• Need a place to watch futbol? Here are a few ideas. [Chowhound]
• A Chicago hound needs some help. Get to work! [Chowhound]
• Take a trip through Kentucky's bourbon country with this photo-heavy post. [Blind Mind]
• This version of chakchouka, an Israeli hash with onions and chiles and an egg on top, looks like it would hit the spot. [Chadzilla]
• Frodnesor found out that the chefs at Neomi's Grill do a little molecular gastronomy in their spare time, so he asked them to prepare a cutting-edge birthday dinner for him and his guests. They did, and it sounds amazing — check out Frod's description. We especially love the idea of a pre-dessert "sweet caprese." [Chowhound]
• If you ask Hy Vong Vietnamese Cuisine owner Kathy to just bring the best dishes of the house, this is what you'd get. And it would be very good. [Miami Beach 411]
• Chowhounds agree: the food may not be up to par at Mai-Kai, but it's a great place to get drinks. [Chowhound]
• Spoto's Oakwood Grill is offering a great deal this summer: every Monday through October 27 will be Family BBQ Night. Pay $17 per person, and you get unlimited ribs, chicken or pulled pork, fries, baked beans and cole slaw. [Hungry Man]
• The food is good and the portions are huge at George's in the Grove. [Blind Mind]
• Here's a detailed review of Nobu Miami Beach. The sea trout and dessert sound incredible. [A Mingling of Tastes]
• Sara finds Adriana Restaurant in Surfside to be pleasant, but not too surprising. [All Purpose Dark]
• Both the food and beer menu seem limited at Red Light, but the items are interesting and the food is great. [Mango&Lime]
• Photographic evidence of cupcakes at the Upper Eastside Bakery. [Daily Cocaine]
• The Miami Spice 2008 Chowhound thread has begun. [Chowhound]
• Chowhounds try to define "Florida cuisine" and come up with all sorts of interesting things. [Chowhound]
• The antipasti at Fratelli Lyon are a hit. [Chowhound]
• Sara heartily recommends the sauteed grouper at Pacific Time 2.0. [All Purpose Dark]
• We think every good home cook should be able to roast a chicken. If you haven't yet mastered that, here's a quick guide, with photos and links to the Thomas Keller recipe.[Daily Cocaine]
• Pacific Time still needs to work out some kinks. [Chowhound]
• You can still catch the final Monday night dinner at Sardinia Ristorante that highlights a different region of Italy. This Monday: Sicilia. [Chowhound]
• Seems that there's a rumor floating around that Michael Schwartz might be opening up another restaurant. [Chowhound]
• Looking for a good sushi splurge? Check out Bond St Lounge. [All-Purpose Dark]
• A photographic food essay of the opening of Little Haiti Park, including an instructional video on how to fry a corn pancake. [Daily Cocaine]
• Alesh reviews Pepe's Cafe, a small place in Key West that features great fish and some excellent pies. [Critical Miami]
• If you're in Wellington and in need of barbecue, Smokey Bones might just do the trick. [FoodTastic!]
• Check out the photos from Paula's pig roast. They stuffed pork shoulders with ham, bacon, guava shells and prunes and then rubbed brown sugar on it and poured malta over the whole thing. Yum! [mango&lime]
• A BBQ question: if Tom Jenkins Bar-B-Q is closed, where do you go? [Chowhound]
• Tere tells of a new quesadilla spot open on Ponce in the Gables. [Coral Gables]
• Carrabba's Italian Grill is still a crowd-pleaser. [FoodTastic!]
• Sara's been fishing for her own dinner in the Keys, but letting someone else cook it for her. Sounds like a good deal to us! [All Purpose Dark]
• A chowhound provides some great ideas for breakfast in Boca Raton. [Chowhound]
• And here's some very helpful advice for a trip down to the Keys. [Chowhound]
• Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer were spotted sharing food recently at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink. We're inclined to agree with cJ that sharing food there doesn't necessarily mean "date." [consumableJoy]
• In case you were looking for a British food market in South Florida, here are a few ideas. [Chowhound]
• Artfish on the Mile gets a couple of rave reviews. [Chowhound]
• Here's an idea for Mother's Day: strawberry squares. Those look so tasty! [Daily Cocaine]
• The new Raja's Indian Cuisine location inside the Flagler Street Food Court features the same owners and the same food, just a slightly larger homeless population. [Chowhound]
• Sara tells us about the $22 lunch at China Grill. [All Purpose Dark]
• Dining with kids can be an adventure! L2M had success with the under-4 set at Oasis Cafe, Jaguar and Havana Harry's. [Spangdish]
• If you're looking for good recommendations for Key Biscayne, here's a good place to start. [Chowhound]
• There is barbecue behind the Publix at 48th Street and Biscayne Boulevard. And it looks really good. [Daily Cocaine]
• Blind Mind checks out a new restaurant in the Grove. [Blind Mind]
• Sara has fun with chocolate pencils. [All Purpose Dark]
• Lots of good options for West Palm Beach dining here. [Chowhound]
• Check out the smoked fish at Mo's Bagel & Deli in North Miami Beach. [Critical Miami]
• Grilled pizza from the cheesemaker at the Upper Eastside Greenmarket! [Daily Cocaine]
• If you're looking for a good place to eat in Homestead, here's a good list with which to start. [The Citizen Cane]
• Hilda visits Hakan Turkish Grill and has a great time. Try the Turkish wine. [FoodTastic!]
