Good Latin Food for People Without Jobs

Comida Latina from MiamiNewTimes.com on Vimeo.The raucous atmosphere of this year’s Calle Ocho Festival belied a recessionary undercurrent. Sure the party was on and bangin’, but as the Herald reports, seven fewer blocks were blocked off from street traffic than previous years, and as the video above evidences, spending was…

El Cristo Restaurant Serves Up Calle Ocho

EL CRISTO from Miami New Times on Vimeo.Though Little Havana is full of restaurants, yesterday’s Calle Ocho festival saw many of Eighth Street’s eateries closed for the party. El Cristo was wide open for business — including a vendor tent out in front of the establishment serving roast chicken, fried…

Asadero Colombiano at Calle Ocho

Asadero Colombiano from Miami New Times on Vimeo.The Calle Ocho Festival 2009 took to the streets of Miami with what seemed like a crowd of 10 million drinking, dancing, party animals of all ages. They were hungry too. One of the many food vendors was Rancho Mateo Restaurant — Asadero…

A Cacao Concerto

On Saturday, March 21, Cacao Restaurant in Coral Gables will hold a symphonic celebration following the Miami Symphony Orchestra’s performance at Guzman Concert Hall earlier that evening. Guests will have a chance to mingle with world-renowned Miami Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor Maestro Eduardo Marturet while sipping wine and…

A Cut Above

Executive chef Sean Brasel tried a Lincoln Road meatery once before: KISS Steakhouse, located in the Albion Hotel, opened and closed in 2002. The restaurant’s failure probably had more to do with the scantily clad go-go dancers gyrating on Plexiglas stages above the tables than the food’s quality: The steaks,…

Thai Spring Rolls at the Asian Culture Festival

Thai Spring Rolls from Miami New Times on Vimeo.This past weekend, the Dade County Parks and Rec and Thai-American Association sponsored the annual Asian Culture Festival, now in its 20th year at Homestead’s Fruit & Spice Park.  It gave fairgoers the unique opportunity to experience the cultures of Asia through…

Check, Please! Two Debuts Tonight

Season two of Check, Please! kicks off tonight on WPBT-2, with Michelle Bernstein returning to host and lead each week’s panel discussion. The show features three dining enthusiasts who escort one another to their respective favorite restaurant, then afterward in the studio, make-believe they are reviewers and dish about the…

Spring Lamb, a la Armenian

You wonder how a tiny, nine-table, family run Armenian cafe could survive two years on the fringes of Boca Raton’s ritzy Mizner Park: But order a plate of Boca Skewers’ falafel, and you’ll get the picture. These crunchy little balls of fried, spiced chickpeas may be served on a plastic…

Go to Sushi — The Real Deal Lives on Biscayne Boulevard

Best Sushi In World? from MiamiNewTimes.com on Vimeo.Goto Sushi Express is a great little sushi joint around Biscayne and 54th. Check out this video interview slash rolling demo with the husband-and-wife team that owns and operates the place. With sushi as with most everything, ain’t nothin’ like the real thing,…

Cheap Eats at Four Downtown Miami Restaurants

Nestled within towering glass-and-brick canyons across this country are illuminated urban nightlife scenes replete with bistros, bars, pubs, clubs, and fine-dining establishments. This isn’t the case in downtown Miami. We’re not talking about pretty Brickell and its merry Mary Village chain gang of eateries. Nor are we speaking of the…

Bengal Indian Cuisine

Bengal Indian Cuisine from Miami New Times on Vimeo.Bengal Indian Cuisine restaurant at NE 20th and Biscayne Boulevard specializes in “modern Indian” food, but its influences range from traditional Northern Indian to Central Asian and Bangladeshi cooking. Owner Mainul Chowdhury’s native country is Bangladesh.I walked in off the street, asked…

Snack King — Japanese Bag Fish Crunch

I discovered the Japanese Bag Fish Crunch — that’s my name for a product that’s in a language I can’t read — at Tim’s Oriental Grocery in Homestead. I like fish, I like crunchy foods, and I couldn’t resist the idea of small, fried fish in a bag full of…

Calypso’s Seafood Grill — Fresh and Local in Key Largo

What the Hell Is She Crab Soup? from Miami New Times on Vimeo.One of the greatest things about livin’ in South Florida is our proximity to the Florida Keys. Calypso’s Seafood Grill has been standing at mile marker 99.5 in Key Largo, Monroe County, for 14 years. It’s not the…

Holleman’s Restaurant of Miami Springs Represents @ Wine & Food

Holleman’s Restaurant of Miami Springs @ Food & Wine from Miami New Times on Vimeo.Holleman’s Restaurant of Miami Springs was representing at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in a big way. They brought 7,000 portions of their Black Angus aged New York strip topped with cippolini onions grilled…

Michy’s Queen Scores with Sra. Martinez

The stately whitewashed building served for decades as the Buena Vista post office. More recently, it was home to Domo Japones, Amir Ben-Zion’s restaurant in the nascent Design District neighborhood. Ben-Zion has become accustomed to success (Miss Yip Chinese Café, Bond Street Sushi), so when Domo faltered last year, he…

How-To Video – Italian-Style Roasted Swordfish

Italian-Style Roasted Swordfish from Miami New Times on Vimeo.  Ever wanted to make swordfish roasted inside parchment paper with tomatoes, olives, and capers? Chef Odel Arencibia from The Capital Grille Miami shows you how. This simple Italian dish has great flavor and aroma. Don’t feel like doin’ it yourself? Hit…

Herb Marinated Beef Tenderloin

Here’s a video of Chef Odel Arencibia from The Capital Grille Miami broiling up some herb-marinated beef tenderloin served on a crostini base with tomatoes, peppers, and onions. I tend to believe all meat tastes best off a wood-burning grill, but a high-quality cut of tenderloin marinated ten hours in…

Clean Seas Talks Offshore Fish Farming

Last night, Obama’s State of the Union address featured a lot of talk about energy this, renewable that, and let’s face it, he’s right. Matter of fact, if we don’t start fishing our waters in a more responsible, future-conscious manner,  the only chicken of the sea left is gonna be…

FIU Donates Food Fest Leftovers

Michael Moran, culinary director and chef/instructor at the FIU School of Hospitality, along with his small army of FIU student/volunteers, were able to recover more than 800 meals from events at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and have donated them to the Daily Food Bank. The meals, culled…

Still Time for Free Pancakes

Just a reminder that today is National Pancake Day, a should-be-sanctioned holiday that is already more important than Presidents’ Day and Arbor Day combined. The International House of Pancakes started doling out free shortstacks this morning at 7, and they’re not stopping until 10 tonight. ‘Course, IHOP hopes that in…

Making Black Truffle Mac ‘N’ Cheese

Up till I shot this video, I had never seen a real-life truffle. I’ve shot in the kitchens of some fine, highly rated restaurants in Miami, but I’ve only ever seen truffle oil. This mac ‘n’ cheese recipe uses actual truffles baked right in to a crispy, hot, cheesy mass…