utensils when cutting cantaloupes. Wash cutting boards, countertops, dishes, and utensils with hot water and soap between the preparation of raw meat, poultry, or seafood and the preparation of cantaloupe.

* If there happens to be a bruised or damaged area on a cantaloupe, cut away those parts before eating it.

* Leftover cut cantaloupe should be discarded if left at room temperature for more than two hours.

* Use a cooler with ice or use ice gel packs when transporting or storing cantaloupes outdoors.

FDA Warns of Salmonella Risk with Cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano [FDA Press Release]
US Health Inspectors Sent to Honduras [AP]
Honduran president defends melons by eating one [CNN]
FSIS to Host Public Meeting to Discuss Challenges and Solutions for Reducing the Incidence of E. coli O157:H7 in Raw Beef [USDA Press Release]
Photo: Askobac [Flickr]

• Scallops cooked in Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise. Sounds...interesting. [Daily Cocaine]

• Deborah tells of dining deals at Farradday's and Bragozzo Osteria Wine Bar in Pompano. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Looks like the crowd was pretty good at Red Light's opening last night. [Chowhound]

• Italian mozzarella contaminated with dioxin [BBC]
• Honduran cantaloupes with salmonella [AP]
• New Zealand tahini with salmonella [NZHerald]
• New Zealand honey with toxic tutu nectar (!) [Times]
• North Dakota venison with lead particles [StarTribune]

Hilarious: We have been giggling over these cereal boxes on Serious Eats all day. They got it from xkcd. Thought it was only appropriate to share:

Honey Bunches of Goats? Amazing. Truly.

Meat Cereals [Required Eating]
xkcd [Official Site]

Good news: Kris Wessel has been given the go-ahead from Tallahassee and will be opening Red Light tonight at 5 p.m. No menu yet, though we'll try to have one by the weekend.

In the meantime, check out our interview with the chef from last week.

Ask The Chef: Kris Wessel [MP: South Florida]

There's a short interview with Michael Schwartz on US News & World Report's "Inside Job" blog that's pretty entertaining. They give him the beginning of a sentence, and he has to finish it. Our favorite:

1. My job title should really read... "camp counselor and head baby sitter."

• Enrique Fernandez gives the homey cuisine at Two Chefs Too three stars. [Miami Herald]

• Lee Klein loved the appetizers and dips at Ariston, which is in Ouzo's old spot. [Miami New Times]

• Oasis Churrasco Steak House is a bit out-of-the-way (unless you happen to live inside the Doral gated community where it's located), but the food is worth the drive. [Miami Herald]

• The story of a woman who gave up her career to make cupcakes and spend more time with her daughter. Given that she's now got a kiosk at Dadeland Mall and a number of regular restaurant/bakery customers, we'd say it was a smart move. [Miami Herald]

• So the service is spotty. At least the seafood and decor at Sake Room are good. [Miami New Times]

• Gail Shepherd gives a long history/description of Mexican mole in her review of El Chamol. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Rochelle Koff deems Christine's hype-worthy and awards it three-and-a-half stars. [Miami Herald]

Sad news to report. Herb Peterson, creator of McDonald's uber-popular Egg McMuffin, died on Tuesday of natural causes. He was 89 years old. A longtime advertising reprentative for McDonalds, he actively pushed the restaurant chain into expanding into the breakfast market. He eventually became a McDonald's franchisee. BY the time he passed away, Peterson was co-owner and operator of six McDonald's franchises in Santa Barbara and Goleta. From the International Herald Tribune:

Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972. He "was very partial to eggs Benedict," Fraker said, and worked on creating something similar. The egg sandwich consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, topped with a slice of cheese and grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin. The Egg McMuffin made its debut at a restaurant in Santa Barbara that Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.

Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies in California at 89 [International Herald Tribune]

[Image via McDonald's]

• New USDA plan: to tell us less about meat recalls! [AP]
• Apparently, college students have poor food safety habits [Reuters]
• Much of the Asian Brown Cloud caused by cooking-related pollution [NYTimes]
• Chilean salmon factories rife with viruses, poor oversight [IHT]
• Training fish, in Pavlovian fashion, to swim towards a dinner bell? [Tribune]
• Inventor of Egg McMuffin makes it to the reassuring age of 89 [AP]

Remember all of those possible James Beard nominees we wrote about last month? That list has been whittled down to the official nominee list, which includes just three area chefs, all competing against each other in the Best Chef: South division:

• Zach Bell of Cafe Boulud
• Michelle Bernstein of Michy's
• Douglas Rodriguez of Ola

There are only five nominees in the division, so the chances are pretty good that one of these three will bring the award home. We'll have to wait until June to find out.

2008 Nominees for the James Beard Foundation Awards [Official Site]
Your List Of Possible SoFla James Beard Award Nominees [MP: South Florida]
Cafe Boulud [MenuPages]
Michy's [MenuPages]
Ola [MenuPages]

A fantastic read today in Slate got us thinking about this Chez Pim post from a few days ago. Both are about Spanish avant-garde cuisine, but while Slate wonders out loud whether technology-based trends such as foaming will make lasting marks on the food landscape even after their stellar popularity, Pim declares, in no uncertain or complimentary terms, the lasting impression a certain such restaurant left on her.

From Slate's Lisa Abend:

At its best, the Spanish version of "molecular gastronomy" stokes the emotions, shocks the senses, and, in the words (if not exactly the intentions) of that hedonistic gourmand Claude Lévi-Strauss, is "good to think." It's also often delicious.

But, from the beginning, some critics have scorned a mode of cooking that relies, in their opinion, too heavily on technology (as if an oven weren't a machine) and often chooses form over substance.

But Pim's complaint seems to cut to the heart of the matter: At "quite possibly the worst meal of my life" at Miguel Sanchez Romera's L'Esguard, north of Barcelona, she describes a meal that seems almost totally divorced from anything that seems like real food. With most dishes packaged in a gelatinous "Micrifilm," and served with what sounds like more attention to appearance than to taste, Pim pointedly complains about the chef's "grand idea:"

But you know what? Sometimes all we care about is if your grand idea tasted any good. Because if it isn't, then it's just a big pile of crap.

As for Slate's question of whether the 20-odd-year trend in hyper-experimental Spanish cooking will leave a long-lasting mark, well, we'll probably have to stay tuned. Likely, some techniques will become part of the long-term landscape, while others go away to die. What will become of Micrifilm? We'll let Pim cover that one.

Fish Foam and Spherified Mango Juice: Will Spanish Avant-Garde Cuisine Stand The Test Of Time? [Slate]
L'Esguard: Quite possibly the worst meal of my life [Chez Pim]
Photo: Salmon wrapped in Micrifilm at L'Esguard [Chez Pim]

According to Frodnesor over at Chowhound, the Nexxt Cafe on Miracle Mile, which has been open for just a few months, is now sporting a sign that says "permanently closed." Guess they never quite recovered from the health code violations in late 2007.

What would you like to see come to the Mile next?

Nexxt Cafe (on Miracle Mile) [Chowhound]
Nexxt Cafe [MenuPages]
Nexxt Cafe [Official Site]

Photo of the Thai steak salad at Nexxt: brandon shigeta [Flickr]

We imagine our parents laughing while reading New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov's article over whether or not to let his 16- and 17-year-old sons drink wine with dinner. He consults experts, some of whom tell him to give them sips, others who advise enforcing a strict no-alcohol policy until 21. (One even wishes the drinking age were 25!)

This was one issue that our parents never thought twice about, which is why, perhaps, Asimov's hand-wringing seems a little silly. Alcohol was never forbidden; if we wanted a sip of something, we could have it. For as long as we can remember, we had our own wine glass at dinnertime — it was just a lot less full than the other glasses. We were never offered beer or cocktails until we were 18 and had returned from college.

The other MenuPages editors had similar stories. MP: Boston's Leila was allowed a glass of wine with dinner throughout her teenaged years. Adam of MP: San Francisco was still in elementary school when he started taking sips from his parents' cups, although he didn't begin drinking wine or beer with dinner until he was 18. Neal of MP: Philadelphia was 14 when he was allowed a glass of wine on holidays and special occasions, and Adam of MP: Chicago wasn't all that interested in wine when he was first offered it at 14 or 15, but by 17 he was drinking wine with dinner and by 20 was sharing scotch with his parents.

So it's not exactly a representative sample, but it's telling that none of us has had any real drinking problems. Sure, we all drank more than we should have in college (didn't everyone?), but there are no stomach-pumping incidents or DUIs to report. Just a few bad hangovers. Which makes us think that Asimov should just chill out and let his kids have a glass of wine.

Can Sips at Home Prevent Binges? [New York Times]

Photo: gakrid [Flickr]

Look at the color on that thing. All sorts of seafood and rice in a gorgeous broth. You'll find this moqueca, a Brazilian seafood stew, at Sushi Samba Dromo on Miami Beach, where it comes with shrimp, squid, cod, crayfish, coconut milk, cashews, dende (palm) oil and chimichurri rice. The restaurant offers a lunch portion of the stew for $20 (it's $24 at dinner time). Cacao Restaurant in Coral Gables also features a lunchtime moqueca for $15. And for $14, you can get the catch of the day cooked moqueca-style at Oba Oba in Coconut Creek.

Moqueca [Wikipedia]
Sushi Samba Dromo [MenuPages]
Cacao Restaurant [MenuPages]
Oba Oba [MenuPages]

Photo: Masala Cha [Flickr]

• USAID cutting non-emergency food aid as prices soar [AllAfrica]
• Burmese refugees in Thailand going on an unexpected diet! [IHT]
• Illegal garbage dumps poison Italy's buffalo mozzarella industry [NYTimes]
• Ill. ties hunting and fishing licenses to child support payments [Tribune]
• Underground sugar economy taking hold in Calif. schools [Telegraph]
• Honduran president defiantly eats salmonella melon [CNN]

We try to cover every inch of South Florida from Jupiter to Key West, but it's hard. Which is why we need your help. We're looking for a stringer to expand our coverage of Broward and Palm Beach County restaurants. We'd like someone who'd be able to supply one post per day about restaurant happenings in the area, suggestions on where to eat in certain neighborhoods, and what kinds of bargains can be had at high-end restaurants, among other things. Pay is competitive and on a per-post basis.

To apply, e-mail a 200-word sample blog post about the three best places to eat in your immediate neighborhood to southflorida_editor AT menupages.com.

While celebrity chefs and other food personalities don't seem to be hurting for gigs and endorsement deals, actual restaurants are feeling the economic pinch right about now. Does that mean that food porn is more popular than actual food?

