MenuPages

The newspaper and magazine reviewers aren’t hitting up these just-opened spots yet, but regular locals certainly are, and they’ve got opinions. Lots of 'em. Here’s what the Chowhounds are saying about a few new restaurants:

• The new Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza opened in Pinecrest just last week and has already been doing a brisk business. One woman is blown away by the meatball and ricotta pizza, while another diner complains of too much char on the pizzas on opening day.

• The branzino at Rack’s Italian Bistro is merely OK, but the chicken parmesan is much better.

• And the Mobster burger at Charm City Burger Company is excellent, although the onion rings and sweet potato fries need a bit of work.

• And, finally, there’s Eos, which gets poor marks on the lobster and sea urchin risotto and fundata.

Ask A Chef: The James Beard Foundation asks Michelle Bernstein for recommendations in her hometown. She suggests heading to Hiro's Yakko-San, Joe's Stone Crab, Cote Cafe, El Palacio de los Jugos, and Nobu. [JBF]

Will the Dwayne Wade lawsuits ever end? Now the majority owner in D. Wade's Place, the two short-lived sports bars that opened and closed last year, has filed suit against Wade, his business partner, and his agent. The suit accuses Wade of depriving the restaurants of "the Wade-centered publicity necessary to support the ... business model" after his request for a 30 percent stake in the business was denied.

You might recall that Wade was also sued last year by D Wade Place LLC for breach of contract for pretty much not showing up to his restaurants enough — that was in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, while this is a federal lawsuit. And we can't even keep the personal drama (and lawsuits) straight, between the divorce proceedings and then the defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife for her claim that he'd given her an STD.

Well, at least this drama in the courts hasn't affected his playing on the court — he scored 33 points in yesterday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Dwayne Wade sued over eateries bearing his name [Miami Herald]

Photo: compujeramy/flickr

How do I eat this? It seems diners at Neomi's Grill (and Paradigm) have been asking quite often for advice on how exactly to eat the plate of food in front of them. The chefs are finding it a little frustrating: "It's not like you were placed behind the control panel of a 747 and asked to parallel park it. Take back control of your own free will. Eat the food whatever way you feel impulsion driving you. Taste a little of this element, then that element, or just eat several of them combined in various combinations. It's your choice." [Chadzilla]

Restaurant Gal logs on to Twitter only to find that a food writer in South Carolina is using her copyrighted name. So she contacts the writer and the writer's boss and is told to do one of two things: 1) get a lawyer, or 2) fork over $10,000. Now she's going as RestaurantGal1 on Twitter. Some readers have suggested she take it up with Twitter, which can investigate this woman for "user name squatting." Who even knew such a thing existed? [Restaurant Gal]

Larry, Fratelli La Bufala's restaurant manager, went on the offensive on Chowhound this past weekend, posting about the restaurant's authentic Neapolitan pizza on every pizza- and Miami-related thread on the Florida board. The posts were all deleted — clearly Larry didn't quite understand how Chowhound works — but they lived on in Google Reader. Aside from the fact that the restaurant serves Neapolitan pizza, we gleaned one interesting fact in a thread on where to buy pizza dough: Fratelli La Bufala sells its pizza dough for $3.

Drowning in Girl Scout Cookies? A Chicago pastry chef offers a few recipes using the cookies — Do-si-dos, Samoas, and Shortbread cookies — as ingredients. MP: Chicago has the recipes.

Malika Ameen of Aigre Doux Loves Girl Scout Cookies [MP: Chicago]

Photo: brighterworlds/flickr

"December, like opening day for the Marlins, means season begins and hope springs eternal. Shaky numbers for the month lead to an anxious January, then much tinkering and worrying through February. March comes in like a lion and brings with it an onset of panic; it goes out like a lamb in denial. April is hail-mary-two-for-one-specials time, but sometime in May, reality takes a seat at the dining establishment and gently informs the owner that to continue through summer is neither wise or feasible. The CLOSED signs generally begin to appear around Memorial Day."

– Lee Klein at Short Order on the trajectory of struggling restaurants

Miami Restaurants Hang Tough In Recession (so far) [Short Order]

"It's a wild culture down there."

– Chef Alfred Portale, of Gotham Steak, on opening a restaurant on Miami Beach

Industry Insiders: Alfred Portale, Top Chef [BlackBook]

Bernie Madoff, the most hated man in Palm Beach at the moment, not only stole millions from investors, but according to the New York Daily News, he also was a pretty lousy tipper. One waiter says he tipped the standard 15 percent, while another said, "He wasn't just scamming the investors. He was hurting me on my tips." Well, at least they can take comfort in the fact that they fared better than most among those "touched" by Madoff.

Bernie Madoff recalled as a lousy tipper by those who served him [New York Daily News]

Helen at MP: Chicago posted earlier this morning about banh mi, the Vietnamese sandwich that is becoming increasingly popular in Chicago and New York, which got us thinking about the nonexistent state of this sandwich in South Florida. We expected the find-a-food search to turn up empty, but to our surprise, we got two hits for banh mi:

• Pho Hoa in Tamarac: It's a national Vietnamese chain that focuses, as one might imagine, on pho, not sandwiches. The "banh mi" listed on the menu is a carrot beef stew that you can get with a baguette or noodles.

• Saigon Cuisine in Margate: There's an appetizer of banh mi with pork meatballs and an entree of "bo kho and banh mi," or Vietnamese beef stew with bread.

And that's it. Is the state of the banh mi really so dire in South Florida, or did we miss some place? There's no reason that sandwich couldn't do well down here.

Eating Banh Mi In Vietnam [MP: Chicago]
Pho Hoa [MenuPages]
Pho Hoa [Official Site]
Saigon Cuisine [MenuPages]

[Photo: Stu Spivack/Flickr]

"Monkey Ass and Empty Clam Shells — Fabio on Top Chef seems high on the dish. Anyone know where to find it SE Florida."

– Raboi in the Chowhound Florida board Monkey Ass and Empty Clam Shells? [Chowhound]

Our sister site in Chicago reported yesterday on the possibility that Restaurant.com gift cards that we both wrote about last October might be a scam. It seems someone e-mailed Consumerist about a mysterious $14.95 recurring monthly credit card charge that began appearing shortly after the person bought a few certificates on the website. After writing that post in October, I had bought a few myself as stocking stuffers for family, so I immediately checked my credit card statement. Thankfully, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

The comments in the Consumerist post explain the whole situation; the person in question likely clicked on a special offer of some sort (something like "save $10 on your next purchase") and agreed to the terms, unfortunately not realizing that said terms included a monthly charge from "Shopping Essentials."

So, basically, Restaurant.com is OK to use, although it's probably a good idea to double-check your credit card statement if you've bought certificates there in the past. And if you buy more in the future, make sure to just refuse any offers that may pop up — they could end up being more expensive than you think.

Buy A Gift Certificate From Restaurant.com, Sign Up For A Recurring $14.95 Monthly 'Service" [Consumerist]
Gift Cards From Restaurant.com Are, Sadly, A Scam [MP: Chicago]
How To Turn $2 Into $25 [MP: South Florida]
Restaurant.com [Official Site]

Hey Miami, you're fat. This might be news to lots of people whose only images of Miami include Art Deco buildings and white-sand beaches, but to those of us who know the area a bit better than that, it isn't that surprising.* (Although, top of the list? Really?) Despite the good weather, we don't walk or ride bikes much. And we've got some of the worst commutes in the country. Here's what the report had to say about our fair city:

So much for the South Beach Diet. While Miami's nightlife and shores don't lack for buff bodies, the majority of residents should probably put a shirt on (61.5% of Miami residents are heavy enough to increase their risk for weight-related health problems). Though Miami has a high number of health-food stores per capita, it also has almost three times the fast-food restaurants as the average city. The area also has 79% more gyms and health clubs than average, but residents are less likely than average to regularly use their memberships.

"Because we have year-round warm weather, many people opt to walk, run, or take part in outdoor activities for their fitness," says Kelly Penton, director of communications for the mayor's office. Actually, they don't. Miamians also scored poorly in motivation due to low participation rates in outdoor activities like biking, running, and fitness walking despite a relatively pleasant climate most of the year. The city's commute (50% more oppressive than average) and air quality (ranked the worst in our survey according to EPA standards) certainly don't help matters either.

The points deductions towards the end of the article are especially ridiculous; apparently, we are all less likely to play golf or use abdominal machines or stairmasters. And for this, we are deemed the fattest city in America. Yeah, not sure I believe that. Still, getting out of the car and onto the bike more often would be a good thing, especially at this time of year when the weather leans more towards perfect than oppressively hot. And picking up lunch from places like Nature's Way Cafe and Last Carrot might be a good start.

