When some old friends came to visit recently and wanted to know the scoop on the Beach’s hottest new restaurants, I immediately mentioned The Strand. “That’s been around forever,” said Jennifer, a former South Beach denizen. It’s true, having opened more than a dozen years ago, the old and beloved…
I’ve always wanted to write an article about a scandalous “gate.” I once was tempted to pen a “Tomatogate” piece after being subjected to one pale, plastic-tasting monstrosity after another, but the subject matter didn’t seem solemn enough. Then the incident at Thai Toni occurred. It reeked of gate-ness. As…
‘Tis the season for top-ten lists and I’m a sucker for compilations, so I’ll contribute to the masses of rated information. But I want you to know going in that this isn’t just a list of the year’s best whatever. It’s a record of my most memorable Miami food moments…
Now I know where humor columnist Dave Barry gets his zest for life: at my favorite Indian restaurant Anokha in Coconut Grove, where I dined at the table next to him last week. He’s as full of fun-‘n’-games in person as he is in print: When my daughter wandered over…
Picture this: You’re waiting at the bar in a hip, crowded restaurant. You’ve just left your car for the valet and have yet to be seated. Before the host can call your reservation, however, a valet (not the one who changed the driver’s seat setting in your late-model SUV but…
Imagine a restaurant with horrible food, lousy service, exorbitant prices, and an arrogant maitre d’ who just for the hell of it kicks you in the seat of the pants on your way out the door. The Miami Herald would give this place their lowest assessment: “Satisfactory.” Therein lies just…
Take a stroll down Lincoln Road, and though you might not think it’s exactly Anywhere, U.S.A. (Victoria’s Secret hasn’t moved into the Miami City Ballet’s former space yet), you could be justified in calling it Anywhere, Europe. That’s because the hosts of the various restaurants have begun doing what the…
When is an opening not an opening? When it’s Aura. I went to the Lincoln Road restaurant to dine there the day after it had officially opened and guess what: It was closed. Now the Morris Lapidus/Deborah Desilets-designed eatery is having a second “official grand opening” to, as they put…
A recent New Yorker article about life in restaurant kitchens, written by a professional chef, contained the confession that he and those in the food business regard vegetarians “and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans,” as “enemies of everything that’s good and decent in the human spirit. To live life…
The food is as good as ever, only now it’s kosher. Yes, Tani Guchi’s Place in North Miami, which twice was named best sushi joint by New Times, began serving glatt kosher food about eight months ago, just a few weeks after Passover. Why? That might be the obvious question…
I admit, Y2K has me a little freaked. Not because I’m afraid my computer is going to crash, or because I think the world is going to end, or because champagne apparently is endangered (though this last one does give me pause). But I am a bit concerned that the…
In a effort to protect his reputation — or seal his fate, I guess — Michael Bennett, ex-executive chef of the SouthSide Café in South Miami sent out this letter to the press: “After a rough period of construction delays, logistics problems and some financial constraints, I have been release[d]…
About five years ago, Norman Van Aken called me and asked if I wanted to write a cookbook. Absolutely, I said instantly. On what? Turns out Van Aken wanted me to collect recipes from the restaurants of Miami’s original Mango Gang: Allen Susser (Chef Allen’s), Mark Militello (Mark’s Place), Douglas…
Reports of Turks’ death are greatly premature. The South Beach restaurant was reported closed in the November issue of the South Florida Gourmet magazine, which owner Orhan Yegen says is printing a retraction this month. Meanwhile Turkish cuisine just might be Miami’s newest ethnic fare. Joining Turks and Efesus, also…
Tinny pings of sitar music tinkle through the air at Anokha, Coconut Grove’s first Indian restaurant, while waiters in white gauze shirts carry trays of aromatic food through the dimly lit, 40-seat dining room. It’s a simply decorated space, with none of the heavy draperies and dusty Eastern artifacts prevalent…
It seems like only months ago that the new restaurant Oaxaca was moving into the 26-seat space on Washington Avenue now occupied by Ernie’s Amazing Burgers. As a matter of fact, it was just a few months ago. But Oaxaca is no more. Never was, really. For unknown reasons the…
I was sitting with my folks, my husband, and my daughter the other night at Caffe Sambuca on Lincoln Road, awaiting my sister and her family from New York. When they arrived, quite naturally there was a little hullabaloo involving the exchange of hugs and kisses. But everyone settled down…
Curious ad in the Herald’s “Weekend” section a few weeks ago: “We are pleased to announce the association of Linda Brandino, formerly known as Linda B., into our organization.” Signed: Stefano’s of Key Biscayne. Forget that the ad reads like dialogue from a B-movie crime caper, but do remember that…
Not long ago I called Ruth’s Chris Steak House and asked for directions to its new location in Coral Gables. It was a Tuesday evening, South Florida hadn’t yet been overwhelmed by high-season tourists, and I assumed dinner reservations would not be necessary. So I was not prepared when the…
Okay, enough with the griping about the dearth of Asian restaurants in this town. Without a significant Asian migration, it’s unlikely we’ll get a cheap Vietnamese noodle shop on every corner, enough Korean barbecue to really make a choice, a taste of southern Indian Tamil cooking, or spicy Malaysian curries…
Unlike the events of the past few weeks, I remember my first winemaker’s dinner in detail. That’s because I was working it. I was a waitress at a tiny pasta joint called Ricco’s in Southern California, and, except for my husband who was a busboy, I was the only one…
Long before the Loews captured the collective unconscious of conventiongoers, the Hotel Inter-Continental in downtown Miami had garnered the dubious honor of being considered the premier housing for unwitting out-of-towners. Guests were tapped not only for luxury beds but for the handsome Oak Room, pretty much the power-meal staple in…