Over the weekend the trade magazine Restaurants and Institutions linked on its site an article from the Baltimore Sun that made the case that a faltering economy is leading to scrimping among restaurant customers:

Amid gloomy economic trends - falling real estate values, layoffs and stock market volatility - many consumers are changing their spending habits. And eating out is among the first expenses they look to trim in times of economic uncertainty, economists say. Consumers can adjust "in terms of frequency, spending levels and venues," said Bob Goldin, executive vice president of Technomic Inc., a food industry consulting and research firm.

But even as the trade rags paint a bleak economic picture for restaurants, restaurant-related media shows no sign of slowing down. Last month, the Baltimore Sun reported on the continuing popularity of the Food Network:

Now, almost 15 years later, the Food Network is going strong. In 2007, it had 90 million subscribers, which, according to Derek Baine, cable analyst with SNL Kagan, puts it on a par with such cable stalwarts as ESPN, Nickelodeon and MTV.

But for all the public's appetite for food media, where is its appetite for food? Perhaps the glossy pictures, lingo-filled dialogue and industry gossip work as a stand-in for the real experience for those unable to spring for frequent restaurant meals in these lean times.

Frankly, we hope not. Eating out is a good way to make a regular old evening special and can be done on the relative cheap. Part of the fun in eating out comes with discovering that perfect menu for your budget. We happen to know a great website that can help with that. Just saying.

CONSUMERS CUT WHERE THEY CAN; AREA RESTAURANTS, SMALL BUSINESSES SUFFER [Baltimore Sun, via Restaurants and Institutions]
Stagflation [Waiterrant]
From 'dump, stir' to reality, Food Network still cookingFrom 'dump, stir' to reality, Food Network still cooking [Baltimore Sun]
The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party's Over [NY Times]
Abstract: Chef on the Edge [New Yorker]
Photo: Courtesy of Sisudave [Flickr]

We were perusing the daily drink specials over at Hooligan's Pub & Oyster Bar in South Miami when our eyes caught "$1 pitchers." Initial reaction: WOW. Then we saw: 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. Unfortunately, that's a little past our bedtime, especially on a Tuesday night. But hey, if you're up at that hour, that's a pretty awesome deal. There's also a beer pong tournament at midnight. Makes sense, of course, since it's college night.

If you're like us (i.e. not a night owl), Hooligan's has happy hour every day from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m., when 20-ounce drafts are $4.75-$6.75. Show up after 5 p.m. and the oysters are $4.95 per dozen.

Hooligan's Pub & Oyster Bar [MenuPages]
Hooligan's Pub & Oyster Bar [Official Site]

Photo: minntyfresh [Flickr]

The Comoros, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean halfway between Mozambique and Madagascar, recently squashed a coup attempt on one of its three islands in a rather hilarious manner. Reuters reports that no one was injured in the invasion, and the rebel leader "was believed to have dressed up as a woman and to be trying to escape by boat to the nearby French-run island of Mayotte." They always try to escape to Mayotte! We make light of this because Comoros has had bloodless coups and coup attempts on average of once a year since it declared independence from France in the 1970s. National motto in this beautiful but isolated country of 700,000: "there's nothing to do, so let's have a coup!" (Their actual motto is "Unity - Solidarity - Development," but very few of those things have happened.)

This is a perfect opportunity to bring up the country's delightful and virtually unknown cuisine. Its basis is the standard Swahili assortment of coconut-based curries served with grilled meats and fish, fortified with Indian snack food and graced with a dollop of the French sandwich aesthetic. When we visited a few years ago, our very favorite food item was a particular sliced hard-boiled egg and cucumber sandwich, served in shops around the capital on fresh-baked baguettes (France's most laudable colonial legacy) with mayonnaise and spectacularly ripe tomato. We might have been biased toward the sandwich since we had been stuck in Africa for several months without decent bread, but we will say with some surety that it is was an artful combination of simple, fresh ingredients, and thoroughly satisfying to eat with two hands.

Our second favorite dish was tuna sambusas, which are basically like samosas but less flaky:

On mainland Africa, they're usually filled with beef or lentils, but here, it's a lot easier to source tuna than cow or pulses. At four to the dollar or so, one could really go to town on these.

Our third favorite dish was a beverage: tap water. After a few days, we were running low on funds to pay for the incredibly expensive French bottles that were the only available water supply in the marketplaces. Why no local bottled water like in every other country, we wondered? How do the people afford it? Surely they weren't drinking tap water, the septic scourge of the global South! But after several locals told us it was okay, we tried a glass and a light bulb went off: the country is a volcanic island chain, and we were sipping pure volcanic spring water! Don't tell anyone, or the next thing you know it'll be crawling with Fiji executives.

Oh yes, they also have crazy-looking lobsters for you to eat:

If you go, avoid: the incredibly sour injera-like sponge cakes they try to serve you with fish curries. Ask for rice instead. Also, manioc; it's just not a very good tuber. [Um, untrue. – Ed.]Finally, plan your trip around avoiding election day &mdash they close all the roads in the country, and you'll have to hitch a ride with the Army. But it turns out the soldiers are quite friendly!

Comoros Claims Control Of Rebel Island [Reuters]
Comoros [Wikipedia]

[Photos: Lunchtime spread &mdash aidjihad/flickr; tuna sambusas &mdash kaysha/flickr (even though kaysha calls them samosas, they're really sambusas); lobster &mdash hughdoulton/flickr]

• Food writer Michael Ruhlman stops by Forte Di Asprinio and is pleasantly surprised. [Michael Ruhlman]

• Sara falls in love with Indomania in Miami Beach. [All Purpose Dark]

• Paula gives us gorgeous photos of green mangoes on a street cart in Cartagena, Colombia. [mango&lime]\

• That TV dinner at the Big Pink is a lot of food. [FoodTastic!]

• How many times must we say breakfast cures obesity? [NYTimes]
• Portly Wales bans junk food from its hospitals [BBCNews]
• There's some kind of crazy poison honey going around NZ! [NZHerald]
• Note to Jared Diamond: corn's been in S. America 4eva [ScienceDaily]
• Canada's McD's to celebrate Earth Hour by dimming lights [NewsWire]

We have no idea what the seared tuna dish shown above tastes like, but we so badly want to sink our teeth into it, mercury levels be damned. You can find this dish, which comes with vegetable wraps, at Abokado in Mary Brickell Village.

We love the concept of Latin/Sushi fusion, although initial reviews have been fairly lukewarm. Here's what consumable Joy had to say about it after a visit this weekend:

All the food was beautifully presented, and it tries hard to be great. It may be trying a little bit too hard. We loved the way the food looked, and we enjoyed getting the plates with multiple flavors. Not all the flavors worked however, some overwhelming their bases they were supposed to be carrying, and others simply not carrying much flavor at all. The "nachos" -- tempura shiso leaf with sort of a tuna tartare on top -- were "pretty good" according to the DH, but "not so-shiso-y" because the batter was a bit too much for the delicate leaf. The rolls were ambitiously designed and fun to eat, but none of them have stuck in the mind enough for us to recall their precise names.

Abokado [MenuPages]
Abokado [Official Site]
First Visit: Abokado [consumableJoy]

Photo: miami fever [Flickr]

Since reading this week's New Yorker profile of Momofuku chef David Chang, we've been fascinated with the idea of eating ostrich eggs. Early in the piece, Chang describes trying to cook one, with unappetizing results:

I wanted to pretend I was Fred Flintstone. So I got a big rondeau, put like two inches of oil, and I was gonna deep-fry the motherfucker, but there was so much water content in the white that it just sort of dispersed. It looked like cottage cheese.

We poked around online to see if there are any success stories of ostrich egg eating. After all, people have been trying to make ostriches a commercially viable livestock product for years, so there must be somebody out there promoting the eggs. We found some basic guidelines from the Indian Point Ostrich Ranch in Tehachapi (Kern County), Calif. Also a Chowhound thread on the topic. But our quick search couldn't turn up any in-depth recipes using the massive protein balls.

Meanwhile, the profile on Chang is great. Aside from the ostrich egg thing, he's inspiring both as a chef and a manager of people. The transcript of his speech to his staff is simultaneously riveting and shaming as you realize you don't even come close to understanding the word "dedication" as he does.

Abstract: Chef on the Edge [New Yorker]
Ostrich Eggs Are Edible [Indian Point Ostrich Ranch]
Ostrich Eggs?!? [Chowhound]
Momofuku Noodle Bar [MenuPages]
Momofuku Noodle Bar [Official Site]
Photo credit: Bartly2005 [Flickr]

[Above: First Lady Laura Bush with 2008 state Easter eggs]

The White House has a lot of great food traditions, from the presidential pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey to the traditional cheeseburger pizza enjoyed by George W. Bush. There's also, of course, a great to-do over holiday meals, not the least of which is Easter brunch. Thanks to Time magazine, we're pasting this year's menu below. Don't you wish you'd been invited?

Also, check the link below the menu to the 2008 state Easter eggs.

THE WHITE HOUSE

OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY

MENU FOR

EASTER BRUNCH

Honey Baked Ham with Maple Mustard Sauce

Eggs Benedict

Bacon

Biscuits

Spinach Salad

Waffles

Sautéed Asparagus

Cheese Grits

Fresh Fruit Platter

Double Coconut Layer Cake

Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries

2008 State Easter Eggs [White House]
White House Menu for Easter Brunch [Time]
Photo courtesy of the White House

The state is expected to face a $3.5 billion budget shortfall, so Stuart Blumberg, president and CEO of the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association, suggested that restaurants pick up the slack with a two percent tax on all food and beverage sales.

It also resolves an inequity between hotels and restaurants, he says. "By agreeing to a bed tax, the hotels have been carrying the burden for 30-plus years. Our partners in the restaurant industry haven't contributed anything except sales tax."

Not so fast, argues Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association President and CEO Carol Dover. In 2007, restaurants paid $3.9 billion in taxes. Furthermore, bed tax revenue must be used for tourism-related activities, such as ad campaigns and convention center expansions, not budget shortfalls, Dover says.

And unlike hotels, where the customer base is mostly from out of state, it's locals who fuel the restaurant industry. "Stu's contention that this will only affect tourists is just wrong," says Dover.

And in other news, remember that toilet paper bill the Florida legislature was considering? The state House of Representatives decided to drop the bill, since state regulators already include bathrooms in restaurant inspections.