2009 Fittest/Fattest Cities [Men's Health]
Nature's Way Cafe [MenuPages]
Nature's Way Cafe [Official Site]
Last Carrot [MenuPages]
Last Carrot [Official Site]

* What is surprising: Miami is so much fatter than Chicago, which came in at 13th. I've lived in both cities, and I do not believe that the latter's residents are significantly thinner than the former's. There is zero incentive to be thin when it's cold for nine months out of the year.

"The exciting part for us is when people break out their cameras before they eat. Food is the only artform made strictly for consumption. Cooking is the oldest profession in the world, so it's refreshing to have fun with it once in a while, and to watch people's whole perception change in just a mouthful is exciting."

– Chef Jacob Durham from Enso in an interview with the New Times. Nice to see that some chefs don't mind the camera thing. Although — doesn't he have the oldest profession mixed up?

"Last names of the big four Design District chef/restaurateurs: Lyon, Eismann, Bernstein and Schwartz. There are so many potentially good jokes to insert here, but every one would get me into the sort of trouble where I'd likely have to contact a law firm -- you know, like Lyon, Eismann, Bernstein & Schwartz."

– Lee Klein in Short Order

Miami Restaurant Musings [Short Order]

It's been a whole week since we've written, and we apologize for that. The holidays were a little crazy. Not only were there the Noche Buena and Christmas day festivities (and the two days' worth of baking and cooking that preceded said festivities), but this year, two cousins decided to plan their respective weddings for the 26th and 27th of December. Yes. Crazy, no? Yesterday was spent recuperating. But we're back in the office now and back in full (well, almost) blogging mode.

On the cooking/baking note: what did you make for the holidays? (Or from which establishment did you order food?) Our duties in the kitchen included making three kinds of cookies (sugar, chocolate chip, and gingerbread), cream cheese pound cake, red velvet cake, tortellini salad, green beans, green papaya salad (made from a lovely papaya picked at Bee Heaven Farm and carambolas from an uncle's yard, pictured at right) and lots of white sangria.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

The Miami-Dade tourism bureau is hoping that a Bollywood movie filmed on Miami Beach will attract visitors from the subcontinent:

The Miami-Dade County tourism bureau recently sponsored screenings in Mumbai of a new Bollywood movie called Dostana (music video below). It was filmed in Miami, and includes shots of the city’s skyline and beaches.

The Florida city's hopes aren’t that far-fetched. Indian tourism to the Swiss Alps skyrocketed after Bollywood directors began filming in the region. I remember being amazed finding an Indian restaurant in the Jungfrau observatory on a Swiss mountain top.

Miami hopes Bollywood will bring in visitors [Coastal Living]

People, please. Put the sandwiches down. They're meant to be eaten, not thrown at someone else in the heat of an argument:

Police said a Port St. Lucie man was arrested for throwing a sandwich at his girlfriend, the second food attack that sent a man to jail in about a month. According to a police report released Monday, the 20-year-old man threw the sandwich at his girlfriend's face during an argument about auto insurance and then hit her head with his fist.

The man admitted to throwing the food but not hitting her. He was arrested Friday and faces a battery charge.

Last month, another man was arrested on a battery charge for hitting his girlfriend with a sandwich, knocking her glasses off and nearly causing a traffic crash.

Police reports did not what type of sandwich was used in either attack.

``I do remember drinks at the Delano but really what I know about Miami is room service because I never step outside. I'm a very private person. I'm kept protected, and I am painfully shy in public. If you drop me anywhere in Miami I wouldn't know what to do. I hide a lot and I am not meant for celebrity, which is good for that lifestyle. When I'm done with work I see that restaurants are closing and have a club sandwich in the room. I can write a book about club sandwiches. Loews had an OK club sandwich. Nine times out of 10 they have a club sandwich and it's the least risky item that you can order off a late-night menu. Maybe this time around I'll stay at a Holiday Inn or Ramada Inn and try theirs.''

– Alton Brown, on what he eats when in Miami

Alton Brown: Room service rocks [Miami Herald]

Even for the superrich, it’s tough times. Halfway through a packed "Champagne and Canapés" brunch at the Cartier dome, the jeweler stopped serving Champagne. Gulp.

– Alexandra Peers in New York Magazine's Culture Vulture on what she learned at Art Basel this year

Seven Things We Learned At Art Basel Miami [Culture Vulture]

"The flavor of Miami is gutsy and passionate. Miami isn't about the light or subtle or health-conscious; it's about the senses, and experience and mood. It's steak, chocolate, chili peppers, lime juice, ice cold stone crab claws, and of course a foreplay of cocktails."

– Local food editor Margit Bisztray

Miami's Most Exotic Restaurants [Forbes Traveler via ABC13]

Times may be tough, but there's still lots of be thankful for, especially if your Thanksgiving spread looks something like the photo on the right. That's not the case for a lot of people, as we noted in a post earlier today about increased demand at food banks.

If you'd like to help, check out the Daily Bread Food Bank, which has warehouses in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. There might still be some time to make sure that everyone gets a good Thanksgiving meal (and if not, we're sure your donation will go toward an also-very-important post-Thanksgiving meal).

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! We'll see you back here on Monday.

Daily Bread Food Bank [Official Site]

Photo: turtlepatrol/flickr

Of the six dishes that Michael Schwartz prepared for last night's James Beard House dinner, it was a seemingly simple one that won over the hearts (stomachs?) of New Yorkers. Here's Grub Street's report:

His message of locally sourced, sustainable food sources may be familiar to New Yorkers, but the food was not, especially a pan-roasted golden tilefish. It was the La Tur cheese, Paradise Farms honeycomb, aged balsamic, and grilled walnut raisin bread (unjustly shown here) that best represented Schwartz’s food aesthetic. The dish looked beautiful and tasted wonderful — simple and wholesome and a joy to eat.

Miami Chef Surprises Jaded New Yorkers With Honeycomb [Grub Street]
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink [MenuPages]
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink [Official Site]

If anything positive comes out of this terrible economy, it'll be a correction in long-inflated South Florida menu prices; we're starting to see the check already. I'm hoping more restaurateurs will consider doing just what de Palma has done: dispense with the million-dollar interiors and the $18 martinis and just start serving good food to their good neighbors. The restaurant biz has been in its own bubble — people have been gambling and making fortunes. Maybe it's time they started making an honest living instead.

– Gail Shepherd, in a review for Dolce de Palma

It's a Living [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

Many chefs like to ride motorcycles, and restaurants are important for selling our wine. We thought it would be a fresh, new approach . . . a Beaujolais Biker Brigade.

– Stephane Queralt, a winemaker at Les Vins de Georges Duboeuf, on why he's bringing Beaujolais Nouveau to Casa Casuarina tomorrow by motorcycle

Wine and chefs and motorcycles, oh my! [Miami Herald]
Loftin's at Casa Casuarina [MenuPages]
Loftin's at Casa Casuarina [Official Site]

A great vegetarian restaurant will open in Miami. Hey, if an African-American with the middle name “Hussein” can get elected President, anything can happen. Repeat after me: Yes it can! Yes it can! Yes it can!

– Lee Klein in Riptide

At the 7-Eleven across the street, the voting results seemed more immediately apparent. “Sorry, we’re out of Obama cups,” the cashier informed an inquiring customer. A stack of red John McCain cups remained.

– Patrice Yursik, in an election-day report from a Kendall polling place

A restaurant chain in the UK is offering a python curry for Halloween this week:

Tracey Kitchener-Kemp, Managing Director of Tootsies, said: “It may sound like a trick but it’s definitely a treat. Hallowe'en is a great time of year to do something a little different, and we’ve had huge amounts of fun creating a dish that can be enjoyed by both our adult and junior guests alike.

“We’re always looking to be innovative with our menus and python is certainly the most original ingredient we have ever worked with. Those who dare to give it a go will be very pleasantly surprised.”

Tootsies said the python had been sourced from a specialist meat supplier.

Tootsies puts snake curry on the menu [Big Hospitality]
Eat Lionfish, Save The Reefs [MP: South Florida]

Photo, of a Burmese python in Big Cypress: piccolo.drago/flickr

When Helen at MP: Chicago posted about an 80 percent discount on Restaurant.com dining certificates, I was a bit skeptical. It basically seemed too good to be true. Normally, these $25 certificates are sold for $10 on the site, but if you enter the discount code "TREATS" during checkout, you get 80 percent off your purchase. That's right — essentially you can get a $25 certificate for $2. That's insane.

