Area 31 Makes Esquire’s Best of 2009

Area 31, in the Epic Hotel downtown, has been named as one of the Best New Restaurants of 2009 in the November issue of Esquire magazine. When food and travel critic John Mariani dined at Area 31 this summer, he asked executive chef John Critchley to send out his favorite…

The Biltmore’s Palme d’Or soars

The old-world opulence of Palme d’Or seems especially anachronistic in the patently lax 21st Century. The 70-seat space, a restored homage to the original 1926 Biltmore Hotel restaurant, is a bygone world of ceiling frescoes, crystal chandeliers, intricately carved woods, black-and-white photos of vintage movie stars, and an almost fun-house…

Go Orange: Amazing Pumpkin Health Benefits, Allegedly

Fall is here, supposedly. In Miami we’ve still got 90-degree days, and a monster electric bill.But at least pumpkins are here again because despite what the weather would have you believe it is in fact “that time of year.”Here are some alleged pumpkin health benefits that’ll have you going for…

Miami Babylon Details SoBe Wine & Food’s Lee Schrager’s Guilty Past

Gerald Posner has a new book out called Miami Babylon. In it, he details Lee Schrager’s having pled guilty to insurance fraud. Lee Schrager is the local, socially-networked promotions powerhouse behind the success of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.Our paper-product recently profiled Lee Schrager in our Fall Arts…

Archive Diver: Luigis Cafe Bistro Free Beer Ad from 1988

Free beer!That rallying cry is a valued, age-old method to draw a crowd. Like:”Dude, my little sister’s hamster passed away and she’s having a funeral and burial ceremony for it. Do you wanna go?””Uhhm, nah that sounds lame I’ll pass””There’s gonna be free beer.””Right. I’m in. And I’m telling everybody.”So…

Holy Moly! World Record-Breaking Guacamole Event this Sunday

It’s fall in South Florida, This mean your neighbors with hundreds of ripe avocados have you under siege. “Take one.” “Take one” “Take one.” Just shut the heck up!!!! We got a way to finally use all that fruit. This Sunday, Schnebly Redland’s Winery (30205 SW 217 Ave., Homestead) is…

Food News Roundup: Lee Schrager, Top Chef, and Bacon Camp

Man wants tacos so bad he’s willing to kill for them…..maybe he’ll like the ones in prison…if they find him. [Herald]Mayor Daley from Chicago says “I’m moving to Miami, where there are no taxes on food and no state income tax.” [ChicagoTribune]Lee Schrager talks about getting asked to unclog toilets…

Eat Burgers And Die?

There’s been a lot of ink spilled in recent years over the potential dangers inherent in our food supply chain. Still, the piece by Michael Moss this past Saturday in The New York Times could scare just about anyone into a lifetime of hamburger abstinence. You can, and should, check…

GIVEAWAY!: Free Pop Art Toaster 5-in-1 Tasty Baker

Ever wished your cake was shaped like a dog’s face? Thanks to the original 5-in-1 Tasty Baker your dreams can come true.Created by the ingenious minds behind the Pop Art Toaster (the toaster that branded the New York Times logo into a piece of bread), the 5-in-1 Tasty Baker allows…

2 Girls and a Cupcake: October Monday Free Cupcake Specials

Azucar!2 Girls and a Cupcake bring gourmet cupcakery to Downtown Miami.Today is their official grand opening, and the first ten customers get a free Oye Como Va. That’s a vanilla cupcake with guava filling and cream cheese frosting.Every Monday for the month of October, they’ll be doing cupcake giveaways including…

Gourmet Magazine To Fold

Shock is sweeping the food world this morning along with the news that the November issue of Gourmet Magazine will be its last. It has been rumored for some time that Condé Nast was suffering a decline in ad pages and would be shutting down one of its food titles…

Weekend Blog Watch: Bankrupt, Opa!, Oktoberfest, Beer, Fish, Bacon, and Money

Short Order knows we’re not the only game in town. That’s why we take this opportunity to highlight some other local voices in the community. Here are some recent posts from folks around the way.South Beach Restaurant Authority isn’t….they’re Chapter 11 after doing nothing. [FoodForThought]Taverna Opa celebrates a year in…

Ken Lyon To Open Cape Cod Room

The Bath Club on Miami Beach (59th St. and Collins Ave.) has long been a private, membership-only establishment with its’ own intimate, members-only restaurant. But starting Sunday, November 1st, the fully restored 1920s Mediterranean-style clubhouse restaurant will be open to the public. It will be known as The Cape Cod…

Marilyn Merlot Goes Nude

In 1949, Tom Kelley, Sr. snapped a series of nude portraits of Marilyn Monroe that have come to be known as the “Red Velvet” series. One of these photos – “Pose 8” – appears on the label of The Velvet Collection’s new Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. The discreet golden…

A $30 Hamburger? If It Says Kobe, Don’t Buy It

Twenty-five dollar hot dogs? $30 hamburgers? That’s what Prime 112 charges for what it calls Kobe beef.The problem is, the high buck meat isn’t always what is advertised. It’s not the product of cattle raised in the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan that in some cases drink beer and receive sake…

The Lush Lunch at Brickell Irish Pub, Drink Lots of Alcohol

If you’re like me, you don’t eat meals, you drink them. You’re on a tight schedule with only ten minutes to stuff the gut, so there’s never time to chew. But you still need your essential vitamins, nutrients, and other basic sustenance, right? Well, the solution’s easy — just head…