Hotel lobbyist proposes 2% restaurant tax [Orlando Business Journal]
House discards toilet-paper bill aimed at restaurants [Orlando Sentinel]
Fla Legislators Wasting Time On Toilet Paper [MP: South Florida]

• Popeye's founder dies at 64 of scary saliva gland cancer [LATimes]
• KFC, bowing to healthy eating craze, introduces grilled chicken [USAToday]
• A primer on umami, if you've been living under a culinary rock [Tribune]
• After talking a good game, WFP now really needs emergency $500m [AFP]
• Nestle complaining that biofuels wiping out our food supply, etc. [SwissInfo]

Big news on the labor front from a big chain that's been all up in the headlines: After losing a big huge class-action suit in California, Starbucks has to pay more than $100 million to about 120,000 current and former baristas in that state whose tips it diverted to shift supervisors.

In California, owners, managers or other “agents” of business owners can't share in tips. In the first phase of the class-action suit, [San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia] Cowett ruled that shift supervisors were essentially agents under state labor law, and therefore the company's policy allowing them to share in tips violated that law.

The company argued that shift supervisors were not managers or supervisors, that they performed many of the same tasks as baristas, and should share in the tips.

As the coffee giant clamors to extract itself from its scalding pot of labor trouble, we were just a little delighted to discover that a heating element in that pot is the Industrial Workers of the World. That's right, at least some Starbucks workers are organized with the party of Eugene Debs and Utah Phillips. Wow. Could it be there's power in a union after all? This one's for you, Wobblies! From now on we're taking our coffee red.

Starbucks ruling: Pay $105 million in tips case [San Diego Union Tribune]
Starbucks Union [Main Site]
Starbucks [Main Site]
Industrial Workers of the World [Wikipedia]

It's Friday. We won't keep you. Just wanted to put in a word for one of our favorite courses. And who better to sing it for us than the Mighty Boosh? Nobody, that's who. So here you go: The Soup Song

• Starbucks whacked for $100m in Calif. baristi tip lawsuit [LATimes]
• If you YouTube your taco-related misdemeanors, you go to jail! [AP]
• Seemingly moral Volvo fined $20m in Iraqi oil-for-food schemes [Forbes]
• Newly discovered giant Antarctic marine species probably taste bad [NYTimes]
• Food makers' plan to weather recession: probiotics, i.e. health food [Reuters]

It didn't occur to us until seeing the below video that we've actually eaten this creature:

But we have and it was pretty good. On the plate it looked a bit like this (the white ones on the left):

It's called geoduck (pronounced gooey duck), but was listed on the menu as "giant clam," which we pictured looking more like this:

But of course that's something altogether different. Want to know how they turn that phallic mollusk into a pretty piece of sushi or sashimi? Serious Eats pulled this video from the Discovery Channel. We love Mike Rowe:

In Videos: Preparing Geoduck on Dirty Jobs [Required Eating]

Photos:
Geoduck in tank: Bee [Flickr]
Geoduck sushi: Mike Yung [Flickr]
Giant Clam: Barrierreefaustralia.com

The Dune Oceanfront Burger Lounge just opened yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton on Key Biscayne, but the burgers first appeared at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival's Burger Bash. They didn't win, but they were up against some stiff competition.

The burgers start at $16 for "The American Classic"; on the other end is a plate of Kobe beef sliders with sauteed foie gras and picolit grape jam. That is one pricey burger. But hey, at least the fries are included. You can also get a Chicago-style hot dog and a mini burger or a burger with fresh bacon and blue cheese froth. And if you'd like a cocktail with that, well, that'll set you back another $15.

Dune Oceanfront Burger Lounge [MenuPages]
Dune Oceanfront Burger Lounge [Official Site]

Just as you can't keep away from the farmer's market to try out all the produce newly coming into season, it's hard to keep away from the flea market, where that totally cool, vintage cutlery service refuses to let you go home without it. Let this happen a few times and you'll have a fork explosion, and that could hurt. But what to do with the stuff you're not using anymore? Unlike last week's farmer's market goodies it doesn't naturally disappear.

The folks at Boing Boing today showcased artist Osian Batyka-Williams, who is putting all those old forks, knives and spoons to good use elsewhere in the kitchen or dining room by making chairs out of them. Hope the tines are faced the right way!

Chair Made From Old Cutlery [Boing Boing]
Osian Batyka-Williams [Official Site]

• The service is clueless, but the food is good at Brosia. The staff actually fawned over a loud woman who claimed to be a restaurant critic while ignoring Victoria Pesce Elliott. Busted! [Miami Herald]

• Taste of Bombay serves some of the best Indian food in the area in a hole-in-the-wall downtown location. [Miami Herald]

• Lee Klein recommends Adriana restaurant for the food, despite the chill he felt from the staff. [Miami New Times]

• In Broward, the Herald does a roundup of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurants: Avra Taverna, Giorgio's Bakery & Bistro, and Al-Salam Mediterranean Food. [Miami Herald]

• The Famous Kosher Restaurant in Aventura fills the void that will soon be created by the upcoming closing of Rascal House. [Miami New Times]

• "Have you ever wondered what it might be like to go back in time — say, to a little European restaurant circa 1954? La Brochette has the answer. That it has it in Cooper City in 2008 is practically surreal." Also, the food sounds excellent. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• It's not a full review, but Gail Shepherd likes what she's seen and eaten at Forte Di Asprinio so far. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• So the ambiance doesn't necessarily transport you to France (Charles Passy felt like he was "in a condo community's misinterpreted version of a Bastille Day party"), but at least the food at Le Mistral is spot on. [Palm Beach Post]

• Given the new economic reality, can we start reclaiming farmland? [NYTimes]
• Sbux to grind beans in-store again. Will its coffee finally be drinkable? [USAToday]
• Would you go to Mars if you had to eat silkworm pupae cookies? [NewScientists]
• Homeland's new scare tactic: bioterror in our food supply! (Plausible...) [CQPolitics]
• North Korea cuts food supply during famine; but the people rejoice anyway! [AFP]

Word's been circling the internets today that famed art collector Charles Saatchi, husband of famed British chef Nigella Lawson, lost about 50 pounds in 10 months eating nothing but eggs. Seems like an extreme (and extremely uncomfortable) version of the Atkins diet.

We wrote the feat off as impossible, not just because it's unclear that the diet would be effective, but who in their right mind could stand to live on an all-egg diet for nearly a year? Well, it turns out that just because there's one ingredient in your food, that doesn't mean there's no diversity. A conveniently timed (and beautiful) slideshow ran on Gourmet's website today showcasing a dozen types of eggs. Please check it out. It's great. Click the photo to get there.

A Dozen Eggs [Gourmet]
Out of His Shell [The Grinder]

Plum took a tour of the Café Bustelo factory and spoke with the family about the operation. Did you know that they're planning on starting coffee shops? The first one is slated to open in the Gansevoort South in Miami Beach. We'd recommend they work on getting a website too. It might help.

Café Bustelo [Plum]
Gansevoort South [Official Site]

The article on fat foodies in today's New York Times definitely caught the eye of those of us here at MenuPages and, we're betting, a good segment of our readership. We're all a bit food-obsessed and all probably not as good at moderation as we'd like to be.

MenuPages has a pretty svelte staff &mdash we all work hard to avoid joining what the Times calls the "Fat Pack" &mdash but surely we can all (staff and readers alike) use the reminder to maintain a high vegetable intake and a sharp eye on the fatty meats and bulky breads.

Of course, none of us here at MP has written a whole book on hamburgers like Grub Street's Josh Ozersky. In a post Monday, he decried a "lite" future:

...as we told [New York Times reporter Kim] Severson, the day we start eating salad she’s welcome to our place at the table. Grub Street may cost us the vitality of our once-springy carcass, but by God the work will go on!

When you've made a profession out of high-fat foods, we imagine it is difficult to switch to salads and lentils. Though many journalists, chefs and bloggers interviewed for the piece have made lifestyle changes, dropping weight and cholesterol counts on doctors' orders, a certain machismo remains, as seen in Ozersky's defiant post.

MP: South Florida editor Carolina Bolado pointed out that most of the interviewees were men, and that the attitude of machismo &mdash at least as represented by the Times &mdash seemed a decidedly male one. "I blame television and its constant pairing of fat guys with gorgeous women," she wrote in an instant message.

Whatever the reason for the disregard of health concerns, it would be a wise choice for foodies of all stripes to remember that the cost of incurring diet-related health problems skyrockets once the problems are in place and chronic. This is the most literal version of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound (or 100) of cure.

The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party's Over [NY Times]
New York Times to "Wonder" How Bloggers Stay Alive [Grubstreet]
Photo credit: mono1980 [Flickr]

We got a hold of Kris Wessel by cell phone yesterday to talk about his new restaurant Red Light on the premises of Motel Blu on Biscayne Boulevard; it's set to open as soon as he gets everything straightened out with Tallahassee. You might remember him from Liaison on South Beach and Elia in Bal Harbour, neither of which is still around. He also helped launch Paninoteca on Lincoln Road.

MP: What's with the delays?
Kris: I’m actually being held back by Tallahassee on the food license. They lost the application in December. It’s a big issue with us and the regional inspection office. We’re still about three weeks out from serving food.

I’m pissed, needless to say. I’ve written my local commissioners. They’ve now held me up for a month and a half. I don’t have time to get into lawsuits and things like that. I’m at the mercy of the state. Not only do I find a restaurant in a beaten-down drug and prostitute motel, but now at the end of the road the state is giving me this surprise.

MP: Speaking of the motel, how did you decide on this location?
Kris: I was driving my daughters home about three years ago, and I looked out of the corner of my eye at this motel with broken windows. And I saw three letters and “restaurant.” It was a jungle of iguanas, manatees and turtles. At least that’s what my daughter saw. What I saw were crack addicts and prostitutes in this old abandoned Chinese restaurant. Now that I’ve pulled everything together, I’m noticing the manatees and turtles more.

MP: Manatees? Seriously?
Kris: It’s one of the largest migrations of manatees in South Florida. And they turn around at the dam, so I get them going in and going out. The manatee association sent me brand new manatee signs. They love me. And the birds from the El Portal bird sanctuary — they fly and inhabit this river. All on Biscayne Boulevard!

MP: What will the food be like?
Kris: I call it regional dining in the sense of the region of the southeast, but if you look at the southeast from the South, to Florida, to the Caribbean, to South America — everything that influences this region. That, blended with a dominance of organic foods. And all the menu categories will be subdivided into technique and protein and veg, and any starch will be on the side. I also have a little red smokehouse down on the water, and I have a section on the menu of smoked proteins. Lots of tropical fruit that is very easily had will be all over the menu. It won't be so overly Florida — it's a regional organic-driven restaurant.