A little research was in order. Cacao Restaurant was the first high-end restaurant that popped up on the Miami list, and a $200 certificate for tasting menus for the parents as a Christmas gift came to mind. A call to the restaurant revealed a few restrictions though: you can't use the certificate for lunch, and only one $25 certificate is allowed per table. So the tasting menu is out. Still, it's not a bad deal.

The list of participating restaurants in the area is fairly long. In the Miami area, there's Bella Cuba, Porcao Churrascaria, Canela Cafe, Mykonos and a bunch of others. Palm Grille, Pesca and Sage French Cafe in Fort Lauderdale all participate, as do Jake's Stone Crab Restaurant, Six Tables and El Chamol in Palm Beach County. Just go to the site and plug in your zip code, and a list of restaurants should pop up. The certificates don't come without restrictions, so definitely call the restaurant before you go.

Recession Special: Eat Fancy For $2!!! [MP: Chicago]
Restaurant.com Gift Certificates [Official Site]

Hatuey beer was sold at the Guantanamo Navy Base when I was there in 1946 and again in 1947. It had a very high alcohol content. There was an expression among Navy men describing someone who had more than a couple "that he had met the Chief" and they didn't mean a CPO.

– Gene, commenting on a post from June about Hatuey

Soused snowbird served on a slow Grand Marquis can be found in almost all parts of the state......

– bkhuna in a Chowhound discussion about Florida's signature dish

Florida's Signature dish [Chowhound]

I'm definitely spotted at Nobu at the Shore Club often. I went to Philippe at the Gansevoort [Hotel], which was really good. I hadn't been there yet. I usually go to the restaurants down on Collins Avenue.

– Nicky Hilton on her favorite Miami restaurants

I am always amazed at the placid dogs that sit quietly on a restaurant's outside patio while their owners happily munch away. The only dog my family ever had, Lucy, is a 50-pound headstrong and hyper German shepherd-terrier mix. No way she would've sat for an hour when there were people and dogs walking by and untold items to sniff. (Think the Boca Raton coffee shop scene in Marley and Me, although thankfully, Lucy is nowhere near as strong as the 97-pound Marley was.)

But clearly some dogs are better trained than Lucy, or smaller and more easy to manage, and owners just love to bring their pets along to brunch/lunch/dinner. And since the passing of the doggie dining bill by the Florida legislature in June 2006, restaurants have run with the idea. Sam Snead's in Orlando has a "furry friends menu" with items like chicken and kibble and bow wow pizza that are served on a frisbee; with prices in the $4-10 range, it's actually a pretty smart way to pad the bill. And China Grill in Miami Beach recently hosted "Dogs Gone Wild" on Sunday evenings, which also offered a menu just for pets. (The promotion is no longer available, but guests are still welcome to sit with their dogs on the outdoor patio.)

Here's where I want to hear what you guys think. Do you know of any other pet-friendly restaurants in South Florida? Or do you think the furry beasts belong at home and should stay there?

Sam Snead's [Official Site]
China Grill Sobe [MenuPages]
China Grill Sobe [Official Site]

Photo: Lochaven/flickr

Remember Jack Davis, the middle school student who wrote to the Florida legislature suggesting that restaurant donations to homeless shelters be shielded from litigation? Well, now that the law has passed, Davis is taking it upon himself to visit local restaurants and let them know what they can do to help.

Jack Davis, the Miami Shores student who inspired a state law last year that allowed restaurants to donate leftovers to the homeless, now wants to make sure the food is getting from the kitchens to the streets.

The 12-year-old boy is visiting restaurants and other commercial establishments to let them know about the law that allows them to donate food to shelters and soup kitchens without the risk of being sued.

...

Jack's biggest goal is to educate restaurant owners on the law so that they will be more inclined to donate excess food that would otherwise be tossed away. He is in the process of getting handouts printed to give to restaurant owners and other businesses that will spell out the highlights of the law.

''Restaurants can make a big difference, but first they have to know,'' Jack said.

Student educates restaurants on feeding the homeless [Miami Herald]
11-Year-Old Helps Restaurants, Homeless Shelters Work Together [MP: South Florida]

This lovely review just came in a few minutes ago, yet it has already given me a headache:

We live in the neighbhor hood , this place has a great food as always needed some facelift to go & eat with our family, thank god the newmanagement took steps. nice decor ,atmosphere,ofcourse not missing the great food.we just read the banner out side while passing by they catered @ open this year!!!!!wow awsome!!

Are they still doing $16 diet cokes there or have prices gone up?

– Chowhound tpigeon's response to a post about 1116 Ocean, the restaurant inside Casa Casuarina

Anything newer or on the way to Dade? [Chowhound]

We heard a rumor (well, it's got a bit more teeth than a rumor, but it's not exactly public yet) that Seasons 52 is planning to open a Miami-area location within the coming year. They've got a location and seem to be getting some paperwork done.

Seasons 52, whose focus is on cuisine that is at least partly driven by what's in season, already has locations in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach Gardens.

Seasons 52 (Boca Raton) [MenuPages]
Seasons 52 (Fort Lauderdale) [MenuPages]
Seasons 52 (Palm Beach Gardens) [MenuPages]
Seasons 52 [Official Site]

"The kobe "filet" was actually so unappealing in texture and taste that I passed it to my husband."

– Taken from an MP user's comment on a New York City restaurant that shall not be named. Because when your meal is inedible, the only loving thing to do is have your spouse finish it.

I was reminded by an old post of spiral-bound cookbook called "Flavor of South Florida" from 1988 that had once again been relegated to the bottom of my filing cabinet. I keep forgetting about this little jewel. So I brought it out and opened it right up to the recipe for flan from Islas Canarias Restaurant. Yes, I know you want it. The full recipe is after the jump.

Continue reading "How To Make Flan, Islas Canarias-Style" »

"And the greatest irony of all? In a restaurant that supposedly keeps a steely grip on its liquor, auto-scanning for customers who happen to be sailing even one sheet to the wind, this menu is the crapulous soul's wet dream. The proportions of salt, spice, meat, and texture here are designed to cut right through the densest inebriate fog, to coat any churning stomach with a soothing layer of butter, mayo, and hooch-absorbing starch."

– Gail Shepherd of the Broward-Palm Beach New Times in a review of Palm Beach Grill

Straight Hot Dog, No Chaser [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

A recent post by MP: Philadelphia editor Elsa about the most-searched-for restaurant on the Philly site got me thinking about which restaurant menus South Floridians are looking at the most. Luckily at MenuPages Headquarters we have ways of figuring these things out pretty easily. Here, then, are the top three most-clicked restaurants on MP: South Florida:

3. Dolores, but you can call me Lolita
I've kept an eye on these "hot" restaurants for the past few days, and while other restaurants' numbers jump up and down, Lolita's remain at about the same consistently high level. So kudos to you, restaurant-with-a-very-long-name. Clearly lots of people are interested.

2. Sushi Siam Restaurant
Maybe a bunch of Brickell-area office workers got the panang curry craving too?

1. La Granja Parrilla
Super popular — as in, it's most-clicked by a lot —and I'm not sure why. And none of the other many South Florida locations of this restaurant are this popular; just the Boca Raton branch's page is visited ridiculously often. I would've expected Boca to lean in a more upscale direction, but clearly cheap chicken and papas a la huancaina is what the people want.

Dolores, but you can call me Lolita [MenuPages]
Dolores, but you can call me Lolita [Official Site]
Sushi Siam Restaurant [MenuPages]
La Granja Parrilla [MenuPages]

After bracing for Ike for a week, South Floridians got really lucky and had to deal with little more than a few canceled events. Residents of Hispaniola and Cuba weren't quite so lucky; Haiti was flooded by Gustav and then got more rain when Ike skirted by. Cuba is still dealing with Ike; the eye of the storm is hovering over Camaguey and moving right over the length of the island.

Both islands, Haiti especially, need food. Lots of it, and quickly. After the jump, how you can help.