• Sara checks out Creek 28 and loves it. Her review of it (photos included) makes us want to go there. Right now. [All Purpose Dark]
• What Miami restaurants would you put in your top 10 list? [Chowhound]
• Happy hour at Tarpon Bend is a hit. Tere recommends the mamasita martini. [Coral Gables]
• So long, Rascal House. [Daily Cocaine]
• Where would you splurge: Michael's Genuine or Joe's Stone Crab? [Chowhound]
• Uva 69 is "stylish but unpretentious." [Miami and Beyond]
• Tere recommends the creamy onion soup at Outback. [FoodTastic!]
• L2M cannot wait until the full menu is unveiled at Red Light. [Spangdish]
• Sara stops by Red Light for a late-night snack. [All Purpose Dark]
• Best burger in Miami? Lots of options here. [Chowhound]
• Trina provides a recap of the Coral Gables Wine & Food Festival, complete with photos. [miami dish]
• Deborah loves the brunch at Pier 66. She's posted a photo of what appears to be a trio of eggs benedict that looks absolutely scrumptious. [From the Test Kitchen]
• 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]
• 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!]
• 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]
• 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]
• 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]
• 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]
• 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]
• Deborah discovers Florida farm-raised clams. They're called 'pasta clams,' because they're the perfect size for tossing with pasta. [From the Test Kitchen]
• Charles Passy offers a few tips for Starbucks to improve matters. [The Hungry Man]
• Paula's having some trouble storing her lettuce. [mango&lime]
• Miami Dish starts a "Man on the Street" feature, the first of which stops at Pinolandia, a fritanga in Little Havana. [miami dish]
• L2M is a bit frustrated with the Miami Herald's food section, which yesterday led with a feature on casseroles. [Spangdish]
• Do you know where to find good cupcakes in Miami? Join the discussion on Chowhound. [Chowhound]
• Enrique Fernandez gives Marinheiro two-and-a-half stars, although he says the Portuguese restaurant needs a focused identity. [Miami Herald]
• The steaks at Bourbon Steak are poached in butter. The lamb in olive oil. The pork in bacon lard. Oh yeah, and the fries in duck fat. We're not sure we could handle so much decadence. Actually, we probably could. [Miami New Times]
• Fork on the Road visits L'Arte Bianco Bakery, which specializes in Peruvian and French confections, in addition to a few Persian breads. That's because the owners are a Peruvian husband and Persian wife team who took classes in French baking as undergrads in Los Angeles. [Miami Herald]
• The celebrity chefs who were here for the festival mentioned San Loco Taqueria, Joe's Stone Crab, Prime One Twelve and Casa Tua as go-to spots, but Table 8 was the consensus favorite. [Miami Herald]
• Rochelle Koff finds The Jib Room to be a fun place. We're thinking of stopping by just for a slice of that pistachio pound cake, which sounds heavenly. [Miami Herald]
• Stick to the basics at Macchiato Boutique Restaurant, which is trying hard but still feels amateurish. [Miami New Times]
• Gail Shepherd celebrates Fidel's stepping down with a meal at Little Havana. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]
Photo, duck-fat fries at Bourbon Steak in Detroit: Flickr
Blog content this week was very South Beach Wine & Food Festival-heavy. Not surprising. We promise to have our own account of the events we attended later today. Here's what everyone else has to say about it:
• Sara was everywhere this weekend. Check out her accounts of the Best of the Best event and Emeril's Sugar Shack. [All Purpose Dark]
• Charles Passy gives us 10 observations about the food festival. Among them: it's become the Sundance of the food world. [The Hungry Man]
• Paula gives her thoughts on the Best of the Best event. [mango&lime]
• Sara points out a few of the latest trends that have been popping up on Miami menus: rabbit, polenta, fancy mac & cheese and figs. [All Purpose Dark]
• Danny really digs Boteco, the new-ish neighborhood Brazilian spot on NE 79th Street. Might be a good way to avoid the hordes that will be invading South Beach this weekend. [Daily Cocaine]
• Charles Passy is sad to learn that Iron Chef America is mostly a sham. [The Hungry Man]
• L2M skipped town last weekend for a short offal-themed trip to New York City. [Spangdish]
• After dinner at Bourbon Steak, Sara is ready to name her firstborn after Michael Mina. And really, the meal sounds amazing. She's included photos too, for our benefit. [All Purpose Dark]
• cJ checks out Hiro's Yakko-San and deems its reputation well deserved. [consumableJoy]
• Michael Schwartz, of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, made a hot sauce that seared Danny's tongue and sent him sprinting to the nearest sink. [Daily Cocaine]
• Oh man. Homemade croquetas, with step-by-step photos. Awesome. [Cuban Home Cooking]
• How to make kebab kofteh, also with photos! [From the Test Kitchen]
• Gables residents are a little sick of the chains invading the Mile, but at least the planned Chili's might be good for happy hour drinks. [Coral Gables]
• Alesh finds much to like at Canela Cafe. [Critical Miami]
• "Your grandmother can take her teeth out and eat these ribs." They're called Tenderoni, and you can get them at Fat Man's BBQ on NE 79th St. [Daily Cocaine]
• Charles Passy likes a little spice with his chocolates. [The Hungry Man]
• So it's a little late for a Valentine's Day picnic, but Paula's suggestions would work well for even non-holiday picnics. [mango&lime]
• Blind Mind makes it to Michael's Genuine Food & Drink and finds that it lives up to the hype. [Blind Mind]
• More great photos of the Upper Eastside Farmers Market. Is it lunchtime yet? [Daily Cocaine]
• Hilda went to Michael's Genuine Food & Drink with some friends and loved it. [FoodTastic!]