A few extra details we learned about the restaurant: there will be a raw bar down by the water, a main bar upstairs, and eventually a lounge. Wessel has also set up lots of riverfront dining, so you can watch the manatees (manatees!) swim by. Valet parking will be free. The bar will be open in two weeks, from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m., but there won't be any food until the license from Tallahassee comes through, and that will likely take at least three weeks.

Photo: James Beard Foundation

• USDA admits yet again that our food safety system is in trouble [Reuters]
• Package food bloggers being used as patsies by food companies [AP]
• Amish groceries stores selling expired "salvage" groceries! [ABCNews]
• Mushrooms, mysterious and delicious, are also really healthy [Tribune]
• This just in: many food bloggers and critics are very fat! [NYTimes]

Okay, these weird things have been getting a lot of attention recently, so let's get into them. The warm weather is just a few short weeks away and we know you'll be looking for a cold, refreshing, um, briny treat. Enter: The Picklesickle.

Can a food become a viral phenomenon? We wouldn't have thought so either, but it seems just about every foodie, blogger and collector of weird things has something to say about these, whether it's "eww," or "tempting," and the proof's in the sales.

Chow's Grinder blog highlighted the weird snacks &mdash invented by a Texas roller-rink owner &mdash in a post today, and the Picklesickle website proudly links an article and video from last week's Washington Post. They've been getting little shout-outs for months, which we're sure has to do with the 20,000-per-month sales figure in the Post's article. At that rate, they must be cultivating some real fans, right? Not just novelty collectors? But who would want to eat such a thing? Better order a box and find out.

Closet Pickle Juice Fans Rejoice [The Grinder]
The Texas Treat With a Juicy Tale [Washington Post]
Bob's Pickle Pops [Official Site]
Image courtesy of Picklesickle.com

This list published in the UK's Guardian is ambitious, to say the least. In 10 cities worldwide, it attempts to pinpoint the best spot for the most famous cuisine, such as pizza in Naples and sushi in Tokyo. Wow. Seems unlikely they could do it, but they use local experts and seem to have a good handle on the scene in each city.

Our bet is that while most of the places listed are likely not the unanimous choice for the very best in their league, they're probably as good as you can hope for if you're just passing through a city on vacation. However, now that they've made the list, will they stay as good or as fun to visit as they were? Will hordes of British tourists pack L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples any more than they had before?

Maybe, but that doesn't mean you can't explore the city on your own and use that recommendation as a back-up. That's the good thing about guides like this. They're just suggestions. And it's sure fun to read in the meantime.

Globe Troughing [Guardian UK]
Royale [MenuPages]

Photo Credit: Benzamg [Flickr]

• There's plenty of authentic and tasty Mexican food to be had at Guadalajara. [FoodTastic!]

• Apparently it was a Mexican food weekend at FoodTastic!, because Hilda visited Poblano Cocina Mexicana, where she had duck in mole sauce. We'd never thought of duck mole, but boy does that sound way more exciting that the typical chicken or turkey mole. [FoodTastic!]

• Charles Passy laments the passing of two of his favorite restaurants and braces for the closings that are sure to come when the slow summer months and the recession collide. [The Hungry Man]

• The grand opening at the new Novecento in Coral Gables isn't until March 26, but cJ got in for a pre-opening bite. [consumable Joy]

• Sara weighs in on the small plates phenomenon. [All Purpose Dark]

• When we read this Chowhound post by a new "Miami Design Distric" resident looking for a good place to eat, we imagined local chowhounds letting out a collective exasperated sigh at a question with such an obvious answer. [Chowhound]

Yes, it's true. Our jaw just dropped while reading the press release. Norman Van Aken was at Tavern-n-Town what, three months? Here's what Beachside Resort developer Robert Spottswood had to say about it:

I have the utmost respect and admiration for Norman; however, his creative vision doesn’t coincide with what we feel Beachside Resort needs at this time. Our parting is amicable, and Norman is remaining on as a consulting corporate chef for Spottswood Hotels. In that position, he will be exploring our participation in high end food and wine events and other culinary projects we have slated for the Florida Keys.

We’ve created a simple steak and fish house menu for Beachside that adheres to the high standards of quality that Van Aken instilled in the project. The new menu at Tavern N Town focuses on wood-grilled local fish, prime steaks, poultry and savory daily specials, along with steakhouse-style side dishes and a menu of small plates, served in a beautiful but laid back atmosphere.

Ask The Chef: Norman Van Aken [MP: South Florida]
Tavern-n-Town [MenuPages]
Tavern-n-Town [Official Site]

• Red Cross food traded for sex at Kenyan refugee camps [AllAfrica]
• America's lazy and fat zoo animals take cues from citizenry [AP]
• Travelocity: 75% consider food when making travel plans [BusinessWire]
• Reuters food conference: food expensive, people poor [Reuters]
• DoD reduced to reporting on chicken farms in rural Iraq [DefenseLink]

An environmental preservation group needs oyster shells. A local restaurant discards hundreds of oyster shells. There's an obvious solution that should be agreed upon pretty easily, right?

Not exactly. The Loxahatchee River District, the group that needs the shells to encourage oyster growth, has had a difficult time getting Jupiter-area restaurants to participate. Only The Crab House has agreed to help since the start of the project in October.

"We just haven't had any luck getting other restaurants to participate," said Jocelyn O'Neill, an organizer of the project. Besides The Crab House, she approached another handful of restaurants, but none was willing to participate.

The practice of oyster-shell recycling has grown in the past few years in a handful of areas; the discarded oyster shells are bundled together and attached to spots underwater. They become homes for larval-stage oysters, which float around looking for shells in which to settle. The oyster reefs in turn provide homes for other animals, like small fish, shrimp and crabs. An added benefit, one that's gotten some attention in New York City, is that oysters are nature's filtration system; an adult oyster can filter anywhere from five to 50 gallons of water per day.

There are small programs in place in the Boston area, the Chesapeake Bay and Southwest Florida, but it's really taken off in the Carolinas, where clearly they are serious about their oysters. Not only did North Carolina set up a number of oyster shell recycling sites (many of which appear to be either seafood restaurants or markets), but legislators also made it illegal to toss oyster shells into solid waste landfills (statute 130A-309.10). Residents and businesses also get a tax break of $1 per bushel of shells.

We're thinking this could be a great marketing tool for restaurants; imagine a sign in the front or a line on the menu that says "We recycle our oyster shells." It's cool to go green nowadays, and if a restaurant can do it at no cost, well, that's pretty great.

Loxahatchee River District [Official Site]
Scientists want you to save those oyster shells [Boston Globe]
In City Waters, Beds (and a Job) for Oysters [New York Times]
The Crab House [MenuPages]
The Crab House [Official Site]

Photo of a shell recycling area in Charleston, SC: huggingthecoast.com [Flickr]

This post on EpiCurious made us chuckle today. But why are there sunflower seeds in your soda bread? What made us salivate was the (ridiculously simple) recipe, forwarded by a friend, for the very same Irish classic. Forget corned beef and cabbage. We're eating soda bread today! Here's the recipe:

Here's a very simple and delicious and quick (and historical) irish soda bread recipe from The Society For The Preservation of Irish Soda Bread... make some tonight! in this recipe, you simulate the ancient/traditional irish bastible pot by using a dutch oven or 2 cake pans together... maybe 2 bread pans would work too...

irish soda bread
------------------------
4 cups all-purpose flour (though you can use any kind... i used spelt/oat)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
14 oz (which is 2 and 3/4 cup) buttermilk

method:
preheat oven to 425 degrees.
lightly grease and flour a cake pan/dutch oven bottom.

in a large bowl combine all dry ingredients.

add the buttermilk to form a sticky dough. place on floured surface and lightly, lightly knead (too much allows the gas to escape...) to make smooth/even. (add more flour/milk as needed.)

shape into a round, flat shape in the cake pan or dutch oven and cut a big X in the top of the dough.

cover the pan with the other pan face down (or put dutch oven top on) and bake for 25-30 minutes. remove top and bake until done... perhaps another 10-15 minutes depending how crisp and brown you want it.

the bottom of the bread will have a hollow sound when tapped when done.

cover the bread in a tea towel and lightly sprinkle water on the cloth to keep the bread moist...

best served warm with butter and jam! also good dipped in things like cabbage soup. does not last long since there aren't any preservatives... and because it's super delicious!

Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick's Day [Epi Log]
Society for the preservation of Irish Soda Bread
Photo credit: Zurika [Flickr]

It's World Water Week, when participating restaurants will ask diners to donate $1 for the tap water they drink with their meal to UNICEF's Tap Project, which works to get clean water to children around the globe.

Quite a few South Florida restaurants are participating in the program this week, so many in fact that we gave up trying to list all of them. So if you want to know which nearby restaurants are participating, just type in your zip code and find out. A few restaurants of note that are involved in the project: Tap Tap Haitian Restaurant (with a name like that, how could they not participate?), Sushi Samba Dromo, Spris Pizzeria, Jaguar, and Touch.

Drink water in Miami Beach, save lives [Miami Herald]
Tap Project [Official Site]

Slainte Irish Pub opened in Boynton Beach just in time for St. Patrick's Day. They've been partying all weekend with music, Irish dancing and tons of bangers and mash, corned beef sandwiches and fish and chips, but you can still catch the tail end of the festivities today.

Slainte [MenuPages]
Slainte [Official Site]

• Far more energy goes into food production than food transport [CNN]
• Non-horrible Canada does food aid by the ton, not by the dollar [Leader-Post]
• Manila to fast food chains: serve half-portions of rice, please [Reuters]
• 3rd year in a row of bumper grape crop boosts Oregon wine industry [Tribune]
• Sbux, briefly a music tastemaker, now mainstream profit whore again [NYTimes]
• ZOMG, corn flake shaped like Illinois for sale on eBay (now $182.50) [AP]

Today's South Florida Business Journal has a good story on how the sputtering economy is affecting the restaurant industry; it's worth reading if you've got a few minutes. Restaurateurs, like everyone else, are taking a hit, and it all goes back to the housing market (doesn't everything?):

And the slump at the dining table is also starting to take a bite out of state coffers at a time when lawmakers face huge budget cuts due to the housing bust.

Sales tax revenue collected on restaurants, bars, motels and entertainment activities is declining, according to Amy Baker, chief economist for the state House and Senate. "By the time we finish our estimates [for the year], we could probably be below last year's level. We believe that although it isn't officially called a recession yet, we will be in one. That affects all the other industries."

She said the real estate downturn is now leaking into other sectors.