Continue reading "Help For Those Who Got Battered By Ike (And Gustav And Hanna)" »

What I really want to do is present you with some insightful commentary on something like the greening of Florida's citrus industry (scary!), the growing popularity of bubble tea in South Florida, or the restaurant scene emerging in the Upper East Side. But I spent 26 hours yesterday navigating airports from one end of the world to another as I made my way home from Seoul, and I'm really, really exhausted. So exhausted that I'm having a hard time coming up with coherent thoughts about anything relevant. So instead, I'm taking a cue from Short Order's John Linn and filling out the Omnivore's Hundred. The idea is to bold any of the food items on the list that you've had and to cross out any that you'd never try. My list, after the jump:

Continue reading "The Omnivore's Hundred" »

Just think — local beef, from Cuba? Well, so it's not local in the strict 100-mile interpretation, but still. John Parke Wright, a Florida rancher whose ancestors were very involved in the Havana-Tampa trade route, is just waiting for the day he can set up a cattle operation on the island. Here's why:

"From 1860 to 1960, Cuba had some of the best land for cattle in the Western hemisphere," says Wright. In 1960, Cuba had about 6 million people and 2 million cattle, but now has only 2 million cattle for 12 million people, he explains.

"There's a tremendous need to restock Cuba's ranches, and the opportunity has to be given to people like me," he says, adding that he'd start out by sending 3,000 head of cattle, tractors, trucks, and irrigation equipment to Cuba as soon as the two nations adjust their policies to allow for that.

Photo: justydrink/flickr

Hello local foodies! I am so excited to be the new stringer for Broward and Palm Beach Counties, so please allow me to introduce myself. I'm a 28 year old who loves to eat — especially food I don't make myself! Although I'm a native Floridian, I never go in the sun without sunscreen and, therefore, have been given the self-imposed title of "Whitest Girl in Florida." I'm a decent cook, but food just always tastes better to me when someone else makes it, which is why my husband and I eat most of our meals at restaurants or by take-out. I've been called Sally (as in "When Harry Met Sally") because I can sometimes (who am I kidding? MOST TIMES) have the same ordering techniques ("I'll have the B.L.T, with crispy bacon, but I want the lettuce on the side, unless it's Romaine, then I won't have lettuce at all . . ."), although I've never gotten quite as excited as she in a deli. I'm really looking forward to sharing my local discoveries with you and hope you enjoy reading about them!

Hi readers! You may have noticed a couple of exclamation-mark-heavy posts recently (I'm working on it), so I wanted to briefly introduce myself: I'm a local writer and editor, as well as the new Miami-Dade stringer for MenuPages. Due to long hours, crazy deadlines, an inherent laziness and my utter lack of cooking skills, I eat out constantly, and I'm willing to drive just about anywhere to quench a craving. I look forward to sharing my dining discoveries with you — and hearing about yours!

We absolutely love Southern food, and we did our very best to eat as much of it as possible during our four days in Georgia. Here we present the photographic evidence:

Continue reading "Georgia Eats: A Photo Essay" »

We're leaving you again. This time, we're jetting off to Atlanta for a few days in the city and in the northeast Georgia mountains. We're at the age when many of our friends are getting married, and the weddings are scattered all over the place. Not that we mind; it gives us an excellent excuse to get out of town for a few days. (We don't usually need much of an excuse anyway.)

Among the restaurants that we will be visiting:
• Smith House, Dahlonega
• Tomlin's BBQ, Rabun Gap
• Home Restaurant & Bar, Atlanta
• Harold's Barbecue, Atlanta
• The Varsity, Atlanta
• Mary Mac's Tea Room, Atlanta

Much fried chicken and pulled pork will be consumed. We may need to start some sort of diet on Monday. See you then!

Photo: The Blissful Glutton/flickr

We're leaving tonight for a short jaunt to Buenos Aires. It's been five years since we've been to the city of good air, or anywhere in South America for that matter, so we are very excited about returning. We're especially excited about the food, and we expect to return with tales of excellent beef and triple dulce de leche gelato. (The latter was our favorite mid-afternoon snack when we studied abroad there; yes, we were a bit chubbier back then.)

We'll be back on Monday morning; in the meantime, posting will be just a bit lighter than usual.

Photo: Lucypassos [Flickr]

Diners at Moon Thai & Japanese, across the street from the University of Miami, now have a sleek new menu featuring pictures of all of the restaurants signature rolls, appetizers, and entrees. The handy little flipbook is a new take on the restaurant menu and a clever marketing ploy. We went to lunch yesterday for Moon Thai’s fantastic Red Thai curry and just had to order the Popeye Roll, spinach, cucumber, and spicy mayo after seeing it on the menu.

Moon Thai & Japanese [MenuPages]
Moon Thai & Japanese [Official Site]

At the Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead, six dollars gets you a trip around the world and a taste of the freshest possible exotic fruit. Located at the corner of 248th street and 187th avenue, the county owned park was founded in 1944 by the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department to promote knowledge of local and exotic produce that grows in tropical climates. The result is a 35-acre property that offers a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. Friendly and knowledgeable park staff takes guests on a guided tram tour through sections of African, South Asian, and Caribbean botanicals. Guests can roam the parks on their own, but without much knowledge about the Dr. Seuss-like flora, we opted for the 45-minute tour. While on the tour, our guide explained the life-cycle of bananas, the growing season for Thai garlic, and the secrets of the calabash. She also showed us how to harvest mulberries, jaboticaba, wild Everglades tomatoes, Key apples, and even nasturtium flowers. By the mid-point of the tour, we were well over our five-a-day quota. We particularly loved the super sweet mulberries, the creamy jaboticaba that grows off the branches of the tree (pictured at left), and the spicy nasturtium flowers. The Australian section can be reached on foot, just beyond the baobab trees in Africa, but we decided to continue our adventure at the gift shop where samples of all the parks produce are free for the tasting and locally made jams, jellies, and spreads are available for purchase. If the trip inspires you to plant a little bit of Africa, Australia or the Caribbean in your backyard, the Fruit and Spice Park offers a list of nurseries that carry these exotics.

Fruit and Spice Park [Official Site]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

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

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]

Mint Leaf opens today, as we mentioned earlier this week. If you're in the downtown Coral Gables area, you might want to try one of their lunch specials. When we called and were told that the lunch specials run between $13 and $15, we thought that was a little steep. Then we heard what it includes. Your lunch thali comes with a curry (choice of vegetable, lamb, chicken or shrimp), a canapé, two vegetables, a lentil stew, salad, raita, papadums, bread and rice. Even if the portions are tiny, that's still a fairly big lunch.

The lunch specials are only available for sit-down lunch this week; they'll start doing take-out next week.

Opening: The Mint Leaf [MP: South Florida]
Mint Leaf [MenuPages]
Mint Leaf [Official Site]

We get so few good hot chocolate days. Not that we're complaining -- we like our winters nice and warm. But it's nice to have an excuse, at least a couple times a year, to indulge in a wonderfully thick hot chocolate. If you're thinking the same thing this morning, here are a few places you might want to try:

• Jimmie's Chocolates and Cafe bills itself as Florida's oldest chocolatier, so we're sure they've learned a thing or two about making hot chocolate in the 60 years they've been open.

• La Palma Restaurant (6091 SW 8th St in West Miami) has some of the best churros around. And as you all know, churros are perfect for dunking in hot chocolate.

• A La Folie Cafe offers a regular hot chocolate plus three other varieties: a 'chocolat parisien' with cream and vanilla, a 'chocolat viennois' with whipped cream, and a 'chocolat fou' with grand marnier. Pair with a croissant for a perfect breakfast.

• Romanico's mostly sells boxed chocolates, but you can go in there and ask for a hot chocolate.

Photo: Flickr

Two neighboring Long Island restaurants end up not too far away from each other in South Florida:

“On Nassau’s famous Jericho Pike (which could double for Federal Highway), there have been two landmark restaurants for about 50 years: Umberto's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in New Hyde Park (operated by the Corteo family) and Arturo's Italian Restaurant in Bellerose, run by the Gismondi family.”

“Both places are about a mile apart, have distinguished themselves as solid, neighborhood restaurants serving ‘old world’ family recipe Italian cuisine,” said Frank.

“An odd coincidence came to me recently,” he said. “With all of the places to vacation and go in America, both of these restaurants spontaneously wound up a short distance apart in southeast Florida.”

And it was done, he noted, without any communications between the two families.

Umberto's actually has two locations – on State Road A1A in Pompono Beach and on Commercial Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Frank said. Arturo's is on North Federal Highway in Boca Raton.

Vincent Gismondi, who owns Arturo’s in Boca Raton, seemed amused by the coincidence.

Long-distance neighbors [Boca News]

There's a great discussion going on over at Chowhound about the frustrating nature of Florida produce. Everything is grown down here, but it always seems to get shipped up north before the locals can get their hands on it. And it's frustrating to think that New York City gets the best of our produce while we have to settle for fruits shipped from California. Here's what lax2mia had to say about it:

After endless attempts at finding local, Florida grown or sourced produce and seafood I've almost had it.