• Speaking of the Design District, cJ ate with her hands at Sheba, one of the few Ethiopian places in South Florida. [consumableJoy]
• Deborah tells of a celebratory hat work by a man behind the counter at Pomperdale New York Style Deli for the Chinese New Year. [From the Test Kitchen]
• Colombian candy! We're intrigued by ChocoRamo. We love pound cake and chocolate, but we're just not sure they would hold up well to being packaged like that. [mango&lime]
• L2M checks out a new Spanish wine and discusses the state of wine distribution in Miami. It's pretty informative, and we're thinking this new feature will be great. [Spangdish]
• Fried mahi mahi, dirty rice, and ripe plantains at Chef Creole. There's a photo too! [All Purpose Dark]
• Bom bagay to you! We learned that it's a Haitian greeting that means 'nice people.' It's also the name of a small hole-in-the-wall with a tasty 'taxi driver special.' [Daily Cocaine]
• L2M's proposed week-long locavore experiment only lasted one day, but it was a tasty day. Well, except for the canistel ice cream disaster, for which we feel partially responsible. [Spangdish]
• Would you like to eat all of today's allotted calories in one simple meal? Try the Hardee's Monster Thickburger, which weighs in at 1,410 calories. We don't want to see the calorie count after the addition of the soda and fries. [The Hungry Man]
• Too many people and celebrities at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival for Deborah. It's true. And it costs a bundle too! [From the Test Kitchen]
• The food is both plentiful and tasty at DJ's Diner. [Riptide 2.0]
• The verdict on Candela Latin Restaurant: underwhelming.[Ft Lauderdale Today]
• What do you think are the must-haves at Michy's? [Chowhound]
• Where to find organic produce at local farmer's markets. [Chowhound]
• Bonsai gets an A+ from Tere for the price and the pad Thai.[Coral Gables]
• Oh man, homemade mozzarella knots. Yum! [Daily Cocaine]
• Sara likes the fare at The Smoking Rabbit. Prices are a little steep, but portions appear very generous. [All Purpose Dark]
• Catching mullet off a bridge in Miami Shores. Good enough to eat? We're not sure. [Daily Cocaine]
• Oh man, those Thai doughnuts at Oishi Thai sound good! [FoodTastic!]
• If you're looking for places to celebrate the Chinese new year, Paula's got a good list of celebrations at restaurants. [mango&lime]
• Which, would you say, is the best burger in Fort Lauderdale? [Chowhound]
• Michelle Bernstein is the best part of Check, Please! South Florida. [Spangdish]
• These photos of lunch at The River Oyster Bar are making our mouth water. [All Purpose Dark]
• Canistel, heirloom tomatoes and fresh handmade mozzarella at the farmer's market. Yum! [Daily Cocaine]
• Deborah hosts a dinner party! [From the Test Kitchen]
• More tomatoes, plus strawberries and spiny chayote at the South Florida Farmers Market in Pinecrest. [mango&lime]
• Sara has fun with food from Ikea. [All Purpose Dark]
• The neighbors are complaining about the noise coming from Fritz & Franz Bierhaus, and Tere asks exactly what the noise expectation should be when one lives in a downtown area. [Coral Gables]
• Deborah weighs in on the tuna and mercury problem. [From the Test Kitchen]
• Miami Danny runs down this week's restaurant reviews. [Press Chops]
• Paula visits the Coral Gables Farmers Market and finds good local seafood, organic produce and teas. [mango&lime]
• De