"For most people, their home is their biggest asset, and when the market was doing well, people spent more and ate out more," Baker said. "When the housing market came out of the bubble and the national economy took a downturn, they didn't feel as wealthy and weren't as confident in spending."

Baker said she expects sales tax collections to fall even further.

This basically means that mediocre and bad restaurants are going to get weeded out. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. The good ones should be able to ride out the storm.

Restaurants starved for customers [South Florida Business Journal]

No matter where you live, you've probably heard of this legendary Brooklyn pizza joint known as Di Fara's. If you haven't, welcome to the big leagues, pizza lovers!

Brooklyn is, by many accounts, the nation's pizza capital. (Sorry Chicago. It kind of is). And Di Fara's is, by many of those same accounts, the best pizzeria in Brooklyn. So logic dictates that Di Fara's is the best pizzeria in the nation. At least by many accounts.

And many of those accountable for this opinion weighed in on an Epi-Log poll and voted Di Fara's the best on the East Coast. The result? We get a virtual photo-walk-through of the process of making a Di Fara's pizza. Not surprisingly, it all has to do with one dedicated pizza master. According to Epi, Domenico Di Fara's recipe for quite possibly the best pizza on earth boils down to this:

"I use only the freshest ingredients, the bufala mozzarella from the town I grew up in, the oregano and basil from Israel, tomatoes from Salerno, flour from Italy," he says with a smile. "That's the secret recipe."

Secrets of Di Fara Pizza [Epi Log]
Photo credit: Michael Y. Park [Epi Log]

• Paula checks out Blu Pizza e Cucina and finds the pizza pretty tasty. [mango&lime]

• The cupcake craze has finally reached Palm Beach County. [The Hungry Man]

• Sara Liss is interviewed on Plum about some new restaurants in Miami. [All Purpose Dark]

Talk about a real hit at a party. The New York Times' John Tierney posted a blog entry celebrating Pi Day, the geekiest holiday in the history of civilization, which happens to be today. First celebrated by the Exploratorium in San Francisco exactly 20 years ago, March 14 (3.14) is a day to sit back and marvel at the mathematical miracle that is pi.

Here are a couple of Tierney's food-related suggestions on how to ring in the day. Hold on to your pocket-protector:

There's a method of calculating pi that involves throwing hot dogs onto a piece of paper. You'll have to check out Wiki-How for that one.

You could eat a slice of pie at pi second: 1:59 p.m. (3.14 1:59)

Our own humble suggestion includes a nod to the time of year. We've been eating oranges like they're going out of style because, well, they are. At least, they're going out of season. But these globular fruits also encompass nature's love of a certain mathematical equation. So, using the round fruits and a round pie pan, please enjoy the following orange pie recipes.

Fresh Orange Pie [Recipe Zaar]
Mandarin Orange Pie [Essortment]
Orange Meringue Pie [Allrecipes]
Key Orange Pie [Diana's Kitchen]

Photo credit: Profkaren [Flickr]

Jeffrey Chodorow opens his second South Florida branch of China Grill in Fort Lauderdale today. The menu is much like the one at China Grill Sobe. Here are a few of the more intriguing items:

• Thai shrimp cakes with cactus-mango salsa and black mole vinaigrette
• Plum- and sesame-glazed lamb spare ribs (pictured above)
• Duck two ways: pan-seared breast, confit of leg, caramelized Asian fruit salsa, and lychee black vinegar reduction
• Sake-marinated "drunken" chicken with ponzu sauce, sweet crispy onions, and Asian slaw

Dinner service starts at 6 p.m. tonight, and lunch won't begin for another couple of weeks. But, unlike other China Grills, this location will start serving breakfast on Monday, since it's inside the Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel.

China Grill [MenuPages]
China Grill Sobe [MenuPages]
China Grill [Official Site]

Photo: Kat n Kim [Flickr]

• India farmer suicides peaking despite food prices and country's prosperity [Reuters]
• Pepsi aiming its new no-cal carbonated fruity "Tava" at the "reborn digital" [NYTimes]
• Frightened parents switching in droves from chemical-y plastic to glass bottles [AP]
• Five food additives that ought to scare the crap out of you! Or not really [Newsweek]
• Chinese really hammering home their contention that Olympic food will be safe [ChinaDaily]
• FAO identifies three dozen "crisis" countries facing food shortage crunches [WaPo]
• Never fear: Clooney and pals donate cash to keep Darfur food heli-delivery aloft [AFP]

[Above: wild local salmon at Farallon in San Francisco]

Another depressing bit of seafood news: Following on the heels of our general freakout over the likely shut-down of the West Coast salmon season, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a follow-up article today insinuating that the entire California and Oregon salmon fishing industry is on the verge of collapse. From the Chronicle:

Barbara Emley, 64, who has run a commercial fishing boat with her husband out of Fisherman's Wharf since 1985, said salmon makes up about 70 percent of her annual income.

"We'll probably try crabbing longer, but if everyone shifts from salmon to crab, there will be more competition," she said. "I think we can survive the year, but I'm afraid it will go on."

If the crisis continues, she said, it could spell the end of a unique, nomadic culture of people who love the sea.

But the Chronicle also quoted a chef who simply wouldn't use farm-raised.

"We'll stay away from salmon for a while," said Ryan Simas, the head chef atFarallon restaurant on Union Square. "I will definitely not use farmed salmon."

Paul Johnson, the president of Monterey Fish Market, a high-end seafood wholesaler at Pier 33 in San Francisco, with a retail market in Berkeley, said things won't be the same without local salmon.

"Oh man, I'm telling you the king (chinook) salmon is the icon in the Bay Area; this is going to be devastating to the economy," he said. "It's put everyone on edge. A lot of small-boat fishermen are going to go out of business."

Threat of closing jolts fishing industry [SF Chronicle]
So Long and Thanks for all the Fishing [The Grinder]
The King Of Sushi [CBS]
Farm-Raised Fish Given Tainted Food [Washington Post]
Farallon [MenuPages]
Farallon [Official Site]

Photo credit: Passionate Eater

Who doesn't love free pizza? Even bad pizza is still pizza, which is inherently awesome. We've never tried the pizza at Grotto in Palm Beach, but it does have something going for it: it's free during happy hour. The chef makes thin-crust pizzas with different toppings, and the slices are then handed out to those enjoying the drink specials: $2.50 draught beer (Moretti and Peroni), $5 house wines (a cabernet, a chianti, a pinot grigio and a chardonnay), and half-priced well drinks. And this happens every day between 3 and 7 p.m.

Grotto [MenuPages]
Grotto [Official Site]

Photo: Grotto Restaurants

Hilarious. You know, there can be a lot of fun in translation. Just ask the folks at Engrish. But rarely do you get a gem of this caliber. Ass-hot chicken? You know it! A plate of ass steak? Nothin' butt! (Sorry — that was cheeky.) Too bad there's no ass hot dog up there. Ah, the golden age of film...

Anyway, here's why this exists: It's a menu for a burger stand in Quebec, where they speak Franglais. "Ass" stands for "assiette," which basically means "assortment plate," according to Neatorama. But dude, by this time they have to know how funny it is. You've got to hand it to them for the sheer commitment. "Ass 2 pain?" We bet.

And what's with the soft-porn lamp hanging down there on the right? That thing deserves a menu board all its own.

Ass Burger! [Neatorama]

• Enrique Fernandez rounds up the smallish restaurant scene in Key Biscayne. [Miami Herald]

• Random nugget of information, from a St. Patrick's Day-themed article about John Martin's: did you know that when the owners first opened the pub in 1990, they had to petition the city because of a 1926 law that banned public bars in Coral Gables? [Miami Herald]

• The couple behind Upper Crust Cafe are now running another small cafe, Milk & Honey in Pembroke Pines. [Miami Herald]

• Lee Klein recommends the short ribs braised in pasilla chile at Abokado, which mostly plays it safe with the food. [Miami New Times]

• Most of the food at La Terrazza is okay, but the tiramisu is actually very good, according to Bill Citara. [Miami New Times]

• The food is great and the waitresses are comforting and efficient at City Diner in West Palm Beach. And apparently the grilled Reuben sandwich is incredible; Gail Shepherd called it "the single best thing I've ever put in my mouth." [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• All about strawberries, including where to eat them, where to pick them, and what to do with them. There's a recipe from Chef Jerome Le Teuff at the Ritz-Carlton in Manalapan for a chocolate berry martini that involves vanilla vodka, white and dark Godiva liqueurs, and strawberry puree that sounds fantastic. [Palm Beach Post]

• The service is spotty at Rocco's Tacos, but the food more than makes up for it. [Palm Beach Post]

• The menu at Thai-Sushi Express may not be innovative, but the sushi and the Thai standards are good. [Sun-Sentinel]

• Jake's Stone Crab Restaurant will cost you a pretty penny, but the seafood there is worth it. [Sun-Sentinel]

Just in case you might've thought that your Florida legislators are actually spending their time wisely:

A proposed law currently making its way through the Florida legislature might help you with what can be an embarrassing problem. Here's the bottom line, the bill would be a mandate that all eating establishment must have enough toilet paper when you go into the restroom.

The only problem is the bill doesn't dictate how much toilet paper is "enough."

State Senator Victor Crist, a Republican from Tampa, felt the problem was so important, a law must be passed to protect the backsides of anyone in Florida. The measure will also try to regulate the cleanliness of restrooms in eating establishments.

Crist, says in the bill, restaurant inspectors, "should also check the restrooms along with the kitchens to make sure that basic cleanliness necessities are in place."

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee approved the bill, SB 836, on Monday. It has two more stops to go and as long as it's not wiped out before then, it could then go to the Senate floor. A similar measure is currently awaiting passage by the House.

Proposed Law Looks to Wipe Out Problem [CBS4]

• Biofuels "2.0," i.e. cellulosic ethanol, to ease food crop demand [FoodNav]
• Can you grow fruit trees in your urban backyard? Sure, why not [NYTimes]
• Beef recall co. CEO somewhat unrepentant under Congressional scrutiny [Tribune]
• FDA discloses dozens of spinach sanitary violations it ignored [WaPo]
• CT school punishes, unpunishes star 8th grader for buying candy [AP]
• USDA kind of dicking Guam over on food stamps for admin. reasons [PNC]

Following our earlier post on the possible future reduction in meats, cheeses and flour on restaurant menus, a colleague pointed out that the food facing real trouble these days lives in the ocean.

In addition to the over-fished tuna featured on 60 Minutes earlier this year, the San Francisco Chronicle and a host of other West-Coast newspapers reported today that, due to abysmal salmon returns, this year's salmon fishing season may be canceled altogether. That means nobody fishes legally for salmon off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington.