Was in NYC this weekend and dropped into Dean and Deluca. While looking through the produce I saw picture perfect meyer lemons and some not so good looking fava beans. Where were both of them from? Yep, Florida grown baby. At the fish counter what did I see? Whole pompano and skate wing. Guess from where?

I'm so sick and tired of our best local product being shipped out and almost impossible to find locally. When was the last time Publix had pompano? But I'm sure every Publix will have farm raised Chilean salmon at $5.99 a pound. And meyer lemons? Last time I saw them at a local market specializing in produce (Norman Brothers) they were imported from California. And fava beans are non-existant until spring when we get them in from the West Coast?

I've got plenty of theories, all of which tick me off. One is that growers and fisherman get more for their product if they export it out of state. To me this doesn't hold water because the lemons and beans were going for the same price as the specimens we get from California. Is it that Floridians don't care about what's growing in their own backyard and farmers don't have a choice but to export their product? Possibly. Ask your friends if they know (a) what a meyer lemon is and (b) that they're grown in Florida.

As for restaurants, we're still way behind the curve on this one. The only one we can think of that gets a good portion of local items on its menu is Michael's Genuine Food & Drink. According to another Chowhound post, Table 8 also uses some local citrus and lettuce, as well as fish. Local fish is common (although not as common as one would think). We also learned from that same post that Florida is the 12th largest beef producer in the country -- who knew? It'd be nice, for once, to see one of these steakhouses that seem to open up every five minutes around here use Florida-raised beef.

Does FLA export its best stuff? [Chowhound]
Going Local Florida [Chowhound]
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink [MenuPages]
Table 8 [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr

It's Valentine's Day, and we've got chocolate on our minds, so we went over to the Kilwin's site. Did you know that they have live video of their chocolate factory? We took a snapshot (there's a feature for that too!) of the machine that makes chocolate-covered nuts. The nut clusters move on a conveyor belt through what appears to be a cascade of glorious chocolate. We imagine that if we worked there, we'd be constantly tempted to stick a finger underneath that flowing chocolate.

If you're looking for chocolates to buy your sweetie, there are Kilwin's in Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Palm Beach Gardens, Pembroke Pines and Weston.

Kilwin's [Official Site]

Apparently Mark Bittman likes to show love the same way we do: with coffee-chile braised short ribs. We're using bison, he's using beef (the former has less cholesterol, by the way), but it's essentially the same. It made our morning to see the video of Bittman making his short ribs. He's using a different recipe from the one we're following, although we like his use of a chipotle pepper instead of the jalapeño called for in our recipe.

If you're craving short ribs, Michy's does a good version served with mashed potatoes. The ones at The Food Gang come with roasted root vegetables. Tuscan Steak offers chianti-braised short ribs with a chocolate espresso demi-glace. Bistro Ten Zero One makes a braised version (is there any other way?) with garlic and mashed potatoes, and Cafe Sharaku has a short rib stew in red wine sauce on the menu. And finally, one of the specialties at Vincent Restaurant is braised short ribs with wild mushroom gravy and creamy polenta.

Recipe: Short Ribs With Coffee and Chilies [New York Times]
Coffee-Marinated Bison Short Ribs [Epicurious]

Photo: Flickr

Ladies and gentlemen, we present The Wine Rack, a sports bra that can be filled up with alcohol, so that one can surreptitiously drink from a tube attached to said bra. Seriously. The scariest thing is that size medium is out of stock, which means that people are actually buying this thing. It can hold up to 25 ounces of wine and increase cups size by two full cups. (Guess it's cheaper than implants?) The only problem is that the thirstier you get, the more they shrink.

Hey Dave, think this could make your annual Christmas gift list?

The Wine Rack [Firebox.com]

Photo: Metro UK

Via Slashfood

Check out this menu, likely taken from a Mexican restaurant in Naples that miami fever photographed recently. The licuados we know usually include ice, fruit, sugar and either milk or water. (We prefer the latter.) But these things take the regular licuado several steps further. First there's the Rocky Balboa, with chocolate, egg, vanilla and cinnamon. The Bomba Mexicana also contains egg, as well as orange juice, honey, pineapple, plantain and strawberries. (Does that sound appetizing to anyone? Anyone?) This begs the question: are they actually putting raw eggs in there? Because that could cause some serious problems for the restaurant if, say, a customer were to become ill from a bad egg. Maybe they cook it quickly to kill bacteria. Or maybe they go all the way and hard-boil the sucker and then toss it into the blender. Which...ewww.

Photo: miami fever's Flickr

We're, um, still, recovering after last night, so forgive us, but that Giants victory was big for South Florida, as you can tell by the prevalence of 1972-themed articles in today's Miami Herald. What a great game, and what a great outcome.

In honor of the Giants' victory, how about a slice of New York-style pizza for lunch today? If you're in the Miami area, try Andiamo, Steve's Pizza or Miami's Best Pizza. In Broward, there's Piazza Benvenuto, which does a Sicilian pie, and, of course, a number of Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza locations. In Palm Beach, we hear that Dominic's also makes a good Sicilian pie.

Andiamo [MenuPages]
Steve's Pizza [MenuPages]
Miami's Best Pizza [MenuPages]
Piazza Benvenuto [MenuPages]
Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza [MenuPages]
Dominic's I [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr, of the greatest New York-style slice ever, from DiFara's in Brooklyn

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continue reading "Mom's Experiment With Canistel" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Via Chow

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

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

Photo: Haberler

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

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

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

What would you add to the list?

Annoying Restaurant Trends [AOL food]
via Slashfood

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

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

Via Critical Miami and Spangdish

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

Photo: Flickr
Via Slashfood

As of tomorrow, Florida's minimum wage will be $6.79 per hour, up 12 cents from the current wage. Tipped employees are seeing a greater percentage increase; their base hourly pay is also increasing 12 cents, to $3.77.

Florida voters approved a state minimum wage in November 2004. The state minimum wage supersedes the federal minimum wage of $5.85. The federal minimum wage is set to increase to $6.55 in July.

The new state wage is based on an annual consumer price adjustment. The increase for 2008 is significantly less than the 27-cent, or 4.2 percent, increase for 2007.

Florida's minimum wage increases to $6.79/hour [News-Press]
Lawmakers Increase State Minimum Wage, Restaurateurs Yawn [MP: South Florida]

We scour the want ads so you don't have to.

• The Lighthouse Cafe, inside the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, needs bilingual food runners, prep cooks, and servers for the open-air beachfront restaurant. That certainly sounds picturesque. [Craigslist]

• Uh-oh. Trouble at Chakra. [Craigslist]

• Two Chefs Too needs some help! [Craigslist]

• Mmmm...Peruvian. You too can serve the excellent fare at El Gran Inka[Craigslist]

We're back, about 10 pounds heavier. Seriously, so much food, from Nochebuena to Christmas evening. We need a few days to recover from the nonstop cooking/baking/eating. We have photos that we'll share soon, once we get them onto the computer. We're especially proud of our gingerbread cookies on sticks that were arranged in flower pots.

We hope everyone had a good holiday!

To the right are hallacas, the Venezuelan Christmas specialty that often shows up at our table on Nochebuena. They're made of a corn-and-meat filling (you might also find raisins, nuts, olives and hard-boiled eggs) wrapped tightly in a banana leaf. Our mom is a huge fan. See, her aunt and uncle moved to Caracas after Castro's takeover of Cuba, and their housekeeper, who left with them to Venezuela, learned how to make hallacas better than anyone else. Or so says our mother, who has since searched far and wide for hallacas that could meet that standard. (Unsuccessful so far.)

Hallacas are incredibly labor intensive, so it's rare to find someone who goes the homemade route. Our mom usually orders from a friend of a friend who spends the weeks before Christmas carefully making hallacas. At this time of year, almost every Venezuelan bakery will have some. We went ahead and did some of the legwork for you:

• Don Pan Every branch of this bakery will have hallacas for $5.99 each. They've got plenty now, but there's no guarantee there will be any left on the 24th. If you need a big order, it's best to call ahead and reserve some.

• La Crema de las Empanadas (10674 SW 24th St in Miami; 305-485-9360) The hallacas are $6 each here, and the same rule applies -- if you've got a big order, reserve some.

• European Corner They're $8 each here. The bakery is open until 8 p.m. on Dec. 23 and until 3 p.m. on Dec. 24.

• Moises Bakery (7310 Collins Ave in Miami Beach; 305-868-0548) Hallacas are $6, and you should really order them now, we're told. They've got a limited supply. If you order now, you can pick up on Christmas Eve.

Photo: Flickr

• Bartenders are needed on South Beach. (Aren't they always?) Chakra, in particular, needs some help in that department. [Craigslist]

• Calling all managers and chefs! There's a new upscale restaurant in the Aventura area. Not too many details about the restaurant, but they do want someone with two years' experience. [Craigslist]

• The Tides is reopening, and they need help filling all sorts of different positions, including some in La Marea, so they're holding job fairs every Friday between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. [Craigslist]

• Oh, and here's our favorite. It's not a want ad; it was posted by a "freelance menu writer" looking for work. So someone can actually make this a career? Seriously? Because we could totally do that. [Craigslist]

Finding a whole pig around here at this time of year isn't that tough. But figuring out how to cook it properly without messing up 80 pounds of pork (perish the thought!) might be a bit more difficult. We've never done it*, so we can't offer any tips, but we will direct you to the 3 Guys From Miami, who give you step-by-step directions on how to build the roaster and what to do with the pig. There are helpful photos too! If you're not up for building your own spit, you can always spring for one of these, which take a bit of the guesswork out of the process.

*Yes, we have a big, loud Cuban family, but the kind that isn't up for spending a whole day roasting a pig. We usually do just a leg for Nochebuena, in the oven on low heat. We've even (gasp!) ordered the lechón from a restaurant before. Our uncle, who usually hosts the Nochebuena festivities, has talked of roasting a whole pig for the past two years, but each year, something comes up. Instead, he's taken to frying turkeys. Go figure.

Roast a Pig Like a Pro! [3 Guys From Miami]
La Caja China [Official Site]
Photo: Flickr

We're fascinated by this. How long did it take to put this together? How many chefs did she have to "friend" to learn all of this information?

Facebook Brings Chefs Closer Together [Grub Street]

Yes, we know that a watched pot never boils. So you don't have to stare at it intensely. Just, you know, check it out of the corner of your eye every few minutes while in the next room. Do not, under any circumstances, leave the house:

A pot left on a stove ignited a house fire in the 3300 block of Southwest 95th Court Tuesday afternoon.

Miami-Dade firefighters put out the blaze, but not before it got into the rafters of the home, which is a rental.

The resident or residents had apparently stepped out, leaving the pot unattended.

Smoke was reported coming out of the soffits of the single-story, block-style home at 12:20 p.m.

There was no visible damage -- other than from smoke -- on the outside of the house.

Two fire engines and two fire-rescue vehicles responded.

Unwatched pot sets S. Dade house ablaze [Miami Herald]

Not really. But still, this is pretty damn cool. A few days ago, a mother in London issued a plea for plantain recipes, as it was next on the list of vegetables for her formerly finicky son to try. We offered a few ideas culled from our Cuban heritage, our experience with the Puerto Rican community in Chicago, and our Filipino college roommate. Now, in a home somewhere an entire ocean away, your humble MP: South Florida blogger is known as "the Queen of Plantain." Isn't the Internet a wonderful thing?

Tostones on a stormy day [The Great Big Vegetable Challenge]
P is for Plantain [The Great Big Vegetable Challenge]

Well, ok, not really. But it does seem like it's become far less popular than it used to be. We even notice it in the way we order food now; generally, we prefer to have two or three appetizers instead of a large entree. The latter, in our opinion, can be a bit monotonous. It looks like we're in the majority on that, as diners seem to be requesting tapas-style meals, and menus are reflecting that with more small-plate offerings, according to a recent article in the New York Times. What struck us is the little bit of history in the article, which explains that the entree isn't actually all that traditional or old:

Influences from the global pantry have also had their effect. More exposure to meze, dim sum, sushi and tapas has changed how Americans think of the structure of a meal. As a result, chefs feel free to break out of the traditional French model of restaurant dining by offering small, intense tastes of global flavors, said Eve Felder, an associate dean at the Culinary Institute of America.

“It’s more of a reaching back into the way in which people celebrate the table,” she said.

Although it’s hard to imagine a time when the single-entree meal wasn’t the norm, the concept is only about 75 or 80 years old, and not necessarily something to be cherished, said Paul Freedman, a Yale University history professor and editor of the new book, “Food: The History of Taste” (University of California Press).

...

“What you have in the 20th century is less opulent cuisine, and less time to devote to it,” he said. And, he points out, modern America has always loved multiple tastes of several dishes. Think of the smorgasbord, the cafeteria, the buffet and the ever-changing multiple offerings at fast food restaurants.

“It’s really not so much avant-garde but a look back and a reflection of Americans’ desire to have a lot of choices,” he said.

What do you think? Do you mourn the decline of the entree, or are you cheering its demise?

Is the Entree Heading for Extinction? [New York Times]

We occasionally get some funny mix-ups on menus, but this has got to take the cake. Found on a menu in Beijing. There's another photo on the blog that shows exactly what stir-fried wikipedia looks like; supposedly, it is delicious.

Jimmy Wales Grows Them Good and Organic [Evolving Web]

via Slashfood

We're sorry, but we just haven't gotten to any restaurant business this morning. We're still reeling from the blockbuster trade announced yesterday/this morning that's sending Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers in exchange for six prospects. We're sad to see these two go for many obvious reasons, but we're inclined to agree with Dan LeBatard, who's giving the front office the benefit of the doubt. When said front office includes Larry Beinfest, we give all benefits of doubt necessary.

We'll get back to food and restaurants shortly, but for now...wow. Biggest deal of the offseason, for sure.

Tigers send top prospects to Marlins for Cabrera, Willis [ESPN]
Lets give Marlins benefit of doubt [Miami Herald]

Yes, on this day in 1933, the final state needed for a three-quarters majority (which happened to be Utah, interestingly enough) ratified the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment that had banned all alcohol consumption in the country. The nation's 14-year experiment (some would say nightmare) in Prohibition had come to an end, and to this we invite each of you today to have a celebratory drink.

Repeal Day [Official Site]
Raise a Toast to Repeal Day [The Grinder]

Photo: Flickr

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

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

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

What do you usually do with your Thanksgiving leftovers?

Photo: Flickr

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

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

Photo: Flickr

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

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

This, apparently, is what Minneapolis residents think of us. We got a kick out of the pink shirt-white suit combination, and oh my goodness, see that phone at :12? We had that exact same one in our bedroom in the late '80s/early '90s. That brought back some memories. Oh! And there's a Scarface Lounge!

Restaurant Miami [Official Site]

Despite Bud Selig's and Jeffrey Loria's claims that stadiums bringing economic prosperity to blighted areas, it's not true. (A college professor who spent most of his time studying the economic effects of stadiums on cities and neighborhoods taught us that.) Just look at what's happened to St. Petersburg's Dome District:

"I know since I opened there's been 24 restaurants or sports bars that opened up and then closed in this two block area," said Mark Ferguson, owner of Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill....

Ferguson says he and many other business owners in the dome district think they'll be better off if Tropicana Field is redeveloped into affordable housing, offices and stores.

"And that's day in day out business, rather than having 81 games where there's parking problems and other problems to go along with it," said Ferguson.

Many dome businesses support new waterfront stadium [Tampa Bay 10]

We've got two contradictory stories today. First, an article from the Associated Press claiming that the weak U.S. dollar will attract more Canadians than usual to sunny Florida for the season:

During the next six weeks about 450,000 Canadian visitors are expected to visit Broward, a second home during the winter for many. Attracted by South Florida's warm weather and beaches, they will pour about $1 billion into the local economy, said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitor's Bureau.

"We expect record numbers from our good friends in the north this year," Grossman said. "Greater Fort Lauderdale will be high on the travel list for Canadian snowbirds."

The Canadian dollar has risen almost 20 percent in value against the U.S. dollar this year, achieving one-to-one parity for the first time since 1976. On Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was worth $1.1039, its highest level in the post-1950 era of Canadian floating exchange rates.

"I haven't met one person this year that wants to stay in Florida," said Boynton Beach resident Dory Kilburn, who heads the Boynton Intracoastal Group, a Canadian advocacy organization. "They all say they are getting out."

Lopsided property taxes favoring year-round residents are a major culprit, and proposed property tax cuts are getting a cool reception north of the border. Still, talk of leaving might be saber rattling - except that it comes as Arizona, the Carolinas and other states are stepping up efforts to lure the flock.

In the last few months, [Gary] Brissenden said, the majority of people he has talked to say they are planning to leave Florida. It's not a small number.