The canceled season comes on the heels of an oil spill that shortened the Bay Area crab season, and follows a string of bad salmon years. It also joins news of high mercury levels in New York City-area tuna.

The upshot? Welcome the eve of destruction, seafood-wise. You may not have a hard time getting used to more vegetables and less meat on your restaurant menus, especially as livestock doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but will you be able to face a future with no wild-caught seafood? We will have a hard time of it. Better start paying attention to those sustainable seafood charts.

Feds warn entire salmon season could be halted [SF Chronicle]
Habitats: Overfishing Our Oceans [Nat'l Geographic]
The King Of Sushi [60 Mins]
High Mercury Levels Are Found in Tuna Sushi [NY Times]
Seafood Watch Pocket Guide [Monterey Acquarium]

Photo credit: Wilderness Classroom

We just stumbled upon this photo of the coconut creme brulee at Dolores, but you can call me Lolita, and we were reminded of just how much we adore creme brulee and its Spanish cousin crema catalana. Most of the creme brulees at restaurants are pretty standard versions, but we looked around and found a few interesting takes on it:

• Max's Grille in Palm Beach Gardens serves a mixed berry creme brulee in pie form. We're not quite sure how that works.

• At Prime One Twelve in Miami Beach, the Tahitian vanilla creme brulee comes with a stack of peppermint brownies.

• Talula in Miami Beach serves a sweet potato creme brulee with burnt marshmallows.

• And if dessert isn't quite your thing, Le Bistro serves a dinner entree of sea bass creme brulee that's caramelized on top with champagne cream underneath.

Dolores, but you can call me Lolita [MenuPages]
Max's Grille [MenuPages]
Prime One Twelve [MenuPages]
Talula [MenuPages]
Le Bistro [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr

Above: On the way out? A meaty meal at the Slanted Door

It's no secret that restaurants are tightening their belts economically. Rising food and fuel costs have led to smaller portions, less rich food and generally weaker value across the board for customers.

But we're wondering if that same economic frugality could lead to a literal belt-tightening among increasingly girthy consumers. From the Florida Times Union:

Beef, flour and cheese are among the commodities with rapidly inflating prices that are integral to running a restaurant. Flour prices alone shot up 67 percent between January 2007 and this January, according to Ephraim Leibtag, an economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. Cheese prices climbed 29 percent during that period, while beef costs increased a more modest 3.1 percent.

But rising prices have prompted a furious new round of behind-the-scenes shuffling. San Francisco's The Slanted Door is known for its rack of lamb. On many days, chef and owner Charles Phan offers a more-profitable lamb sirloin stir-fry instead, shaving his food costs by a third. It is a temporary fix that draws some complaints. "Everyone wants that rack," he says.

Localvorism already calls for more vegetables transported shorter distances, and the economic necessity might help integrate that into all our diets. As chefs play with spices and vegetable cooking techniques, we may not miss that big slab of meat as much, which will be good, because we may not be able to get it.

Restaurants on a diet in tight economy [Florida Times Union]
Cutback Cuisine [Wall Street Journal]
The Slanted Door [MenuPages]
The Slanted Door [Official Site]

Fourth. Not too shabby for Michael Schwartz, considering the really great restaurants he beat out. Here's what New York Times food critic Frank Bruni, who listed his top 10 best new restaurants outside of New York, had to say about Michael's Genuine Food & Drink:

And yet genuine is how this restaurant comes across. Once it leaves the dictionary behind, there are few games, no nonsense: just refreshingly straightforward cooking by a chef, Michael Schwartz, exercising an impulse shared by many peers these days. He’s ditching the haute for the homey and focusing more on sourcing than on saucing.

Don’t get me wrong: you most certainly can’t do this at home. You don’t have time to round up the range of ingredients that Mr. Schwartz has, especially the Florida black grouper, swordfish and pompano. And you’re highly unlikely to be equipped with a wood-fired oven, which is what he uses for a whole snapper ($15 a pound) with bulbs of fennel and, separately, a fat onion stuffed with cinnamon-scented ground lamb and apricots ($14).

But Mr. Schwartz is indeed going for the warmth and robustness of home cooking, along with its guiltiest, least sophisticated pleasures: chips (potato) and dip (onion) are on the menu, and you’d be lunatic not to order this ($6).

4. Michael's Genuine Food & Drink [New York Times]
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink [MenuPages]
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink [Official Site]

• Kroger, nation's largest grocery chain, stymied by food inflation [Tribune]
• Viral videos the new gold standard for animal rights activists [NYTimes]
• Did you know: high alcohol beers illegal through much of the South? [LATimes]
• The newest thing in wines is pairing to your taste bud profile [WaPo]
• Vietnam, bereft of McD's & Sbux, charts its own fast food course [WSJ]

Bad news in the follow-up to our Pink Grapefruit Mentos post yesterday: Candy Blog maven Cybele commented yesterday, and Mentos parent company Perfetti Van Melle confirmed in an e-mail today, that the pink pellets of grapefruit goodness are over and done for.

According to Jacqueline (no last name given) of PVM, "Pink Grapefruit was a limited time flavor and is no longer available." Oh. Okay, then. It would appear that the time is right for moving on, however now that seems impossible. Now that it's confirmed we'll never get to taste this candy that received a "10" from Candy Blogs, and that our friend went on and on about Sunday, it is the one and only goal we have left in life.

So what are your/our chances of ever tasting this mystery candy? Well, slim, obviously. Cybele indicated the grapefruit may still be in production for the Indonesian citrus-mix Mentos. Meanwhile, a Google search turned up a store in San Francisco, Miette, that is tracking the issue.

"Yes we have carried them in the past and I'm trying to find them again," says Miette Confisserie manager Kelly. "Currently, I'm searching for them. I'm trying to find a vendor." Kelly said the candies moved well, but that if they must be imported in future, the price may jump. It might still happen, though. These Miette people are enthusiastic about their candy. "We're in love with them. We're obsessed with the grapefruit flavor. We make a macaroon [and a layer cake] with grapefruit flavor and we carry Haro gummies. They make a white and a pink grapefruit slices... We also carry Jelly Bellies' pink grapefruit jelly beans."

Well, if anybody can track down this mystery sweet, surely Kelly will. Meanwhile, it looks like this will be a chocolate-and-jelly-bean kind of Easter. Boring.

Miette [MenuPages]
Miette [Official Site]
Perfetti Van Melle [Official Site]
Candy Blog [Official Site]
Photo: Jeffrey Zalesny [Flickr]

For $15.95, you can get a fair amount of food at Kaiyo in Islamorada, provided you show up between 5 and 7 p.m. Start with a miso soup or a salad of greens with gorgonzola, Asian pear and citrus dressing. Dessert is a chocolate torte or vanilla ice cream. Entrees can be any one of the following:

• Tuna Trilogy: yellowfin tataki, maguro sashimi, and bigeye sushi
• Grilled pork tenderloin with black beans, rice and plantains
• Shrimp with Thai red curry sauce and jasmine rice
• Sushi Plate: chef's selection of sushi, sashimi and roll
• Chicken teriyaki, jasmine rice and stir-fried vegetables
• Macadamia hogfish filet with mango sauce, jasmine rice and broccolini

Kaiyo [MenuPages]
Kaiyo [Official Site]

This? Is awesome. Thank God somebody over at Required Eating keeps up with Improv Everywhere, because we don't, or at least we haven't been (Welcome to day one), and there's a chance we would have missed this fantastic video. The so-called spontaneous musical takes place in a Los Angeles shopping mall, which is in on the joke and rigged with hidden cameras. The music, according to IE, is piped in through the mall's sound system. Watch and marvel, then click over to IE to get the inside scoop on how they did it.

Food Court Musical [Improv Everywhere]
'Spontaneous' Musical Performed in Mall Food Court [Required Eating]

• Frodnesor checks out Andu Restaurant & Lounge and Marinheiro Restaurant for drinks and dinner. The former was intriguing and worthy of a second visit; the latter, not so much. [Chowhound]

• Sara tells of a Newman's Own wine dinner she attended at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse for the launch of the wines. She includes photos too, which are making us hungry. [All Purpose Dark]

• Blind Mind declares the falafel wrap at Aladdin's Grill "damn good." [Blind Mind]

• cJ showed up at noon for lunch at Mint Leaf, but found that the owners weren't there yet, thanks to a daylight savings mishap. An hour later she returned for lunch and found the food good, the service a little slow, and the prices a bit high. [consumableJoy]

• A diner calls into question the propriety of naming a dessert "Chocolate Genocide" at the Gables Diner. The owner agreed to change the offending word, but not until after some arguments. [Coral Gables]

• Hilda loved the vegetarian fare at Woodlands and has great descriptions of each item she and her friends ordered. [FoodTastic!]

• Charles Passy has a few dining suggestions for John McCain on his next visit to Palm Beach County. [The Hungry Man]

• L2M is not happy about four proposed bills in the Florida legislature that will impose restrictions on shipping wine from out of state. [Spangdish]

The county's first standalone Chick-fil-A is opening in Doral on Thursday, which means if you want to be one of the 100 people who will get a year's worth of free food, you might want to head over there and start camping. Now. According to the press release:

A one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A(R) Combo Meals (52 coupons) will be awarded to each of the first 100 adults, age 18 and older with identification, at the new stand-alone restaurant in Doral. The line can begin forming up to 24 hours prior to the opening, with the prizes being given away on March 13 sometime between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. The restaurant will open for business immediately afterward.

Launched in 2003 to mark the opening of the chain's first stand-alone restaurant in Arizona, the First 100 Fans promotion continues to draw Chick-fil-A raving fans from all over the country. Armed with tents, computers, games and even swimming pools, campers turn the grand opening event into an all-night tailgate party.

"When we started the First 100 Fans promotion we were stunned when someone arrived 18 hours in advance and asked where he could wait in line," said Chick-fil-A, Inc. President Dan Cathy, who has camped out at dozens of openings. "Almost five years later, we've given away more than $7 million in free Chick-fil-A food across the country to raving fans who've braved snow, wind, rain and triple-digit temperatures to help us celebrate the opening of each new Chick-fil-A."