"We have held meetings throughout Ontario. I have had perhaps 5,000 people at meetings," he said. "Of those coming to Florida, about 70 percent are saying, 'We are going to sell our place.'"

Weakness of U.S. dollar may bring more Canadians to Florida [Associated Press]
Canadians may give Florida cold shoulder [Palm Beach Post]

The poll this week at Stuck on the Palmetto is for the restaurant with the best service in South Florida. Where do you usually get treated well when you go out to dinner? Head over there and let Rick and Alex know!

This Week's SotP Reader's Favorite [Stuck on the Palmetto]

We're willing to bet it wasn't a fancy gourmet burger involving ground sirloin and brie. Our cooking repertoire at that age consisted of oatmeal cookies and cornflake-crusted chicken fingers. Joey Yarwick, a 12-year-old from San Diego, would've kicked our pre-teen ass in a cooking competition. His gourmet burger creation, "Au Brie Burger a la Francais," won the Red Robin "The Next Gourmet Burger Kids' Recipe Contest" and will be featured on Red Robin menus. We're...jealous. His burger creation sounds incredibly rich and decadent: ground sirloin, croissant, brie, potatoes, butter, cream, (ah, the blissful ignorance of youth, before those cholesterol numbers begin to creep up) fresh rosemary, and pomme frites. We tried to find photos of the burger but unfortunately were unsuccessful. The three burgers selected as runners up: "Totally Tuscan Turkey Burger," "Chicken Al-FRED-o Burger," and "Oh My Thai Burger." Seriously, who are these kids? Did they get parental help here? Wow.

12-Year-Old San Diego Boy Invents America's Next Gourmet Burger [CNNMoney]
Red Robin [Official Site]

Please forgive us any typos over the next few days. We had an unfortunate incident yesterday in the kitchen involving a butternut squash, a very sharp mandolin, and our right pointer finger that necessitated a trip to the emergency room. No stitches, but lots of blood. We're now learning that typing with a bandaged finger is very, very slow.

VideoJug: How To Make Chicken Nuggets

These are supposed to be healthy chicken nuggets. We're not sure if breaded, fried chicken counts as all that healthy, but we do agree that it is nice to know that these chicken nuggets contain the usual stuff you find in a kitchen pantry — flour, eggs, chicken, bread crumbs — and none of the preservatives that go into the fast-food versions. At any rate, it's an interesting step-by-step video narrated by a British man with a pleasant accent. Enjoy!

Via Slashfood

We carved pumpkins last night, and we were fairly proud of our effort, which resulted in a happy jack-o-lantern that looks like it's just stumbled upon a basket full of its favorite candies. After doing a few Google searches though, we now feel humbled. Look at that thing! A jack-o-lantern inside another jack-o-lantern! Brilliant. At least now we have some ideas for next year.

Photo: Flickr

The little man pictured above is our godson, who celebrated his first birthday yesterday. Naturally, we baked him a cake. The cake had to be fed to him, because his initial reaction to the pretty blue thing was to treat it like a toy by picking the plate up and turning it over. So Uncle Garrett had to step in and show Max that the blue stuff was actually food. Sugary, delicious food that he certainly should not have been having an hour after his bedtime. But it was his birthday, and depriving him of cake on his birthday would be cruel. He made a mess, but boy was that kid enjoying himself. Made us want to smear frosting all over our face too.

Happy Birthday Máximo!

A few things from our inbox that we feel you should know about, but don't merit posts of their own:

• Capri Blu in Palm Beach is now open on Sundays for dinner (5:30pm-10pm) during the season.

• Mark's South Beach is continuing to offer specially priced menus for lunch ($22) and dinner ($35). The lunch is available noon to 2:30pm, and the three-course prix-fixe dinner is available for diners seated between 6:30 and 7:30pm. We've got a copy of the dinner menu, and it looks tasty.

• Tickets for the 2008 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, which is on February 21-24, go on sale on Monday, October 15. They aren't cheap, but it's a huge event. For more information, go to the festival's website.

We want to have children. Very much so. Not exactly right now, but you know, in a few years. But we also love to cook and experiment with new recipes in the kitchen. And the idea of having to constrain ourselves because of a two-year-old who refuses to eat anything that isn't a chicken nugget is not a happy one to us.

We always thought that the picky eater problem was more nurture over nature, but apparently some researchers in London have found that it's about 78 percent genetic. If the parents were picky eaters, their kids likely will be too. Our only consolation is that we weren't too picky, aside from our severe dislike of carrots and peas.

The reason for the pickiness, which usually begins to manifest itself at around age 2, fascinates us:

Most children eat a wide variety of foods until they are around 2, when they suddenly stop. The phase can last until the child is 4 or 5. It’s an evolutionary response, researchers believe. Toddlers’ taste buds shut down at about the time they start walking, giving them more control over what they eat. “If we just went running out of the cave as little cave babies and stuck anything in our mouths, that would have been potentially very dangerous,” Dr. Cooke said.

Makes perfect sense. So it's a survival mechanism. Remember that the next time your kid makes a face at the sight of broccoli.

Picky Eaters? They Get It From You [New York Times]

We're a little jet-lagged and tired, and we have hundreds of e-mails to sort through, so you may have to give us an hour or two. In the meantime, we'd like you to reflect on the photo above, of lamb "popsicles" in a fenugreek cream curry, which was the most delicious part of our excellent meal on Friday night at Vij's. If any of you are planning a trip to Vancouver, you absolutely must eat there. On Saturday, we discovered that the owner published all of his recipes in a cookbook recently. Naturally, we immediately purchased it.

Vij's [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr, because we haven't yet had time to upload our own photos

And we thought we were enterprising for selling Cuban coffee in our Chicago dorm during college. It was great; there were no startup costs (we'd received a stovetop cafetera as a going-away gift, and mom and dad had sent the coffee and the little plastic espresso cups that are impossible to find outside of Miami), so all of the 50 cents we got for each shot was pure profit. But we ran a small operation, only selling coffee during midterms and finals.

Bryan Zupon, a senior at Duke, took that idea about 200 steps further by running his own restaurant. In his dorm room. Zupon's dorm seems nicer than most: an apartment-style setup with a standard kitchen, which he has equipped with a vacuum sealer, two refurbished laboratory water baths, and an induction burner. It's out of this small space that he's run Z Kitchen since September of his junior year, with dinner service every weekend except for during midterms and finals.

Our jaw dropped when we saw the photos that accompany the article. Just check out the presentation, and then look at the kitchen with which he's working. Incredibly impressive. We're curious about how much he charges for dinner; we imagine college students can't afford something too expensive. But Zupon's an economics major who's going to join a consulting firm, so he's not doing it as charity either. Two years, multiple dinners every weekend...he's probably paid off that vacuum sealer and then some.

Too Cool for School [New York Times]

The Whole Foods in Coral Gables will open its doors tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. with a bread breaking ceremony attended by Don Slesnick, the mayor of Coral Gables. But if you get there sometime after 8 a.m. and before the bread breaking ceremony, you'll be treated to a free breakfast on the store patio.

Throughout the rest of the day there'll be music, kids activities like face painting, and more than 40 demos throughout the store. And the first 100 customers get a free Whole Foods reusable shopping bag. If you can't make it tomorrow, the first 100 customers on Saturday and Sunday will also get free bags.

For now, take a detailed look at the inside of the store (with photos!) thanks to Tere, who got to go on one of the sneak peek tours.

Whole Foods Sneak Peek [Coral Gables Blog]
Whole Foods [Official Site]
Whole Foods [Coral Gables Site]

• The highly anticipated Por Fin Restaurant is looking for both front of house and kitchen staff, so a grand opening must be soon! Also, no experience necessary; they're willing to train. [Craigslist]

• Maxine's at the Catalina Hotel needs people to fill all positions, most involving shuttling drinks from the bar to the models who frequent the place. [Craigslist]

• Prime Blue Grille needs line cooks, prep cooks, servers, hostesses, bussers, food runners — basically every position in the restaurant. You get the idea. [Craigslist]

• No shortage of steakhouse jobs around here! Remember the Michael Mina restaurant we wrote about that's set to open in Aventura? Yep, they need help. Check out the all-day job fair this Friday. [Craigslist]

Yes, the pizza is talking. Anyone else find that a little weird? Also, the whole thing is cute, but really, Elmo can't be that cuddly with that pizza on his arm. Although I guess people aren't buying this for the cuddle factor anyway.

Miami sucks at service. Or so says the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (yep, the Miami Spice folks again). From a Michael Lewis column in Miami Today:

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau last month decided that the fault, at least in part, is internal. It plans to hire a national firm to repaint the image of customer service inside our own hospitality industry.
There's a great starting point. A bureau-commissioned survey of taxis, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and Miami International Airport found service levels that flunked visitors' expectations — as bureau CEO Bill Talbert said, "nowhere near where we need them to be for a world-class destination."

Waiter, skip the steak — just give me some service please [Miami Today]

Miami native Josie Smith-Malave, from last season's Top Chef, was beaten and harassed outside of a Long Island bar over the Labor Day weekend. The news is just coming out now, because her lawyer wants the incident investigated as a hate crime.

[Attorney Yetta Kurland] said the trouble started when the women went to Partners bar in Sea Cliff over the Labor Day weekend for a drink and began dancing together. Smith-Malave's sister is straight.

Bar employees escorted the women out a side door after other patrons began making nasty remarks and the mood started getting ugly, Kurland said.

Kurland said as many as 10 "young adults" followed the women out, circled them, screamed anti-gay slurs, spit on them and then punched and kicked them. A camera belonging to one of them was stolen, she said. Nassau police said they were investigating, but had made no arrests.

Yikes! How anyone could beat up on Josie is beyond us. Sure, she's loud, but she was the friendliest and nicest of the cast members last season. Here's hoping those bruises have healed now and that the cops start making some arrests soon.

'Top Chef' contestant in bias attack [New York Daily News]

The West Palm Beach police chief arrested a woman on Tuesday who was being accused by City Place Publix employees of stealing a bottle of wine, which was stashed in her purse. Turns out she had also taken a sushi tray into the bathroom, where she'd feasted before trying to abscond with the wine.

Several of the commenters over at the PB Post's crime blog claim to see this kind of stuff all the time: people eating yogurt in the dairy aisle, empty containers found on shelves, etc. We've never seen anything like this, but then again, we're not great at noticing these kinds of things. Have you seen people trying to score some free food at the supermarket? Let us know!

WPB police chief nabs suspect [Palm Beach Post]
Police chief Delta Bush caught this woman... [Behind the Yellow Tape]

If you had a limitless supply of money, how much do you think you could spend on food each day? Joe (well, we think it's Joe) at Boca Joe's Catering tried to come up with the most extravagant meals he could possibly think of. Total spending for the day: $1,675,000, although we should note that most of that came from a diamond-encrusted fruit cake that sells for $1.65 million. The menu includes a caviar-topped frittata, a cup of Kopi Luwak (the coffee made from beans that have been passed through the digestive system of a small mammal), a Wagyu beef sandwich with foie gras and black truffle mayonnaise, and Tahitian vanilla ice cream topped with 23-carat edible gold leaf. And there's a 10-course dinner with wine pairings too; the cake is the spectacular finale.

Sure, you'd be spending $1,675,000 million on food in one day, but you likely wouldn't have to eat for the next week. So it's more like $239,285 per day. Clearly a bargain.

How much could you spend in one day on food? [Boca Joe's Catering]
Boca Joe's Catering [Official Site]

The rumors are flying like they never have before. We suggest getting to Versailles, because if they are true, you'd better believe that's where the party will be. And if they're not true, well, at least you get a cubano and a cafecito out of it.

We've been big fans of The Great Big Vegetable Challenge for a while now. It's a blog devoted to one mom's struggle to get her son Freddie to eat his veggies. She came up with the brilliant idea of working through the "vegetable alphabet" by introducing one new veggie at a time, prepared a few different ways, in alphabetical order. And the amazing thing is it's working! Freddie now feels obligated to at least try the vegetables, out of a sense of duty to his many online readers, and once he's tried them, he finds that most are pretty tasty.

There were no new veggie recipes posted today; the family has found a new, rainy-day activity with vegetables: making vegetable faces. (We imagine this would work very well as a way to pass the time once the electricity goes out during a hurricane.) This photo made us laugh out loud. We're tempted to run home and make one of our own!

Photo: The Great Big Vegetable Challenge

Markets all over the country are currently bursting with produce like peaches, string beans, blackberries and zucchini. But few vegetables can survive August in South Florida, according to this chart from the Florida Department of Agriculture, brought to our attention by Deborah at From the Test Kitchen. Yes, while the rest of the country is gorging on fresh, local produce, we have almost nothing. But it's all right; we'll remember this in February, when we'll be munching away at ripe strawberries while everyone else is shoveling snow. The things you can get locally now are mostly fruit: mangoes, avocados (which are just coming into their prime now) and carambola.

Florida Produce Seasonal Availability Chart [FL Dept of Agriculture]
It's so hot outside -- no wonder nothing grows [From the Test Kitchen]

That tropical depression out in the Atlantic is expected to become a named storm by tonight or tomorrow, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters say that the storm, which would be named Dean, could become a Category 2 hurricane by Friday, in which case it would be the first hurricane of the season. Yes, the storms have gotten to a late start this year, but, well, remember Andrew? If you haven't already stocked up on hurricane supplies, now might be the best time to do so, because store shelves will likely be wiped clean if the storm gets within a day or two from shore. In the meantime, we'll work on a list of restaurants with generators that plan to stay open.

Photo: National Hurricane Center

In which we do all the work for you, you lazy bum:

• Over at California Pizza Kitchen on Miracle Mile (aside: have you seen what they've done to the old Corset Corner space? Complete transformation!), they need servers who ROCK. Yes, that's an acronym: Respect, Opportunity, Communication and Kindness. Give them a call if you fit the bill. [Craig's List]

• Paulo Luigi, an Italian restaurant in Palmetto Bay, is "HIRING." Their quotation marks, not ours. [Craig's List]

• A "well known tropical-themed restaurant group" (sure, that narrows it down) needs a restaurant manager in Miami. [Craig's List]

• A new wine bar/restaurant is looking for staff. The address is 6909 Biscayne Blvd, which must be across the street from Uva 69, another wine bar/restaurant. Are they related? Or do these new owners enjoy a healthy dose of competition? At any rate, they need you! [Craig's List]

Trying to find locally grown produce in South Florida can be difficult. It seems most fruits and veggies grown in the winter months (the growing season for most vegetables) are destined for residents of other states, while Floridians get to eat California produce. It seems a silly business.

And of course, the local farmer's markets are in a sad state of affairs, although we imagine that with a bit of increased interest, they may improve in the next few years. For now, the best, and pretty much only, option for local produce is Redland Organics, which operates a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). You pay a fee for the season, and in return, you get a share of the farm's bounty in the form of a boxful of fruits and vegetables each week from November to April. They started accepting applications just a few days ago, so there may still be time to sign up.

Redland Organics [Official Site]

We remember vividly the rapid manner in which Don Pan International Bakery extended its influence over the Miami-Dade bakery market in the early part of this decade. In what seemed like a matter of months, purple roofs and "coming soon!" signs were everywhere. Clearly, the demand for pan campesino was high.

Now, Don Pan has saturated the Miami market and moved into Broward, Boca Raton, and even Tampa. But the chain isn't done yet. Next up: Don Kiosk, which appears to be very well suited for mall food courts. Soon, maybe even local airports will have Don Kiosks to supply weary travelers with sustenance. We have no confirmation for any of this; the only thing we know, after a brief conversation with a company representative, is that they hope to close on a lease in the next 45 days. The location, according to the website, is somewhere in Broward. Any guesses as to where it might be? Sawgrass Mills perhaps? We're inclined to think that a cachito and a mango shake (no milk) might be the perfect quick snack to provide energy for a long day of shopping.

Don Pan International Bakery [MenuPages]
Don Pan International Bakery [Official Site]

A post on Chowhound by someone with a desire to cook gator meat (and also with the Caps Lock firmly in place) reminded us of the first time we were offered this Florida delicacy. We were sitting with our parents for lunch years ago at Doc Dammers (remember that place?) and ordered the gator burger. We thought it was just named for the UF Gators, until the waiter kindly leaned over and explained that the burger was actual gator meat. We switched orders then, but a few years later, when we were more adventurous eaters, we tried gator chili elsewhere and found it quite satisfying.

Continue reading "How To Tackle An Alligator Without Risking A Limb" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continue reading "Mangos Mangos Everywhere!" »

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

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

Continue reading "Blast From The Past" »

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

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

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

Florida Grouper

Asian Catfish

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

Continue reading "Grouper, And The Fish That Want To Emulate It" »

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

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

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

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

But what caught our attention was the lede:

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

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

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

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

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