Miami-Dade County's First Stand-Alone Chick-fil-A Restaurant Opens March 13 in Doral [Miami Herald]
Chick-fil-A [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

• McDonald's sales up 12% over last February (paging Dr. Leap Day?) [Tribune]
• Nestle, smelling profits, to open Swiss chocolate research center [Bloomberg]
• Bandits now plundering half of WFP food deliveries in Darfur [AFP]
• Gorton's fish fillets recalled as pills found in ths sticks! [USAToday]
• We don't really know diddly-squat about the nanotech we're eating [The Age]
• 4oz wine and beer samples in supermarkets? Wa. state says, "sure"! [AP]

We just got our first review for Forte Di Asprinio, the much-anticipated restaurant from Top Chef Season 1 cheftestant Stephen Asprinio:

I have just tried Forte Di Asperinio on Clematis Street. I was hoping for something really great. While the concept is there (sort of) the vibe is very lacking. The stark white combined with cool purple and pink tones is simply not comfortable or hunger inducing. I found it hard to "indulge my senses" with the uptight vibe coming from the obviously stressed out (and over dressed) staff. This restaurant was clearly thought out in exact detail. I think the problem is with the (immature) perspective. The owner is obviously very young, stark and uptight himself. His presence made me uncomfortable. The food was pretty tasty. However, I would have enjoyed it more if the dining room wasn't so uncomfortable. The tables are too close together and the service is too in your face. This place needs to soften up and relax. Maybe then the food could stand out.

Forte Di Asprinio [MenuPages]
Forte Di Asprinio [Official Site]

Get ready, folks. With Easter around the corner, the internets are abuzz with opinions on egg-shaped confections. Whether they're plastic prize eggs filled with jelly beans or foil-wrapped Cadbury cream eggs, this is the season for ingesting far too much oval candy.

But before we get into the nitty gritty discussion of which Cadbury is the best (cream, duh), it's been suggested that a new, rare and highly valued candy join the pastel ranks left by that weird clucking rabbit. A friend yesterday described pink grapefruit Mentos as "the perfect blend of sweet and tart," and we concluded that with their pink color, minimal mess and apparently sophisticated flavor, they might be the perfect plastic-egg-stuffer for grown-ups.

But where to get these elusive treats? Our friend said they were purchased by chance from some corner store in Brooklyn, never to be seen there again. According to the Mentos website, "flavors of the world" include grape, mint and strawberry. But they're holding out on us.

An August, 2007 post on the Candy Blog documented the grapefruit flavor as part of a citrus assortment sold in the Phillipines, but there is little information currently online about where to find these candies in the here and now. If you have information, it would be welcome here. In the meantime, keep your eye out for these pink wonders and stock up if you find them. They don't stick around very long.

Mentos Plus Citrus Mix [Candy Blog]
Flavors Of The World [Mentos Official Site]
Photo credit: The Candy Blog

Sakura's owner is pumping $1.5 million into renovation and expansion of the current restaurant and re-naming it Soo-Woo Japanese Steakhouse, according to a Herald article that ran yesterday:

The renovations, expected to be completed in May, will add 1,500 square feet to the restaurant's current 3,500 square feet, a new glass-case sushi bar with interchangeable lighting, and 12 teppanyaki tables with stylish hood covers.

An is expecting the upgrades restaurant will boost annual sales by $3 million, but, he says, his focus is on bringing an original cultural treat to the area -- with an ambitious plan in mind.

''My ultimate goal is to put a quality Korean restaurant in every metropolitan city in the U.S.,'' said An, who is of Korean background. ``It's all about entertainment, making people laugh and having a good time.''

Doral's Japanese restaurant undergoes major expansion [Miami Herald]
Sakura Doral Japanese [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr

Oh my goodness, how awesome is this?! We love this idea, and if we had kids, we'd totally be up for this.

Tuscan Steak [MenuPages]

• MP: Philadelphia tells us that between rising flour prices and increased gas costs, pizza makers are having a tough time. And your pizza's about to get more expensive.

• We never particularly liked deep dish pizza, but the one in the photo that MP: Chicago provides looks tasty.

• MP: San Francisco is excited about a truck that may be serving Cuban sandwiches. Currently, the only other place that serves an authentic cubano charges nine dollars.

• MP: Boston shares video of a recent bacon-eating contest in Cambridge. According to one competitor, "bacon is special, bacon is sacred." Oh yes, it certainly is.

• Sara went to the StarChefs Rising Stars gala in Palm Beach, and both her photos and descriptions are mouth-watering. [All Purpose Dark]

• What are your fabulous five dishes in Miami? [Chowhound]

• A male bartender at Taverna Opa charged Manola $9 for her drink. A female bartender then charged her $12 for the same drink. She is not happy about it. [Sex and the Beach]

• Slow cooker brisket ... yum! [From the Test Kitchen]

• Paula tells of the Friday night beer-and-barbecue dinners at North One 10. The food looks pretty delicious. [mango&lime]

We've never been a big fan of an enormous, meat-laden breakfast. We love bacon and ham as much as the next guy, but we just don't like how an eggs-and-bacon breakfast tends to sit in our stomach for hours afterward. Buttery crepes, like the ones here from La Riviera at the Sofitel Miami, probably don't qualify as especially light, but paired with some strawberries, they look like the perfect breakfast to us.

La Riviera at the Sofitel Miami [MenuPages]
Sofitel [Official Site]

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.

The Smoking Rabbit is on the offensive. We can't say we've been inundated with reviews, but of the three that have come in, two were definite shills. An example:

WAS LOOKING FOR SOME WHERE DIFFERENT AND STUMBLED INTO A GREAT NEW RESTAURANT WHERE THE ATMOSPHERE IS COMFORTING ALONG WITH THE FOOD. GREAT MACK AND CHEESE AWESOME SCOLLOPS ,STEAK, SAUSAGES AND MORE. FRIENDS AND I HAD A GREAT TIME AND GREAT FOOD.

The waiters were obnoxious and the owner was a degenerate as well as an Anti-semite

And finally, we'll end on a positive note, with a review that came in just a couple hours ago for A-1 Thai Restaurant:

I lived right by A-1 Thai for a year, and I ordered take-out at least once in 10 days. The green chicken curry is really really good! I find the Thai places around here generally to be much pricier than the ones in Chicago, but this one isn't terrible. For a $12.00 green curry entree plus an extra rice, my hubby and I have plenty to eat for dinner. Highly recommend!

The ambiance is a bit cluttered. It seems like they went on a thai antique collection frenzy and just brought everything to the restaurant! Service is decent and food is good. So no complaints here. :)

If you have a valid voter registration card, Hurricane Grill & Wings has some free wings for you. Five free wings, in fact. The restaurant's Florida locations are serving registered voters a free appetizer portion of wings in support of re-holding the Democratic presidential primary in this state.

"We just want to do our part to show our fellow Floridians that their vote counts with us," Lori Cuonze, a spokesperson for the company, told the Jacksonville Business Journal. Which is a noble idea, really, but ... this isn't the general election, right? If the Democratic Party wants to re-hold the Florida primary, that's the party's prerogative; there is, unfortunately, no inalienable right to vote for a party's nominee. The whole idea behind this promotion strikes us as odd.

Anyway, hooray for free wings!

Hurricane Grill offers free wings to voters [Jacksonville Business Journal]
Hurricane Grill & Wings [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

• Enrique Fernandez learns how to make bacalao al pil pil from the chef at Sinfonía. [Miami Herald]

• Miyagi Sushi Bar is a hit in Homestead, and for good reason: big portions of good-to-great sushi and a BYOB policy with a mere $10 corkage. [Miami Herald]

• Lee Klein checks out the late-night South Beach hot spots: you can get real New York slices at Primo Pizza on Miami Beach, but stick to the milkshakes at Fatburger. [Miami New Times]

• Who knew you could get Armenian food in Hollywood? [Miami Herald]

• The Westin Diplomat's new restaurant, Aizia, earns three-and-a-half stars for its Asian fusion cuisine. [Miami Herald]

• The food at the new Taj Mahal falls somewhere between the first and second incarnations of the space's former tenant, Renaisa. [Miami New Times]

• Gail Shepherd explains how we're polluting our oceans and killing our food supply, but if you still want to eat some tasty fish, head to Ke'e Grill in Boca Raton. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• The Beer Guy is back with a visit to Kevro's Art Bar in Delray Beach. [Palm Beach Post]

The first time we tried mousse de maracujá, or passion fruit mousse, was at the house of a friend who'd immigrated from São Paulo a few years before. We stopped by with a few other friends, and her mom just happened to have some homemade passion fruit mousse in individual portions in the fridge. Some of the others tried a spoonful and declared it too sweet; we, on the other hand, laughed at the idea of anything being too sweet and made sure to scoop up every last drop of mousse from that bowl.

It's not too hard to find in this area; most Brazilian restaurants serve it regularly. Try checking Varanda's Cafeteria in Miami Beach, Feijão Com Arroz in Pompano Beach, Boteco in Miami and Deco Gourmet in Weston.

Varanda's Cafeteria [MenuPages]
Feijao Com Arroz [MenuPages]
Boteco [MenuPages]
Deco Gourmet [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr

We were just told that Pardo's Chicken, a rotisserie chicken chain from Peru, will be opening in Venivici's old spot in the Gables sometime soon. The only current U.S. location is in New York City, and we found quite a few reviews for it:

• From Goodies First:

We tried half a chicken brasa and half parrillero, the brasa being rotisserie style and parrillero a grilled boneless fillet. Who knows what the advertised 14 secret ingredients were, but salt is definitely one of them.... I preferred the classic spit-roasted version, both styles were juicy throughout, no cottony white meat. There are quite a few sides to choose from, we got yuquitas, commonly called yucca fries, which are rapidly becoming one of my favorite fried starches, and tacu tacu, which are croquettes of beans and rice mashed together into fat little logs. Mayonnaise and a creamy aji sauce using yellow South American chiles come on the side. Despite the cute name, tacu tacu was kind of dull, I would’ve expected more pizzazz from a fritter. I might try canario beans instead if I went again.

• From Chowhound:

While I only room enough for a quarter chicken, I was extremely impressed. The skin was super crispy and flavorful the spicing permeated every nook of the chicken. Moreover, they give you two accompanying sauces, one of which, the green peppercorn, is superb (the other, homemade mayonaise, paled in comparison).

Pardo's Chicken [Official Site]
Pardo's [MenuPages]
Pardo's [Goodies First]
Pardo's chicken - Just as good as now-defunct El Pollo [Chowhound]

Photo: Flickr

We always thought the uproar over MSG was a little overblown. (See also: red wine tannin headaches.) So we were happy to read this New York Times article about how the anti-MSG craze started and how the stuff has slowly inched its way back into tons of supermarket products.

Cooks around the world have remained dedicated to MSG, even though they may not know it by that name. As hydrolyzed soy protein or autolyzed yeast, it adds flavor to the canned chicken broth and to the packs of onion soup mix used by American home cooks, and to the cheese Goldfish crackers and the low-fat yogurts in many lunchboxes.

It is the taste of Marmite in the United Kingdom, of Golden Mountain sauce in Thailand, of Goya Sazón on the Latin islands of the Caribbean, of Salsa Lizano in Costa Rica and of Kewpie mayonnaise in Japan.

“It’s all the same thing: glutamate,” said Dr. Nuripa Chaudhari of the University of Miami, who was part of the first research team to identify human glutamate receptors.

Yes, MSG, the Secret Behind the Savor [New York Times]

Photo: Flickr

The BLT is one of our favorite sandwiches. It's especially good when we use our home-cured bacon, which we cut in thick, meaty pieces. (Mostly out of necessity; we don't have the equipment necessary for thin slices. But for the purposes of a BLT, thick slices are perfect.) This sandwich, from Marker 88 in Islamorada, takes the typical BLT a couple steps further by adding blackened shrimp. You'll also note that the contents of the sandwich are held together by a split croissant. Because we can always use a bit more butter in our lives.

Marker 88 [MenuPages]
Marker 88 [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

We have tried to get you the menu for Por Fin Restaurant. We've tried so very hard over the past month. We've called and been promised an e-mail menu multiple times. It never came. We've stopped by and asked to borrow a menu to make a copy at the Kinko's across the street. In that instance, we were told that the only one authorized to give out menus was the owner, and he wasn't around at the time. We've begged, pleaded, left messages, handed out business cards, and thoroughly annoyed the woman who answers the phones, and still we have no menu. We give up. We have 4,200 other restaurants to deal with, so we don't really have time to camp out at the door and wait for the day they will finally let us see a menu.

Here's where you can help us. If you happen to eat at Por Fin, perhaps you could photograph the menu. Or if you're especially persuasive, perhaps you might actually walk out of there with a copy of the menu. And if this miraculous event actually occurs, please please please get in touch with us.

Por Fin Restaurant [Official Site]

Thanks to a helpful chowhound, we learned that the renovations at the Fontainebleau, which should be done by July 2008, will include a number of restaurants, one of which will be a steakhouse. Of course. Anyway, here's the rundown of what's coming to the Fountainebleau sometime this year:

• Gotham Steak: Alfred Portale, of Gotham Bar & Grill, is behind this one. From the fact sheet: "The restaurant will expand upon the modern American steak house featuring raw seafood towers, an expanded menu of prime and exotic meats and a wine selection of more than 500 wines from around the world."

• "Italian Restaurant": This one apparently still is unnamed. What we do know is that it'll be helmed by Scott Conant and will feature a regional Italian menu. Conant currently has two New York City restaurants: L'Impero and Alto. Here's more: "The dining concept combines the honesty and simplicity of Italy’s cucina rustica with the ambitious efined notes of alta cucina. The food will be inspired by the seasons, using farm-fresh products – to be served during lunch and dinner."

• "Chinese Restaurant": Another unnamed restaurant, this one from Alan Yau, who has the only Michelin-rated Chinese restaurant in London.

• Oceanfront Grill: This restaurant, which overlooks the beach and the pool, will be the place for cocktails and tapas. More on the food: "Simply prepared southern French cuisine with an outstanding selection of appetizers oysters, Fruits de la Mer, salads, crudités, as well as char grilled seafood and meats will be complemented by refreshing chilled desserts."

Those are some fairly big names in the restaurant industry, and yet, we're a little underwhelmed. We're tired of steak, and, quite frankly, it's 80 degrees outside. The last thing we want to do is sit down to a huge butter-poached steak. And we're curious about how this seasonal farm-fresh menu will work at the Italian restaurant. Seasons here, and seasons in Italy, or New York for that matter, are very, very different.

Fontainebleau Fact Sheet [.pdf]
Anything newer or on the way to Dade? [Chowhound]
Photo: Flickr

• Sara interviews Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson at last week's SoBe festivities. [All Purpose Dark]

• Mint Leaf is packed already! [consumable Joy]

• Hilda and her husband have an excellent meal at Ruth's Chris Steak House in the Gables. [FoodTastic!]

• L2M suggests sticking to the basics at Abokado.

• There's a great discussion going on over at Chowhound about whether or not the new downtown restaurants are going to make it. We definitely need more warm bodies in those downtown condos. [Chowhound]

The new Regent at Bal Harbour's restaurant, 1 Bleu, opened just yesterday for dinner. So far, that's the only meal being served; they'll be adding lunch at some point in the next few weeks.

The menu hopscotches over the Mediterranean, as many fashionably overpriced restaurants do these days. Here's a little sample:

• Hawaiian Yellowfin Tuna Carpaccio with cepes confit, mache, truffled potato chips and xeres vinaigrette
• Seafood Mixta: grilled langoustines, clams, mussels, scallops, oysters, puntilla, trout roe, baby corn, saffron aioli, micro greens
• Moroccan lamb loin with grilled pineapple, coconut, dried fruit, and ginger flowers
• Prime-aged filet mignon and potatoes with creme fraiche foam

We would also like to point out the mention of "EVO Oil" listed with the "Local Day Boat Catch," which makes us think of Rachael Ray, which isn't a good thing.

1 Bleu [MenuPages]

It is scary out there. One minute you're heading back into Wendy's because the kid's meal you got for your four-year-old is missing, and the next minute you get a bullet to the head. That's what happened to the firefighter who took a lunch break at a Wendy's in West Palm Beach with his wife and son at the most inopportune moment:

Sandra Jackson of Palm Springs was filling her tank at the Cumberland Farms gas station across the street when the frantic customers began running out of the restaurant. Jackson said a woman rushed out with her young son, screaming that her husband, a firefighter, was still inside.

"I said 'what happened? what happened, its going to be ok,'" she said.

"She said, 'No there is a guy in Wendy's shooting and my husband hasn't come out.'"

The victim's wife works for the Palm Springs Police Department. She was hired in 2000 as a dispatcher for Palm Springs Police. In 2005, she became a corporal and now runs the midnight shift. She was uninjured. She had just stepped outside to put their 4-year-old son in the car. Apparently she was at the front door. After hearing gunshots, she took cover behind another car farther from the shooting. The couple has a number of children.

Two killed in shooting at Wendy's near West Palm Beach [Palm Beach Post]

The long-awaited restaurant from former Top Chef contestant Stephen Asprinio finally opened this past Saturday in Palm Beach. Forte Di Asprinio offers

We just got a copy of the menu -- it's extensive. There are two lunch menus, a "pronto" and a "prezzo fisso." The former has more options and is $15; you choose one antipasti, an entree (from paninis, salads and pizzas) and a dessert, and they're served all at once. The "prezzo fisso" is $25 and includes three courses, which are served one after the other. No sandwiches or pizza on this menu.

On to dinner. There's an a la carte menu as well as a "menu degustazione" for $65 or $95 with wine. Here's the "menu degustazione:"

• Kona kampachi with sunchokes, oregano-caper salsa verde, and pear
• Quail saltimboca "Lyonnaise" with pomegranate, guanciale croutons, and sage leaf
• Risotto al Chianti, with black truffle, porcini, and parmiggiano espuma
• Berkshire pork duet with almonds, golden beets, and borlotti beans
• Cioccolato: Amedai Tuscan torta, banana-dulce de leche gelato, and malt foam

But wait! There's more! The menu continues with an after hours selection of mussels, fish and chips, sliders, pizzettes, pork belly frites (!!!!), fries, popcorn and sweets to accompany your cocktails. We'll have the whole menu online tomorrow morning.

Forte Di Asprinio [Official Site]
Stephen Asprinio [Official Site]

The door in that photo is that of La Piaggia, the restaurant at Murano Grande, the luxury condo building at the very southern tip of Miami Beach. If you look closely, you might be able to make out "Private Club/Members Only" on the brown sign to the left. We always assumed that it was off-limits, available only to those who live in the building and their guests. But a friend of ours visited this past weekend, went right past the sign and sat down to eat without any problems. Turns out it's not really a private club; they just want the teenagers to think it is one. (The menu isn't really typical teenager fare anyway, and it's definitely a little pricey for the average 18-year-old.) It does get busy on the weekends, so if you're headed over there on a Saturday evening, reservations might be a good idea. And they'll take your reservation even if you don't live at the Murano Grande.

La Piaggia [Official Site]

The Veggie Bus, which gets six to seven miles per gallon of grease, recently made a stop in South Florida looking for large quantities of used vegetable oil. Unfortunately, the 75 gallons donated by Miami-Dade College had too much sediment. That's why they like fondue restaurants; the oil is used to cook just one dish before it's tossed. Despite the disappointment, they found exactly what they needed at Ver-Daddy's Taco Shop:

Ver-Daddy's Taco Shop had been scouted, on Biscayne Boulevard and 75th Street. Acceleration was smooth on the way over. Miami traffic was horrible.

Two barrels of used cholesterol-free, non-hydrogenated soybean oil waited in back of the taco shop parking lot, gratis, with the somewhat mystified consent of the owner, David Bass.

Normally, his grease is picked up by a recycling company that pays him $10 every three months for the privilege.

He wasn't sure what they did with it -- something to do with cosmetics, maybe.

But nobody had ever pulled up in a bus and asked to fuel up before. ''Never, never,'' he said. ``It's exciting for us -- we're just a little taco shop.''

The crew put on filthy jumpsuits. The barrels were opened, gingerly.

The crew has discovered, in grease vats less wholesome than Ver-Daddy's, dead rats and condoms and chicken bones.

But this was good stuff: the color of honey, with excellent lees. It was sticky to the touch, which was unavoidable, and utterly repulsive. ''I get pretty nauseated from the smell,'' Blount said.

Eighty gallons were ladled from the barrels into five-gallon buckets, hauled over to the bus, siphoned, heated and pumped into the tanks. Another 70 gallons were slopped into buckets stacked in the bus's storage compartment.

This took half an hour, followed by some minutes of vigorous hand washing with a powerful cleaning agent, but everyone agreed the grease had been an excellent find.

''We're going to get out of Florida with that,'' said Bassett.

Veggie oil-fueled bus stops in Dade [Miami Herald]
Ver-Daddy's Taco Shop [Official Site]

Sorry to start your morning with sad news, but we thought we should mention the passing of Ronnie Arbetter, the Miami hot dog legend who died on February 28 of pancreatic cancer. We wrote about him last November and hoped that he would have some more time to dole out some more hot dogs.

The restaurant was closed this weekend, but it's back open today.

Some Sad News From Arbetter's [MP: South Florida]
Ronnie Arbetter [Miami Herald]
Arbetter Hot Dogs [MenuPages]